Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 48,387
- 5,255
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Already done. When I said we did everything, I mean it. I've been here long enough that everyone should know that long time members of most any tech forum are very likely computer geeks. You would also know that when it comes to computer issues, it can always be different for everyone but there are plenty of threads about the subject anywhere online that show it's not a fluke and if the latest WU did not cause yours any jitters or screen issues then congrats on the luck of the draw as it seems to be common.
It's not like we didn't google the hell out trying to solve different ones as they arose.
But some VR games run great but they also look like total crap. Jaggies, crawling and holy hell that blur is aweful. I don't care how dead center your supposed to look at everything, that's just a sorry excuse to ignore the fact that this isn't quite a consumer ready product and the vive experience even when working is not all that great nor is it really just $800 as everyone proclaims for comparisons as I found out when I saw his reciept. When I pre-ordered the Rift it was like $599 I think shipped....but I canceled because I wanted to wait for StarVR and see if they can improve upon the vive/rift problems.
Look the point is that if these are the types of first experiences anyone out there has, it's a shot in the back to the platform no matter what anyone says. Frankly I think some of you are biased enough that you overlook the issues and seriously the games are not exactly pretty to look at. Just comming from a 55" 1080p TV myself and I thought the games looked atrocious, like I was playing the PS3 basically. So no amount of excuses would draw me to a Vive nor a Rift at this point.
The software issues we had probably can or will be fixed but so what? Fck that noise, we wasted some 8+ hrs on that thing.
Well, let's address your concerns one by one:
1. For starters, we're not trying to attack you or demean your technical knowledge. We're pretty friendly here, just trying to help work out the issues you're facing. No offense meant, I promise!
2. From what I understand, as of last month, there were close to 100,000 Vive headsets sold. Judging soley from the lack of complaint threads on Reddit's Vive section, it seems that the majority of them are working properly. In which case, you either have a hardware problem (either the PC, or the Vive itself) or a software problem (either Windows or with Steam). If you are having the massive issues you've mentioned, then your Vive is not working as designed. That's not a knock against Vive in general, that just means that something in your setup is a lemon, because my system works great, as do most others. So we just need to figure out what the root cause is & then find a solution!
3. I have experienced some glitches here & there myself, but lately it has been really solid. However, I don't believe I've run the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on my system yet. If you've seen a lot of complaints online about issues since the last Windows Update, then there's likely a compatibility error in the latest patches. It might be worth doing a Windows reinstall & holding off on the AU for now.
4. Barring that, have you contacted Vive for support? It's possible you may have a faulty HMD. Rather than ruling out an $800 purchase after 8 hours of tinkering, I would pursue it a little further to see if you can get some help on the issue from the manufacturer.
5. As far as being biased, I'll preface that by saying that it's important to calibrate your expectations with reality. This is a very expensive & very first-generation piece of hardware. There is literally nothing else like it on the market, even historically - outside of the Rift & the Vive, there have been zero PC-connected HMD's available to the public; we are Early Adopters. The developers themselves have stated that we really need 8K screens to get to that Retina-level of quality we're used to on our smartphones, and we're not even at 4K screens yet. The very latest GPU's, like the GTX1080, can barely run VR games with supersampling enabled. This is a good time for a VR enthusiast with money to burn to jump in; outside of that group, people might not be too happy with what they get.
6. The Vive only started shipping months ago; you're going to get glare issues, aliasing & artifacts, comfort issues, you name it. The install base, especially compared to say a console, is extremely small right now & all of the problems haven't been worked out yet But, it will grow. Most people are not ready to be part of the early adopter group because it's buggy & pricey & can be frustrating at times. My two biggest frustrations right now are (1) a lack of long, good quality games (right now it's basically a bunch of expensive tech demos), and (2) no clear way to handle walking in VR (teleporting is a software solution & omni-treadmills are a hardware solution, but I'd like to see a more creative solution put in place that works better than either of those two things).
7. Personally I think it's frickin' mindblowing. Most of the games are only fun for a try or two, and are crazy expensive for what you get, but I've really enjoyed my time with my Vive so far. An added bonus is that VR has already replaced my morning cardio routine, thanks to games like AudioShield & HoloPoint, which is awesome because for the first time I actually look forward to doing cardio every morning, haha.
8. From your post above, it sounds like you would be better served by waiting for a gen-2 or maybe even a gen-3 VR headset. I'd imagine the gen-2 gear is going to sport 4K screens & will solve some of the glare & ring issues we're having now. And hopefully by gen 3 or 4, we'll have the desired 8K screens. By then, I'd imagine that the GPU processing power will have caught up to drive those to console-like levels of gameplay.
9. I don't feel like this is a death blow to VR; every single person I've demo'd the unit with has come away saying something along the lines of "that was SO COOL!" VR needs time to grow. If your metric of quality comparison is thinking that the PS3, a last-gen console, has bad graphics, then you're going to be pretty disappointed with the current generation of VR software & hardware. The horsepower isn't quite there to drive enormous PS4-style games in VR just yet. Nor does the headset compare to a 4k HDTV set, or even a quality 1080p flatscreen. That's just the state of the art right now.
10. As far as the pricing goes, yes, like everything else, you have to pay tax & shipping on the Vive, which drives the total price up from the $799 sticker. You also need a minimum $1,000 gaming computer & something of a budget for the semi-expensive VR games from Steam. This is not a cheap system to dive into.
11. Honestly, I wouldn't say the Vive was a pain to setup at all, but that's just me. To start with, I plugged the controllers in to charge. I then plugged each of the two Lighthouses into the wall & aimed them at each other (I didn't bother with a fixed installation, I just set one on a shelf & the other on some thick books on another shelf & pointed them at each other, just above my head...worked great!). After that, I plugged the breakout box into the computer & the Vive into the breakout box, and updated Steam & installed the VR stuff and a couple VR games. It really only took about 15 minutes total (including the unboxing) to get up & running. I suppose if you have to drill holes to mount the Lighthouses & run extension cords, it's a bit of extra work, but you only have to do it once, so it's not so bad because after that, you can just pop on the headset & start playing!
Anyway, what it sounds like to me is (1) you've had a bad experience getting the Vive setup, which stinks, and (2) you're not impressed with the quality of the first-generation gear, which is completely understandable because it is definitely not perfect by any means. My advice would be (1) contact Vive support to see if you can get some help, because it's obviously not operating as it should be, and (2) wait a generation or two for the hardware to improve before making your own investment into a VR system.