First Time VR

Isnt the Odyssey compatible with the vive room sensors? Meaning it could do both without any issue? I heard you can also use the vive controllers, giving me 2 options for controls?

Not natively, but yes, they can be hacked via messing with a bunch of config files and using some OpenVR Input Emulator software to get them working in Steam with the Odyssey+. Problem is you would still need Vive lighthouse sensors and the Vive controllers, which aren’t all that cheap. (Maybe off eBay where someone is selling a broken Vive HMD along with accessories?). My advice still stands, get the Odyssey+ if you want the best seated VR sim experience right now. They will also do limited standing/moving VR like beat saber, job simulator, etc. just fine. If you really want room scale, then a Rift/Vive are the only good options at this point. Valve will be bringing in a new HMD setup with new controllers sometime next year (high probability) and by 2020, next gen VR should hit, so whatever you get now only needs to last you a year or so. Even just a Rift is an excellent intro device to PC VR. Spending $1400 right now on a Vive Pro just isn’t all that great of an investment for something that will be surpassed so soon - as early as by the end of 1st quarter next year.
 
I keep coming back to oculus. I believe "intro" is what I want, and the "intro" price of the rift is attractive. I have an unlimited budget, however I'd prefer to not spend $1500+ now and another $1500 in a year to upgrade.
 
I keep coming back to oculus. I believe "intro" is what I want, and the "intro" price of the rift is attractive. I have an unlimited budget, however I'd prefer to not spend $1500+ now and another $1500 in a year to upgrade.

If you want an entry level price, that basically only excludes the Vive Pro. So currently, the Oculus Rift and the Odyssey+ are about the price ($350-400). Both headsets have gone as low as $300 for Black Friday (which is when I bought mine). However, for room scale you will really need a 3rd sensor on the Rift (2 sensor performance isn't that great even compared with WMR like the Odyssey+). So if you add on the $60 cost of an extra sensor, the Oculus is slightly more than the Odyssey+ and slightly less than the Vive but really not a huge difference between them. They all really cost about the same. To summarize, the way I'd put it at the moment is you need to just consider the pros and cons of each. Here's probably how I would summarize it:

1. Odyssey+: Best Screen by Far / Easy Setup/ Okay Tracking
2. Oculus Rift: Most ergonomic controllers/ Good Tracking with 3 sensors
3. HTC Vive: Best Roomscale Performance/Tracking (Compatible with a Wireless Adapter if you want to spend more).
 
Okay, so last question:

Will probably use steam for all my games. Does steam care what headset you have? Any restrictions on what games are compatible with Odyssey vs Vive vs Rift?

After that, you guys have answered all my questions. I do appreciate it soooo much, you've saved me months of independent research :)
 
Okay, so last question:

Will probably use steam for all my games. Does steam care what headset you have? Any restrictions on what games are compatible with Odyssey vs Vive vs Rift?

After that, you guys have answered all my questions. I do appreciate it soooo much, you've saved me months of independent research :)

Steam recognizes and fully supports each kind of VR headset/controllers - Vive, Rift and WMR (windows mixed reality). Steam is sort of universal to all the VR headsets, so if you buy a VR title there, you can pretty much play it on any VR device, even switching from one to another. There are some exceptions, but those are quite rare. With the Rift, besides Steam, you also have full native access to Oculus store titles (but you can also use a free software utility called revive to use other VR devices there). The Rift gets you the largest set of software to pick from with seamless support (Steam + Oculus store). As I have both headsets, I do tend to buy most of my VR content on Steam.
 
Okay, so last question:

Will probably use steam for all my games. Does steam care what headset you have? Any restrictions on what games are compatible with Odyssey vs Vive vs Rift?

After that, you guys have answered all my questions. I do appreciate it soooo much, you've saved me months of independent research :)

Coming from a rift, the odyssey+ has good tracking, works really well with steam but the software isn't quite as good as oculus. Home is a little better than wmr portal. I was going to try to get the oculus touch working with the odyssey headset, but after a day or two playing with the odyssey I realized it was in no way worth it, there's not much difference.

Overall, I used the rift once after getting the odyssey+ and then put it in the closet. The visuals are so much better and the tracking near enough to the rift that I see no reason to go back. No issues at all with steam other than a beta release of steam vr breaking wmr support briefly. They released a fix and in the interim I just disabled the beta.
 
Bringing this back up since next gen VR has been released.

Looking at Rift S or Valve Index - Can pickup a Rift S at best buy tonight - Index is sold out for who knows how long?

Which route to go? Not worried about money. What will give me the best experience/Visuals/gameplay?
 
Bringing this back up since next gen VR has been released.

Looking at Rift S or Valve Index - Can pickup a Rift S at best buy tonight - Index is sold out for who knows how long?

Which route to go? Not worried about money. What will give me the best experience/Visuals/gameplay?

If your IPD, meaning distance of your pupils, is somewhere average (62-67mm) then Rift S should be amazing value for the money, sharp picture and next to no god rays etc... But if you have either very large head with wide eye distance (like I have 70mm distance between my pupils) than Rift S is no go because it has no IPD adjustment. Get Oculus Quest and Link cable instead. Or wait for Index.
 
Thank you EVERYONE for your input. I grabbed a Rift S over the weekend and had an amazing time. I spent about $400 on steam games during the sale. Picked up a lot of great games!
 
Thank you EVERYONE for your input. I grabbed a Rift S over the weekend and had an amazing time. I spent about $400 on steam games during the sale. Picked up a lot of great games!

Congrats! Now fire up Robo Recall, which should be free, and have a blast. :cool: And also try Face Your Fears free demo to test how effective horror games can be in VR. :eek::vamp:

But when you eventually want to play more proper AAA style games like Asgards Wrath or Skyrim VR, with actual stick movement instead of teleporting, then as an advice for a new VR user start playing sitting down and always use Snap turning if it is available. You do not want to ruin your VR experience by getting sick. When you are so comfortable with back and forth movement that you can play for hours without even noticing then slowly start introducing standing up and eventually normal smooth stick turning, latter being a pure assault on your senses.

Of course everyone is different and not everyone gets motion sickness from VR but everyone should still start slow and try advancing when you feel confident. If you can advance quickly, good for you. But IF you ever feel nausea, STOP! DO NOT TRY TO POWER THROUGH! Motion sickness does not work that way and I found it out the hard way. :vomit: It is all about slowly letting your body to get used to it, not willpower. Take long breaks when it happens.
 
Congrats! Now fire up Robo Recall, which should be free, and have a blast. :cool: And also try Face Your Fears free demo to test how effective horror games can be in VR. :eek::vamp:

But when you eventually want to play more proper AAA style games like Asgards Wrath or Skyrim VR, with actual stick movement instead of teleporting, then as an advice for a new VR user start playing sitting down and always use Snap turning if it is available. You do not want to ruin your VR experience by getting sick. When you are so comfortable with back and forth movement that you can play for hours without even noticing then slowly start introducing standing up and eventually normal smooth stick turning, latter being a pure assault on your senses.

Of course everyone is different and not everyone gets motion sickness from VR but everyone should still start slow and try advancing when you feel confident. If you can advance quickly, good for you. But IF you ever feel nausea, STOP! DO NOT TRY TO POWER THROUGH! Motion sickness does not work that way and I found it out the hard way. :vomit: It is all about slowly letting your body to get used to it, not willpower. Take long breaks when it happens.

I'll have to check it out! I haven't bought anything through the oculus store yet, but I saw a ton of good looking games.

Also great advice on the sitting down. I tried the Spiderman experience and was immediately thrown for a loop.

I got Skyrim, but haven't bought asgards yet. Any other recommended games? I have younger kids, too. So anything for them would be greatly appreciated!
 
I'll have to check it out! I haven't bought anything through the oculus store yet, but I saw a ton of good looking games.

Also great advice on the sitting down. I tried the Spiderman experience and was immediately thrown for a loop.

I got Skyrim, but haven't bought asgards yet. Any other recommended games? I have younger kids, too. So anything for them would be greatly appreciated!

Beat Saber! It is a fun party game and kids will love it too. Oculus Store also has some VR demos/short films or such (have not tried them myself) that seem to be aimed for younger audiences too.
 
I'll have to check it out! I haven't bought anything through the oculus store yet, but I saw a ton of good looking games.

Also great advice on the sitting down. I tried the Spiderman experience and was immediately thrown for a loop.

I got Skyrim, but haven't bought asgards yet. Any other recommended games? I have younger kids, too. So anything for them would be greatly appreciated!
If you're into that sort of thing, the games that simulate sitting in a chair are really great. Elite Dangerous is one, DCS World is another. You'd realistically need a sim cockpit with a HOTAS and pedals to get the most out of them, though.
 
I have the same exact setup except G27 wheel and I have a Steelcase Gesture chair which is (in my biased opinion) the best chair all around, not just for racing.
Racing is a killer app for VR if you are into it. 1080ti won’t stutter or anything but if you can throw more GPU at it, games can often turn up the eye candy.
 
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