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First time VR with Rift S (what a deception)

comatrix
Protege
Hi all,
I finally tried for the first time ever, the VR concept, and with the Rift S, there are positive and negative points, but overall it is a deception, not for the Oculus itself, but about what companies and reviewers claim to be the VR today..., I expected REALLY better than this, A LOT better.
Positive points:
- They do what they claim, I mean the VR concept, it is really addictive, it real feels to be there
- I had no negative points about controller flickering, even if it was not easy to understand at the beginning, how to run games in VR (for example in Assetto Corsa you need to select Rift Rendering, otherwise it will not work even if you start the games from the Oculus itself)
- The wearing of the Rift S is pretty good, even if when it is hot like today, the lenses mist up; it is pretty light to me and the adjustment assets are ok
- Luckily I have an IPD of 65, so it is ok to me
- very nice the pass through implementation, really really good, congratulations developers

Negative points
- First of all the most annoying even irritating point: every time I close a game (app), if you try to start another one it always says that it is not suggested to run multiple apps together for the PC resources, this stay ALL the time, even if you wait 2 hours (some people told me that this depends of SteamVR), you need to close manually every single VR process from the task manager
- Second the graphics aren't great at all, BUT AT ALL, you can see CLEARLY the screen door effect, it is like if you are sleeping under a mosquito met all the time, unless you are on dark areas, there the door effect is less visible but for obvious reasons, after I compared the game graphics on the screen and the same game on the Oculus and OMG, even the HD 1280*720 display is better, but A LOT Better, it seems to play on an OLD 4:3 TV on the Oculus
- The textures aren't displayed in a correct manner, if you approach the object near the Oculus, than the screen door effect almost disappear and you can appreciate REALLY the good work of the developers, but all the rest OMG, on Alyx, which is renowned to be one of the best VR games with best graphics, the cables were flickering on first area, you can see clearly the pixels if you watch far away buildings, even the ALYX text on first screen had some blu/orange halo, depending on how do you move the head and so on (on first thoughts I was thinking it was me not configuring correctly the Rift S, I read a lot on the net and no, the setting were even pushed on high, like 1.5 supersampling for example, 2k resolution and so on (I tried even 4k with same results), it was a REALLY bad experience I'm sorry, to me it's a NO on this aspect
- it is beautiful talking about a real 3D immersive world (and this is the positive point as described before), but you can clearly see that you are inside a cartoon like world, don't get me wrong, I don't mean like a cartoon, I mean you can clearly see that it is not real, not even approach the feeling about it
- I have no idea why, but today I had to do again and again the safe area (like 6/7 times), why it does forget continually the safe area?
- I have a powerful PC, not the top of the top but a high one (CPU AMD 3700x, Asus Strix 2080 Super 3 fans, 32GB of RAM 3.600 CL 19, the maximum on the third generation AMD processor can support on infinity fabric, higher is almost useless, 1.000w PSU, 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 and 2TB SSD 3.0, x570 E Gaming motherboard, 10 Fans Airflow from 240mm to 70mm), that said my GPU reached almost 88 degrees Celsius all the time (190° Fahrenheit), even if I put the graphics on 800x600 and disabling the supersampling (0), is it me or what? If it is, can someone explain me how to low that before I can cook the eggs on my GPU? Thanks a lot
- the dashboard inside the Rift S view is often misplaced, totally on the left or on the right and you can't move it
- often the controller (hands ingame) are misplaced, I mean they are under some objects, walls or under the floor and so on, and you can't restore them if not closing the Oculus software and restart it

OK stop talking because there are other negative aspect to say, but I think you get the message, I mean the idea.
To my humble opinion, the VR concept is really good one, but the development is not even a beta, I feel like it is on a  PRE RELEASE APLHA TEST, not even a complete alpha, but I bought it because I'm an enthusiast, but it is correct to say the truth about it
  • VR Headset Oculus Rift S
  • CPU AMD 3.700x - GPU Asus ROG Strix 2080 Super - MB Asus ROG Strix X570 F-Gaming
  • RAM 32GB G.Skill 3.600mhz CL 16 - Storage 1TB NVMe M.2 2280 - 2TB SSD 3.0 - 3TB HDD
  • Cooler Dark Rock Pro 4 - PSU Corsair HX 1.000i Platinum Modular
  • Fans Hub DeepCool FH-10 - Case Cooler Master H500P Mesh Option
  • Airflow 2x240mm in, 4x120mm out, 2x135mm CPU, 3x85mm GPU, 2x35mm MB
73 REPLIES 73

Anonymous
Not applicable
Should have started with Rift CV1, now that had some SDE.
I find the SDE in Rift S to be quite minimal and hardly noticeable.
Been lovin my Rift S since May of 2019. Guess I have been lucky.

Nunyabinez
Rising Star
Why do people buy a product without doing sufficient research and then post about how it didn't do what they assumed it would without investigating? It's not reasonable to expect that a screen a couple of inches in front of your eyes is going to look the same as a computer screen a couple of feet away. If it was that easy to get rid of the SDE then we would have monitors with thousands of dots per inch. If you bought something without understanding what it was, at least you shouldn't tell everyone that you didn't understand what you were doing.

i7 8700, 16GB, RTX 2080 TI, Rift CV1 | i5 4690K, 16GB, GTX 1660 TI, Rift CV1 | Quest | Quest 2

comatrix
Protege


Why do people buy a product without doing sufficient research and then post about how it didn't do what they assumed it would without investigating? It's not reasonable to expect that a screen a couple of inches in front of your eyes is going to look the same as a computer screen a couple of feet away. If it was that easy to get rid of the SDE then we would have monitors with thousands of dots per inch. If you bought something without understanding what it was, at least you shouldn't tell everyone that you didn't understand what you were doing.


What? Please do not talk about other people if you don't now them, who told you that I bought something without making a search before..., did you even read about my post here in the forum BEFORE I bought the Rift S? Both of them are BEFORE and not AFTER buying this product and my reasons WHY I buy it, and also:
- I watched more than 200 videos and reviews BEFORE buying it
- I read more than 50 reviews BEFORE buying it
- I asked to my friends if someone own it to al least try it BEFORE buying it
- I asked if there are any shop who show them and test them BEFORE buying it (the closest are in London and I'm in Italy)
- I participated to 2 Blogs community BEFORE buying it (and forums also, like this one asking BEFORE questions about updates and explaining my reasons why I bought it AFTER I read reviews and videos)
And I could continue, so please stop saying bullshit about my person if you don't know me...
That said, I admit that it is HARD to describe the feeling, what people said that you need to prove it BEFORE buying it it's correct, unfortunately none of people living near me has one and there aren't no shops who just put them at least to test it if not in the UK (the closest ones)...
That said (AGAIN), reviewers and companies should say exactly what it is, and here what it is:
- it is a NEW aspect of the game industry (as I wrote in my discussions even here), a really good concept and the feeling to be there it is real (and I said it also in my post here in this discussion)
- but it is ABSOLUTELY NOT what companies and reviewers claim to be, it is a POOR  implementation at this days and demanding very high hardware resources to run it (and it is ALSO what I described it in my previous post)
That's why I said it feels like a pre release alpha, because generally, games development are like this, in alpha development you normally find: heavy engine, not well optimised fluidity, poor graphics and so on...
May be in 5/10 years they will be really good (and I hope even before), but not at all today and they are ABSOLUTELY NOT what they claim to be, and that's the reality of VR today...
If you are an enthusiast like me that's ok, but if you expect what companies and reviewers say, well it is totally a deception...
  • VR Headset Oculus Rift S
  • CPU AMD 3.700x - GPU Asus ROG Strix 2080 Super - MB Asus ROG Strix X570 F-Gaming
  • RAM 32GB G.Skill 3.600mhz CL 16 - Storage 1TB NVMe M.2 2280 - 2TB SSD 3.0 - 3TB HDD
  • Cooler Dark Rock Pro 4 - PSU Corsair HX 1.000i Platinum Modular
  • Fans Hub DeepCool FH-10 - Case Cooler Master H500P Mesh Option
  • Airflow 2x240mm in, 4x120mm out, 2x135mm CPU, 3x85mm GPU, 2x35mm MB

comatrix
Protege
Well I tested yesterday for the first time the VR world, even if I read and watched a lot, the reality was a deception and totally different from what reviewers and companies describe it.
You REALLY need to prove it before buying it, because here it is what I found and felt about it AFTER I proved it for the first time:

- it is a NEW aspect of the game industry (as I wrote in my
discussions even here), a really good concept and the feeling to be
there it is real, congratulations developers (and I said it also in other discussion I opened here)
-
but it is ABSOLUTELY NOT what companies and reviewers claim to be, it
is a POOR  implementation at this days and demanding very high hardware
resources to run it

Peace and Love ^_^
  • VR Headset Oculus Rift S
  • CPU AMD 3.700x - GPU Asus ROG Strix 2080 Super - MB Asus ROG Strix X570 F-Gaming
  • RAM 32GB G.Skill 3.600mhz CL 16 - Storage 1TB NVMe M.2 2280 - 2TB SSD 3.0 - 3TB HDD
  • Cooler Dark Rock Pro 4 - PSU Corsair HX 1.000i Platinum Modular
  • Fans Hub DeepCool FH-10 - Case Cooler Master H500P Mesh Option
  • Airflow 2x240mm in, 4x120mm out, 2x135mm CPU, 3x85mm GPU, 2x35mm MB

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
What software did you test exactly?

When I first tried VR, it was an AMAZING implementation for this day and age, and the hardware resources to run it is not demanding at all. I have a fairly low-end PC, and could have gone even lower.

And that was back in 2016. Now in 2020, nothing on the market compares to what VR has to offer. Even regular flat 2D experiences (e.g. Netflix, vanilla games) are better experienced in a VR theater.

If you really feel that VR is a "poor implementation," then based on what you wrote earlier I would venture to guess that this is more of a "buyers remorse" situation based on the fact that you spent so much money that may have been out of your budget. I say that respectfully and only based on the fact that you made this statement:
  • I managed to have some extra money (luckily)

Based on everything you bought (new HMD, new Steering Column, new Hotas, New Mouse, new Controller, new Keypad), it sounds like perhaps you over-spent. I have made the mistake of over-spending plenty of times in my life, and I always end up regretting my purchases.

I think that if you had just started with the Rift-S and nothing else, that you may have appreciated the situation more. With all the extra gear you bought, you pretty much doubled your cost of entry in to VR up-front. Possibly more depending on how much you spent to get your PC up-to-par.

Either way, hopefully as time goes on, and if you stick with VR, you will come to appreciate it more. If not, refund all of it! lol

dhrto
Expert Protege
@comatrix I'm sorry to hear that the first experience into VR was not what you expected. But then, we don't know what your expectations were.

For example I read a lot on forums etc. about people wanting to play <insert triple AAA title here - like Call of Duty> in VR and expecting this to just work. I can tell you it doesn't. There are so much more possibilities in the VR world (and limitations as well) and to take advantage of that, games need to be designed from the beginning for it. Take a popular shooter for instance. On a 2D-screen you can only aim where you look at, in VR you can pretty much aim everywhere without even looking, even around corners (just like when holding a gun in the real world, not that you will hit much by not looking, but still). This has to be made possible in a game. Same with how you interact with objects in game. You really don't want the message 'press E to use' in a VR game, but just use your virtual hands to do it, that is far more natural.
The only games that don't need that much change are cockpit games in my opinion. For example driving sims or flight sims. Especially when you've already built a 'hardware' cockpit like a racing seat with wheel and pedals. Then VR to me is like the next best thing to sitting in the car in real life.

I jumped into the VR world with a pre-order of the Rift CV1 back in 2016. The touch controllers were not yet available then. It was triple screens (I play a lot of driving sims) or this gamble on VR. I had no remorse whatsoever that I chose VR in the end. Despite its limitation (less clear view, relatively high system requirements) I was blown away immediately the first time playing or rather 'sitting in' a racing sim and having the ability to just turn my head like in a real car in the real world! The only 'regret' I have: I can no longer play driving sims on a flat screen anymore. 
A year later or so I bought the touch controllers and another whole new world opened up for me. Playing an FPS where you have to manually swap the cartridge and slide the gun to reload, and having a safety switch on the gun, this was as close as I can get to holding a real gun (I live in Europe). And where you can go crouching or prone by just doing that instead of pressing a button. Man oh man that felt really good.

Sorry for the long read, but I wanted to share my experience with you. I sincerely hope that over time you will see the merits of VR and can live with its shortcoming, but most importantly enjoy it! 

Morgrum
Expert Trustee
Sde on the S is way better then the CV1.
The Reverb is better for it.
It gets betters better every few years.
Honestly I dont even see it anymore.

As far as games its hit and miss some are amazing some seem to be a cash grab.
WAAAGH!

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP
@comatrix You certainly are an a Enthusiastic Complainer, lol!  Either embrace PCVR for what it is and learn how to get the most out of it or pack up your Rift S, return it, and enjoy 2D games/sims imho.
i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

TomCgcmfc said:

@comatrix You certainly are an a Enthusiastic Complainer, lol!  Either embrace PCVR for what it is and learn how to get the most out of it or pack up your Rift S, return it, and enjoy 2D games/sims imho.



- and then it seems he has a faulty setup, maybe a defect Rift-S. Driving a damaged car without knowing it and the concluding that all cars are horrible to drive would be an error of some magnitude.
Of course the SDE is what it is. Does seem like he's got some tracking errors - if you want to risk none of that get some external tracking (but that would require getting a different hmd). 

I was totally blown away when I tried the CV1 the first time - and so has everybody else been when trying my CV1. Trying Alyx using Valve Index had a similar effect.
Maybe trying Lone Echo is better - Olivia does look much more realistic than any other NPCs in VR games I can think of. Starting with a cumbersome game like Assetto Corsa, which was made for 2D and doesn't even support Touch, easily could be some kind of worst-case-scenario when trying VR for the first time, lol. 

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"

comatrix
Protege

TomCgcmfc said:

@comatrix You certainly are an a Enthusiastic Complainer, lol!  Either embrace PCVR for what it is and learn how to get the most out of it or pack up your Rift S, return it, and enjoy 2D games/sims imho.


Sure, I am one, I love games, I'm an enthusiast, what I don't understand is why not telling the reality as it is, that's all. We ALL KNOW that this is a new support, why not tell to people:
- VR is on an embryonic phase, if you wish to join you are most than welcome, but be aware of what do you expect
It is so hard to say that? Because it is exactly what it is, but according to reviewers and companies it is is just WOW and it is not except for the feeling (and only the feeling itself is not enough, let's say the things how they are), I'm sorry.
I'll keep it my Rift S because I'm pretty sure this new sector has ample room for improvements, but I repeat today it is what it is, no more no less...

  • VR Headset Oculus Rift S
  • CPU AMD 3.700x - GPU Asus ROG Strix 2080 Super - MB Asus ROG Strix X570 F-Gaming
  • RAM 32GB G.Skill 3.600mhz CL 16 - Storage 1TB NVMe M.2 2280 - 2TB SSD 3.0 - 3TB HDD
  • Cooler Dark Rock Pro 4 - PSU Corsair HX 1.000i Platinum Modular
  • Fans Hub DeepCool FH-10 - Case Cooler Master H500P Mesh Option
  • Airflow 2x240mm in, 4x120mm out, 2x135mm CPU, 3x85mm GPU, 2x35mm MB