Keep Rift S or Go to G2?

[TargetDrone]

I recently picked up my first VR headset, the Rift S, when it went on sale over the holidays. I have been satisfied with it, and it seems to work well on my system (9700K, 2080). However, I recently saw the articles that Facebook is abandoning the Rift S (at some point) so I am a bit worried that support will evaporate in the not so distance future. I can still return the Rift as its in the 30 day window. So my question is whether to keep the Rift S or dive in the and get the G2. 

 

I have seen good comments on the G2 with regards to visuals, but negative comments on software, tracking, and comfort. Plus I might need to upgrade my graphics card to get the most out of the G2. 

 

So I am looking for the opinion of fellow DC VR folks to help in my decision.

 

Thanks all.

[speed-of-heat]

Comfort in the G2 is awesome for me, head tracking is fine, controller tracking can be spotty depending on what you are doing.

 

comfort, is a very ... personal thing though, me it fits like a glove and I almost don’t know it’s there.

[unlikely_spider]

I find the G2 to be incredibly comfortable. I've never felt an Oculus set, but compared to my old Samsung Odyssey, it is wonderful.

 

And if your rig can't handle it at full resolution, just render at lower res in SteamVR. Easy.

 

WMR-style controller tracking is going to be worse than Oculus, but it's still usable. I played through Alyx with no game-breaking issues, though it wasn't perfect. In flight sims it's just fine.

[Bob_Bushman]

Both.

Keep the S.

Get a G2.

[Gruman]

Whats your IPD?

[falcon_120]

Old Rift s User here, got my G2 some weeks ago. I'd totally recomend it. The visual clarity is on another league, it will let you enjoy DCS at a different level, and get much more efficient in combat, spotting is incredibly easy now, and and loving again dogfights because of that.

 

Things to consider, I'm a i7 8700k, 1080ti, 32gb 2133 corsair RAM user, so no high end user, this meant that i had to fight some days to get everything smooth, but i can say i'm at a point now that i'm incredibly satisfied. You will need to go through all the topics here to gain some FPS here and there (Disable HPET, disable nvidia overlay, XBOX gaming, reduce some DCS setting, disable W10 virtual monitor  preallocation, making sure motion vector is on, etc, etc...) but eventually the end result is fantastic.

 

Regarding tracking, I'm not surte that applies to DCS since you dont use the controllers, at least no problem so far here.

 

 

[dburne]

13 hours ago, TargetDrone said:

I recently picked up my first VR headset, the Rift S, when it went on sale over the holidays. I have been satisfied with it, and it seems to work well on my system (9700K, 2080). However, I recently saw the articles that Facebook is abandoning the Rift S (at some point) so I am a bit worried that support will evaporate in the not so distance future. I can still return the Rift as its in the 30 day window. So my question is whether to keep the Rift S or dive in the and get the G2. 

 

I have seen good comments on the G2 with regards to visuals, but negative comments on software, tracking, and comfort. Plus I might need to upgrade my graphics card to get the most out of the G2. 

 

So I am looking for the opinion of fellow DC VR folks to help in my decision.

 

Thanks all.

 

I went from Rift S to Reverb G2 and am quite pleased.

I found both headsets to be quite comfortable. Reverb G2 is sharper image clarity.

I find tracking in both the headset and controllers of the G2 to be quite good. Maybe a notch below Oculus tracking for their Touch Controllers, but headset tracking I would say on par with Oculus.

 

Software can be a bit finnicky getting set up and going, what with dealing with both Windows MR and Steam VR settings.

Once done though and have to your liking it is smooth sailing from there on.

 

I was a big fan of Oculus for quite some time, but the Facebook requirement thing combined with decision to abandon the Rift line just did not sit well with me.

[Gruman]

Started with CV1, upgraded to Rift-S and have a Reverb G2 now.

I'm not as enthusiastic as the two above.

 

Reverb G2:

Pro's:

+ Comfortable (IMHO better than the Rift S, but I disliked the Haloband)

+ Audio is good

+ Didnt hear complaints about microphone

+ Clarity in the center is great. Spotting is easier

 

Neg's:

- Cant deal with the sweetspot. Either my IPD does not fit the tiny adjustable range or I've bad lenses

- My eyes are tired way quicker than in the Rift S

- Windows Mixed Reality is a real PITA. Prefer even having Oculus installed than using the WMR again.

- SteamVR would be fine, but the extra layer over WMR is just sluggish

- Flickering on DCS loading is terrible. 

 

Anybody interested in purchasing a Reverb G2? 

[TargetDrone]

17 hours ago, falcon_120 said:

...

 

Regarding tracking, I'm not surte that applies to DCS since you dont use the controllers, at least no problem so far here.

 

 

 

Thank you for your thoughts. I still seem to need to use the controllers on the Oculus to interact with MFD, UFC, and switches in the Hornet.  So it tracking no problem for cockpit interactions?  Wonder why HP couldn;t do as good a job as Oculus since both are using inside out tracking.

20 hours ago, Gruman said:

Whats your IPD?

 

Mine is 63 or 64 so pretty much the Rift S default.  I saw your complaint below about G2 sweet spot.  Do you have a narrow or wide IPD?

[Gruman]

Just select "Show Mouse in VR" and you get your mouse cursor back. Then you can stop using touch controller.

The top Camera is missing. So anything about your head (or when you reach to your back for a weapon as an example) is not covered.

Again, not something important for DCS. If you want to use your hands, look at PointCtrl.

 

Never had it measured before. The Ruler variant gives me a lot of different values. Official G2 is capped out at 68mm. So this would work fine for you.

[Pride37]

Coming form a Rift S, I finally received my G2 from Amazon Spain on 31st of december (so barrely can say "last year"!)

I would join Gruman on his feelings, the first thing that stroke me (and disappointed me a bit), was the narrower sweet spot compared to the Rift S. I've got a pretty standard 65mm IPD, and using the RIft S was perfect (edge to edge clarity), Oculus devices have the best Fresnel lenses regarding sweet spot. But I must say that after two or three days, I got used to it, and it's nowhere a game breaker for me now (and yes, I set the IPD correctly in the HMD and also tried to play with it a bit, no improvement...)

 

Second thing that stroke me (positivelly this time) was of course the insane clarity in the center, it trully gives a sense of presence in the games, clearly another level. I noticed the contrasts are far better than in the Rift S, particularly the shadows in the cockpit during day (and night flights in general). Black levels are very good for lcd panels. Colors are great also.

I found the FOV to be noticeably better than the Rift S.

Sound is really good, I love it, and the fact that the speaker don't touch my ears, very immersive.

Comfort is very good, but Rift S also for me.

While head tracking is flawless, controller tracking is definitely not as good as Oculus solution, but again not a game breaker for me (I don't use them in DCS)

 

Software side, it's really a pain in the a** (Oculus software is sooo straightforward), but thanks to the community (Dburne, Speed-of-Heat, Imacken, etc.) I had gathered all needed information before receiving it, and I thought I was ready to fire it... Well, actually no, it still took me almost 2 days to make it run properly.

 

Now I'm enjoying it with better visuals (except sweet spot) with pretty the same settings in DCS as with the Rift S (quite high, eye-candy-lover here!!)

But it's not a perfect experience, I find the Rift S was a bit more "ballanced" in this regard.

 

In the end, I'll keep the G2 and sell the Rift S.

 

If were you, I wouldn't bother about software support for the Rift S. I had a really good experience with it during one year, it will not stop working for you in the coming mounths. OG Rift is out for almost 5 years now, and a lot of happy virtual pilots are still enjoying it flawlessly.

But if you can afford the higher price of the G2, it's definitely a step up (at least visually.) Just be aware of its downsides!

Edited January 7, 2021 by Pride37

[Pride37]

Oh, and as Gruman said, the flickering (I should say shaking as hell) loading screens are terrible...

It's a WMR bug, I red.

Edited January 7, 2021 by Pride37

[dburne]

14 hours ago, Pride37 said:

Oh, and as Gruman said, the flickering (I should say shaking as hell) loading screens are terrible...

It's a WMR bug, I red.

 

 

Yeah I just close my eyes during the loading process.

[Nalfeyn]

"Software side, it's really a pain in the a** (Oculus software is sooo straightforward), but thanks to the community (Dburne, Speed-of-Heat, Imacken, etc.) I had gathered all needed information before receiving it, and I thought I was ready to fire it... Well, actually no, it still took me almost 2 days to make it run properly.

 

Now I'm enjoying it with better visuals (except sweet spot) with pretty the same settings in DCS as with the Rift S (quite high, eye-candy-lover here!!)

But it's not a perfect experience, I find the Rift S was a bit more "ballanced" in this regard."

 

What do you mean by that?

 

 

I was like: Install the Oculus Software, changed PD to 1.5 and I was good to go. What else did you tweak?

[Pride37]

On 1/9/2021 at 8:34 AM, Nalfeyn said:

"Software side, it's really a pain in the a** (Oculus software is sooo straightforward), but thanks to the community (Dburne, Speed-of-Heat, Imacken, etc.) I had gathered all needed information before receiving it, and I thought I was ready to fire it... Well, actually no, it still took me almost 2 days to make it run properly.

 

Now I'm enjoying it with better visuals (except sweet spot) with pretty the same settings in DCS as with the Rift S (quite high, eye-candy-lover here!!)

But it's not a perfect experience, I find the Rift S was a bit more "ballanced" in this regard."

 

What do you mean by that?

 

 

I was like: Install the Oculus Software, changed PD to 1.5 and I was good to go. What else did you tweak?

Hi Nalfeyn. Sorry if it was confusing.

I'll try to be clear: I very much liked the Oculus software. As you told, just install it and very few things to tweak. You can then fire up DCS.

With WMR, it's a whole different story: Install Steam > Install Steam VR > Install WMR portal to SteamVR > Configure WMR > Configure SteamVR > Check the WMR portal beta version > Disable the multi-monitor allocation > Drink a beer to have rest and calm down > Fire DCS correctly (I'm not even completely fine with the correct process: start DCS desktop icon, or directly in WMR, or using SteamVR, and sometimes the mouse doesn't work once helmet in on...)

 

To "sum up" (sort of...)

Rift S pros

+Good image clarity

+Excellent sweetspot (almost edge-to-edge clarity)

+Good comfort

+Very good tracking (including controllers)

+Very pleasant and easy-to-use software

+You can play almost every VR games on the market (Oculus + SteamVR natively compatible)

 

Rift S cons:

-Poor audio experience (but you can use earbuds)

-Quite small FOV

-Not so great contrasts

 

Reverb G2 pros:

+Outstanding clarity

+Better contrast than Rift S

+Better colors than Rift S

+Very good comfort

+Excellent audio

+A bit better FOV than Rift S

 

Reverb G2 cons:

- Smaller sweetspot than Rift S

- Controller tracking not on par with Oculus touch (not used in DCS, but quite noticeable in other games)

- Use of all the software suite to make it run

- You can play Oculus games using Revive, but it is not as straightforward and there are some bugs...

 

Reverb G2's goods are really better than the Rift S, but the cons are more noticeable and can be annoying to some... That's why I find the Rift S experience to be a bit more "ballanced" overall. But if you're mainly interrested in better visuals and better audio, G2 is definitely the way to go.

[dburne]

Yeah I found the learning curve with the Reverb G2 and the software dances to be fairly steep.

But once there and settled in, it at least for me has been very much trouble free. I was banging my head against the wall for the first couple of days with it though. It was worth it though.

Edited January 13, 2021 by dburne

[Mango]

Pride, that's an excellent summery and I couldn't agree more.  I've had a long weekend of tweaking software for G2 and had to step away from my sanity.  It's hard to accept the smaller sweet spot but I'm looking forward to jumping back in.

[Brainfreeze]

Agree.  Pride37 and dburne summed it up perfectly.

[Bob_Bushman]

I was kind of forced.

 

My rift S died during Christmas break..

 

Mere days after returning the Quest 2.

Started the oculus support dance, still ongoing, they are telling me to reset the cable on the headset end, even though i have told them I did all that in every singel email.

Any hoo it's out of warranty.

So ordered a reverb from local website.

It arrived yesterday \o/

 

Yes the sweet spot is smaller, but it had to be huge on the S cause you have no adjustment at all.

 

The quest 2 had three ipd options.

Very wrong, wrong, and very wrong again. I could fool the lenses a bit by having them between steps, but still not ideal, and the display ipd is still the erroneous value.

 

Lesson for oculus, gradual Ipd adjustments are important.

 

 

[Pride37]

21 minutes ago, Bob_Bushman said:

The quest 2 had three ipd options.

Very wrong, wrong, and very wrong again.

Really sorry to hear about your misfortune with the Rift S, I hope you'll enjoy the Reverb. But with your comment... You made my day !!