General VR discussion thread

[Kaido]

Made the jump to the Quest 3!

Nearly 10 years now since my original HTC Vive! We just crossed 100 pages on this thread, as well as over half a million views! I still like VR for gaming, but mostly use it for exercise these days, but only because there just aren't a lot of new games out all the time:

Meta's Latest Quest Store Revenue Figure Signals a Steady but Stagnant Marketplace

Last month at the annual Game Developers Conference, Meta offered an update to the state of the Quest marketplace. Included in that update was mention that content on the Quest store has earned “over $2 billion.” If that figure sounds familiar, that’s because… it’s the same figure the company...

www.roadtovr.com

Starter kit & exercise game recommendations here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kaidomac/comments/1liycjg/quest_3_vr_starter_kit_and_exercise_games

 

[Kaido]

Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition leaked ahead of announcement:

Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition Leaked Ahead of Announcement

Pictures of the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition have leaked on the Web, and a rumor suggests it will be launched in mere days.

wccftech.com

 

[Kaido]

Pimax Crystal Super with optional 8K Micro-OLED:

Purchase | Pimax Crystal Super

Experience the pinnacle of PCVR technology with Pimax. Dive into a world of unparalleled clarity and immersion with our high-end VR headsets.

pimax.com

They're calling it Reina-level! $1,787 to $2,187!!

 

[sze5003]

I used to fly a lot in DCS. I currently use a quest pro and was dabbling with the idea of ordering a pimax crystal super but I still don't trust that company. Just monitoring their discord they really haven't improved in customer service over the years.

Last I heard there is a US company that if you buy from them they deal with all your support issues. The guy in the video above this post has interviewed him before I just can't recall the name of the company.

 

[igor_kavinski]

but I still don't trust that company. Just monitoring their discord they really haven't improved in customer service over the years.

Yeah, it was a stupid Pimax headset that caused my RX 580 to destroy my mobo's PCIe lanes.

vr-expert.com is the company you were referring to?

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, it was a stupid Pimax headset that caused my RX 580 to destroy my mobo's PCIe lanes.

What happened there? Was that on GPU USB-C direct?

 

[igor_kavinski]

What happened there? Was that on GPU USB-C direct?

I plugged the headset using USB-A (I think two of them) and HDMI. Was checking out the Pitool VR demo and looking around and marvelling at how real it looked. It was working fine and it looked like I was soon going to experience Alyx VR. With Pitool running, I clicked Microsoft Edge. Suddenly the RX 580 goes berserk with fans screaming like a banshee and the PC freezes. I restart it and no video output. Used the iGPU to check and the RX 580 wasn't showing in Device Manager anymore. Moved it to the last slot on the mobo and it kinda booted but Windows was totally sluggish. Checked another older card for video output and it also had serious issues.

At the time, I thought maybe the RX 580 had died. It had been stress tested in Furmark before and never had that problem. I went to sell it to some pawnshop and prayed his mobo wouldn't blow up like mine. The damn card worked fine there but I let them have it for $62 coz I was traumatized and didn't want it ruining some other mobo of mine. Of course, two or three months later, GPU prices went through the roof. In short, there was something wrong with Pitool that made the card pull too much current through the PCIe slots and burned them.

 

[Kaido]

Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition leaked ahead of announcement:

Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition Leaked Ahead of Announcement

Pictures of the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition have leaked on the Web, and a rumor suggests it will be launched in mere days.

wccftech.com

View attachment 126187

More details:

Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition Review: A Great Value, but With One Big Tradeoff

It's also the only way to get a black Quest headset.

gizmodo.com

Summary:

1. Special-color Meta Quest 3S with an Xbox controller & 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $400 USD (fair price for a black HMD + official controller)

2. "It's not 3d but it's like playing on a 200" HD monitor." So 2D view with no head tracking on a big virtual screen. Gimmicky tbh. Can already do this on existing Quests FYI. Options are a 26-foot virtual display & a "pass-through view that turns an Xbox game into an augmented reality object that sits in the real-world environment around you." So this is merely a portable TV. Can curve or flatten the virtual display.

3. Cheaper Quest 3S makes game text hard to read & inferior quality to the Quest 3. Reviewers had some bitrate & visual issues.

Functionality:

1. Limited to streaming and games that already support Play Anywhere:

Using the Xbox app on Quest, players can instantly access hundreds of games directly with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), including South of Midnight, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Avowed, and more as part of their Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. Game Pass Ultimate members can also stream select cloud-playable games they own, even if they are not included with Game Pass Ultimate. You can find the full list with over 100 supported titles in the Stream Your Own Game collection here.

And don’t forget, with your Game Pass Ultimate membership, players also have access to stream and play supported Game Pass titles across different devices. With features like cross-play and cross-progression support, your progress seamlessly follows you, no matter which device you choose to play on. Start a game on your Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition, pick up where you left off on your console, and continue the adventure with Xbox on PC without ever losing your achievements or saved data. No matter where you play, your games, progress, and achievements travel with you, ensuring a truly connected and flexible gaming experience

2. "This is the same Achilles’ heel that impacts the upcoming Xbox Ally ROG PC gaming handheld. It’s a custom Windows experience designed to feel like playing on an Xbox, but it can’t play existing Xbox-only releases. Lots of big games like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows don’t support Play Anywhere, meaning you still need to purchase the game twice." Clunky!

3. Same Meta app that is already available, which lets you stream games from Xbox Cloud Gaming. This requires an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription ($20/mo)

Notes:

1. Can just download Xbox app for your existing Quest & use a BYO Xbox controller

2. Can use the Meta 3 HDMI Link & a video capture card

3. Can use Virtual Desktop & the Xbox PC app, I suppose

Sounds mid:

1. Reviews all had minor issues & complained bout the performance and quality

2. No 3D, it's just a virtual flatscreen. Bonus is the portability & AR pass-through feature. Will have to ry on my Q3!

3. Not all games supported in the current setup. 100+ support games list here. "Play hundreds of cloud playable games plus select games you own, even titles not included with Xbox Game Pass. Cloud playable games not included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are sold separately."

The Xbox app on Quest lets you access Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is available as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Game Pass Ultimate members can also stream select cloud-playable games they own, even if they are not included with Game Pass Ultimate (there are over 100 supported titles in the Stream Your Own Game collection).

Thoughts:

1. Money grab, but may be useful in some cases.

2. Sony PSVR2 is the same price..and actually 3D

3. It's weird that you can't stream from your Xbox because you can DIY directly using SideQuest using the Xbox APK to sign in with your Gamertag: (albeit at 720p)

 

[igor_kavinski]

2. "It's not 3d but it's like playing on a 200" HD monitor." So 2D view with no head tracking on a big virtual screen. Gimmicky tbh. Can already do this on existing Quests FYI. Options are a 26-foot virtual display & a "pass-through view that turns an Xbox game into an augmented reality object that sits in the real-world environment around you." So this is merely a portable TV. Can curve or flatten the virtual display.

DOA product. They must really think that their customers are stupid. No wonder their console isn't as successful.

 

[Kaido]

DOA product. They must really think that their customers are stupid. No wonder their console isn't as successful.

I mean:

1. Cool black color

2. Reasonable price if buying new

3. Gives you a portable big screen for Game Pass games & purchased Play Anywhere games

It's not terrible, just...disappointing. They SHOULD have at least launched it with full Xbox streaming! Right now, it's really just a turnkey portable Xbox cloud streaming headset TV, which is kind of cool, but really just a marketing gimmick.

 

[igor_kavinski]

marketing gimmick.

PS5 players will look at it with scorn and disdain since it doesn't offer proper VR. This isn't going to compel the average person to drop almost a grand on a new Xbox. Existing Xbox users will probably go "meh", especially those with already large screens. Only use case I can see is people living in dorms and limited spaces who can't have big screens. At least they will be happy I guess.

 

[Kaido]

PS5 players will look at it with scorn and disdain since it doesn't offer proper VR. This isn't going to compel the average person to drop almost a grand on a new Xbox. Existing Xbox users will probably go "meh", especially those with already large screens. Only use case I can see is people living in dorms and limited spaces who can't have big screens. At least they will be happy I guess.

Hence the "extremely limited quantity & when they're gone, they're gone" advertising lol

 

[sze5003]

Found the company that is supposed to work with Pimax and handle everything on the US side. It's called ingeniousvr. Currently they are only supporting the normal Crystal until they can get enough supply out for the crystal super and then I imagine they will be selling that too.

If I was in the market for a crystal I would probably buy through them to avoid having to deal with Pimax directly.