Oculus Quest 2...

[vijil]

That's fair about Nintendo, but proper VR requires high end hardware, and Nintendo don't do high end hardware. They're also making an absolute killing with the Switch so it's no surprise that they're not interested.

HTC Vive Flow: https://www.vive.com/nz/product/vive-flow/overview/

Overpriced, but it has to be as HTC aren't willing to make a huge loss on hardware like facebook.

The biggest draw for me is the weight. It's less than half the weight of the Quest 2. My Quest gave me major neck problems, so something that moves the battery and weight out of the headset is a great idea. It needs controllers though.

[homerj]

Good point about Nintendo hardware. I just couldn’t help but think of the Wii the first time i played the PSVR. The weight of the headset isn’t a huge deal for me but the cable can be a pita for some games that require much movement. I’ve been playing Crisis VRigade (which could easily be adapted into a pretty fun VR paintball game) & I keep stepping on the thing. It’s quite annoying.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

Anyone besides me here have the quest 2? And whats your experience been like with it?

if you have another headset that's cool too share aswell! I used to have the original htc vive for years

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

vijil If and when the tech gets better and cheaper, i imagine a headset like a vive flow if it can do the big games and all the other stuff would be quite popular. More and more people looking for ways of escaping reality these days and just staying inside.

[vijil]

Yeah, and there's even some good coworking apps and virtual meeting rooms etc. for those stuck in lockdown.

I loved my quest to bits. I sold it reluctantly - it was just too heavy for the main reason I bought it, which was fitness. Also, they're constantly sending telemetry back to FB even when not in use. They're literally IOI, if IOI had bought out Halliday early on.

I'm hoping someone comes out with an open source headset and software, with virtual meeting apps built on eg. the signal protocol.

[uv_halo]

I'm several years into my latest interest in VR (I used to pay to play at VR arcades in the early 90s), and I was an early adopter of the Oculus Rift CV1 and, I've had my Valve Index for almost two years now.

Hardware-wise, the Quest 2 is a great headset for the money. Facebook did make a mistake with that though- the facial interface. Given that they had several generations of product before the Quest 2 that never had this problem, it seems they cut costs a bit too much. Additionally, inside out tracking like that found in the Quest 2 can be more accurate ( I would say unnoticeably) but, it is less comprehensive than an outside in solution (i.e. Rift, Index) where your controllers are tracked anywhere in the play space.

Software-wise, they made a mistake in that you have to sign into their store to play their games. This reared it's ugly head when Facebook (and their associated services) went down. I'm no aware if they've changed this policy as a result.

Generally, I'm not a fan of tying the device to a facebook account. But I have a couple problems with Facebook's overall strategy of it's VR business.

1. Subsidizing the price: Aside from the reason Facebook has for subsidizing the price of the headsets (the whole privacy issues), the bigger problem I have with it is that it appears to have lowered the median age for players. I really, really, hate being stuck in a match or lobby with kids who can't get along with the adults. Now granted, there are adults who fully act like dicks to any kid they find but, for every 'victim' there are at least 3x as many kids who's parents are obivously using the headsets as a form of daycare for their problem child.
2. Prioritizing mobile VR gaming: After the acquisition of Oculus, Facebook took their VR business away from high fidelity gaming. This has several ramifications- the inside-out tracking I mentioned above is one of them. Another problem is that the games are in a sense dumbed down (lower fidelity, lower complexity, dumber AI, etc) and this includes not just games brought to market specifically for the Quest but, even games from studios acquired by Facebook that are published in Steam (i.e. Onward V1.7 vs V1.8+).

All that said, If you can get the Quest 2, the link cable, and a decent PC, you're in a pretty good place. Ugrading from there would be the Valve Index or, the knuckle controllers, lighthouses, and another compatible headset like the Reverb G2.

[vijil]

Having used a headset both with and without a cable, I don't think I could ever put up with a cable again. It's one of those things you don't realize how much you hate until it's gone.

[uv_halo]

I use a cable management system that keeps my cable for interferring with me. I'm in a little over 6x8 playspace and, my setup works for me. Honestly, I would prefer cable-less but, with the fidelity of outside-in tracking and, high end rendnering capabilities that PCs provide.

[homerj]

Having used a headset both with and without a cable, I don't think I could ever put up with a cable again. It's one of those things you don't realize how much you hate until it's gone.

I haven’t had the PSVR all that long but so far the cable has really only been an issue with that one game. With everything else I’m mostly sitting down. Still, all other things being equal, I’d much prefer wireless.

[vijil]

I liken it to broadband. Dialup is fine. You'd rather upgrade, but it's no big deal. Then you do upgrade and wonder how you ever lived with dialup.

I'll happily put up with the low power graphics and occasional controller loss of a wireless insideout headset, so long as I never need to use a cable again. It's like Nintendo vs PC in terms of philosophy.

Not to mention that the Quest 2 has an excellent wireless PC connection. Not perfect, but plenty good enough.