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New Quest User, I get terrible motion sickness

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi,  I received my Oculus Quest from UPS about a week and a half ago.  This is my first VR headset.  Previously my VR experience was limited.  I played the Vive at West Edmonton Mall once for about 5 minutes a few years ago, and I also played those old Virtuality machines way back in 1992 (Dactyl's Nightmare).  Anyhow, I've been getting my feet wet so to speak playing games like: Beat Saber, Racoon Lagoon, Vader Immortal, and a few others.  I've been enjoying them but I've discovered that I suffer from terrible motion sickness with VR.  I hope I can somehow "get over this".

From the games I've played so far, it seems like I have no problems if a game is a 6dof game in a fixed room with no automatic movement of my own perspective by the game itself.  In other words, things can fly towards me (like in Beat Saber), or I can move my head around rapidly in the environment and have it tracked in space...that gives me no problems as long as any visual display of my own movement/perspective in VR (not other objects coming towards me) is caused by my own physical movement.  The problem is if I play a game where I press a button press or a stick movement causes my own perspective to move (smoothly forward/backward, etc).  Basically I need "teleport" options in games I've discovered.  So that I point to a location and am "there" in a limited spot that doesn't move, and then once I'm there I can control the perspective in the space with my own head and only my own movements (deeking in and out with my own head within that space is fine). 

I've discovered this is why games like Beat Saber I can play no problem and don't get sick.  You're just standing in a fixed rectangle and you can walk around and move your own head within that space, but the environment itself doesn't automatically move or shift.  Games like Racoon Lagoon, or even that ISS (International Space Station) app make me very ill.  I've had to take my headset off twice to throw up already because of it.  I had to take a break from VR a few days ago for a few days because the illness lingered for 2 days, even while I was at work. 

I really want to love VR and play it, but I'm now worried about this.  Does this happen to anyone else?  What can I do to improve the situation? 
  
28 REPLIES 28

Anonymous
Not applicable
Takes time to get one's "sea legs"...
Some longer than others. You should eventually adapt to it - just take it in short sessions taking breaks at the first sign of it coming on. Yeah and ISS is really bad for it, save it for the very last.

ezop73
Rising Star
I feel for you, i played an about 30 minutes of arizona sunshine the other week with locomotion and it made me feel really sick, I had to sit down for a few hours.(not been back on it since)

I read the key to overcomming motion sickness in VR is to do it in small bite size parts (easier said than done when your in VR you forget then become ill) also holding ginger in the mouth or drinking ginger beer is another one (not tried it personally YET)

liree
Honored Guest
I still suffer from motion sickness, too. But what helps is a product like "Reisegold Tabs" against carsicknees.
The main ingredient is "Dimenhydrinat".
Children
can take 3 pills a day, therefore I think it should be save to be used
once a day for gaming. However, maybe not for weeks at a time.

Anonymous
Not applicable
Thanks for the advise.  I'll try the ginger thing.

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Strange, I've been feeling some nausea in the real world for some days, but it totally goes away in VR ... maybe I should worry about that  😄 Actually this is not a joke.

One of my friends got severe nausea after experiencing Stormland for a few minutes, but I could literally live there.

To grow VR legs, you might want to take a break after 15 minutes, and avoid full locomotion and smooth turning for a start. Take a gradual approach and initially limit your exposure to reduce motion sickness.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

jab
Rising Star
While very convenient to use, the Quest compromise with a 72Hz display also makes it the one most likely to cause nausea. There is a noticeable difference in comfort going back to a 90Hz headset.

AF4L
Protege

mcpish said:

Thanks for the advise.  I'll try the ginger thing.


I use Chimes ginger chews, I buy the 1lb mixed bag from Amazon, it's like $13. Works well for me ? the only other option, is just getting used to it.

LazyDragon_53
Honored Guest
I have the same problem. So far, I have been playing mostly Beat Saber, which doesn't bother me. For some reason, a stationary YouTube 360 video got me queasy, though.  Taking it slow is good advice. Stop as soon as you start feeling sick and get a drink and/or a snack, and rest until you feel better before continuing. Having a fan blowing on you while you play can also help (and it will cool you down while playing Beat Saber too).

Anonymous
Not applicable
I don't have such problems, i can play Skyrim VR or Bordertands VR and move directly without teleport, it seems some people are more sensitive to motion sickness than others.
P.s. i add ginger in coffee, maybe this is why it does not bother me, because it goes directly into blood and to the brain.