Virtual Reality

[Johnny Textface]

I'm thinking of getting a Quest 2 for a bit of gaming and exercise. I don't have a high end laptop or pc.. Will it perform OK ootb?

[El Unicornio, mang]

The Quest 2 is a standalone thing so you don't even need a PC to run it, that's only if you want to run PC games through it. You might want to get the 256GB version if you're planning on downloading a lot of higher end games to it though. Obviously you're restricted to games available via the Oculus store (and the Sidequest store), having a decent gaming PC does open up more options like games on Steam though (some of the same titles are available on both Steam and Oculus stores) and the graphics will be substantially better.

Some recommended titles available directly through Oculus (that I've played, only had it a week):
Beat Saber, The Thrill of the Fight (workout)
Google Earth (exploration) (FREE)

https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/section/274907549851488/

And there's lots of cool free stuff/things pre-loaded onto the system like virtual environments and YouTube virtual tours

[MojoJojo]

Uhhh, Half Life: Alex and Lone Echo aren't Oculus games (except through oculus link or virtual desktop).

I have an Oculus 1 and not sure that you need the more storage version - most games are pretty small. However larger games are starting to come out, so maybe I'm wrong. I've not really been tempted by them.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Put Alyx by accident but I could've sworn I saw Lone Echo on the store. I've got the Steam one. Checked again and it was Echo VR, which I guess is set in the same world.

Edit: Oh wait it's because it's on the Oculus Link store.

[Non Stop Dancer]

What's the VR wankin' situation like these days?

[mobias]

The idea of VR porn scares me. I find flight simulator in VR visceral enough.

[imitationleather]

I heard that if you watch VR porn while having sex you become part of the mainframe.

[Non Stop Dancer]

The idea of VR porn scares me. I find flight simulator in VR visceral enough.

Yeah OK ;)

[El Unicornio, mang]

I tried doing Richie's Plank Experience but I just can't do it. It's ridiculous because I know I'm not actually walking a plank protruding from a very tall building, but my brain and body keep saying "yes you are" every time I try.

Also had a weird experience when I was using the virtual night apartment while watching TV and at some point looked out of the big window to my right and the bustling lit up city and thought "shit I better close my curtains" then felt really stupid.

[gmoney]

I tried doing Richie's Plank Experience but I just can't do it. It's ridiculous because I know I'm not actually walking a plank protruding from a very tall building, but my brain and body keep saying "yes you are" every time I try.

I was like that to start with, but after lots of shitting myself and having to crouch down and touch the actual floor, I've managed to walk up the plank and even jump off. It frightens me no longer. I'm quite excited to see if it's made any sort of difference to my real life fear of heights. If you manage to get over the Plank game, there's one called Face Your Fears that's got an on-rails experience that also made me cack my keks.

[mobias]

I tried doing Richie's Plank Experience but I just can't do it. It's ridiculous because I know I'm not actually walking a plank protruding from a very tall building, but my brain and body keep saying "yes you are" every time I try.

Ha! Thats nothing. Wait until you give flight sim a try. Disable the guardian on your Quest and go for a walk out the wing of your jumbo jet at 30,000 feet. It feels, very, very, weird.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I was like that to start with, but after lots of shitting myself and having to crouch down and touch the actual floor, I've managed to walk up the plank and even jump off. It frightens me no longer. I'm quite excited to see if it's made any sort of difference to my real life fear of heights. If you manage to get over the Plank game, there's one called Face Your Fears that's got an on-rails experience that also made me cack my keks.

I might have to give it another go. One step at a time (literally).

Ha! Thats nothing. Wait until you give flight sim a try. Disable the guardian on your Quest and go for a walk out the wing of your jumbo jet at 30,000 feet. It feels, very, very, weird.

I actually re-installed my pirate copy just to test out VR. Very nice (although I definitely need to use my link cable, my 100mbps internet speeds aren't enough for playing it wirelessly) but definitely need the proper version with the Bing maps. Had it for a while when it first came out with the Xbox game pass and it's night and day. I might have to do the plank before I attempt walking on the wing though...

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

What is the video quality/immersion level really like for virtual movie theater, VR city tours, and that sort of thing on a standalone Quest 2 with no PC hookup? Just a nice perk, or genuinely impressive?

[mobias]

What is the video quality/immersion level really like for virtual movie theater, VR city tours, and that sort of thing on a standalone Quest 2 with no PC hookup? Just a nice perk, or genuinely impressive?

The quality and immersion level is great. The screens of VR headsets are getting higher and higher resolution and the screens of the Quest 2 are incredibly impressive considering the cost of the headset.
I've heard people compare looking through a VR headset to sitting up really close to an old CRT TV screen but those days are coming to an end with this new generation of headsets I think. 

All that being said the angle of view of the Quest 2 isn't the best, it is a bit like wearing a diving mask. Thats ok for gaming but I couldn't watch a movie like that.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I couldn't watch a whole movie in the virtual environment but watched an episode of the Sopranos last night in one (actually flipped between fancy apartment - the one at 1:21 here https://youtu.be/Yisy15QeW_s?t=82 and home theatre) and it was very pleasant. I mean, as has been said you do feel like you're sitting watching in a diving mask but otherwise feels utterly real.

Keep in mind that even 4k virtual tours, although great, will look a bit blurry (since you're pressed right up close to the image and it's being "stretched" to create the 360 sphere) so definitely try to get the ones filmed in 8k such as these if available

https://www.youtube.com/c/AirPanoVR/videos

I think there are other headsets which can do 12k as well

[peanutbutter]

I reckon I'll be good with the Quest 2 until 2023, but can easily see myself spending a deranged amount of money after that on something.

If the technology was 2-3 years further on I reckon it would've utterly transformed this pandemic for a lot of (relatively affluent) people. The potential for shared social experiences seems pretty big but it's just not quite there yet.

What's everyone using for audio? I haven't really branched away from the built in speakers at all.





Has anyone played Phasmophobia? I see it has had an extremely positive reception but I've never bought any multiplayer only games full-stop so I'm somewhat concerned it'll be full of people who will just be really pissed off at me being absolutely shite for the first while.

[El Unicornio, mang]

The only multiplayer I've played so far is Pavlov (Call of Duty type thing). Found myself on a bridge with three other soldiers as part of a team, then they all started talking to each other with children's voices. Closed out instantly.

I might consider trying my ATH headphones, at least for sitting down, although the built-in speakers are very good.

I've noticed most of the 8k videos don't play higher than 4k via the Oculus browser>Youtube, no idea why, and none of them go past 4k on the Oculus YouTube app. Workaround is to download the 8k videos (using Videoproc or similar), sideload them onto the headset and play them through the free video player. About 1GB per 5 mins though.

[Johnny Textface]

Has any one had any experience getting fit with one of these?

[gmoney]

I played Creed for an hour then couldn't move for 2 days if that's what you mean?

[El Unicornio, mang]

I played Creed for an hour then couldn't move for 2 days if that's what you mean?

Same thing happened to me with Thrill of the Fight, I was actually a bit annoyed as I wanted to play it again the next day but was aching too much. Best home workout I've ever had.

[buntyman]

Yeah same issue with me on Thrill of the Fight every time i've played it. I'm knackered after and sweaty after a couple of bouts but I have my doubts as to how good it is for you. Swinging punches as hard as I can without hitting anything seems to make me overextend my arm and it feels like i've got tennis elbow for the next couple of days. Probably because my technique is awful though. Games like Pistol Whip, Beat Saber and even Superhot and table tennis (of the ones I've played) feel a bit more controlled and I still feel like I've been a bit active after half an hour or so. Depends a bit on how much you want to put into it though, you can play them with similar results without moving that much.

Although VR games are quite expensive, I like how many of them get continually updated with new levels and features. Pro Putt is great value now as it has gone from a limited putting game to adding a full driving range with various modes and the option to listen to Youtube music in the background.

[Bence Fekete]

Finally got myself a CV1 for £160 on ebay.

I mainly got it to get back into Elite, which is too uncomfortable these days in my old DK2. Tried Boneworks and Space Engine and they both seem like fun experiences but think you need more than a minimum spec gaming pc to get the most out of so refunded for now. I'll wait until I have more horsepower to tackle things like Alyx. Eleven Table Tennis, however, is well worth £15. I don't have much room so being able to teleport into a somewhat realistic sporting sim that nails the physics is liberating.

[Non Stop Dancer]

Does anyone here have experience of powering vr with a laptop? I'm on the cusp of buying one for general use but will be getting one with either an RTX 3060 or 3070 and wondering if it's worth springing the extra couple hundred for the 3070.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I wouldn't say a couple of hundred is worth it, the 3070 isn't that much better than the 3060.

I use a laptop with my VR, a 2080, and have no problems playing games on high settings at 90fps. You'll certainly get some better performance out of GPU-hungry games like Microsoft Flight Simulator though. But the Oculus Quest 2 is capped at 90 anyway so no need for me to try to get triple digit FPS performance.

Quite amazed that there are laptops coming out with the 3060 for only a grand, considering my 2080 one was 1600 second hand (3000 new).

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/best-gaming-laptop-deal-today-this-laptop-is-packing-an-rtx-3060-for-just-pound999/

I'd be very tempted to buy that if I didn't already have mine. The 15.6" screen is a bit of a deal breaker since I mostly do work/projects on it and need the bigger screen, but would be great as a dedicated gaming machine hooked up to a TV or VR.

The 17.3" is good value too though

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/173-3xs-vengeance-gl-3060-fhd-240hz-6gb-nvidia-rtx-3060-intel-core-i7-10870h-16gb-ddr4-1tb-ssd-win-1

(both not available til mid-March though)

[peanutbutter]

Yeah same issue with me on Thrill of the Fight every time i've played it. I'm knackered after and sweaty after a couple of bouts but I have my doubts as to how good it is for you. Swinging punches as hard as I can without hitting anything seems to make me overextend my arm and it feels like i've got tennis elbow for the next couple of days. Probably because my technique is awful though. Games like Pistol Whip, Beat Saber and even Superhot and table tennis (of the ones I've played) feel a bit more controlled and I still feel like I've been a bit active after half an hour or so. Depends a bit on how much you want to put into it though, you can play them with similar results without moving that much.

Although VR games are quite expensive, I like how many of them get continually updated with new levels and features. Pro Putt is great value now as it has gone from a limited putting game to adding a full driving range with various modes and the option to listen to Youtube music in the background.

Would you say it's the best golf game?

Might consider getting a fishing game too, shit to chill out with.



Are the any good low stress multiplayer ones? Got some friends with headsets now

[mobias]

As things currently stand the RTX 3000 series cards are not well optimised for VR. I've got a 3080 and I actually get worse performance in VR than people with the 2000 series cards. That will change obviously (hopefully anyway) as the cards get better optimised but its worth baring in mind. The 3000 series cards are a good investment looking ahead though.

The 3060ti is really good value for money. Its only marginally less powerful than the 3070 but its a £100 less. There's some people that say having lots of VRAM on your card is the all important thing when it comes to VR gaming but I think you really need to pair your card to a really good CPU to get the most out of having vast amounts of VRAM. Mine sits at about 40% utilisation when I play flight sim in VR. I've got an older i7 7700 CPU. I'll really need to upgrade it soon.

[Non Stop Dancer]

I wouldn't say a couple of hundred is worth it, the 3070 isn't that much better than the 3060.

I use a laptop with my VR, a 2080, and have no problems playing games on high settings at 90fps. You'll certainly get some better performance out of GPU-hungry games like Microsoft Flight Simulator though. But the Oculus Quest 2 is capped at 90 anyway so no need for me to try to get triple digit FPS performance.

Quite amazed that there are laptops coming out with the 3060 for only a grand, considering my 2080 one was 1600 second hand (3000 new).

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/best-gaming-laptop-deal-today-this-laptop-is-packing-an-rtx-3060-for-just-pound999/

I'd be very tempted to buy that if I didn't already have mine. The 15.6" screen is a bit of a deal breaker since I mostly do work/projects on it and need the bigger screen, but would be great as a dedicated gaming machine hooked up to a TV or VR.

The 17.3" is good value too though

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/173-3xs-vengeance-gl-3060-fhd-240hz-6gb-nvidia-rtx-3060-intel-core-i7-10870h-16gb-ddr4-1tb-ssd-win-1

(both not available til mid-March though)

That's really useful info mate, thanks.

[Non Stop Dancer]

As things currently stand the RTX 3000 series cards are not well optimised for VR. I've got a 3080 and I actually get worse performance in VR than people with the 2000 series cards. That will change obviously (hopefully anyway) as the cards get better optimised but its worth baring in mind. The 3000 series cards are a good investment looking ahead though.

The 3060ti is really good value for money. Its only marginally less powerful than the 3070 but its a £100 less. There's some people that say having lots of VRAM on your card is the all important thing when it comes to VR gaming but I think you really need to pair your card to a really good CPU to get the most out of having vast amounts of VRAM. Mine sits at about 40% utilisation when I play flight sim in VR. I've got an older i7 7700 CPU. I'll really need to upgrade it soon.

Thanks. Interesting about the poor optimization. Surely that will change? I'm probably not going to get a headset until Oculus Quest 3 so presumably they'll have tweaked it by then? What is it exactly that stops them being as good as the 2000 series cards?

[mobias]

Thanks. Interesting about the poor optimization. Surely that will change? I'm probably not going to get a headset until Oculus Quest 3 so presumably they'll have tweaked it by then? What is it exactly that stops them being as good as the 2000 series cards?

They're still very new cards so it'll take a little while to get them optimised I guess. From my experience with Flight Sim 2020 its pretty clear VR is generally a relatively new medium through which to enjoy games. Obviously its been around for a while but in terms of mass uptake its still new and as such so many games and various hardware set ups struggle with it. I've certainly never had such a steep learning curve with a bit of computer hardware as getting VR to work with flight sim, and even then it barely does, and certainly not consistently. 

The next generation of VR headsets should be amazing but will of course will need equally amazing PC hardware to run them. High end VR is brutal on your PC.

[Blue Jam]

Just ordered a Quest 2!

Had been mulling over getting a VR headset for about a year now, ever since werk bought an Oculus Rift for public understanding of science-type events (yes, really) just before the pandemic happened and we had to cancel them all, and then being advised to get a cheap PS4/PSVR set-up by some friends who were getting fit in Covid with Beat Saber and eulogising about it.

I assumed the price of a PS4 VR set-up would have dropped now the PS5 is out but the PS4 still aint cheap and the goggles aren't either, and I wouldn't want to spend that much on a console coming to the end of its life cycle, especially not as I'd then have to buy all the games on top of that. I didn't fancy the Rift or the Quest 1 as my laptop with its integrated graphics isn't powerful enough for VR, and there weren't that many standalone games for the Quest 1 at the time.

The Quest 2 however sounds like a real game-changer- properly wireless, no need for sideloading or other faffing about, no need to spend more on a graphics card that you would on the headset itself, and with a load of standalone games which look pretty decent. Also it seems cheap for an impressive-sounding piece of kit, especially as you don't have to buy any cables or extra controllers or any other peripherals, and the games range in price from free to £22. Seems a bit odd when consoles use the opposite pricing strategy. Is this deliberate, maybe because a lot of the userbase will be PC games who are used to forking out for a decent rig and playing cheap games on it?

I won't be able to use it with my PC but I can use it with my Xbox, in 2D of course but Subnautica will probably still be prohibitively terrifying on it.

It arrives on Saturday... and if I'm not sold on it they still have resale value so fuckit.