02-28-2021 11:35 AM
With the REQUIREMENT of eventual Facebook account needed to use my hardware I've decided to put that dog out of its misery. I know that I still have time, and plenty of it, before I can't use my oculus and I'm aware that the force is strictly because of my refusal to use Facebook. I have my reasons why I won't use FB and I am firm on my choices. What I haven't done yet is decide what VR platform will be my next choice. If anyone has some thoughts of what platform would a good choice I'm open to suggestions. I've really enjoyed my experience with oculus and disheartened that it is ending.
03-08-2021 02:13 PM - edited 03-08-2021 02:28 PM
Fully agree. While Steam has titles like Alyx, Doom VFR, Overload, Skyrim VR, No Man's Sky VR, Borderlands 2 VR, SW Squadrons, HellSplit and FallOut 4 VR - and maybe Compound - and all the sims including MS Flight Simulator 2020 - it all more or less pales compared to the massive number of high quality Oculus titles. The difference is that the Oculus exclusives were made for VR, while the above list of Steam games shrinks to Alyx, Doom VFR, HellSplit and Compound if we remove games originally not made only for VR. Steam has very few true VR games which are unavailable in the Rift Store.
Ok, Steam does have Gnomes and Goblins too - and Polybius and Moose Life, but again not really anything compared to the Oculus exclusives. And maybe Steam has more great stuff, but their lack of categories and horrible rating system make it very hard to find the gems.
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"
03-08-2021 02:38 PM
Well said, Rune. Granted, I still use the hell out of Steam for traditional vanilla gaming. Such as Doom Eternal and Hades. Perhaps that's why I judge SteamVR so harshly, because it just doesn't have the same "wow factor" of selections as vanilla Steam gaming.
When I search through Steam for pancake gaming, I always find amazing gems. My wishlist is ever growing. I don't get that same experience at all when I search for SteamVR titles. I do, however, get that feeling when I search OculusVR titles.
My OculusVR backlog is as impressive as my Steam pancake backlog. As you said, it's likely because Valve has focused more on "ports" whereas Oculus has done a great job of bringing multiple genres to VR, where the games are developed for VR from the ground up. Flight SIMS are just one single genre that only appeal to one type of gamer.
Once more dev studios start to double down on PCVR, then no doubt SteamVR will start to increase in quality. Until then, OculusVR still has the best VR experience for PC and Stand-Alone.
03-08-2021 09:09 PM
I don't think it matters what store you buy from, VR games as a whole for the most part just plain suck. DCS World is a game that caters to my likes, It is something I would be into without VR, it just so happens to support it. Onward is just a good game. Aside from exclusives, the same games are available on both platforms. I have a lot of games on both steam and oculus. I only play two games because all the others are boring to me in all honesty, Alyx is not too bad actually, but I just don't play it much. Oculus exclusives look pretty but I don't think they're anything special that makes the Oculus store stand out over Steam, just like Exclusives on steam such as HL Alyx doesn't make it any better. We have access to both, the problem is content.
I personally have no interest in Quest. I don't like most of the VR games, especially the ones that natively play on Quest. I find it top heavy and extremely uncomfortable, I'd get fatigued in DCS very quickly if I used that HMD. I also find no value in taking a vr game console with me on the go.
PCVR will forever be a niche because of cost period, it will never change. GPUs cost as much as a used crappy car, normal people are not going to pay that for a peripherial to play video games, especially when you have to attach it to over $700 worth of desktop.
03-08-2021 09:57 PM
Well if nothing matters then what's all the fuss about? lol
Clearly some things matter, which is why some people prefer a wired headset like Reverb over the Quest, and vice versa. For me, it's painfully obvious that there are advantages of Oculus Exclusives over other non-Oculus titles. For example, nothing can really compare to the grandeur of Lone Echo. On the other end of the spectrum, nothing really compares to HL-A. These are 2 unmatched exclusives on 2 different platforms.
Lone Echo and HL-A are more than just something that "looks pretty." The same for Beat Saber. It's a game that is helping people stay healthy, lose weight, increase cardio, etc. This extends to the boxing games. The VR Sports genre has measurable advantages that go far beyond simply "looking pretty."
I can understand if some people don't care, or don't think all this stuff matters. But then if that's the case... how can one have a preference? A preference stems from one thing mattering over another.
03-09-2021 01:19 AM - edited 03-09-2021 01:25 AM
Maybe I should re-post another post here - because I just tested one of the highest user-rated paid "VR Only" Steam exclusive games to check out the quality (after trying the second highest rated, namely Compound):
"I gave in and bought Ragnarock - and what a disappointment.
It did make me think of another game:
My review on Steam - I think I was quite fair
"A better name for this game: "Whack Da Ratz VR" (to humbly quote Sam & Max)
Truly felt my neurons starting to die when playing this game. The content felt dumb and uninspiring, instant refund.
Game also needs more optimization. It looks like a ugly Quest game, but requires a decent rig - but it is Early Access and may be forgiven for now."
It's sad to see such utter garbage in the top of the Steam VR charts based on user ratings. Because Ragnarock is a VR only game. If we remove all the 2D games with VR as an add-on (the ported 2D games), we basically only have Alyx on Steam as a truly awesome VR Only game.
Sure Compound is fun, but it's an Indie title so small it totally vanishes beneath the feet of exclusive Oculus games, like Asgard's Wrath and Stormland. Compound is a curiosity - a fun visit to the past - but it's not a real VR game. It's sad to see SteamVR users being limited to praise such garbage, especially for the stubborn Steam users who will avoid supporting Facebook at all costs.
Besides Alyx, it really feels like there are no VR Only content on Steam that you can't already get in the Oculus Store. VR Only ensures that a game is made from the ground up for VR - so if we remove all VR compatible games that you can also play in 2D, what great VR content is exclusive to Steam? (ok, A Wake Inn isn't bad, Nauu is ok too - but I wouldn't want to use the word great for those games).
Some of the greatest Oculus Exclusives are:
Asgard's Wrath
Stormland
Lucky's Tale
Marvel Powers United VR
Phantom Covert Ops
Lone Echo
Brass Tactics
Arktika.1
Wilson's Heart
Robo Recall
Landfall
Edge of Nowhere
Chronos
The Climb
Feral Rites
The Unspoken
Mage's Tale (but now available on Steam too)
From Other Suns
Vader Immortal
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond
- also Oculus supported tons of educational apps, also collaborates with NASA.
- and what did Valve do? They made The Lab and Alyx. 2 games, where one might not even be considered a game (Valve also made Aperture Hand Labs, but that's not a game, and they added VR support to Dota2, but that game was not made for VR). Not supporting Facebook/Oculus would remove nearly all the VR games I like the most from my collection. Saying goodbye to Oculus/Facebook is not an option if you're into VR - at least not for now.
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"
03-10-2021 09:17 PM
I don't think I've used my Reverb G2 since January (maybe december, can't remember). Dealing with WMR, SteamVR and sub standard controller tracking sucked all the enthusiasm out of it. Plus there's no community for it that I want to be a part of (after hanging around the subreddit and discord for a bit, no thanks).
03-11-2021 04:23 AM - edited 03-11-2021 04:25 AM
I recently switched from a CV1 to a HP G2 and the difference is night and day, incredible clarity and the colors are vibrant. You don't even have to say goodbye to your oculus games, with a program called revive you have access to all of your games with a G2
What you might consider
I had to take the plastic face gasket off of mine and replace it with an Odyssey plus PU leather and foam pad simply because my face doesn't fit in the thing (see youtub MRTV frankenfov mod) doing that gave me an incredible FOV gain and I didn't have to give up any comfort. I play 9 or 10 hours a day and it's very comfortable AND I can wipe it off when I'm done.
Peoples say the controllers eat batteries like cupcakes, it's probably because the controllers use 1.6V batteries and they use 1.2V in it. It works but it will also greatly reduce their lives My 1.6V lasts 3 to 4 days so that's roughly 40 hours of play per set
The size of the controller rings are "a bit" large, in games where you have to use your hands very close to each other you might bump them but I never had any problems cocking a gun in boneworks and games like that.
All in all I'm very happy with my G2 and coming from a CV1 it's a whole new experience where you have to play all of your games again to see what you have missed.
03-11-2021 06:20 AM - edited 03-11-2021 09:11 AM
What's your performance in fps playing Lone Echo SteamVR res 100% and using in-game 4xMSAA to avoid all the jaggies?
Or same in Asgard's Wrath?
I'm sure that MSI 1070 Ti is kicking some butt there
I'd love to use my Index and get 144 fps in 144 hz in all my VR games using a perfect res 200%
- but something seems to keep me from getting that experience, if only I knew what's holding me ... back
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"
03-11-2021 06:30 AM - edited 03-11-2021 06:50 AM
Or allow me to introduce the PERFECT game for G2 enthusiasts!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1429640/HINGE/
Graphics are great using tons of temporal antialiasing, Reverb G2 is fully supported, there's a FREE DEMO!
Now, using a Rift CV1 vs. Reverb G2 is about balance - in Hinge, using native Oculus drivers, the game is having what we could call "emerging playability" and a slight hint of image blurriness. Good luck with the G2!
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"
04-20-2021 10:31 PM - edited 04-20-2021 10:37 PM
@Zenbane wrote:Steam does have the "largest" VR Library, but that observation is an ideal situation for the concept of, "quantity over quality." Steam still has mostly throw-away titles that aren't even worth a single playthrough. I always prefer "quality over quantity." And in that regard it remains true to this day that Oculus has the best VR Library available.
Granted, this is mostly due to the lack of competition. Nonetheless, SteamVR is still quite awful with very few exceptions. Which, I would imagine, is the reason that so many users who have "moved on from Oculus" still actually stick around with Oculus; by using Revive to play Oculus titles and hanging around this forum to see what they may be missing.
I think it's subjective to the individual which service has the "best VR library". I like alot of the games I've bought on steam in comparison to Oculus, however I play almost none of them because I find most of the games get boring quickly with the exception of DCS World and Onward. That may have more to do with my interest in gaming at my age, I don't really know. But most VR games don't hold my interest, I find them to be too simple, short and lacking depth. That doesn't mean that steam is better than oculus or vice versa, I just prefer steam because they have more variety. I'm finding that most of the games I buy on either side just re-enforce my appreciation for how **bleep** good the Onward game is though.
As for people sticking around using re-vive to continue playing oculus titles? I would suspect it has a lot more to do with not losing their investment in what would have been a closed wall system had the re-vive option not been available. As for hanging around the forums even when people have moved on? It's like a special interest group from the days off the BBS. Familiar faces and all, sometimes you like the people you bond with even if you don't keep using the same hardware. You certainly have a reputation Skeletor, weather people like you or not, you are part of the "personality" here, as is snow dog and many other familiar faces. That's why I come back, I like to come here like it's an old bar I visit and I want to see what's going on, I just don't frequent it as much.
I want healthy competition in VR so it encourages AAA developers while at the same time the indies hone their skills and increase the quality of their content. Because what I see today and these last several years are a whole lot of tech demos and proofs of concept work, but a lot of it is amazing and I am confident that in time developers from all sides will combine all of these things together to make amazing games that we will really enjoy regardless of which store we buy them on.