Thoughts on headsets other than Occulus?

[VR-fture]

I'm looking at the Pimax 8K plus. What I'm not sure of is if I'd have any benefit (or is it required?) to use the SteamVR base stations. I'm thinking they are used for more traditional VR games to monitor your movement in a game area which probably won't even work with VAM.

I'm currently using a Rift S using a laptop with an SSD, I7, and GTX 1660 TI. Performance seems to be pretty good unless hair goes nuts. I'm really not up on modern PC graphics but guessing moving to the 4k Pimax would be more drain on my hardware so I'll probably grab a desktop with a GTX 3080. I could swing a higher Nvidia card but for double the money I wouldn't expect much difference in performance, especially with VAM being the main focus.

This community is full of perverted degenerates and I love you all. Side note, I feel like animations etc. especially mocaps are pretty darn realistic. Feels like we need better and more varied audio. Personally that is what really pulls me into a scene. I'm a quick learner so I'll probably poke around and see what if I can contribute to the community. For now I'm just being a patron.

 

[Fucitol]

Well, I upgraded from a Rift S to the HP Reverb G2. Stopped using VAM for almost 2 years and recently got back into it and it's such a huge upgrade from the Rift S. For me it's almost perfect besides the sub-optimal tracking which Oculus has perfected for inside-out tracking. But visually the G2 is the best you can get (seems to definitely be better than the Pimax) but it has a rather small FOV (similar to the Rift) which is of course the main selling point of the Pimax.

I run with a 3080 and FPS is still low, often drops from 90 to 45 which isn't a big problem I've noticed. But, with the improved performance we might expect in VAM 2.0 this might not be a big problem. In any case, your 1660Ti won't work with the G2 if you expect any visual quality I would say.

Saying that you'll 'grab a desktop with a 3080' sounds a bit too optimistic I'm afraid

 

[VR-fture]

Well, I upgraded from a Rift S to the HP Reverb G2. Stopped using VAM for almost 2 years and recently got back into it and it's such a huge upgrade from the Rift S. For me it's almost perfect besides the sub-optimal tracking which Oculus has perfected for inside-out tracking. But visually the G2 is the best you can get (seems to definitely be better than the Pimax) but it has a rather small FOV (similar to the Rift) which is of course the main selling point of the Pimax.

I run with a 3080 and FPS is still low, often drops from 90 to 45 which isn't a big problem I've noticed. But, with the improved performance we might expect in VAM 2.0 this might not be a big problem. In any case, your 1660Ti won't work with the G2 if you expect any visual quality I would say.

Saying that you'll 'grab a desktop with a 3080' sounds a bit too optimistic I'm afraid

Good info thanks. I think visual clarity is more important to me than FOV. I'm finding that with some tweaks I can stick in the 40fps range which is tolerable.

And yeah, I am not expecting the upgrade to be cheap. ? Budget isn't a huge issue for me but I was still surprised to see the top of the line card prices. (I need to buy more Nvidia stock) I assume that VAM2 might need more HP over time as people develop new plugs ins and whatnot but that's just a guess. I guess if 40FPS is tolerable for me now then I'll be alright as long as get a 3080+.

Edit, I've opted for a new PC with an RtX 3090. I didn't think the price difference was worth it over a 3080 but I found a nicely priced bundle. Also grabbed a Reverb. I'll add some notes regarding performance with the Rift vs my current rig and with the Reverb.

 

[VR-fture]

FYI. Picked up an HP Reverb and a new Desktop.

First, on the Reverb. Image quality is awesome. The Rift S still had a little bit of that screen door effect. Loading videos/screens is more jittery. The setup and UI process for the Reverb is absolute garbage compared to the Rift. Even just installing it was not straight forward and I've had to repair the controllers etc. Dealing with a seperate power cord is annoying as well. The cords themselves are really stiff so you are constantly fighting with them. Come on HP, I may not expect you to match Occulus in UI, but you can't find a damn video cable that doesn't feel like an old coax cable?

The peripheral vision is worse than the Rift so for gaming it's probably worse but for Vmate it's better. It ran ok on my laptop using givemeFPS (recomended settings) and mid-high quality. I would stay above 20fps.

For the desktop I went ahead and got the big boy. Availability was not great. . I9, SSDs, and RTX 3090. I'm dabbling in crypto mining so hopefully I can just pay for the extra HP that way. With the new desktop I'm able to run at Max or Ultra quality without issue. I tested with the new Drum Drum girl lapdance (fast movement and flashing lights). Parts of the scene averaged around 60 with the intense parts at like 40-45. (no FPS plugin) I only ever saw it dip into the upper 30s a few times.

 

[Motoyo]

I throw my hat in the ring too for the reverb G2.

I have had the oculus, vive, index, and now upgraded to the G2. And its by FAR the best one for VR in general and VAM visually of them all.
The controllers sort of suck for tracking if you are doing any fast paced games. I kept my index knuckles and set them up to work with the G2 instead.
The default ones are not bad, and track well in an arc in front of you. Just if you do a lot of wild swinging all around you they sometimes freak out for a few frames (like in Gorn).

But other than that, I would not trade the G2 back for any I had.
Friend has a pimax and a G2 (his wifes and his) and while the pimax is good FOV, he says the colors are not quite as good, and ghosting is more noticeable especially in high contrast scenes, as well as what he tries to describe: "More..blurry? less crisp, sort of like newspaper image feel. That sharp, but somehow not as sharp look" in the pimax. And the dark blacks are noticeably worse in the pimax.
He said if he went from the vive right to the pimax only, he would not notice it and think its WAY better (it is than a vive) but gave it to his wife when he got the G2 as it just looked better. Not a huge difference in either sharper, or crisper, or anything huge. but overall just a bunch of little 'betters'.

Now keep I'm mind if you get a g2 you will probably have to run it at 75% in steam, and 75% in VAM for framerates reasons. I have a 1080ti and 5600x. Solo simple scenes I can keep 90 at 75/75 maybe 75/100 if its a solo person on a skybox and ground I am editing and get 90. But complex scenes in VR I have to either do the 45fps which surprisingly is fine unless its a super fast scene. or put vam at 50% and steam at 100% (somehow that's better than 75/75). But in vam and a g2 the downscaling really isnt a huge deal, I can only really notice if I switch it all back to 100% and look at hair up close or try to look at pores on the skin..lol. Or focus on the GUI text to look for sharper edges.

 

[VR-fture]

One more odd thing with the G2. I started getting black screens, first one eye then the other, here and there. Only on scenes with lots of loud music and action. I did some checking and people claimed that it was due to the device shutting down from high volume. I guess that was drawing too much power? Anyway, I switched to my airpods and issue is gone.

 

[Motoyo]

I dont know how you had it that loud, at even 70% volume it blows my ears out in music scenes, or like in project cars two racing, lol.
Anything over 50% you can hear in the same room as me.

 

[VR-fture]

I dont know how you had it that loud, at even 70% volume it blows my ears out in music scenes, or like in project cars two racing, lol.
Anything over 50% you can hear in the same room as me.

I'm not sure. It was loud but nothing crazy. I crank the stereo in my car but I don't have a hearing problem...I think.

 

[PhantasyStarfan]

Super BunnyHop was quite disparaging of the Index.