Question Since I can't buy parts for a new build for at least a year, should I get a Valve Index?

[moonbogg]

Pennies have been scraped together and I would normally be doing a new build, but that's not happening for another year at least it seems since you can't buy anything. Should I turn to VR for a fresh take on digital entertainment? I'm looking to play around with VR rollercoasters and interesting VR experiences, such as VR theme park experiences etc. Of course, playing some games as well. I don't feel I need the fancy positional stuff for the Index, but the New Reverb isn't available and has too high resolution IMO for me anyway. I have a 1080Ti. I also don't want to log in to facebook to use my hardware, so screw the Oculus. Looks like it's down to the Index and might as well get the whole package since it probably won't work without those positional thingies anyway.
Is it fun? Is it worth it? Is there enough stuff to do with VR these days? Gaming isn't the deciding factor for me for VR. I'm interested in other stuff you can enjoy with it like the stuff I mentioned. Anyway, what cool stuff can you do with VR these days? Valve says the Index package ships within 2 weeks, so that's tolerable. Will the OC'd 1080Ti be enough?

 

[CP5670]

VR is amazing, but I would suggest the Reverb G2 or maybe the Odyssey+. The Index is pretty expensive given that the headset itself is a generation old now. You can add its tracking and controllers to other headsets if you want them down the line. A 1080ti is good enough for non-game apps or indie games at the G2's full resolution, or more demanding sim games at half resolution.

I'm finding it fun to just explore various cities and streets in Google Earth in VR, like going on a virtual vacation. The G2's resolution makes a big difference here and lets you see details in the distance. There are apps like VR Chat, Bigscreen and Tilt Brush, but they are more of a novelty that I only tried once. You can also have a virtual desktop with your screen projected on a wall in the VR world, which is surpriginly usable and can be used to watch movies. There are fitness apps as well, but I find the VR gets sweaty even while seated and would rather just go to a real gym.

Sim-type games are an awesome experience and maybe the best use case for VR. Some I've played are Project Cars 2, Elite Dangerous, Flight Simulator, Overload, Grip and House of the Dying Sun. In some cases, I'm not "playing" them as much as just experiencing what it feels like to be in an exotic car or spaceship and just fly around randomly. The VR-focused games like HL:A or Boneworks look interesting but I haven't tried them yet. The VR ports of regular FPS games are mostly mediocre from what I'm reading.

I'm still waiting for custom lenses I ordered for it (VRoptician). If you have glasses, VR can be used but it reduces the FOV and makes it harder to find the focus sweet spot. There is also a risk of scratching the headset lenses or your glasses.

 

[moonbogg]

Thank you for the detailed reply. I agree I'd rather not spend $1000 unless necessary or justified. I don't see myself moving around the room and swinging my arms all over the place, so I don't care for the motion trackers being mounted to the wall. I'll take a look at the G2 again, but I think it's out of stock for the next 20 years or something.
I want to share the experience with my kids so they can enjoy theme park/star wars experiences as well. So the precise tracking isn't really required. Biggest issue is finding stuff in stock.

 

[aigomorla]

My Rift S sits pretty 90% of the time on a shelf.
Its something cool to look at, but its very uncomfortable for a long game play.
The most i can seem to tolerate is probably watching it though a chapter of Lord of The Rings Extended Version.
After that you get ski goggle face.

It is not a replacement.
You still need quite a good video card to drive those VR.
In real honesty as well, i probably use it more to watch 3D content, then to play games, as there is so many things still which needs polishing on a VR.
Its real sad Occulus Rift S is a dead end, as well as most attached PC VR headsets are headed to.

But watching movies in 3D is very enjoyable. In that regards if you want a headset, i would recommend the Samsung Odyssey would of been my first pic if i knew i would be watching nothing but movies on it, as it had AMOLED, but i unfortunately stepped on that rift wagon, which ran off a cliff with a EOL notice as well as that Odyssey.

I would not be suprised if index also goes EOL in a couple of years.
Wired / tethered VR is in 2 bolded words.. VERY ANNOYING when moving around.

 

[CP5670]

I agree that PC VR is not a replacement for a regular display, but enables different types of experiences. The cable is less of an issue for seated VR like sims. I don't think big AAA developers will ever make PC VR-exclusive games (HL:A may be the only one) but it will have its niche. The development is moving more towards standalone VR (Oculus/Facebook) and there is a much bigger market there, but it's not the same kind of content as what PC VR offers.

 

[moonbogg]

I just got the Index kit. Really enjoying it so far. Half Life is pretty mind blowing. The cable is kind of an annoyance, but not a deal breaker. I don't expect to use this thing constantly and never expected I would, so it is what it is and that's fine enough. How can I watch youtube VR videos on this thing, such as rollercoaster videos and things like that? I find it odd that someone can manage higher math classes but can't figure out how to watch a video to save their life...

 

[CP5670]

The Bigscreen or Virtual Desktop apps let you do it. I just open a desktop window in the home screen and put it on a wall, and watch stuff in a browser. It works in both the SteamVR and WMR home rooms. You can have other desktops open at the same time.

 

[lakedude]

So couple of things. The Rift has effectively been replaced by the Quest 2. I see no point in having a Rift at this point. The Quest 2 can do about everything a Rift can.

My buddy had a Vive and now has an Index and the Index is amazing but the it would not work for us because the buddy has a dedicated VR room and we do not. Setting the Quest up in a new space takes just a few seconds to draw a line around you at the room boundry.

Also we are now spoiled with the cordless freedom the Quest provides. Yes the strap sucks, yes you need to log in with Facebook (so what) but at $300 it would not be taking much money away from your next purchase down the line.

I started VR on the Quest 1 and just had to have a Quest 2 when they came out. Got one of those $80 fiber USB-C cables so we could use our Quest wired to a PC like a Rift. The cable worked okay but Alyx is the only game we have worth the trouble of having a cord to get tangled up in. I played Alyx on both headsets. I prefer the Q2 in the brighter areas because the fuller subpixels minimize the screen door, however I prefer the Q1 in the dark areas because the dark areas are actually dark with the Q1's amoled. The Q2's LCD suffer's from light bleed that is noticable and distracting in darker areas.

Just recently I got brave and loaded Virtual Desktop and Side Quest so now we don't need no stinking cord, ever, not even while playing Alyx from the PC.

The wireless setup is nice because no cord but I actually think it works better than the cord. The cord could be troublesome to get working and the load screens would get crazy jittery and vomit inducing with the cord. Just a guess but I'd say what ever bus runs USB-C on the PC must also run the SSD so the load screens are just terrible with the cable. Using Virtual Desktop the load screens are fine/normal. So it would seem that the SSD and wired Eithernet do not interfere with each other.

I love the wireless freedom, high resolution and low cost of the Quest YMMV. You just can't beat it at $300.

My kid was having a blast today flying around London England on Google Earth (PC), wirelessly. He can't control himself as well as an adult so the cord was a big issue for him. I had visions of expensive headsets, cables and computers all getting torn up as he spun around. Now with VD he can spin all he wants because the computer is in the next room over and there are no wires for him to trip on or get tangled up in. Love it!

 

[lakedude]

Oh and the VR experiance in general is awesome. I went back and played HL-2 and it is so flat. HL-Alyx looks amazing in VR. Also the VR controls are very natural in Alyx. It didn't take anytime to get used to the touch controls. This is in sharp contrast to Red Dead on the PS4. I just can not use Play Station controller for shooting.

Beat Saber is popular on the VR. There is something that really gets you going wacking blocks with light sabers in time to the music. Great fun and good exercise.

Goggle Earth is awesome in VR.

The Lab is wonderful in VR.

We go days without using our Quest but when we do use VR the experience is unparalleled. Alyx is the coolest most imersive shooter I've ever played. Totally worth $300.

 

[CP5670]

Half Life Alyx is fantastic and runs very well too. It drags on a bit in the middle but the last 1/3 of the game (from Jeff onward) is amazing. It's actually closer to Prey or System Shock 2 than HL2. There are also several good custom levels for it.

My other favorite game is Star Wars Squadrons. It's quite demanding in VR and needs a top video card, but has excellent graphics and gameplay. Boneworks and Superhot are worth playing too. I've read Lone Echo is also good, but it's only available on the Oculus store with ReVive.

The Quest 2 has great hardware for its price. I don't like the FB login but do think this is the future of VR and recommend it to others. If you're getting stuttering, try an external USB hub. There is some USB issue with X570 and many people are having problems with the G2 and AMD boards.

 

[lakedude]

So I guess what I should have said was that yes you should invest in some type of VR because the imersive experiance. It almost like the difference between playing Half Life and LIVING Half Life.

Also I should have mentioned another drawback of the inside out tracking. It is pretty easy for one hand or another to get out of the field of veiw and for tracking to suffer a bit. On most games this isn't much of an issue or there are easy work arounds. For example my wife was playing Robot Repair on The Lab and she could not pull something far enough.The fix was simply to look at the hand that was doing the pulling so it could be tracked. She had been pulling back out of range of the sensors. Longbow causes a simiar issue but you can work around it by holding the bow flat and not pulling your drawstring hand back past the field of view of the sensors.

I've got one game that the tracking is a huge issue on, VR Regatta. Your eyes and one hand need to be pointing forward but your other hand needs to be on a tiller behind you. There are some janky work arounds for this but a VR room with external tracking cameras would be much, much better for this one game.

 

[CP5670]

For the WMR tracking, I find that the room lighting has to be very consistent with how the room was when you calibrated it. I normally game in the evenings with some lights on, and find that it doesn't work well if I play earlier with sunlight coming from the windows. Many people report tracking issues with inside out, but this is probably the main reason why (along with that USB issue).

 

[lakedude]

I'm an idiot. The OP already has an Index. Don't know how I missed that.