Oculus Quest (real VR without a PC or console)

[Chris Davies]

Is nobody else interested in this? I hadn't heard of it until yesterday, and I think it sounds pretty fantastic!

I didn't enjoy PSVR for many reasons - the low resolution, the bulky headset, being tethered by a huge cable to the TV unit, not many "killer" apps - but I still loved the concept. Fix all that stuff and I'd be in.

I'll never have a killer PC, and even if I did, there's no way I could consider dropping $$$ on a VR headset and then $$$ on a powerful PC, too. It's just too expensive.

Oculus Rift have announced their answer to all this, which is the Oculus Quest. This Eurogamer article is a review of sorts, and you can find (a limited amount of) info on the official site.

AFAIK it's the first "proper" wireless VR headset (i.e. not a sleeve you put your phone in or a cardboard box you slot your Nintendo Switch into) that's an all-in-one device with no connection to a separate unit, with all sensors built-in (no need for a camera pointing at you or whatever).

Amazon UK accidentally launched the product page earlier, and it's going to be £399/64gb and £499/128gb in the UK. Considering that it comes with the controllers etc., I'm willing to pay that.

Just hoping that more games come along in future that are a little bit deeper. I guess the hardware isn't going to be capable of running something like Fallout 4 VR or Skyrim VR (it's essentially a modern mobile chipset), but then, it's not satisfying to play those games for me anyway (on the equipment I can afford, i.e. the PSVR) so...

...the PS5 in 2020 may well launch with a PSVR2, which will probably blow everything else away, but I can't wait until then.

 

[Chris Davies]

Well, I've pre-ordered...! Deliveries start in about three weeks.

I was waiting for Valve to announce their new headset, the Index - but at £900 (and a new PC, say £600 at least - so £1,500 total) it can go fuck itself, frankly.

This is £400 for what is essentially a new console, with experiences you can't get on a TV.

I wasn't sure whether to take the plunge and I was tempted to get a PSVR (again) instead, but the PSVR hardware (both the display and the cameras/controllers) is just a bag of shite in comparison. I kept thinking "but I could play Fallout in VR on the PS4" and then watched a few videos of the "teleporting" movement and remembered how bad it is.

Hopefully pre-orders rocket and prove that VR still has mass-market potential - so that a few more games come out for this...

Gizmodo: Oculus Quest Has Me Excited About VR Again

 

[jaygrim]

Silly.

 

[Chris Davies]

They didn't even send me a dispatch notification, it just turned up at lunchtime! Immediately started setting it up and managed to try a few things before having to go back to work.

I'm coming from the PSVR, which for many reasons wasn't a great fit for me (dragging around the heavy cabling and having to mess about with HDMI cables every time I wanted to play being the biggies - yes, I know there's a V2 now which allows HDR passthrough, but it's too little too late).

This is another world, and this has to be the future of VR, surely. It's so much more comfortable, which makes it so much easier to be transported into another world (you're not constantly thinking about the sensation of your head being pulled back by a cable, or the feeling of balancing a small bag of bricks on your head).

The games will make it or break it, but from minute one I was MUCH more comfortable and much more drawn-in to the VR experience (even the 3D soundscape is pretty great).

Sat here at work now itching to go home...

 

[VuZet]

I've pre-ordered Oculus Rift S from Amazon to get it delivered on its release day (today), but as usual - lovely Amazon sent me a message last night saying that delivery of this item will be delayed by 7 days... It happened to me before when I purchased a Samsung TV from them. What happened to this company?

It's been sold out everywhere else. It will be back in stock on Amazon on 31/05.

Fortunately found one from Argos nearby. Can't wait to finish work and pick it up. £400, but it's worth it for sure. I've tried a standard Oculus Rift before and I'm in love with VR since that time.

Oculus quest must be a good thing as well. I hope I'll have chance to compare those two headsets soon.

 

[Chris Davies]

Oculus quest must be a good thing as well. I hope I'll have chance to compare those two headsets soon.

If you've got a big expensive PC I think you'd be mad to buy something that you know is a lower quality. It'd be like buying a £1,000 bean-to-cup coffee machine, then buying a £2 McDonald's coffee every day on the way to work.

The best experience is (surely) a high-end PC and the Rift S (or similar). But for me that would cost at least £1,000, and I can't afford that - nor would I be willing to pay that if I could.

So for me, it's about the next-best thing - and I thought it might be PSVR, but the display was poor, the weight (and dragging a cable around) was really uncomfortable, and there was no game that I loved enough to keep it around (my only regrets being Dirt Rally and Skyrim, but both can be played without VR).

This headset, for me, is definitely the best non-PC experience. No question. I don't notice any graphical downgrade from the PS4 Pro, it's much more comfortable, the technology is just magic (how the hell does it know PRECISELY where my living room is every time I turn it on, no matter where I turn it on)...

Most importantly, I can slip it on and get gaming in minutes, and the games are great. Admittedly, I need a VR experience that's a long-haul single player experience, and not just mini-games - but the fact is, no game in the last ten years has made me stand there with my mouth open in pure awe like this headset did yesterday. Not even PSVR.

 

[bsmaff]

I am very tempted to try VR, the Oculus S comes out very shortly.

But the only thing I am put off by is the PS4 VR was incredibly poor it was like playing on a PS1.
I tried the Resident Evil VR and graphically it was so bad, it completely ruined the experience.
But if the new ones are that much better than the PSVR, then I would be tempted.

But even if it does end up being good, it could become an expensive steering wheel. (Good to have but only comes out the box twice a year)

 

[Chris Davies]

But the only thing I am put off by is the PS4 VR was incredibly poor it was like playing on a PS1.
I tried the Resident Evil VR and graphically it was so bad, it completely ruined the experience.

For the graphics to be amazing I think you'd have to have not just an incredible PC (which you may well have) but a headset with a really, really good resolution. What's this Pimax thing? I keep seeing mention of it, and their claim of creating "5K VR", which sounds like the best of everything.

But even with all that, I don't think I'd play every game in VR given the choice. After an hour I have to stop because of eye fatigue, and I don't think that's something people will just "get used to". With that in mind, I think it pretty much exists as the "steering wheel experience" and possibly always will - absolutely brilliant for things like racing games, but if you don't live and breathe racing games, it may well be that it rarely gets used.

I don't imagine I'll be using the Quest more than once a month once the novelty wears off - BUT it's so comfortable, so quick to set up and get playing, and so different from standard games, that it's worth the investment no matter the hard figures of time I'll end up using it for.

The stupid Wii-sports-like game that comes with it (well, as a demo) - I was expecting to hate it, but it's like tennis mixed with Mario Kart (power-ups etc.) and it's a tremendous amount of fun that I immediately want to jump back onto.

If that one, daft game has got me sat at work thinking about it, I want to know what a bigger experience can do. Something with a good story and a good gameplay loop.

I don't think the chip is good enough to render a decent racing game, which I'd love - but something with swordplay, quests etc... There's huge potential.

With all the money in the world (well, without having an actual mansion), I could never be arsed with all the cameras and having wires coming off me - this, for people like me, is the future. I wish the processor and the GPU were stronger, but for the time being - maybe until PSVR2 is announced and fully wireless - this is great.

 

[Chuny]

So instead of saving for a high-end PC, you decided to get this?
I'm hurt. Don't ever talk to me again.

 

[Chuny]

Nah, just kidding. I'm glad you got this Chris.
Are you loving it or what?

 

[Chris Davies]

So instead of saving for a high-end PC, you decided to get this?
I'm hurt. Don't ever talk to me again.

It's absolutely aimed at guys like me. The £400 it cost won't even buy you a VR-capable PC, and then you've got the cost of the headset on top - no thanks, I'll gladly take those mobile-phone graphics with the same gameplay and miss out on a few PC-only games I'd love for the sake of that kind of cash! In the meantime, I'll keep entering competitions...

Nah, just kidding. I'm glad you got this Chris.
Are you loving it or what?

It's great. As I say, it's definitely the kind of thing I'll get out once a month once the novelty wears off - like a steering wheel, or Rock Band when friends come over - but.

It opens up experiences you can't get without it, it's as simple as that - and I want access to those experiences, so I'm glad I've got it (more so given how simple it is to put it on and start gaming, within a minute).

In the initial tutorial, there's a bit where you get a table tennis bat and a ball, and you can play "keepy-uppy" with it (I don't know what the non-football term for that would be). Your movements are tracked so rapidly and accurately, that it feels as natural as doing it for real.

For me, the potential of VR is crystal clear just in this sequence alone - because the child in me that fell in love with gaming years ago is not awoken easily any more, and there I was, doing something so simple, with my mouth wide open and thoroughly in love with everything about this (the control system included).

Playing something like Superhot and being "in the Matrix" is something that just doesn't compare to the TV experience - whereas something like Dirt Rally is great on a VR headset, but still good on a TV screen. So it has its place.

With that in mind, I 100% understand why big devs aren't committed to making "big games" for it. It would be like remaking Monopoly to have a board with 1,000 squares and an advanced legal system that took 100hrs to complete. It doesn't fit the format (there are people who want that size/complexity, but the majority don't, and everybody wants the majority's money).

But I really hope it takes off as a platform and that lots more devs get on board with it, because it feels like the future - more so than the other headsets I've tried due to the ease of use.

 

[hitmanuk]

I bit the bullet on this - its an unbelievable piece of kit considering its wire free. Much more accessible than the PS4VR.
I actually have a use for it and the main use is additional exercise and the occasional movie. BOXVR (boxing VR) is just so engaging - im doing about 20 mins set sessions every day and burning off 150 calories extra per day ( i do a bit of amateur boxing so really enjoy it) Also the starwars game is really cool with the light saber in the dojo - not tried the story yet

 

[Chris Davies]

I bit the bullet on this - its an unbelievable piece of kit considering its wire free. Much more accessible than the PS4VR.
I actually have a use for it and the main use is additional exercise and the occasional movie. BOXVR (boxing VR) is just so engaging - im doing about 20 mins set sessions every day and burning off 150 calories extra per day ( i do a bit of amateur boxing so really enjoy it) Also the starwars game is really cool with the light saber in the dojo - not tried the story yet

I'm waiting on my replacement - within 48 hours of having it, the lens has somehow cracked (it looks like it's on the inside as opposed to the outside). Gutted.

 

[PRO_TOO]

for me, its the content thats missing here! nice headset - but not the software i demand these days! it all looks liek software for kids! cant find a better description.

on consoles, the games are a bit better but the hardware isnt there yet for me.
and on PC, the games and the hardware are there for me, but my wallet aint!

to me, this is, exept on PC, a project in kids shoes (be it the hardware or the software part)! we are not there yet aka nice proof of concept, imo.

 

[PRO_TOO]

I am very tempted to try VR, the Oculus S comes out very shortly.

But the only thing I am put off by is the PS4 VR was incredibly poor it was like playing on a PS1.
I tried the Resident Evil VR and graphically it was so bad, it completely ruined the experience.
But if the new ones are that much better than the PSVR, then I would be tempted.

But even if it does end up being good, it could become an expensive steering wheel. (Good to have but only comes out the box twice a year)

2 years ago, before I sold my racing rig (metal frame, customized) and wheel pedals (TM300), I was driving a lot of GTS, AC and PC! And as you “sit” in a car, VR would be perfect for it. That’s the only genre I would take full advantage of such a hs.
I couldn’t get myself spending that much money on PSVR just for racing games. And then the games needed to support it. GTS did not much, (was it) Dirt Rally that got an vr mode later... the games weren’t there or the hardware wasnt able to deliver (PS4/PSVR) I guess.

Now, in the future, maybe with PS5 and PSVR2 this will be another story. I really like the tech behind it, and beeing old enough to enjoy star treks holodeck, I want something-vr in my life one day.

 

[Chris Davies]