Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Oculus Life


Oh, Em, Gee! Virtual Reality is sweeping over me yet again and not letting up. As I mentioned, I have the Oculus Quest which I got last Tuesday evening, didn’t get much time on day 1, but used it a more and more each evening and over the holiday weekend. The review is in, and overall, I like it… I like it a lot!

There were a couple more issues I’ve experienced, which I will chalk up to this being a new product, what I’ve run across… still some slight framerate drops here and there, nothing consequential though, and last night probably the biggest issue I’ve had thus far was during a session of SuperHot VR, the game unexpectedly kicked me out and threw me into the lobby, twice. I’ve seen a couple similar complaints online, so it’s not just me, and hopefully it’s something that can be tweaked with a firmware update. All in all, it’s still fantastic and just having the ability to jump right in, wherever you are, cannot be understated. The amount of power this wireless, all-in-one headset provide are amazing!

So the Quest is a success, no two ways around it. I am extremely happy with it and cannot wait to see the evolution of this device, I can imagine by the time we are at Quest 3, it’s truly going to be like magic… OK… so what about the Rift-S?? I hear from a little birdie that I got one of those too? Is this true?! Well… yes it’s true, I’m the one typing this.

The Rift-S is not a Rift 2, it is a Rift 1.5, certainly not the next iteration, but in terms of what it brings to the table, I believe it is worth the upgrade, although not for everybody, and not without its flaws as well. The first of said ‘flaws’ is what I truly hope is a software update fix and not a hardware issue, and it has been reported by a lot of users online, so again, I’m not alone, but occasionally and what seems random, there is a fraction of a second of white static (snow) that flashes on the screen. It happens so briefly and quickly that it does not interrupt gameplay but it is noticeable and something that definitely needs fixed, I have never had any issue of this type on the original Rift.  

The second, and most major complaint is what everyone is complaining about… the Audio! Why oh Why Oculus, would you ruin what was so perfect on the original Rift?!? The audio is piped down the strap like the Go (and the Quest) but it is worse than both of those, and add on the fact that the original was seriously magnificent, it just is sad. This may be a deal breaker for some, but I can live with it, for now… there are already tons of people working on solutions.

The third problem, which is only a problem to some (to me, it has been no different at all, so far) is the tracking. Instead of having 2 (or 3) sensors lining the room and clogging USB ports, the Rift-S has inside-out tracking using the 5 cameras imbedded in the headset. I admit, I was a bit nervous at first that it would not be as good, but after using it, it is a non-issue. I have not had any problems with tracking yet (I’m not an Echo Arena player, so I can see how that could be a problem for games like that, but personally, I have not had a problem with it yet.)

The main improvement, is by far, the resolution and it is quite the improvement. It’s not crystal clear but it almost night and day in comparison… sure, if you search for it, the SDE is still there as well as some god rays, but my god, having never tried a Pimax or an Odyssey or a Reverb or a Vive Pro or an Index, this is the highest resolution display I’ve come across and I love it. You can finally read text clear, watching movies or media, it almost feels like a jump from 480 to 1080. It truly is a big step up. Old games feel new, and it just gives a nice feel to everything having such clarity. I spent a majority of my Rift-S time in VRChat, and having the increased visuals made me feel a lot more immersed in the community.

Oh the controllers are something I forgot to mention, and it relates to both Quest and Rift-S, since they are the exact same controllers. They are not as good as the original Touch controllers. They are similar, sure, and they are manageable, sure, and they are… well… umm… that’s all. The fact the circle-thing is now on top instead of the bottom really screws with the weight distribution and it is now very top-heavy. It is also not as easy to just slip on if you can’t see what you’re doing, because you’re either going to have the wrong controller in the wrong hand or will try to hold them upside down for a second before you realize you have to flip them. It is not a deal-breaker either, I will get used to them, but as I said, the original Rift got them perfect (just like the audio) and now it is a semi-step backwards. I just hope some of these things are seriously considered in the next iteration, or I will more than likely be jumping ship to the Index, which is really giving me some things to think about.

All in all, I am very happy with my purchases, and have been using both of my new headsets on and off for about a week now, and in general, everything has been a positive experience, and I can’t wait to get back in as soon as I’m able!

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