Virtual Reality

[deanb]

As a newly minted PSVR owner I'm pretty hype for that. My main issue at the moment is digging out my old Move controllers from my mums. Wherever they are.

[deanb]

 

How about no.

[Mister Jack]

VR responsibly, kids.

[Mister Jack]

 

$3500 and it doesn't even play VR games? Who exactly is this for? 

[Thursday Next]

It's PS5 compatible? Or they just borrowed a PS5 controller?

Looks comfy.

 

"Spatial Computer" lol. "We aren't late to VR/AR, we're the first to make a SpAtiAl CoMPuTeR."

[TheMightyEthan]

Isn't that the Apple way? Copy what everyone else has been doing but in a way that breaks all the standards, charge 3 times as much, and pretend you invented it.

[Mister Jack]

No way it's PS5 compatible. I bet that was a mobile game he was playing.

[Mister Jack]

I've been using the Quest 3 for a few days now and I think that's long enough to formulate my impressions on it. As some of you may remember, I already owned a Quest 2 so this is an upgrade for me rather than a new foray into the world of VR. How does it compare? Well, by just about every metric this is an improvement. I'll break it down by categories.

 

Comfort

It is my understanding that despite being thinner, the Quest 3 actually doesn't weigh less than the Quest 2 by more than maybe a few grams. Even if this is true, it certainly feels lighter. In fact, next to the PSVR2 this is the lightest feeling headset I've tried. This probably comes down to better weight distribution. The slimmer profile is bound to factor into this and the strap it comes with in the box offers better support, though I do still plan to replace it with a third party strap. If you do buy this without any intention to modify it, however, I don't think you'd be terribly burdened by the stock parts, unlike the Quest 2 where I pretty much immediately wanted to switch out the strap and the facial interface. The interface on this one is much more comfortable than the default interface on the 2. Would a third party one be better? Maybe, but I don't really feel a need to spend the money on one, at least not right now. It doesn't get all sweaty and uncomfortable like that one did. You can also adjust the lenses with a dial on the bottom now rather than having to take off the headset and physically move them with your fingers. The dial also lets you change between 10 positions instead of just 3 and it shows a handy indicator on the screen to let you know which measurement you have selected. It makes finding the sweet spot much, much easier than on any other headset I've used. 

 

Controllers

These are honestly pretty similar to the old controllers except they got rid of the tracking ring in favor of tracking LEDs on the surface of the controller itself. So far it works just fine and I haven't really had any tracking issues, at least nothing that messed up a game for me. Supposedly they don't track the space directly above your head as well as the 2 controllers did, but they track the space over your shoulders better, which seems much more important. I managed to use sniper rifles in Pavlov without losing any tracking while looking through the scope, at least.  There are also haptic triggers, but I haven't really played anything that takes advantage of these yet. The buttons and stick feel slightly higher quality, but it's not exactly like a jump from a regular controller to an elite one. The biggest improvement here is losing the rings. 

 

Visuals

This is definitely the biggest upgrade, as it should be. The Quest 2 had a pretty good screen for the time, but with VR you always just have to accept a little bit of screen door effect or a little bit of fuzziness even on good headsets. This one, however, is much more clear. The flat pancake lenses mean I never really get the sense I'm looking at lenses, if that makes any sense. I don't see any rings or anything like that. Text is crystal clear and easy to read, when before there were times when I would occasionally have to squint to read on the 2. The field of view is slightly larger, though you're still going to see the facial interface on the edges of your peripheral vision. There is a little light bleed on the bottom too, so the real world still comes through if you tilt your eyes downward, but I kind of prefer it that way because it gives me a means to orient myself if I get confused about my physical space. 

 

Features

The biggest new feature that Meta loves to tout is mixed reality. I'll be honest, I haven't really messed with any MR games, but I have used the color passthrough while wearing it, which is a HUGE improvement. While the color camera isn't exactly anything you'd want to shoot a video with, it does make it easy to see your surroundings and even check your phone without having to take off the headset. The visuals do get a little bit wobbly if you hold it too close to the lens, but this is easy enough to work around. I'm skeptical that MR games are really going to take off, especially when they're such a battery drain, but I do enjoy not having to take off the headset anytime I get a notification or a phone call.

 

Battery

This is the downside of all the new tech. I turned off the controllerless hand tracking for the sake of saving power and even then I get two hours at best out of this thing per charge. To be fair, it can charge back up to full from 0% in less than two hours, which is pretty good, but the fact remains that the Quest 3 is a power hungry beast. Don't bother plugging in ordinary power banks either, because they won't charge the headset faster than it drains power. This means that Quest 2 battery packs won't work with it either. You'll have to look for batteries that are very specifically graded for the Quest 3 because anything less than I believe 30w just won't cut it. I myself plan on buying a Kiwi battery strap as soon as they drop on Amazon, which is supposed to give you an extra 2-4 hours depending on what you're playing. 4 to 6 hours in VR is plenty, in my opinion.

 

Sound

I'm no audiophile so I can't really give you in-depth specifics about trebles or bass or anything like that. I will only say that it sounds better and louder than the 2 and I don't feel the need to use earbuds or a headset while playing it.

 

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my purchase. I know Valve is rumored to be working on an Index successor, but even if they are I'm sure it will be really expensive, so I'll probably be sticking with my $500 Quest 3. As PC headsets go (and I do primarily use it for Steam VR despite being able to play standalone games) it really is the perfect combination of convenience, comfort, affordability, and reliability for me.