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[Zalusithix]

If any of you are on the hunt for a Vive deluxe audio strap Gamestop looks to have them in. I just ordered one. The website says they are "available" online. Not sure if that is actually true or not but I didn't get any messages about being backordered when checking out. Anyway, just passing on the info. These things have been a pain to hunt down. Cheers all! 🍻

http://m.gamestop.com/product/elect/accessories/htc-vive-deluxe-audio-strap/148595

Not surprising since availability of the DAS is supposed to resume on Monday from both HTC and retail channels. For retail to be included in that announcement, they must have already sent out units, so places will have them in stock as they receive their orders.

 

[godofcookery]

Is it a good time to buy a VIVE, or are there strong rumors of a replacement?

 

[cakefoo]

Is it a good time to buy a VIVE, or are there strong rumors of a replacement?

I don't expect a Vive 2 until early 2019 at the earliest. HTC just had a two-week summer sale where it was $50 off and came with $50 Steam credit, so there probably won't be any promos or price drops for a few months, either Steam Dev Days in October or Black Friday in November.

 

[Zalusithix]

Anything in regards to a Vive 2 release date is pure conjecture at this point. LG's SteamVR set should be out this year though, or at the latest early next year. Given the timeline of Valve's lighthouse tech, it will probably be based on lighthouse 2.0 tracking in addition to the known minor stat bump on the screen resolution. It won't really count as a gen 2 headset, but it it should be a bit better, and will potentially drive down the cost of the Vive.

 

[Chumley]

Anything in regards to a Vive 2 release date is pure conjecture at this point. LG's SteamVR set should be out this year though, or at the latest early next year. Given the timeline of Valve's lighthouse tech, it will probably be based on lighthouse 2.0 tracking in addition to the known minor stat bump on the screen resolution. It won't really count as a gen 2 headset, but it it should be a bit better, and will potentially drive down the cost of the Vive.

Oculus and Valve will want to start talking about next gen headsets in a public setting at least 6 months - 1 year prior to releasing them, so I'd say last half of 2018 at the earliest is a safe prediction with 2019 being more likely. The new Vive controllers are still in the prototype stage being tested by devs.

 

[Zalusithix]

Oculus and Valve will want to start talking about next gen headsets in a public setting at least 6 months - 1 year prior to releasing them, so I'd say last half of 2018 at the earliest is a safe prediction with 2019 being more likely. The new Vive controllers are still in the prototype stage being tested by devs.

The "new Vive controllers", aka Knuckles, are Valve's creation and have nothing to do with the Vive / HTC, or LG's new set other than they'll be compatible for use with them. They're also quite obviously in a late prototype stage seeing as how they've moved on from a kind of hackish design made with 3D printing to a streamlined design and injection molding. I don't expect massive revisions of the hardware at this point (though I expect plenty of firmware updates). I don't see much stopping Valve from ramping up production in time for a Q4 2017 release of them. This would coincide nicely with their intent to have mass production of the new lighthouses by the end of the year.

 

[Super Rookie]

Aside from Google Earth VR, I'm not aware of any other apps. I would just eat ginger candy. Recently weened myself off it (quit cold turkey, to be more precise), and now instead of getting ill after 10 minutes, I can play Pavlov non-stop.

FOV reduction aside, you could try the built-in chaperone settings > floor bounds always on, and/or use OpenVR-AdvancedSettings to adjust the distance sensitivity so the walls are always visible. See if you can set the opacity low so it's not a constant distraction.

Already have the floor bounds always on, but doesn't seem to help.

Will try the ginger candy suggestion thanks

 

[GlamFM]

Finally bought Superhot. Love it.
But I feel like throwing stuff could have been handled better.

Also finally checked out some VR Porn after a friend showed me how it works without catching a virus or something.

Holy cow is our species in trouble once these things reach 4k.

 

[cakefoo]

Finally bought Superhot. Love it.
But I feel like throwing stuff could have been handled better.

The game defaults to an unintuitive scheme for weak-gripped whiners, and the only way to change it is to right-click the game in your library and go to the betas tab.

 

[Zalusithix]

At this point I think I'll just wait for the Knuckles controller to hit before I play Superhot again. Being able to fully release the controllers for throwing an object and grabbing guns out of the air starting with an open hand should at least make that aspect of the game much more immersive than it is currently (with either control style).

 

[GlamFM]

The game defaults to an unintuitive scheme for weak-gripped whiners, and the only way to change it is to right-click the game in your library and go to the betas tab.

Will do - Thanks!

 

[The Dear Leader]

The Deluxe Audio Strap is just so good, makes the headset feel unnoticable in long game play sessions, well worth the investment. Plus Onward is great!

 

[Moondrop]

Blocks by Google: Pretty awesome; I think I like it better than tiltbrush. The latter has more pizzazz, but this one might have more applicable power. Just as intuitive, and the medium inherently requires less artistic talent. Nice subtle functions like subdivisions (though I'm sure y'all know better what constitutes true sub-d modeling) and optional grid snapping.

I was a bit disappointed for a moment because it seemed unwieldy to create a combo object, and then manipulate that object as a single unit. But then I realized the program has an amazing save system. Just save the combo object, and it's instantly there for you to drag into a new project as a whole. Once you get that going, things start really looking nice. Have yet to investigate exporting, but plan to use this one a bunch.

Try going to SteamVR settings > "Developer" > "Disable Power Management" if you haven't already. I used to have similar problems and that helped.

Thanks, seems to be working.

The game defaults to an unintuitive scheme for weak-gripped whiners, and the only way to change it is to right-click the game in your library and go to the betas tab.

 

[Lemonte]

"I'm looking to get into VR later this year but I had kind of a random question - are you able to just leave the headset plugged in all the time or are you supposed to unplug it after finishing using it every time? My computer is placed in a corner and unplugging everything would be a horrible pain in the ass."

You don't need to unplug it at all.

If I leave Vive plugged in it gets pretty warm even if I don't use it. So I unplug power cable every time I stop using it.

 

[Sir Doom]

Is it a good time to buy a VIVE, or are there strong rumors of a replacement?

Just wait. Software is not there

 

[Auto-Reply]

http://robotinvader.com/deadsecret/circle/
Dead Secret Circle coming this year, to the same platforms as its predecessor "Dead Secret"

Cool, really enjoyed the first.

-
Another tribalinstincts video (interview)

Didn't know the guy that made Vertigo was only 17 years old. (started with 15)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc8L9YkK8gQ

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Gorn is out. The launch trailer is...accurate lol.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

That trailer is terrible on multiple levels.

 

[Paganmoon]

HTC really need to consider a major pricedrop soon, Rift+Touch bundle price is just crazy compared to the Vive right now.

Hoping LG can put some heat on HTC, push the prices down some more.

 

[derFeef]

That trailer is terrible on multiple levels.

I think it's amazing.

 

[The Dear Leader]

I think it's amazing.

Yeah it's pretty great, they had my interest at slicing a dudes head sideways with a sword, then they had my money when you can pull dudes head off his body.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

HTC really need to consider a major pricedrop soon, Rift+Touch bundle price is just crazy compared to the Vive right now.

Hoping LG can put some heat on HTC, push the prices down some more.

I think they're going to mostly ride it out. Keep in mind they're not rolling in money and they're mostly making money off the hardware since most people buy the software off Steam while Oculus has it's own store so they can undercut their headset prices. HTC also have the Chinese market on lock for now so a bit of pressure is taken off there. Until LG's headset comes out, don't expect much more than an occasional $100 off.

 

[Zalusithix]

HTC also have the Chinese market on lock for now so a bit of pressure is taken off there. Until LG's headset comes out, don't expect much more than an occasional $100 off.

Yeah, a significant amount of Vives are in the Chinese market with VR arcades, and businesses in general worldwide. The Rift can't really compete with the Vive in scaling the number of headsets in a given area. The Rift needs multiple cameras per VR headset regardless of how close or far away the headsets physically are. The Vive can use the same set of lighthouses to cover a large swath of space and every headset/controller in that space can localize themselves.

Not only does this simplify something like arcades, but stuff like collaborative business use. Throw something like the TPCast unit into the mix and you can theoretically have a half dozen people working in the same physical area collaborating on a virtual project - all with two lighthouses. To accomplish the same thing with the Rift, you'd need 18 cameras mounted. I'm not even sure how well the camera based tracking of the Rift would be able to distinguish and isolate the 3 objects making up one user (headset + two controllers) from the 18 different objects in the room. I know the Rift uses rolling LED sequences, but seeing as how there's no sync between the tracking of each system, there's nothing stopping the patterns from matching for a given frame. A possibility that increases with the amount of unsynced objects in the same environment. Lighthouse based tracking has no such object count weaknesses; 1000 objects in the same room track as easily as one. (Wireless transmission limitations and occlusion from so many objects in the same environment not withstanding.)

 

[Tain]

Ordered the audio strap, I'm pumped.

 

[Random Human]

HTC really need to consider a major pricedrop soon, Rift+Touch bundle price is just crazy compared to the Vive right now.

Hoping LG can put some heat on HTC, push the prices down some more.

I'm not sure Oculus' rush to the bottom on pricing is a good thing for VR, or something others should be imitating, since it's going to make it almost impossible for them to make money off these things. HTC is not in good shape and I doubt they can afford to lose hundreds of dollars on each headset.

 

[DouglasteR]

Got my DAS and... wow.

The audio quality is very good. I use a Beyer T1 and the DAS just lack the bass and some details here and there, but from the confort perspective it totally make for it.

Installing is easy af and what difference in weight is a game changer ! Before i couldnt put more than 3 hours before breathing became difficult (weight blocking my nostrils) and my neck would start itching. Now, i can barely feel it.

Veredict: BUY IT NOW.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

Got my DAS and... wow.

The audio quality is very good. I use a Beyer T1 and the DAS just lack the bass and some details here and there, but from the confort perspective it totally make for it.

Installing is easy af and what difference in weight is a game changer !

Veredict: BUY IT NOW.

Mine gets here tomorrow, and I'm very excited. Currently the Vive is very uncomfortable for me.
Also ordered a 3-in-1 cable and a thin VRcover face pad.

 

[DouglasteR]

Mine gets here tomorrow, and I'm very excited. Currently the Vive is very uncomfortable for me.
Also ordered a 3-in-1 cable and a thin VRcover face pad.

I was a little worried because i have the original bulk cable, but it fit without problems in the DAS´s support.

So far so food.

 

[Putosaure]

Gorn is out. The launch trailer is...accurate lol.

Definitely accurate. The only game I almost broke one of my controller against a wall (hopefully could clip it back).

 

[runningjoke]

I think the audio on my Vive is broken. Bought the deluxe strap but I cannot get the headset to output any sound. Headphones work when plugged into a different souce.

I think I've had this problem for a while, but I wasn't too bothered by it because I just plugged the headphones into my soundcard.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

I think the audio on my Vive is broken. Bought the deluxe strap but I cannot get the headset to output any sound. Headphones work when plugged into a different souce.

I think I've had this problem for a while, but I wasn't too bothered by it because I just plugged the headphones into my soundcard.

Make sure it's outputting to the right source in SteamVr. Look for either a USB or HDMI source (I use USB).

 

[MrFrankFontaine]

I'm not sure Oculus' rush to the bottom on pricing is a good thing for VR, or something others should be imitating, since it's going to make it almost impossible for them to make money off these things. HTC is not in good shape and I doubt they can afford to lose hundreds of dollars on each headset.

I have to disagree. Just because it's not good for HTC, doesn't mean it's not good for VR. We need the price to continue to drop to help with adoption. I applaud Oculus for taking the first step.

 

[runningjoke]

Make sure it's outputting to the right source in SteamVr. Look for either a USB or HDMI source (I use USB).

Yeah clicked all sources 100 times, tried different inputs, reinstalled windows couple times, updated drivers etc etc

 

[RadioactiveLobster]

So the general consensus seems to be that the chance of HTC dropping the price (even temp) of the Vive to anything close to Oculus is about 0%.

That Rift deal is tempting though.

 

[Zalusithix]

I think the audio on my Vive is broken. Bought the deluxe strap but I cannot get the headset to output any sound. Headphones work when plugged into a different souce.

I think I've had this problem for a while, but I wasn't too bothered by it because I just plugged the headphones into my soundcard.

You've had it for a while as in it was working at one point? Or you just noticed a while ago and it's likely been that way from day one?

Assuming it is broken and in the warranty period, you could RMA it if you don't mind being without the headset for a period of time. Alternatively you could get a tiny USB DAC/headphone amp and use it with a short cable to the aux USB port within the headset. Mount the DAC/amp to the headset or strap and it'd be pretty much seamless. Or you could use a long extension to the headset, but that would make the already somewhat unwieldy cable even more so. Honestly not sure how you were using headphones connected to the sound card before unless you only do seated games.

 

[runningjoke]

You've had it for a while as in it was working at one point? Or you just noticed a while ago and it's likely been that way from day one?

Assuming it is broken and in the warranty period, you could RMA it if you don't mind being without the headset for a period of time. Alternatively you could get a tiny USB DAC/headphone amp and use it with a short cable to the aux USB port within the headset. Mount the DAC/amp to the headset or strap and it'd be pretty much seamless. Or you could use a long extension to the headset, but that would make the already somewhat unwieldy cable even more so. Honestly not sure how you were using headphones connected to the sound card before unless you only do seated games.

It did work at first, and I'm trying to contact support for RMA. Headphone cable is 3 meters so I can move with it a bit

 

[Auto-Reply]

So the general consensus seems to be that the chance of HTC dropping the price (even temp) of the Vive to anything close to Oculus is about 0%.

That Rift deal is tempting though.

We can only assume how they go about their business. I can only imagine they are comfortable with the way they are sellling at the moment, of course that could change anytime. Fact is, they started as the most expensive and they didn't react to former price reductions from Facebook or Sony, for whatever reason. Could change tomorrow of course, we don't really know.

 

[Paganmoon]

I have to disagree. Just because it's not good for HTC, doesn't mean it's not good for VR. We need the price to continue to drop to help with adoption. I applaud Oculus for taking the first step.

Yeah, HTC isn't SteamVR, or OpenVR, the system doesn't depend on the success of HTC alone.
If they can't make money after a year of improvements, with overpriced (at least imo), spare parts, it's not on the consumer to keep them floating.

There are more manufacturers entering the market, what VR needs right now is a bigger userbase imo, so more companies can feel more secure spending money on development on VR games. And honestly, a bigger userbase on the Rifts side alone might work adversely for PCVR systems, as it can act as an incentive for more developers to go exclusive.

 

[Zalusithix]

And honestly, a bigger userbase on the Rifts side alone might work adversely for PCVR systems, as it can act as an incentive for more developers to go exclusive.

Devs going exclusive to the Rift aren't doing it due to hardware numbers, but the money that Oculus is paying them up front. They're getting paid to make the game independent of whatever the sales turn out to be. That rationale won't change just because of a boost to Rift hardware sales. If pure userbase size was the primary driver, Steam would still be the better bet; Rift users can be sold to even on Steam after all.

 

[Paganmoon]

Devs going exclusive to the Rift aren't doing it due to hardware numbers, but the money that Oculus is paying them up front. They're getting paid to make the game independent of whatever the sales turn out to be. That rationale won't change just because of a boost to Rift hardware sales. If pure userbase size was the primary driver, Steam would still be the better bet; Rift users can be sold to even on Steam after all.

SteamVR's userbase being (potentially) smaller gives devs less reason to say no to cash for exclusivity.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"SteamVR's userbase being (potentially) smaller gives devs less reason to say no to cash for exclusivity."


It is impossible for SteamVR's userbase to be smaller than Oculus Home's.

 

[Zalusithix]

SteamVR's userbase being (potentially) smaller gives devs less reason to say no to cash for exclusivity.

The small size of the VR userbase as a whole already dictates that pretty much every dev offered Oculus cash is going to take it if money is a concern. Adding more users to the pool isn't going to make that any more appealing than it is now. If anything, more VR users in general reduces Oculus' power in that regard.

This hypothetical situation is also ignoring the fact that HTC won't be the only option for long. Once more native OpenVR headsets hit the market and start competing, Oculus is going to have a tougher time being the odd man out hardware wise. This isn't a sprint, but a marathon. We're barely off the starting line right now.

 

[Zurick]

You think there will be a sale on Vive for Primeday?

 

[Wowfunhappy]

SteamVR's userbase being (potentially) smaller gives devs less reason to say no to cash for exclusivity.

It is impossible for SteamVR's userbase to be smaller than Oculus Home's.

The small size of the VR userbase as a whole already dictates that pretty much every dev offered Oculus cash is going to take it if money is a concern. Adding more users to the pool isn't going to make that any more appealing than it is now. If anything, more VR users in general reduces Oculus' power in that regard.

This entire discussion is so strange to me because EVERY VIVE USER HAS ACCESS TO OCULUS HOME. Basically every game works fine. ReVive takes just a few minutes to set up. Oculus "exclusives" are not actually exclusive by any normal definition of the word.

I understand that some Vive owners are ignoring the Oculus Store on ethical grounds. Presumably anyone doing this was never a potential Oculus customer to begin with, regardless of the price of the headset.

 

[Leatherface]

This entire discussion is so strange to me because EVERY VIVE USER HAS ACCESS TO OCULUS HOME. Basically every game works fine. ReVive takes just a few minutes to set up. Oculus "exclusives" are not actually exclusive by any normal definition of the word.

I understand that some Vive owners are ignoring the Oculus Store on ethical grounds. Presumably anyone doing this was never a potential Oculus customer to begin with, regardless of the price of the headset.

With VR gaming I will sneak into the enemies camp and play their games. I have no shame!

haven't tried Revive yet. In general are there a lot of performance issues running Oculus software this way?

 

[SimplexPL]

https://github.com/LibreVR/Revive/issues

This entire discussion is so strange to me because EVERY VIVE USER HAS ACCESS TO OCULUS HOME. Basically every game works fine. ReVive takes just a few minutes to set up. Oculus "exclusives" are not actually exclusive by any normal definition of the word.

Not all games work fine (see issues on Revive GitHub) - for example Unspoken, The Climb, Dirt Rally. Often you need to fiddle with reprojection settings (3 types of reprojection, each game may reqiuire different combination). Oculus may block revive at any moment - they pinky promised they will not, but Facebook may force them to. So a smart consumer should NOT buy anything on Oculus Home as he may lose ability to play the games he paid for. I'm not buying anything there until oculus officialy allows Vive without having to use hacks.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

https://github.com/LibreVR/Revive/issues


Not all games work fine (see issues on Revive GitHub) - for example Unspoken, The Climb, Dirt Rally. Often you need to fiddle with reprojection settings (3 types of reprojection, each game may reqiuire different combination). Oculus may block revive at any moment - they pinky promised they will not, but Facebook may force them to.

I don't own Dirt Rally, but I've played both Unspoken and The Climb without issues. I'm not even sure what you're talking about with reprojection settings—I've never touched them.

People on certain systems will occasionally have weird, system-specific issues—that is unfortunately just a part of PC gaming from time to time. If you dig into GitHub, you'll find that the dev was unable to reproduce most of those issues.

If Oculus blocks ReVive, the dev will just circumvent the protection again, like he did the first time. And I will personally be shocked if Oculus flip flops on that again, although I certainly can't predict the future.

With VR gaming I will sneak into the enemies camp and play their games. I have no shame!

haven't tried Revive yet. In general are there a lot of performance issues running Oculus software this way?

Revive has a performance cost, so you'll need somewhat stronger hardware than you might otherwise. It also doesn't help that the Oculus Runtime has some reprojection techniques that don't yet exist in SteamVR, and some Oculus games rely on that reprojection in order to hit 90fps on lower spec systems.

If you have a 1070 or above you'll probably be okay, just expect to have to lower graphical settings a bit more than you would otherwise.

 

[SimplexPL]

I have 1080Ti and only recently Edge of Nowhere become playable again - it was not playable due to stutter for a long time, irrespective of hardware power.

There are three reprojection options - asynchronous, interleaved and always-on. Different games require different combination of the settings, you have to find out by trial and error. Not everybody has the will and time to do it.

Another issue is grip button - Vive wands have unergonomic grip button which was not designed to be kept pressed for prolonged time as it causes strain and cramping. Grip button on Touch controller can be comfortably held for longer periods of time, so games are designed to accomodate it. There is a hybrid grip option in Revive, but it's not a silver bullet, which was proven by Echo Arena, where hybrid grip does not work well.

Also, if Oculus/FB wanted really badly to block revive I doubt that one programmer, no matter how brilliant, would be able to prevent this.

Revive is a great initiative and I have utmost respect for its creator, I am supporting him on Patreon. But it does not change the fact that it's an unofficial hack so it should not be used as ultimate argument that EVERY VIVE USER HAS ACCESS TO OCULUS HOME - it's not that simple. Oculus is still actively blocking Vive, which is why I am not going to support it by buying games on that store (maybe on huge discounts like 75% but these yet have to materialize).

EDIT:
Did anyone had the chance to play Gorn? Is it as good as "everybody" says?
http://store.steampowered.com/app/578620/GORN/

 

[Leatherface]

I don't own Dirt Rally, but I've played both Unspoken and The Climb without issues. I'm not even sure what you're talking about with reprojection settings—I've never touched them.

People on certain systems will occasionally have weird, system-specific issues—that is unfortunately just a part of PC gaming from time to time. If you dig into GitHub, you'll find that the dev was unable to reproduce most of those issues.

If Oculus blocks ReVive, the dev will just circumvent the protection again, like he did the first time. And I will personally be shocked if Oculus flip flops on that again, although I certainly can't predict the future.


Revive has a performance cost, so you'll need somewhat stronger hardware than you might otherwise. It also doesn't help that the Oculus Runtime has some reprojection techniques that don't yet exist in SteamVR, and some Oculus games rely on that reprojection in order to hit 90fps on lower spec systems.

If you have a 1070 or above you'll probably be okay, just expect to have to lower graphical settings a bit more than you would otherwise.

Thanks for the info. Fortunately I bought a GTX 1080 when I jumped into VR so hopefully it helps me out a bit on the performance end. Gonna give this a try.

Anyone have some Oculus game recommendations to dive in with?

 

[Teknopathetic]

Dirt Rally works perfectly with Revive since last November. The issue in the github issue tracker was apparently a random bug introduced and then hotfixed.