PC VR - Hardware & Software discussion

[sbrandon111]

2 hours ago, cavalcade said:

I bought mine from sbrandon111 who must be stockpiling them for winter  

Haha  it was yet another case of me selling something i wasn't using at the time, only to have sellers remorse and reeeeaally want another one....which i am again not using very much!

 

Hope you're still enjoying it

[sbrandon111]

3 hours ago, milko said:

 

I could see that and sometimes wonder if I should've gone for it, as it seems so far the majority of games I'm getting into are seated, but... £400 on top of a £400 headset doesn't seem that much better than your £600 objection to the Vive Cosmos problem

 

Absolutely. If i didn't have the Rift S i would be more than happy with a Quest and Link. I only have both currently as i originally had a quest, sold it then regretted it and pre-ordered another one when they were out of stock everywhere. In between getting it i had a chance to get the Rift....then of course the order for the quest came in. Of course my missus wasn't happy though....

 

I mainly play seated games too, driving games are amazing on it. And Pokerstars VR!

[milko]

Driving and flying for me. Love it! And feel blessed that I seem pretty resilient to the nausea aspect of that.  I feel like I've got a whole other saved world waiting for when I properly get into the roomscale stuff, can't wait.

[sbrandon111]

What flying game do you recommend? I'd love a good flight sim in VR 

[Uzi]

OG CV1 boi here - the original has amazing contrast due to the OLED - really comfortable - built in audio is genuinely excellent. The main headache I have with it is the  clarity outside of a very specific sweet spot (when it is there it is sharp due to supersampling everything like mad via the 2080ti)- if it brushes up the wrong way on my head while moving ugh. Waiting for the next gen of stuff but VR is unlike anything else

[milko]

Just now, sbrandon111 said:

What flying game do you recommend? I'd love a good flight sim in VR 

 

For a Pilotwings-style experience UltraWings isn't bad, I think it's cross-buy on Quest and Oculus too. There are things that betray a low-budget/small team developer but the core flying feels nice. On Steam I have the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad (with other 'battle' DLC available, there's a more Western Front one coming soon) which is 50% off reasonably often. That one's a bit clunky in terms of interface at times but is a really accurate sim and I find WW2 planes the sweet spot for having fun in the air. Being able to look around the cockpit and follow aircraft without resorting to disorienting padlock views is a big jump and makes up for the resolution drop's lack of long-distance clarity. 

 

DCS World is meant to be amazing too but I haven't got round to trying that yet. And then it's not really flying but Elite Dangerous is also incredible from within a VR helmet.

[Pungee]

I'm in the weird position of looking to move from a Quest to a Rift S, entirely based on comfort. 

I've tried everything to get the Quest comfortable but haven't been able to. I've tried one of these things that go over back of the headstrap which helped a bit, tried a counterweight at the back, and even waited a month for one of those PSVR-style halo head straps to be delivered from AliExpress which was a cheap 3D printed piece of shit and snapped on day 2 .

All I want is something that is as comfortable to wear as the PSVR, which I'm hoping the Rift S will be. 

[Mogster]

I got one of these head straps along with my Quest:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B081V8W4ZQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I haven't tried it without it, so it could be doing nothing for all I know, but a lot of people seem to think it makes a difference. I find the foam around the front of the headset digs into my cheeks a bit sometimes, and occasionally the centre strap gets a bit uncomfortable, but otherwise I can happily play for over an hour without it causing any real trouble.

 

The PSVR headset is on another level in terms of design though, and the Rift S looks a lot closer to that the Quest.

[Thor]

8 minutes ago, Mogster said:

I got one of these head straps along with my Quest:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B081V8W4ZQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I haven't tried it without it, so it could be doing nothing for all I know, but a lot of people seem to think it makes a difference. I find the foam around the front of the headset digs into my cheeks a bit sometimes, and occasionally the centre strap gets a bit uncomfortable, but otherwise I can happily play for over an hour without it causing any real trouble.

 

The PSVR headset is on another level in terms of design though, and the Rift S looks a lot closer to that the Quest.

 

Yeah, the Rift S is indeed similar to the PSVR. PSVR is definitely more comfortable though.

[MattyP]

Had both PSVR and now have a Rift S. In terms of comfort they are about the same. PSVR edges it on design though better quality and just the way it releases from the head etc. It's a well designed bit of kit. Not that the S is bad by any means.

 

 

[papalazarou]

2 hours ago, sbrandon111 said:

What flying game do you recommend? I'd love a good flight sim in VR 

I’m enjoying flyinside it’s basically Microsoft flight sim using streaming bing maps for ground data. It can be fully controlled with virtual controller ie use you hands to grab the planes flight stick etc..  (I use a combination of controller for stock control and virtual hands for all the leavers and switches etc)

 

this is quick vid I made of it 

 

[Marmite]

Timely thread given my Rift S tunred up this afternoon. I have literally never tried VR before so this could be interesting! I've got it basically to play iRacing - I dont have the space really for a triple screen setup and a proper firm rig right now so figured this would be worth exploring. Hoping it goes well! 

[PikaStu]

If you have access to it, I recommend trying Minecraft in VR. Even if you just download a couple of free levels and wander about. It’s pretty awesome!

[MattyP]

6 minutes ago, Marmite said:

Timely thread given my Rift S tunred up this afternoon. I have literally never tried VR before so this could be interesting! I've got it basically to play iRacing - I dont have the space really for a triple screen setup and a proper firm rig right now so figured this would be worth exploring. Hoping it goes well! 

Enjoy!

 

My advice is download and go through the welcome pack.... The demo is amazing! Then play with Google maps for a bit....

[papalazarou]

51 minutes ago, StoooTube said:

If you have access to it, I recommend trying Minecraft in VR. Even if you just download a couple of free levels and wander about. It’s pretty awesome!

Second this minecraft vr is stunning - also it’s cross play so when my kids are split screen on the Xbox I can join them on the rift.  The toy story map you can buy is excellent (so is the pirates of the Caribbean one).  
 

there is also a lot of free stuff out - fan made games and experiences that are excellent 

 

an oldie but still one of my favs for playing and showing it off to peeps is battle of endor - a Star Wars fan made game where your in an xwing taking part in the attack of the second Death Star - it rally nails the feeling of flying an xwing 

 

https://forums.oculusvr.com/community/discussion/12334/star-wars-battle-of-endor-updated-for-dk2-and-cv1

 

Also if you have alien isolation download the mother vr mod!

 

 

[PikaStu]

Oh, if you have Gamepass for PC, No Man’s Sky is available and includes the Vr mode.

First time trying it tonight. Very cool, and that’s before I flew the spaceship. The flying experience is brilliant!

[Marmite]

Tried the Rift tonight. Set up thing with the robot was very impressive. 
 

Jumped into iRacing after that and yeah, I feel sick! Tried to do a couple of laps but got very hot very quickly. Bleurgh! 
 

Hopefully some persistence with it over the coming week will pay off. From the little time I spent with it I was pretty impressed though. 

[MattyP]

Picked up Nature Trek VR from the Oculus store the other day. Not really a game but more of an experience and it's lovely. Just hanging around in a space you create. Lovely ambient sounds and just a great thing to chill in. This is what I love about VR the feeling of being in another space.  It's not just about the games for me.

 

Also spent a fair bit of time just travelling around in Google Earth. It's intoxicating...one minute flying above the Eiffel tower in Paris, to sitting on top near the Hollywood sign looking out over California in the sunset. Then racing though the streets in streetview. To flying around my home city (York). Brings a lovely sense of freedom especially in the current climate. Great for scouting out potential holiday destinations for when we are allowed to travel again too...

 

I can only imagine an adventure game like say Shenmue would feel and look like if it was developed for this tech.

 

So with that in mind need to find some adventure type games to play. Something like Myst would be damn cool. Any recommendations? 

 

 

[MattyP]

6 hours ago, Marmite said:

Hopefully some persistence with it over the coming week will pay off. From the little time I spent with it I was pretty impressed though. 

Think I had a bit of that to. Mainly I think because of my graphics card being slightly underpowered so the frame rate isn't consistent sometimes. Seems to vary depending on what I'm playing.

 

With racing games I try not to move my head around too much or too quickly just nice and smooth. Tried Grip once and felt sick after 3 minutes

 

[MattyP]

On 11/06/2020 at 18:56, papalazarou said:

Second this minecraft vr is stunning - also it’s cross play so when my kids are split screen on the Xbox I can join them on the rift.  The toy story map you can buy is excellent (so is the pirates of the Caribbean one).  
 

there is also a lot of free stuff out - fan made games and experiences that are excellent 

 

an oldie but still one of my favs for playing and showing it off to peeps is battle of endor - a Star Wars fan made game where your in an xwing taking part in the attack of the second Death Star - it rally nails the feeling of flying an xwing 

 

https://forums.oculusvr.com/community/discussion/12334/star-wars-battle-of-endor-updated-for-dk2-and-cv1

 

Also if you have alien isolation download the mother vr mod!

 

 

Out of interest does the Star Wars demo work on all Oculus kit? I have an S. Is it a case of just downloading the zip package unarchiving into the Oculus content folder and running it from the Oculus interface? Sorry for all the questions not really dug too deep yet outside of the Oculus store and app in Windows...

[papalazarou]

 

2 hours ago, MattyP said:

Out of interest does the Star Wars demo work on all Oculus kit? I have an S. Is it a case of just downloading the zip package unarchiving into the Oculus content folder and running it from the Oculus interface? Sorry for all the questions not really dug too deep yet outside of the Oculus store and app in Windows...

Yeah it should work on the s (I have a cv1)  you just need to unzip it (doesn’t need to be put into any particular folder - and just run the exe from inside - once you run  it once it will be added to the oculus library in the rift library screen. 
 

also another great Star Wars experience is project Stardust - ala battle of yavin - looks stunning and great fun (endor is my personal fav of the two though)

 

http://saltyhash.org/2019/12/13/project-stardust-update/

 

 

[sbrandon111]

I use Wander quite a lot on the quest. It's basically Google earth with a new interface. We used it to scout out potential holiday destinations for next year

[Marmite]

3 hours ago, MattyP said:

Think I had a bit of that to. Mainly I think because of my graphics card being slightly underpowered so the frame rate isn't consistent sometimes. Seems to vary depending on what I'm playing.

 

With racing games I try not to move my head around too much or too quickly just nice and smooth. Tried Grip once and felt sick after 3 minutes

 

I felt a bit sick after one lap to be honest. Jumped on again a couple of hours later and it was the same. Settings should be good and the computer I’m running is fairly strong (Ryzen 3600 and a 2070 Super). 

[Meat]

Any idea if a high spec wireless VR set is coming? A Quest with much beefier innards would be perfect.

[MattyP]

Well just had around half hour tinkering around with Assetto Corsa with the headset and a G29 wheel

 

Wow! Still having teething troubles with controls - especially in game with selecting stuff on menus... get a yellow dot and cant seem to work out how to select stuff. But so far amazing experience - only really had a quick test a while back with my setup but this is something else. I think AC is a great game anyway and of the 20 or so hours I've spent with it previously it just "feels" better than most out there....

 

Anyway if you like driving games... do yourself a favour hook up a wheel and don a VR headset.... In AC at least it feels like your are actually right there in the car - the engine sounds are fantastic too!  If MS don't support VR in the next iteration of Forza Motorsport the series is dead to me. Not playing another sim type racing game without a VR headset now! 

[papalazarou]

Both dirt rally games are great in VR (though be warned you do need strong VR legs for them)

 

 

[MattyP]

18 minutes ago, papalazarou said:

Both dirt rally games are great in VR (though be warned you do need strong VR legs for them)

 

 

Yes have Dirt 2.0 in my Steam library had a quick go a while back! Know what you mean... 

 

Have some odd things going on a times between Steam VR and the Oculus software. If I fire up a Steam VR game it launches the Oculus app then loads the game (Steam VR I think sideloads though the Oculus app). It can be really jaggy like the frame rate is 5fps or something other times it will be fine. Anyone else had odd things going on like this with SteamVR content on Oculus S? 

 

Usually a system reset or killing off both Steam and the Oculus software sorts it but it's a bit annoying Did wonder at times if it was something to do with lack of VRAM on my video card - it's a GTX970 with 4GB that is partitioned in an odd way with 512MB of slow access memory. They crippled the bus width on this section of memory for some reason. 

 

Out of interest is anyone using a GTX970 with VR? How is your experience? Getting a replacement card* next week so it will be interesting if it makes a difference.

 

*It's a GTX980 TI with 6GB of VRAM which doesn't have any weird memory configuration issues. Still an old card but better than the 970 and I'm getting it for a reasonable price. This will get me though the next year until the new cards start to come through oh and I will have some money to actually buy one

[papalazarou]

7 minutes ago, MattyP said:

 

Have some odd things going on a times between Steam VR and the Oculus software. If I fire up a Steam VR game it launches the Oculus app then loads the game (Steam VR I think sideloads though the Oculus app). It can be really jaggy like the frame rate is 5fps or something other times it will be fine. Anyone else had odd things going on like this with SteamVR content on Oculus S? 

 

yeah for a lot of peeps steam vr and oculus dont play well together performance wise - before oculus home 2.0 you could install a 3rd party programe that let you shut down all but the bare minimum oculus background stuff when using steam vr native games and that helped performance - after 2.0 release that stopped working.  There has been a lot of discussion over whether its oculus home running in the background that causes the issue (peeps arguing both that it does and doesnt effect performance etc..)   but there is def something causing perfomance drops for a lot of peeps.

 

 

i had a 970 4gb and its was grand at the start for most vr games - though newer stuffwas starting to push it - i upgraded about a year ago to 1060 6gb and its runs most stuff fine 

 

 

[MattyP]

Yes I disabled Oculus Home from loading up when the headset is woken up which has helped a bit.  Tried the Star Wars experience posted earlier this thread and it was really clunky. Odd. Played Assetto Corsa shortly after without issue. Something odd going on. 

 

Anyhow mostly seems to work fine and I have a work around I guess. Shame I can't have a choice though of just bypassing the Oculus app and just using SteamVR and some Oculus drivers when I just want to run games through Steam though. Joys of trying to lock people into ecosystems I guess....

 

 

[simms]

8 hours ago, Meat said:

Any idea if a high spec wireless VR set is coming? A Quest with much beefier innards would be perfect.

 

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