Half Life - Alyx

i haven't had any issues or anything break on my G2 so far. hopefully your RMA replacement is a good one.

i did buy a 3d printed face gasket for mine from a guy on the G2 facebook page for wider FOV and it works great. i also ordered the VRbrothers rear piece that has an adjustment knob on it from amazon. it's not here yet though. i miss the tension adjustment knob that my samsung odyssey had on the back of it.

i have also been using the mamut gunstock with the mamut dx grips, but i had to modify the grips a bit to work well.

 

I hope it'll work out too. I do miss VR.

Good to hear it's been working well for you.

Do you have a picture of the face gasket you mention? I do remember the clear sweet spot is very small with the stock one. I'd be happy to try to print one.

 

i used velcro to put the stock nose piece on it, but i might change that to adhesive to make it more flush. it fits great how it is though. any smaller of a gasket and my eye lashes would touch the lenses. i have long eye lashes though.

 

Well, it's decision time. The G2 is here but I'm afraid to touch the box.

I'm considering just putting it up for sale as new/sealed and be done with it.

- If it's a lemon I can't stress enough how much I don't want to deal with HP RMA process again. If it's working, I'd still be expecting it to blow up at any random moment...
- If it's working and I decide to sell it later, I will have to do it cheaper as it will be used.

 

I havent heard of any recalls..sometimes it appears to be a mass problem when its not...open it use it enjoy...I highly doubt every unit is defective seems pretty absurd that a big company like HP would sell flawed headsets

 

In a sad but hilarious twist, yes, HP managed to cock up once more. Looks like the whole batch of RMA replacement units were sent out with missing speakers.

Sure enough, the replacement unit I received hasn't got any speakers. I did get a very quick reply from customer chat, and an HP employee on reddit confirmed too, they will send out speakers. Haven't got an email confirmation yet so who knows how long this will take.

I have only one question, how bad one has to be at their job to package and send out units without even checking if they are complete. How is that person employed by HP? They can't blame it on the factory as the boxes were not sealed. I got in a large box, my original box with the bad headset taken out and next to it, a smaller box with a new replacement headset - missing speakers.


So yeah... I would advise anyone to stay as far away from HP as possible.

 

omg dude you are so unlucky unreal.....hang in there as frustrating as it may be

 

Nah, I'm not dealing with HP anymore. Even if it works at first when I get the speakers (if I get them), I can't stop just thinking about how fragile these seem to be and how randomly and suddenly issues come up. If it breaks again, I truly don't want to have to deal with HPs incompetent agents. Sorry if this sounds bad but I've given them all the benefit of doubt I had. I've always been polite yet they always tell me different stories and just give me the runaround. None of them just owned up to the mess they started.

The shipping time for an Index is 2 weeks now. I've placed an order and I'll sell the G2 as soon as I have all the parts.

I already feel much better. Also not having to deal with WMR anymore is a great welcome bonus.

 

lol, 2 polar opposite updates today

- the missing speakers from the replacement G2 are back-ordered. No one knows how long it will take HP to send a pair to me.
- Valve already shipped the Index today. It will be here on Friday. Can't wait for a VR filled weekend

 

Why on earth would you buy a wired headset that is tethered...oculus 2 is a no brainer....index is like buying a laptop without an operating system...movies web games all built in wirelessly is the future not two screens wired to a computer. I hope your happy but id say the oculus 2 with 512gb is the future

 

I do understand that the Quest 2 is a good option but for now I just want something that works well, no latency, no jumping through hoops to play PC games, no tracking issues.
Having played with inside out tracking with the G2, I don't think the technology is there just yet to compete with an actual base station setup. Also, the Quest 2 controllers seem very very similar to the G2 ones and I really did not like those. Lastly, there's the facebook factor. I am actually willing to pay a premium to not have to touch something they own/designed/bought/have to do with.

All these are enough for me to be happy with paying the full price for an Index kit for now. Who knows what comes next.

 

Facebook.

 

Can you play it on Oculus Quest 2 without a PC/Laptop??

 

No. From what I've been reading, you need capable hardware to run these games which then somehow get streamed to the Quest 2 (not clear if you end up completely wireless also).

 

Yeah that’s what I thought.

apart from Walking Dead S&S which is excellent — there’s little reason to get an Oculus quest 2.

Infact to be perfectly honest — VR is still disappointingly limited in terms of truly killer apps. PSVR resolution is pitiful. I was considering upgrading to a better headset, but there’s just no games there is little reason to.

Not sure why they don’t pump out more ‘experiences’.
I’d be fine with on the rails fantasy, space or underwater, as long as it was visually compelling.

I mean Chk this —

Even that. I must of watched 50+.... it’s short and sweet, but the graphics are good and it’s enough.

They should concentrate on making short little experiences. That would certainly satiate my VR hunger, at least until some actual proper games started coming out

To this day the shark cage PSVR demo honestly has yet to be beat for that wow factor. I suppose it was my first foray into VR.

But VR is just not there yet.

Of course I have not played Alyx, but honestly there’s so much crap out there, little one note visually unappealing VR games. A sea of mediocrity.


It’s frustrating because ever since my first dip VR really blew me away.
But I’ve been waiting for the games to arrive ever since!

hopefully RE8 will be in VR !

 

i dont know i almost bought an index but went with the old quest...im happy

wireless is good i dont see how you can turn that into a negative and facebook is used by billions so its safe to say bizzare opinion

2.7 billion

With over 2.7 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2020, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide.


basically you would need an iq of 198 confirmed to argue against the 2.7 billion monthly users.

im not saying your iq isnt 198...just would be nice too see a backing up.

also no you can obviously not run alyx stand alone but yes you can wirelessly and yes its amazing

 

I suppose for those that don’t use Facebook it’s a negative, because your forced to login in with Facebook arnt you?

Personally I have not used my Facebook account for years....

But I would say the Quest 2 is hands down the best headset for the price, plus wireless is a real game changer!

The drawback is that there is less games available for the quest, such as Alyx — unless you have a VR ready PC.

 

msfs2020.alyx.skyrim vr

thats true of all headsets though....if you dont have a vr pc your not playing vr pc games..the quest 1 which i own is not very good but the quest 2 was a gigantic leap in the right direction and at 299usd is unbeatable....they have sold millions and it was just released

and as for getting quest 2??

higher rez higher fov higher hertz and wireless vr?????????

https://developer.oculus.com/learn/oculus-device-specs/

also they are talking about 120 hz being released soon

grabbed from google

SuperData expects unit sales for the Quest 2 to reach 3 million for the full year of 2021. The Valve Index sold 56,000 units last quarter, also constrained by supply. Sign up for The VR & AR newsletter and get the best of GamesIndustry.biz in your inbox.Oct 28, 2020

 

Personal preference. For some it's fine, whereas others, myself included, prefer to avoid Facebook as much as possible.
A company with very shady morals and data hoarders. The amount of data they collect on their users is nuts. And I know this will sound a bit too 1984, but given the opportunity they will probably map the entire VR user apartment through their headset just to collect more data.
Moreover they are also pathological liars. Remember when they said they would keep Whatsapp and Oculus separately from Facebook. Look how that turned out to be...
Oh and let's not forget about the whole Cambridge Analytica thing...

But yeah, it's fine... There is a choice and when you ask why one wouldn't use Oculus Quest 2, there's your answer.
For some it's not a problem, so Oculus Quest 2 is a perfect option.

Initially I wanted to buy Rift S, on paper it's a great headset price/performance wise.
But yeah, the whole Facebook thing was huge downer for me so I bought Samsung Odyssey Plus instead. Does the job just fine.

 

oh ok killkenny I understand...I am personally not anti facebook...all good

dimitri or whatever your name is back check deeper....much deeper so deep you cannot reply..

but all kidding aside yes facebook is decpetive but is it really worth giving up a set of hardware that is miles above its competition


edit.. yes I like your posts killkenny1 I'm always looking too what you will say next but honestly whats with all the facebook hate

also my real name is Ryan J Evans and im wondering what yours is...I'm never going to hide as I know who i am and not scared...nothing to hide from...also for the rest of the forum I was born december 21st 1984 ala killkenney1s post..

also ill add I'm in with god(666) I can do what I like but I choose to do what I need not what I want

 

Kenny summed it up pretty well, lemme paste the quote again:

I'm pretty sure there's more but I really don't plan on wasting time to do research on this.
As I said, this alone would be enough for me too to pay a premium for the Index, but there are many other advantages.

 

yeah you and kenney are prob right but i dont need facebook for the quest 1 only 2

sigh

kenny1 i am not worthy ala waynes world

 

I haven't tried a Quest 2, but the fact that games like Onward lowered their resolution and textures to be optimized for Quest 2 and didn't leave a high texture option for PCVR users kinda was kinda upsetting. luckily the backlash from PCVR users was so strong that Onward patched the visuals back up to what it was before. i just hope going forward most developers aren't targeting Quest 2 wireless mode levels of optimization since it's so popular.

i don't really care about the facebook tie in. i never understood why people care about facebook privacy. you are in control of what goes on your facebook. it's your own damn fault if something gets out about you that you didn't want to.

 

Funny, looks like I really do need all planets aligned so I can finally get in VR.

The Index was delivered today but I was busy around the house so I ignored the box most of the day. I did install Alyx though.

Started unboxing pretty late in the evening - side node, this is how to properly box up a VR kit. Also, everything in the box, from cables to plastic parts are much much higher quality compared to the G2. The Index controllers... maan they feel great. It's clear a that the was an actual design process and someone put some though into how to make them. HP should really be ashamed for botching up a product which otherwise had so much potential.

Anyway... obviously the Index needs a displayport to connect the headset and my laptop only has a mini displayport. lol
I do wish they'd have included some adapters but this one is on me, I probably should've watched some unboxing videos or read the specs in advance. So yeah, I'm going to look at it until Monday

 

if you still have the G2 you were saying you were going to sell then just use the displayport to mini displayport adapter they give you with the G2 for a few days till you get another.

 

omg, I'm such a knucklehead! You're right, there's an adapter in the G2 box. Before this, I cleaned out all the places I have electronics stashed looking for one. lol

Thanks!

 

Finally we can get back on topic here. I'm going to start another Alyx playthrough soon. Can't wait to see the game again. This time I'll try to get used to real motion, not just teleport. For now I'm practicing in Boneworks.

Not much to say about the Index. It's awesome and it works perfectly. Not a single hiccup during setup, no tracking issues at all, it just works.
The controllers are amazing. They feel completely natural when grabbing on to things. The aiming position when shooting is also just right.

I guess it would be fair to also talk about the compromise elephant in the room, the screen resolution. It is noticeably lower than the G2. If you focus on it, the pixels are visible but it's not annoying and so far it doesn't feel it takes away from the experience. The G2 screen is clearly superior, but only resolution-wise. The Index makes up for it with much better overall build quality and more importantly with 144Hz which I instantly noticed by how smooth everything felt. It's possible this is not everyone's opinion, but I would gladly sacrifice a little resolution/image quality in favor of higher refresh rate. The difference from 90Hz to 144Hz is huge. The FoV is also higher (adjustable - you can move the screens as close to your eyes as it's comfortable).


*yes, I know that while I have the G2 I could set it up to run with the Index controllers but in all honesty I have zero interest in doing that. I really don't want to touch Windows Mixed Reality and the G2 again.

 

im very close to getting an index and heard the finger tracking is really accurate.. thoughts on finger tracking in alyx?

 

Haven't started Alyx just yet so I can't say about that but having played around a bit in SteamVR, it seems to work very well. It feels like magic the way it actually knows where your fingers are. I think it's all done with pressure sensors in the grip and the software learns to "assume" very quickly which finger you're moving and how far.

No idea if there is an actual gameplay use for this finger tracking in Alyx, apart from cosmetic (you can see which fingers you're moving individually).

The one thing that is implemented in Alyx that I know of and works only with the Index controllers is how you activate grenades (you just squeeze the controller a bit, no need to press any buttons).

 

i like the idea of opening and closing hands to pick up items....its the immersion factor

 

Yes, it really does add a lot to the immersion but at first it messes with your brain pretty hard. In Boneworks I was either dropping my gun randomly or when I wanted to put it down, I wouldn't let go.

 

resolution is an issue.....I have the quest 1 and am thinking of upgrading to quest 2 too get rid of screen door effect and pixelation which is bothersome

 

Hey guys, i just bought an used Dell Visor from Ebay at an really low price, what do you think of the Glass, can i run alyx on it? this will be my first experience with vr. Other then alyx what else do you recommend for games and stuff to try and see what vr is about?

 

msfs 2020
skyrim vr
robo recall
vader imortal
vr desktop
list goes on and on and welcome

 

Cool thx, yes lets see how is going to behave the dell visor with them. Looking foward to it

 

honestly after 8 months with the quest id say the best thing is virtual desktop...playing all my steam games in a theater wirelessly is something else I sit on the couch and enjoy everything about my computer wirelessly.....doesnt get any better....if you only have 20 bucks Id say buy that and save for other apps.


and bro @Cylix101 you have a killer setup....1080 holds its own in 2021

 

Ok cool im gonna get that for sure! Yes the clevo 1080 sure its a beast,shredding everyting in FulllHD, only CP2077 does put it to the test. Wanna change it only because of DLSS and Raytracing but until now no word on the Clevo 30xx series and if my chassis will get support, if not prolly need to look for a used 2080 or better the Super one.

 

Finally HP sent the missing speakers. Looks like a new set, sealed. The G2 is finally complete, new headset (I haven't even peeled off the foil from the lenses and new speakers). Keep an eye on the marketplace section, I'm going to post a sale ad soon. It's possible I could return it, but to be honest, I really don't want to deal with HP customer service any more.

 

naw 1080 is fine

 

i hope you check out the vd....pretty impressive operating your computer on a 160 foot screen

 

Not yet, today im going to get the Visor, hope DHL deliver it and it works, lol, never know with used stuff from ebay

 

did you get your visor yet? keep us updated

 

Hi yes, got it yesterday, sadly the price was to good to be true, after i played around with it for 1 2 hours from nothing i got a black line in the middle of the left lens..its going straight from the the top in the middle . I think i got a line of broken pixels..??

I opened it and tried to see if the cable is bad but all the connection are good inside so i think is the left screen, i ordered a new one off aliexpress but i have to wait until April. Hope its the screen but something was strange first the line appeared from nothing and then it disappeared and after 15 min it appeared again and its staying there. The rest is working ok,, controls and the rest.

Now got some general questions about it: is it normal that everyting is a little blurry? I mean inside the steamvr, at the corners of the screen and in the distance? And those movies on youtube, the 360 ones, i put 8k res but they are still not sharper like a normal pc screen? I guess because of the resolution of the visor is like that? And the games are a little pixelated.. Think i was expecting sharpness like in real life lol, the technology is not there yet i think because i looked at the newer ones and the biggest res is that Pimax 8k but not that much as the visor with 1440x1440.

 

return get a quest 2

 

did you get it sorted out? I highly recommend a quest 2

 

Hi , im going to keep and replace the screen, for the money was a steal even if i need to repair it, it costed me around 80 Euros and the screeen was 20 so with 100 im fine, Quest 2 is still to expensive for what im using it, For the time i have to play around in vr, the dell visor is ok once repaired

 

you will enjoy vr no matter what headset you go with....its pretty slick

 

it looks like a oculus quest pro is coming and if its 4k its an instant buy for me regardless of facebook hate.

 

cheap vr solution thats actually worth a cent?

shadow pc and a quest from ebay for 150

verdict?

unreal deal for 170 you can experience one of the greatest games of all time and when games like cyberpunk cost 80 it's a small price to pay

side note ... with the quest 1 you don't need facebook and its a oled display