I abandoned VR eventually :)

[MrFuzzy 2,118]

18 hours ago, robert young said:

I get that you think everyone who is not happy with the VR experience must be down to defective eyesight

Don't forget that it could also be a "strange head shape".

In other words, if you don't like VR you are either blind or ugly. Or both 🙂

I started the thread talking about the ergonomics of the thing to warn hyper-enthusiast potential buyers (like I was), then the discussion degraded to the usual opinion challenging.

I believe it's undeniable that a VR headset is uncomfortable and its image quality is poor with respect to a monitor, otherwise it would be used much more in gaming and even in other fields (office, home theater, image processing...). Instead VR is still a niche despite many years of development.

Anyway there has been a plot twist: the G2 broke down and the buyer contacted me in order to have it picked up by Amazon... but I was given the option to cancel the order and get a full refund, so at the end of this story everyone will get his money back in a few days 🙂

Edited June 15, 2021 by MrFuzzy

[Der Zeitgeist 1,575]

39 minutes ago, MrFuzzy said:

I believe it's undeniable that a VR headset is uncomfortable and its image quality is poor with respect to a monitor, otherwise it would be used much more in gaming and even in other fields (office, home theater, image processing...). Instead VR is still a niche despite many years of development.

It's also a matter of convenience. The whole idea of having to "put something on" or "change your clothes" so to speak, for gaming is incredibly weird for most people who like game in order to relax, without too much effort.

Me personally, I got the original Oculus Quest about a year ago, but I mostly used it for actual room-scale FPS games like HL: Alyx or Superhot VR instead of sims. For me this is the most rewarding experience, the complete immersion of full body movement with motion controllers in your hands to grab certain things in the game world. It also has the advantage of gaming while simultaneously working out, as these VR FPS games can be ridiculously exhausting.

In sims (which for me means mostly MSFS and Elite: Dangerous) on the other hand, I tend to browse all kinds of game-related information while playing, in open browser windows or PDF files. I found this simply doesn't work so well in VR.

One word about getting dizzy or "seasick" while VR-gaming: It affected me very heavily when I first started playing HL:Alyx, but I got my "VR legs", as they call it, pretty quickly by only playing for a very short time in the beginning, and immediately stopping if I started to feel weird. After about a week, I didn't have problems with smooth, non-teleporting movement in HL: Alyx any longer and could play for longer periods.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Der Zeitgeist

[Garys 209]

1 hour ago, MrFuzzy said:

I started the thread talking about the ergonomics of the thing to warn hyper-enthusiast potential buyers (like I was), then the discussion degraded to the usual opinion challenging.

Thats probably because although your post was well intended,  most of us that now really enjoy VR started out on a bumpy road much the same as you did. Vr absolutely isn't for everyone, but its also not like going to the store and trying on a pair of shoes or pants that you can tell right away don't fit.

Some can throw on the headset and go straight at it, most cant. It takes baby steps over a period of time and for me it was much longer than the 15 day return policy you referenced. 

Many posts like yours have been started over the years and not just in the flightsimming genre. It's not wrong advice, but personally I'm glad I didnt take it, so much so that I jumped on the Yaw Motion 2 kickstarter with the intent of only using it for VR. 

15 day refunds or eventually being able to be thrown around like a ragdoll. That can be the difference of challenging opinions in an open forum.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Garys

[MrFuzzy 2,118]

On 6/15/2021 at 8:08 PM, Garys said:

Thats probably because although your post was well intended,  most of us that now really enjoy VR started out on a bumpy road much the same as you did. Vr absolutely isn't for everyone, but its also not like going to the store and trying on a pair of shoes or pants that you can tell right away don't fit.

Some can throw on the headset and go straight at it, most cant. It takes baby steps over a period of time and for me it was much longer than the 15 day return policy you referenced. 

No, actually I kept it for 2 and a half months, from the 1st of March to mid-May. I did not take advantage of the 15 days return policy and I regretted it.

Fortunately the thing broke down (as many G2s, as far as I know) and I have been given the option to get a full refund instead of a new unit. Amazon Prime is really really awesome, this would have never been possible if I bought the G2 in a shop.

[do_denver2 18]

I have to say that I'm really enjoying the VR experience.  No it's not perfect and there's plenty of room for improvement, but my lord some of the experiences I've had have been spectacular, and just not something that can be recreated even on my 43 inch 4k G-Sync monitor with track IR.

I flew into KSFO the other day in the Working Title CJ4, at night.  Weather was pretty good until just before landing, where there was a thick cloud cover coming into 28L... which is very realistic... I used to live in San Mateo just down the road.

Just as I cut off autopilot the clouds were  thick and the runway was flickering in and out of view so I had to use instruments until just before touchdown. With the VR it was totally out of this world.  Super smooth and just so immersive you almost forget it's not real. 

I need to update my specs but I use an i7 9700k at 5ghz, RTX 3090, 64 GB RAM, Reverb G2

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by do_denver2

[MrFuzzy 2,118]

49 minutes ago, do_denver2 said:

I need to update my specs but I use an i7 9700k at 5ghz, RTX 3090, 64 GB RAM, Reverb G2

Your system is OK, MSFS does not need more than 6 threads... the 3090 does the job with the G2.

[simon747 185]

3 hours ago, do_denver2 said:

I have to say that I'm really enjoying the VR experience.  No it's not perfect and there's plenty of room for improvement, but my lord some of the experiences I've had have been spectacular, and just not something that can be recreated even on my 43 inch 4k G-Sync monitor with track IR.

______________________________________________

Same here, been using it for two weeks and never done a flight without it. Wow....what an experience.  Starting a flight is longer, but the difference is night and day.  Adobo have done wonders with the sim as it relates to lighting and terrain.  I have done GA and one airliner type and have not looked back to 2d since.

Simon

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by simon747

[dogmanbird 269]

Vive Pro 2 is on it's way, hopefully will have it in a few days.

 

[PlumCrazy 228]

I can safely say I will NEVER sim (drive or fly) in "pancake mode" again.  I have been VR simming for about 1.5 years now (first with a Rift-S, now G2) and it has transformed flight and driving sims for me.  Obviously there are inconveniences and a few limitations running VR as opposed to a flat screen display, but the added immersion makes up for that 100X in my opinion.  I will say a good HOTAS setup is pretty much mandatory when flying in VR (I use the TM Warthog setup)

[HarryVoyager 21]

I honestly wonder if it's an eye alignment thing.

I had a ton of fun in VR with the Occulus Rift CV1, and upgraded to the Reverb G1 chasing that better clarity, and had it, ultimately, turn out very poorly. A combination of it not supporting my IPD (I have a 71mm IPD and it was designed for a 63mm IPD) not fitting my head (big hatsize), the big cable, and the terrible controllers, ultimately put me off VR for a long time.

But, the problem was the headset. I needed one that fit me correctly, both mechanically and optically. I ended up taking a gamble on the Vive Pro 2, because it had a mechanical IPD adjustment that ran out to 70.5mm, and it turns out it has enough headband adjustment that it fits my head too. I won't say it didn't take about a week to get it all working correctly (curse you Windows Hardware Accelerated GPU scheduling and whoever thought spamming interrupts onto the GPU during heavy load was a good idea...) but now it's working and for the first time since the CV1, it feels right. 

I still need to alter the face pads, and see if I can't find some way to replace the headphone speakers with something better, but it feels good to have it up and running again. That was never really the case with the Reverb G1.

I suspect part of the problems early adopters like us have had is the first generation headsets were designed with big heads in mind, but the second generation was solidly aimed at the 75% human, so they just do not fit us anymore. I suspect many of us underestimated the importance of fit and alignment when getting our second headsets and got burned by it. 

The VP2 only escaped this because it's really a first gen headset that HTC put their next gen screens into, just to keep their hand in the consumer market while they pivot to commercial work. 

[dogmanbird 269]

Hi Harry. How are you finding the clarity of the VP2 centre and the outer area, versus the reverb g1? 

Hows the FOV?

 

With the reverb g2, I'm set right at the outer limit, plus I've removed the stock face mask and put some thin padding instead which helped me with the IPD. I think I'm somewhere between 68-72. I have an average to smaller head so fitting hasn't been an issue for me yet.

Edited June 25, 2021 by dogmanbird

[HarryVoyager 21]

9 hours ago, dogmanbird said:

Hi Harry. How are you finding the clarity of the VP2 centre and the outer area, versus the reverb g1? 

Hows the FOV?

 

With the reverb g2, I'm set right at the outer limit, plus I've removed the stock face mask and put some thin padding instead which helped me with the IPD. I think I'm somewhere between 68-72. I have an average to smaller head so fitting hasn't been an issue for me yet.

I'd recommend getting your eyesight checked, and see what you are actually at before you buy anything. 4mm is a pretty wide range for optical measurements.

Because of the difference in IPD, I was never really able to get good vision out of both eyes on the Reverb G1. I was always well out of sweet-spot for at least one lens. 

The 70.5mm IPD on the VP2 means I'm consistently able to keep both eyes much closer to the optimal focal volume than I could on the G1.

The other wrinkle is the panel. You really need to be driving it a 2900*2900 or you lose image information due to sampling effects. That said, with those settings I am finding I'm able to read cockpit labels I was not able to read without zooming or otherwise straining. It's not everything, but it is a definite improvement.

Now I just need a Zen 4 6950X, 64 GB of DDR5-7800 and an RTX 4090...

[dogmanbird 269]

Ours arrived today. Just about to check it out

 

[Ianrivaldosmith 5,317]

I wonder if its better than G2, FOV specifically. 

[dogmanbird 269]

Hi Harry - if you happen to be online, is there any protective cover, other than the white cardboard, that needs to be peeled off the lenses? It doesn't appear to be anything on them from factory.