First few days with rift s and my current thoughts.

[bringmethenews]

Firstly I found my rift s on facebook market place for £120, so very chuffed with the price point.
Its in great condition, boxed and instructions, so well cared for it would seem.

Set up, even for a stupid 46 year old, was easy, i was in VR in AMS2 within 20 mins.

Initial thoughts, i loved it, i love gadgets and this feels and looks great, in the headset I was a bit blown away at first, seemed crisp and vibrant.

Having played in AMS2 VR mode I was a little concerned by talk of "you'll never go back to 2D", well I have been and I have no problems with 2D and maybe its my age, but i 'prefer' it.

So far in the driving games it looks amazing, but I seem unable to drive how i do on a monitor.
It's like the 'senses' my head makes up playing 2D don't apply and it feels really disconnected, which is really odd, as it should make me feel more connected?

I put this down to me being 46 and not fully adjusted it it.

Assetto corsa is brilliant in VR, runs great and aside from not being able to see menus in VR and having to lift my headset all the time, it is a stand out so far.
Raceroom just seems a mess, my menu is bellow my feet and can't line up the view to my head position.
AMS2 is great as is PCars2, but rfactor 2 a gave up on.

I have found myself using 2D more.
I don't like how much i have to keep taking off the headset, i'm not used to living in it for too long and find it easier to remove it and use desktop.

So the rift s could benefit from a 'flip' up headset.

I also wish msi afterburner stats worked in VR as i find them very useful.
The fpsvr in steam is great but doesn't work with most of my driving sims, not sure if that is me though.

Anyway, this isn't about a problem with the rift s, if i got a 1000 quid VR it'd be the same, the visuals aren't an issue, its the general feel and use of a VR headset.

Yep, i like it..... i thought i'd love it though... for £120 i'll for sure get my monies worth over time, but i can't see me becoming obsessed with it and i really thought i would.

VR is great, but for me its another thing to worry about, another element that could go wrong.
Whatever anyone says having something on your head over your eyes is not the most pleasant of things, i know i just have to suck that up, but maybe over 30 years of gaming on 2D I'm just so accustomed to it, its like 'normal'.

Well if you read to here, well done.

Few things to mention
I find it weird how i'll have steam vr open and oculus and suddenly i have both home screens and it all gets a muddled up, am i meant to run one or the other or is that not possible?

Aside from driving games any recommendations of other VR experiences, i mean I've been drawn to the, how shall i say it, the blue type VR stuff....hmmmm

Anyway, to be clear, this isn't about a problem with the rift s, if i got a 1000 quid VR it'd be the same, the visuals aren't an issue, its the general feel and use of a VR headset.

The rift s is great, just not sure VR is totally ,at this point, for me.

 

[Rebel_488]

Steam vr, oculus vr or open composite never all three. For oculus u want to use oculus or open composite and avoid steam vr if possible. It’s an adjustment period and u don’t have to love it, plenty don’t. Don’t force it, also u can enjoy both for eg pancake for longer races, vr to hot lap and learn a track, just an example. Personally I loved my rift s and also my g2 but the rift s was so simple to run and tune and probably more comfortable. I recently bought a g9 as I struggle to get the most out of my g2. Strangely I have tried both and having been vr only for at least 2 years after a few weeks of pancake only I now struggle to go back to vr and can settle on neither one lol. If anything I now race a lot less than I did pre g9, I think I am a little sickened by the stupid amount of money I have now spent on my rig in total and now hardly use it

 

[GeekyDeaks]

Aside from driving games any recommendations

Shame you didn't get on with it for the racing, but if you have the space to swing your arms around, I'd recommend trying two 'simple but fun' games: Super Hot VR and Beat Saber

Half-life Alyx is supposed to be pretty darn good too, but I have not got around to getting it yet

 

[RedBull48]

I can certainly share some of your views. I currently race with triples and VR. I have a G2 and 3080ti. I must say the fidelity and immersion on my G2 is unmatched. I guess my biggest gripe is it runs so hot on my head that I struggle to use it for long periods of time. My office is climate controlled at 70 degrees and I often now have a fan pointed toward me but I still sweat like mad. I am not sure what else can be done about it as you basically have a high fidelity monitor strapped to your head but maybe as the tech evolves this element will improve.

 

[bringmethenews]

Interesting points guys.
Another thing that came to me, I have spent ages getting nvidia control settings where i want them for flat screen, and settings in AMS2 etc, i wish there was a way of having presets for VR and then flat screen.

AC has presets which is nice and MSFS has VR mode.
Obviously i can run better settings for graphics on flat screen with AMS2 but to play VR i have to lower everything, so it would make it annoying to have to change all the settings each time.

Made worse i guess that my monitor is 60hz and VR 80hz, so i have stuff like frame limits at 60hz all over my games.

 

[GeekyDeaks]

Another thing that came to me, I have spent ages getting nvidia control settings where i want them for flat screen, and settings in AMS2 etc, i wish there was a way of having presets for VR and then flat screen.

Hmmm.... my AMS2 saves the settings in a different .xml file depending on if I start it in VR or not. I'm guessing yours is not doing that? Or are you referring also to the nvidia settings?

Made worse i guess that my monitor is 60hz and VR 80hz, so i have stuff like frame limits at 60hz all over my games.

I have used quite a few of the sims that support VR (even ones like GTR2 and RBR) and I have not noticed any of them be affected by the monitor refresh rate. Just make sure you haven't limited the FPS in the game as most (if not all) will still cap at the VR headset rate anyway. I really ought to research why this is, but it's like every game that uses VR does an auto-sync with the headset whether you want it to or not. The display tricks used in the headset are different to a monitor though, so that might have something to do with it. For example they don't tend to persist the image to avoid smearing https://uploadvr.com/rift-s-low-persistence/ - this leads to perceived 'flickering' at lower refresh rates

 

[bringmethenews]

Hmmm.... my AMS2 saves the settings in a different .xml file depending on if I start it in VR or not. I'm guessing yours is not doing that? Or are you referring also to the nvidia settings?


I have used quite a few of the sims that support VR (even ones like GTR2 and RBR) and I have not noticed any of them be affected by the monitor refresh rate. Just make sure you haven't limited the FPS in the game as most (if not all) will still cap at the VR headset rate anyway. I really ought to research why this is, but it's like every game that uses VR does an auto-sync with the headset whether you want it to or not. The display tricks used in the headset are different to a monitor though, so that might have something to do with it. For example they don't tend to persist the image to avoid smearing https://uploadvr.com/rift-s-low-persistence/ - this leads to perceived 'flickering' at lower refresh rates

Interesting, so in AMS2 in VR any settings just save for VR, well that's great then.
Also in VR is get 80fps and my nvidia is capped at 60hz, so i can confirm that VR seems to over ride that setting.

 

[Elaphe]

Understand that a VR headset (the models we have nowadays) are not for hours and hours of simracing. I always play for half an hour, or maybe an hour, but not longer than that, so it's not an issue for me. After that, it starts to feel painful. It's also hot and tends to fog up, so powerful fans are essential.

Sometimes I think it's a helmet, which in real life is also unconfortable and hot, but you need it when racing. This also applies to its limited FOV.

You will need some days to get used to it and drive with confidence. If you have motion, that weird feeling you describe will be vastly reduced. Even the dizziness some people feel goes away completely.

Oh, and you don't have to remove it to see and use the AC menus. Just run the Oculus desktop from the dash and you will have a big screen in front of your eyes.

Essential games to try? Well, I love those games that really match the idea or VR and also its controllers, simple games which are addictive and fun to play. Try some rollercoasters, Eleven Table Tennis, Pistol Whip, Walkbout minigolf, Mini Motor Racing X, Summer Funland, Affected the Manor, Face your Fears, Richie's Plank Experience, Robo Recall, Superhot, Moss...

 

[RasmusP]

One fact about VR 3D vision:
You don't have any DOF /focal length simulation. If you close one eye, that one eye has no clue about distances.
In reality you still have your focus length of that one eye and things closer or further away will be blurry like on photos with big camera sensors.

It's probably not a big factor in all this but it was definitely the one thing that made me think "something is weird...", when I had an oculus rift for 2 months!

 

[bringmethenews]

Oh, and you don't have to remove it to see and use the AC menus. Just run the Oculus desktop from the dash and you will have a big screen in front of your eyes.

Hi sorry could you explain that for me, imagine i am stupid. Honestly i have no clue what oculus desktop and dash is.

 

[metalnwood]

I got the rift S when it came out because it was the upgrade to the CV1, so it was a no brainer to get it. I am very glad it wasn't my first VR headset because for me, it was not great. If it was my first headset I would probably have a very different opinion of VR than I do.

The main isse for me with it was the non adjustable ipd and my eyes being too far apart for its 'ideal' userbase. This left me with a constant feeling of something being off and without being able to pinpoint it I could feel my brain fighting something.

I also found with its foam gasket material to be hotter than any headset I had.

You cold also be one of the many people that need something with an adjustable ipd before your eyes let your brain relax.

 

[RedBull48]

I got the rift S when it came out because it was the upgrade to the CV1, so it was a no brainer to get it. I am very glad it wasn't my first VR headset because for me, it was not great. If it was my first headset I would probably have a very different opinion of VR than I do.

The main isse for me with it was the non adjustable ipd and my eyes being too far apart for its 'ideal' userbase. This left me with a constant feeling of something being off and without being able to pinpoint it I could feel my brain fighting something.

I also found with its foam gasket material to be hotter than any headset I had.

You cold also be one of the many people that need something with an adjustable ipd before your eyes let your brain relax.

There is a software ipd adjustment in the oculus tool, have you already tried this?

 

[metalnwood]

There is a software ipd adjustment in the oculus tool, have you already tried this?

Yes, I did do that but it wasnt very helpful because you are still having to look outside of the sweetspot of the lens so things are always a bit off from that aspect as well. I know it affects different people in different ways.

I have it plugged in to a computer for the kids to use but I get the same problem whenever I try it, but back to index or g2 and no problem at all.

 

[Elaphe]

Hi sorry could you explain that for me, imagine i am stupid. Honestly i have no clue what oculus desktop and dash is.

When you put your headset on, the software called Oculus client should automatically run. ("C:\Program Files\Oculus\Support\oculus-client\OculusClient.exe"). There you should see a kind of bar with a series of icons (sorry I don't remember if it appears automatically or you have to enable it). There's one on the right which looks like a screen. Use your controller to click on it. That will show a screen in front of you with your Windows desktop. So, if you run AC or Content Manager you will see it there and can use your mouse normally.

 

[bringmethenews]

I'm getting conflicting views from the internet, what is a good headroom for the oculus tool.
Some places say -80 some 0-10 percent.