VR Thread

[Bebpo]

So this last week after a year + a few months since I got it my Valve Index has started giving me 436 display cannot connect errors. If I click reset headset a few times it works and once it works it's fine the whole session so it's working fine but there's some weird compatibility bug.

Looking online it seems like this might be because the headset cables get twisted and stop functioning properly. When my PSVR died a few year ago it was the headset cables as well. Unfortunately you couldn't just swap cables with PSVR and the whole unit was dead. With Index apparently if you complain valve will send you a free replacement cable so if this gets worse or doesn't get better I'll try that.

Definitely making an argument for wireless VR. When you move around a lot in a 360 environment with a wired headset the cables are gonna twist up over time, there's just no way around that. Twisted cables shouldn't break the connection though. wtf.

Although looking at it the part of the cables that twist is the cable that's attached to the headset. Not sure how you'd change that. Hopefully there is a way. I untangled my cord so I'll see if that fixes it the next few times I try to use it.

[Don Rumata]

I think that (cord attachment) may be a complaint SuperBunnyHop had in his review of the Index.
He lamented several built quality problems with it, despite the cost.

[Svejk]

Citing “reliable sources,” UploadVR reports that the next PlayStation VR headset will feature eye tracking and foveated rendering, haptic feedback, inside-out controller tracking, an IPD adjustment dial, and a per-eye resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels (4000 x 2040 total).

https://kotaku.com/report-next-gen-playstation-vr-is-sounding-pretty-impr-1846864969
 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Will still be wired, but still... 

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[Don Rumata]

Nice, sounds like a proper competitor, especially since Oculus shat the bed with their bullshit.
Also as i mentioned, PS5 is powerful enough to where VR actually makes sense for it.

[Rahxephon91]

I wonder if PS4 VR games will work with it? I'd trade in my VR now if so.

[Svejk]

I don't see why they wouldn't.  They have a great lineup of exclusive games for it.. don't see how they could drop all those and start from scratch... But yeah, I've been on the edge of dumping mine if confirmed.. while they're still worth something.

[Mr Gilhaney]

After having finally tried the quest 2, I cant see myself going back to a wired headset tbh

[Bebpo]

I fixed my wired display connection issue with my index. Turns out you can access the cable on the headset that goes into the headset and over time I guess stepping on the cable while moving around it slightly pulled it out. It still seemed really plugged in, but once I unplugged it and plugged it back in it fixed all my connection errors.

After having finally tried the quest 2, I cant see myself going back to a wired headset tbh

Yeah, I'd love wireless someday, if the visual quality & power is up there. I can't go back to stuff like PSVR visuals after Index.

[Don Rumata]

I saw some guy on Reddit hook the cable up to the ceiling, that would avoid the stepping on them problem.
I can't really do it in my house, but if you have the opportunity, doesn't seem like a bad move.

[naff]

im happy to have both, but also hope sony develop a wireless adapter you can add. makes sense not to include it by default given how expensive the streaming tech is rn

[Bebpo]

So my Index was back to being dead today. Tried unplugging and replugging and updating drivers and no connection.

I eventually tried switching the DVI port to another one on my GPU and it worked. So not sure if that port just doesn't work or if it was just a fluke. Will see if this one keeps working.

That being said I'm noticing little artifact dots on black screens when loading between things. I can't notice them with a colorful image on, but this all just seems bad.

So Valve's Warranty on the Index is 1 year which is a joke on a $1,000 piece of hardware. My PSVR died after 3 years+ and was out of warranty but at least that had a 3 year warranty.

If my Index eventually dies soon-ish (I'm just past 1 year, got it when Alex came out last year in March) and Valve won't replace it for free or very low cost, I'm probably gonna either get a Quest 2 or hold off on VR for a bit because these headsets don't seem to have great lifespans and this shit is too expensive to replace on a regular basis.

[Sho Nuff]

I just moved into a new apartment and I think I'm calling it on the Vive. I was able to put together an OG Vive + Audio Strap setup with Knuckles Controllers by salvaging parts from literally FIVE different sets of headsets all in different states of brokenness (I work at a VR developer). This lasted for about 2 years but I think I"m just going to get a long ass USB-C cable and go to Quest 2. I really miss the OLED and the inky blacks in that display, but the resolution is so much higher.

edit: The lighthouse situation has made me swear to never spend my own money on these things. They break like crazy, the warranties are fucked, and a buddy of mine got into a situation where HTC Japan was insisting he pay $20 postage for them to RETURN a broken lighthouse that they refused to fix.

[Bebpo]

So when I tried starting Beat Saber today got the same display error on the new DVI port. Switched back to the old DVI port and it worked lol
Had even more artifacts though, enough to be distracting.

So either:

1) One of the two cables to the headset is damaged and not sending a great signal.

2) The headset is damaged.

3) My GPU is dying.


This week will have my first fun experience with Valve Customer Service and see what I can do. I'm hoping it's the cables because they'll probably send me new ones for free even though I'm past 1 year or if not they'll be cheap.

I sure hope it's not my GPU because with Bitcoin mining shit I'm fucked. That being said I've been gaming on my PC daily without a single artifact or any issue so I think it's pretty unlikely it's the GPU. Since both DVI ports gave the issue it's not like just one port failed.

The headset when it works seems like it works fine other than the artifacts which makes me think the headset is fine and this is a cable thing.

[Bebpo]

Ok, Valve customer support was pretty quick and good and is sending me new cables. Hopefully the cables were the issue.

It's also pretty fuuuucked that the Index cables only exist through Valve. There's no 3rd party cable or 3rd party vendor to just "buy" new cables. I wonder what Valve will charge at some point for replacement cables through them.

These VR machines need to use standard non-proprietary cables. Things fail and need to be replaced.

[Bebpo]

I got the new Index cables from Valve and just hooked them up and yeah, fixed all the issues. Immediate recognizing the headset and the hundreds of video noise lines/dots are completely gone.

So basically my Index cables lasted about 1 year, which is pretty terrible for build quality.

Cableless definitely the future.

[chronovore]

I just moved into a new apartment and I think I'm calling it on the Vive. I was able to put together an OG Vive + Audio Strap setup with Knuckles Controllers by salvaging parts from literally FIVE different sets of headsets all in different states of brokenness (I work at a VR developer). This lasted for about 2 years but I think I"m just going to get a long ass USB-C cable and go to Quest 2. I really miss the OLED and the inky blacks in that display, but the resolution is so much higher.

edit: The lighthouse situation has made me swear to never spend my own money on these things. They break like crazy, the warranties are fucked, and a buddy of mine got into a situation where HTC Japan was insisting he pay $20 postage for them to RETURN a broken lighthouse that they refused to fix.

Have you met Japan?

[Bebpo]

One thing that's kind of interesting is that since replacing my Index cables I'm constantly breaking my high scores in songs in Beat Saber. Even if I'm getting lower percentages I'm getting higher scores from better more accurate hits.

This definitely isn't skills, I've put like 500 hours over 3 years and every 10-20 songs maybe I'll beat an old score, but this is like 80-90% of the songs I'm playing I'm beating scores.

Which tells me either the latest official update somehow made scoring easier, or having bad/weak signaling video cables somehow effects the accuracy of the tracking? Which seems odd to me because that should be handled separately by the satellite trackers and as long as the headset is getting power (which it was) it should be accurately tracked. Idk the answer, but it's interesting.

[Svejk]

A demo for Fracked is up on PSN.

[Sho Nuff]

I worked on this, I did a bunch of the FX and materials. I personally can't stand survival games, but people seem to like it a lot. Moved mountains getting the PS4 version to run on the Quest, it's the exact same gameplay on all platforms. (Yes it runs on Quest 1)

[Bebpo]

The cover art's pretty dope. Whose the 2d artist?

[chronovore]

The cover art's pretty dope. Whose the 2d artist?

Terada Katsuya, IIRC.

[Svejk]

PSVR2 is sounding awfully dope.  So glad Sony continued strong support of VR.  If this launches with a new Astrobot, REVRillage and be BC to PSVR1 games, it'd be the ultimate. 

[Don Rumata]

Most of those aspects are (or are going to be when that's out) industry standards for VR, but it's exciting nonetheless to have them adopt the full spectrum (well, aside from wireless) of features.
Raises the baseline, which is the most important aspect, in a market so small.

[Svejk]

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1496107726291845120

My prediction is October 2022 at $299... Most likely $399, but wishful thinking. 

[Bebpo]

Will grab it for the new tech and exclusives, but even space-wise it's tough to keep & use multiple VR headsets. My PSVR's been in the closet for like 2 years since I got my Index.

[naff]

looks aiight. gutted to see they are promoting a fixed cable ;_; to be competitive with quest you gotta promote games with more movement and console rendering over wifi imo. im sure they'll have some good software, but they're missing what makes VR really compelling.

[Bebpo]

If it was wireless you wouldn't need a playstation tho. They want to sell playstations and sell this as an accessory.

We haven't reached the technology point of being able to stream high bandwith wirelessly to the headset without too much input lag yet.

[naff]

We haven't reached the technology point of being able to stream high bandwith wirelessly to the headset without too much input lag yet.

nah we have. maybe it's too expensive, but if you've got a modern router apparently streaming from your PC to Quest 2 is pretty low latency and i've used a vive wirelessly that felt as good as wired on a vive pro with the dedicated qualcomm wireless setup nearly 4 years ago now.

[naff]

i mean, shit, this is on 2.4ghz network and it's barely introducing any latency or degradation in picture quality. i think sony's dropping the ball on this a little... i would much rather get a quest 2 for $100 less at this point.

[naff]

i can't find many particularly reputable sources that compare latency, but the few sources that have tried it and generally from what i've heard from people on forums saying it's very good (and this was tech released over a year ago). i think it's crazy to not offer both given the current market. that said, yeah, no battery packs, no wireless chip, direct connection - this shit is going to make decent money and the screens will be nice af. look forward to comparisons with quest 2. still just kinda hate wired vr and the downsides are trivial to the immersion offered by wireless imo.



https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/n0fq4m/index_vs_quest2_with_airlink_virtual_desktop/

[Beezy]

https://twitter.com/MetaQuestVR/status/1502419932662829057

[railGUN]

I just got a fat tax return and bought an Oculus Quest 2. 

Won't be here for a week or so. I've never tried any kind of VR ever in my life.

[Svejk]

So.... what are the chances that PSVR1 games will be compatible with PSVR2?  Is that something Sony does to convert them, or is that up to the devs individually?  Seems it would be silly for them to not have their decent library of VR games to not be BC, but who knows... I wouldn't put it past Soyny pulling the $10 upgrade to PSVR2 version crap on us on certain games... Other than that, there's some PSVR games on sale I'd like to get, but if they won't be compatible, then I don't want to pull the trigger on them.  If they are, I'd like to sell off my PSVR sooner than later while it's still worth something too.

[Joe Molotov]

https://www.gematsu.com/2022/09/kizuna-ai-touch-the-beat-coming-to-ps5-ps4-in-early-2023

Guess I'll buy a Playstation VR2.

[Svejk]

This may be a day 1 purchase... Much excite.

[Svejk]

So, according to the official PS podcast, PSVR1 games are not going to be compatible with PSVR2...      Guess it was to be expected, especially how many games have been on sale at such dramatically low prices of late...  Unless they get patched and/or the now typical, "Revised and upgraded for a price", PSVR1 titles won't just run BC.

https://blog.playstation.com/2022/09/16/official-playstation-podcast-episode-439-virtual-impressions/
(around the 29 minute mark)

As long as they port/patch/resell Astrobot, we good.

[Bebpo]

Well that's a bunch of shit. How hard is PS4 BC? The hardware shouldn't be that much different.

But at the end of the day I'm sure they'll release VR2 version of Beat Saber and some of the other popular ones. So as long as Sony makes an Astrobot VR Enhanced Remaster or something it'll be ok.

Still a bunch of shit.

[Svejk]

Well that's a bunch of shit. How hard is PS4 BC? The hardware shouldn't be that much different.

But at the end of the day I'm sure they'll release VR2 version of Beat Saber and some of the other popular ones. So as long as Sony makes an Astrobot VR Enhanced Remaster or something it'll be ok.

Still a bunch of shit.

Yeah I agree.. but I'm also ok with it.  I would hate for this thing to be hindered to cross-gen BS though.  From what the guy was saying in the podcast, he was explaining how different the tech is to simply allow BC... Whether it was techy mumbo jumbo, I'll be fine if they port Astrobot... it's all that matters.  I'll gladly pay for that game again and again.

[bork]

“PlayStation VR games are not compatible with PlayStation VR2 because PlayStation VR2 is designed to be a truly next-generation virtual reality experience,” Nishino said. “PlayStation VR2 has much more advanced features like an all-new controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, as I’ve said, and inside-out tracking in it, 3D audio is coming together, 4K HDR of course… so this means that making games for PlayStation VR2 requires a whole different approach than the original PlayStation VR. These features actually enable developers to create worlds that feel more vivid and alive, and bring players closer to the experience than ever. I believe that.”

[Svejk]

Apparently it's not all gone to the shitter....

https://twitter.com/parolePSVR/status/1570851568999878656

This dude's a pretty credible source supposedly.

[bork]

"Buy the same games again on PSVR2 for a higher price!  Next-Gen!"

[Bebpo]

New gen, same old story of ripping off consumers.

[Svejk]

It's the Nintendo way. 

[Polident Hive]

Single cable VR sounds nice. Is PC VR like that yet? No sensors or other faffing?

[Svejk]

Single cable VR sounds nice. Is PC VR like that yet? No sensors or other faffing?

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure PCVR has always been a step or two ahead of the game.. from wireless, to free motion, treadmills, etc...  But are all so damn expensive.

[bork]

It's the Nintendo way. 

Not like Sony, who will just sell you The Last Of Us on PS3, PS4, and PS5!

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Microsoft kicks both of their asses in this regard

spoiler (click to show/hide)

PC is the way to go lol consoles

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[Beezy]

Single cable VR sounds nice. Is PC VR like that yet? No sensors or other faffing?

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure PCVR has always been a step or two ahead of the game.. from wireless, to free motion, treadmills, etc...  But are all so damn expensive.

You can connect the Oculus headsets to your PC wirelessly or with a single cable to play Steam VR games. That should be the cheapest option if you already have a gaming PC.

[Tasty]

"Buy the same games again on PSVR2 for a higher price!  Next-Gen!"

The Wait-for-Second-Gen Crowd wins again

[Svejk]

Fuckin HYPE



but still no price or date... 

[Bebpo]

So my Valve Index cable broke for the 2nd time in 2 years. Got Index April 2020, cable broke May 2021 and they replaced it under the warranty. Now it's Oct 2022 and it broke again. I tried putting this back together but it's all twisted and broken off.



Now they sell replacement parts and they charge $129.99 to replace the cable. Wtf. Why is it so expensive.


I may need to switch to wireless VR at some point. The problem with the Index is the main cable curls up over time and when you pull it to try to untangle it, it pulls the tether cable out sometimes and it gets bent/broken over time from getting pulled out. Really bad design.

[naff]

i'd rec getting an hdmi extender/adapter cable so that it's connected to something that can twist and flex

[Bebpo]

i'd rec getting an hdmi extender/adapter cable so that it's connected to something that can twist and flex

Hmmm, yeah I wonder what's compatible with it. I guess any HDMI 2.1 should be?

[Nintex]

Facebook dropping a $1500 corpo headset.

https://twitter.com/boztank/status/1579888641723101185

The spirit of Oculus is truely dead 

[Tasty]

Virtual PC desktops floating on my desk (not having a monitor or other hardware, etc.) is truly the dream. Like, my ultimate tech dream since childhood. (Related: an actual cool VR MMO like .hack's The World.)

I'm confident we'll have a third-party, non-Zuckware version of this under $500 by five-years' time (unless da Fed doesn't get inflation under control... then maybe $800).

And that's super exciting!

[Svejk]

Gaming in VR 

Working in VR 

[Beezy]

Not mad at the idea, but how long can someone realistically use a VR headset with little to no breaks?

[Bebpo]

Probably a long time if it's a good quality VR that's not straining your eyes.

[Tasty]

Not mad at the idea, but how long can someone realistically use a VR headset with little to no breaks?

Within 20-years' time we'll have headsets no heavier than a pair of glasses. There was an anime I heard about called Den-noh Coil that seemed to depict what I imagine.

[Coax]

Within 20-years' time we'll have headsets no heavier than a pair of glasses. There was an anime I heard about called Den-noh Coil that seemed to depict what I imagine.

I mean, tbf the nreal air shows it's half here already.

Google Glass was a closer but dorky version with a super tiny HUD, while now it's enough for a virtual full color OLED screen but in sunglasses form factor. Seeing Facebook's testing prototypes is pretty encouraging what could become even more miniaturized in the future.

[Beezy]

That was a good anime.