Welcome to the new VR Gaming subforum!

Started by Jarhead0331, December 12, 2019, 11:49:58 AM

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Jarhead0331

Ok guys...lets give it a shot.

Whether you're new to VR Gaming, curious about it, or an early adopting veteran, post all of your VR topics in this subforum. It will keep everything together and easier to manage for posterity.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Barthheart

Alright, first question form a noob. Where to start?
Games I think I'd use it with are No Man's Sky, IL-2 series, F1, Dirt Rally (not sure is an option but hope), that kind of thing.

What are budget entries costing? How much more for really good stuff?


JudgeDredd

Of the games you mentioned,
* I don't know about No Mans Sky (and really couldn't care to find out iih  ;D )
* IL-2 is supported (but I don't know to what degree....like which modules if not all of them)
* F1 is not supported (I know - it's the last F1 game I buy until they go VR)
I believe the new Dirt Rally is VR but I have no idea of previous versions (I doubt it)

I picked up an Oculus Rift S for £400.

DCS is supported and looks bloody amazing (as does IL-2 in the short game time I gave it). Project Cars is support (both 1 and 2 I believe) and looks and plays SUPERB.

It was actually DCS and Project Cars that made me get it.
Alba gu' brath

Jarhead0331

#3
Great...so for flight simming and racing, the clear consensus is that the HP Reverb is the unrivaled king. The reason the Reverb is so popular for simming is because it blows every other headset away with respect to resolution, with 2160x2160 per eye. Nothing else out there comes even close.  It also has a good FOV with 114 degrees.  In terms of reading gauges and dials in a cockpit, or spotting distant aircraft and ground targets, resolution is the most critical factor.

The problem with the Reverb is that it is pretty sub-par for everything else. The wand style controllers are regarded as crap, its got a heavy cable that connects the headset to the PC and the quality of the sensors on the headset is questionable, so user experience for room scale gaming has been mixed. Pricewise, its not the cheapest or the most expensive. I got it on sale recently for $470, but it usually retails at $549. it runs off of the Windows Mixed Reality app and requires Steam VR Mixed Reality for most games. Tweaking the settings and getting the most out of the headset is reasonably straight forward, but has not been quite as seamless for me as my experience with the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift-S.  Another major perk is that it does not require external sensors for tracking like the Valve Index, or HTC headsets. This makes set-up really easy.

I also have an Oculus Rift-S that I have generally been very happy with. It also uses sensors mounted on the headset for tracking, so it does not require external light stations. The touch controllers are great, and were the best on the market until Valve released the index Knuckle controllers. The Rift has an impressive catalog of games and applications accessible through the Oculus app and through Steam VR. Getting up and running and tweaking settings is very easy and user friendly. I find the FOV and resolution to be acceptable and totally playable in every game or sim I run. I believe it is priced at $499, which is a steal if this is your first headset and you are not upgrading from the Oculus CV1.

I don't have one yet, but Valve recently released the Index. For general VR gaming, it is receiving very positive reviews and the knuckle controllers raise the bar on immersion. Resolution is 1440x1600 per eye, which just beats out the Rift-S (1280x1440 per eye), but is still well below the Reverb. It does improve upon FOV at approximately 130 degrees, which is very impressive. The system still requires the use of external sensing stations, so set-up is described as time consuming and frustrating. The system is very expensive, and I think the headset, with knuckles and sensing stations is just over $1,000. Overall, I've heard such great things about the Index that it is only a matter of time before I break down and pick one up. I don't need the light stations since I already have them from the HTC Vive and they are compatible. So Presently, I can get the Index and knuckles for $799. Still a bit too high in price and I am happy with the Reverb/Rift combo.     
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Barthheart

#4
Great info guys thanks! Will keep an eye out for sales. :bd:

Do you need the external sensor things for flight/car sims? Or is that just for moving/fighting in a world?

MengJiao

Quote from: Barthheart on December 12, 2019, 03:14:32 PM
Great info guys thanks! Will keep an eye out for sales. :bd:

Do you need the external sensor things for flight/car sims? Or is that just for moving/fighting in a world?

Apparently the Oculus Quest doesn't need sensors other than its internal camera and the hand controls.  Theoretically, it can sense your hands so you might not even need the hand controls.  I haven't seen any of that work except that it knows where you are in the room with only the internal camera as a guide.  I'm not sure how siming connected to the PC will work, but I'll find out in the next few months.

Jarhead0331

#6
Quote from: Barthheart on December 12, 2019, 03:14:32 PM

Do you need the external sensor things for flight/car sims? Or is that just for moving/fighting in a world?

VR works in one of two ways presently. Some systems require externally mounted sensors to detect the headset and the controllers, and their positions in the real world. Other headsets come equipped with sensors that pinpoint the position of the headset and the controllers without the need for the light station external sensors. This is called "insight tracking".

The Oculus Rift S, for instance, removes the need for any external sensors thanks to five built-in cameras. These cameras are placed around the front of the headset and track your Touch Controllers and the room you're in. These work together with other sensors inside the helmet to create a seamless experience that tracks you in all directions in the room you're using as a VR space.

If the system requires the external sensors you are going to need them to use the VR system, whether you are flying, driving, sitting, standing or moving. 

Here is an image of how externally mounted sensors detect and track the user by imaging the headset and controllers:



On the other hand, insight tracking works something like this:

Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Yskonyn

IL-2 BoX series have excellent VR support!

Elite is an absolute stunner in VR, as is No Man's Sky! Totally worth playing in VR and IMO one of the best showcases what Triple-A gaming can be in VR.

DCS is a different issue. While the experience is regarded as great by many with a Rift CV1 or Valve firstgen goggles, I personally find DCS to be bothersome.
Viewdistance in DCS in VR is horrible. Things further out in the world are very hard to see and become very blurry quickly. IL-2 does this a lot better.
Also, VR closes you off from your surrounding so finding pens to scribble down frequencies or JTAC 9-lines becomes a chore. Something a WW2 sim suffers less from, obviously.
Still, this is my personal take, but my advise would be to go for a higher grade goggle for DCS (Reverb or Index).

Racing is another superb VR genre. Most modern serious racers have VR support and run very well. Dirt Rally,  Assetto Corsa, AC Competizione, Raceroom, iRacing all have VR (among others)

Then you have the absolute superb party games and or stress relievers like Beat Saber, Dead and Buried, Gorn, Sairento, Robo Recall (I could go on) which are excellent showcases and adaptations of how immersive and fun VR can be.

We're definately at a great point in gaming!

"Pilots do not get paid for what they do daily, but they get paid for what they are capable of doing.
However, if pilots would need to do daily what they are capable of doing, nobody would dare to fly anymore."

Barthheart

This is great. Thanks all.

How about FPS games? Or hack and slash?

Jarhead0331

Quote from: Barthheart on December 12, 2019, 07:16:34 PM
This is great. Thanks all.

How about FPS games? Or hack and slash?

Onward is an amazing FPS tactical game. Also check out Sairiento VR, Raw Data and Blade & Sorcery. I picked up Boneworks the other day and it is fascinating. Amazing example of physics in a VR world. The interaction with objects is wild.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Con

What innovation In VR are you most excited for. I was reading about how Oculus Quest will be going controller free next year and using hands only. What will that do for immersion playability etc.

solops

At the moment, I am only interested in VR for the astronomy simulator Universe Sandbox 2 at the moment. This discussion has been a real education, but some of the systems seem like massive overkill for my needs. Any suggestions?
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
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Ubercat

"If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labelled a radical 50 years ago, a liberal 25 years ago, and a racist today."

- Thomas Sowell

Gusington

Onward and Blade & Sorcery...they are SP?


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

SirAndrewD

VR might be where I head around this time of year in 2020. 

Like others I want to try before I buy, but I live in Alabama.  Here the closest you can find to a VR demo is being a given a Viewmaster with disks of slides of Nick Saban in various degrees of anger.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback