Oculus Rift + Touch now or wait for next gen

[clutchc]

I was playing around with someone else's Oculus Rift + Touch recently and decide I had to have one. But I'm really put off by all the cabling. The loss of up 4 x USB ports. 5 if you get the rear sensor. And I was also wondering if the resolution would be better with the next gen; not so much 'screen-door' effect (although in the heat of the battle, that really isn't all that noticeable, I have to admit).

I'm wondering if maybe I should wait and see if the next gen eliminated some of that mess. Maybe using Bluetooth? I was just wondering what other users thought...

 

[Tri23]

The question for you is $$$ or $$$$$$?
The Rift right now is SUPER affordable.. because (fight starter) it is the weaker VR platform.

If you go HTC Vive, you'll pay more.. BUT you can have a larger room-scale with not all the USB cables going around.
If you go HTC Vive Pro, then you'll get higher resolution and reduced screen-door.


Then you can also spend $250 for the Wireless adapter for the Vive and have no cables from your PC to the HMD.

It's all a matter of $$$.

But you know what you can't buy? A HTC Vive Pro Kit with Knuckle Controllers. **sad panda**

 

[Tri23]

(see Amazon for all the price-comparisons.. also.. check your graphics card, because that is some $$$ that will carry over to the next Gen.)

 

[clutchc]

Yeah, since I posted this, I have made up my mind to wait. Seeing as how the cameras (sensors) are starting to be located in the headsets now, the only cable needed would be the HDMI to turn it into a PC-based HMD. I could live with that. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Tri23]

Mind you, you might be waiting a while for that tech to come through, and that has it's own limitations and tradeoffs.

It's weighing the $$$ vs VR-Desire.
Per last response, you are tepid in getting into the VR market, because in a sense.. this is still an early adopters market.

(note: Totally not disagreeing with your course of action... more just nothing your reasoning is sorta the general Tech Trap, and brings the question.. "What does it take to get VR to a bigger adoption in the marketplace?)

Fascinating question.

 

[clutchc]

Yep, that's where I'm at. I hate to jump in new tech too early and miss the good stuff that comes shortly thereafter.

Seeing as how the stand-alone Oculus Quest coming out 2019, Q1, has eliminated the external sensors... I don't think it'll be too much longer for the PC-powered Oculus (and likely the Vive as well) to go that route soon. But I'd be interested in hearing more of your opinion.

 

[Tri23]

>> I don't think it'll be too much longer for the PC-powered Oculus (and likely the Vive as well) to go that route soon.

Yeaaaah.. that isn't quite sound reasoning.
I mean.. that would be like, "I'm not going to buy an Xbox, because Microsoft is making a handheld, and I don't like cables."

If that is all you want, then you can slap your smartphone into Google Cardboard and have a VR System. It's not going to be as powerful or give you the best experience. It all depends on what you want.

Again... $$$ vs VR Desire.

You know what? I'd suggest this.. if you haven't already, go pick up a Google Cardboard and try it out. Just search Amazon for "Google Cardboard" and you will find LOTS of Cell-phone holders. Think of Quest as a better version of that. It's going to be better, but it isn't going to replace the Rift. Why? Because the Rift is using your Nvidia 960(min) which is a REALLY powerful and sophisticated piece of hardware!

For a GOOD vr experience, you need a LOT of horsepower. You need to render 2 screens running 60 frames per second for the human eye not to notice. Without all that horsepower, you have to give up something. It's either going to be detail or FPS. In most cases it is a little bit of both.

Oh, and one QUICK warning. High video rendering uses a lot of power and that power generates a lot of heat. (see rules of Thermo). SO!! If you play with Google Cardboard, just note that people have fried their phones. Simply.. smartphones were not designed to be put into a closed case and run on SUPER high for 2+ hours.

I think the people that deep fried theirs had an external power, binged Game of Thrones on Netflix in VR, and never made it to Season 2.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I'd have to agree that, if you have a smartphone capable of it, Google Cardboard is probably the way to go. If not, and IF you can find a deal for one, you might want to consider the Lenovo Explorer and using Windows Mixed Reality. It is VR, but Windows named it MR/AR (Augmented Reality). I picked up mine with the two controllers for $180. The headset requires an HDMI and USB3.0 connections from your computer (still tethered) and the controllers require Bluetooth. Your current system specs are more than enough.

I will admit, the software is a bit glitchy and I would recommend using SteamVR's virtual desktop, but it's been a fun toe-dip into VR for me (and it gave me an excuse to upgrade my system).

-Wolf sends

 

[Tri23]

I'm curious, what is your experience with a Microsoft Mixed Reality headset in RecRoom?
- Latency in the display refresh rate?
- Performance and accuracy of the controllers?

I'm using RecRoom as the test control, because it is a quality VR game that is available across the platforms. (really just including PSVR, but I think it works on everything.)

Cause if it works OK in RecRoom.. then I'll say PASS!

(and honestly... I don't think we even included PSVR in the discussion... I've seen people using them and having a moderate experience, and Sony has some exclusives, so it is an option if you have a PlayStation already. Not to mention they keep putting them on sale. )

 

[Wolfshadw]

[strike]I've not tried RedRoom. I'll have to look into it.[/strike]

Ohhh.. REC Room! Still haven't tried it.

-Wolf sends

 

[Wolfshadw]

So I tried Rec Room. Not overly impressed. While it might just be my still unfamiliarity with the controllers, I found them a bit jumpy. The watch was next to impossible to use. While the tutorial says to use the joystick on the controller to teleport, I found out (the hard way) that it's actually the thumb pad. That's probably something I could change (if I were that interested in returning).

The visual experience was pretty good. No lags or jumpiness. Very smooth. Of course, I just received my GTX1060 6GB so we'll see how things are after I get that installed.

-Wolf sends

 

[Tri23]

Interesting... while I can understand not being too impressed with the games, it is one of the first and IMO the best multi-player games out there, and it shows the ability of VR to become a social forum.

It certainly won't beat Skyrim in complexity, but it's a well designed platforms for games and demonstrates that an MMO style VR experience is possible. It's also their interfaces (the watch menu) is pretty intuitive and an excellent design.

ANYWAYS... to the point, if Windows Mixed Reality can play Rec-Room then it meets the requirements of VR.

OH, and you can change the movement options to Walking in the menu, which is a little easier. They have been playing with the locomotion style in all the versions. Initially it was TELEPORT and now they are trying a Walk/Run mechanic which is pretty good as it doesn't seem to cause motion sickness (but that may just me me since I've been in the Matrix too long.)