Comprehensive Rift vs. Vive comparison

[Tamlin_WSGF]

Here is one of the most comprehensive Rift vs Vive comparisons I´ve seen from a users point of view. Its over an hour long and I think it was very well made.

 

[MavericK]

Always interested in seeing these types of videos...will check it out when I have time. Thanks for posting!

 

[SBSuperfly]

This guy didn't include the motion controllers? In the first few minutes he says it wouldn't be fair because Oculus was more focused on the headset while Steam focused on motion controls. Well, he saved an hour and 18min of my life. The review is totally worthless without looking at the products as a whole.

Edit: I went ahead and watched the whole thing. The review is not bad. I'm not sure it was worth 1hr 18min of my time, but it was informative. His conclusions definitely aren't overly influenced by other reviews. He outright contradicts other reviews in some instances.

 

[MavericK]

This guy didn't include the motion controllers? In the first few minutes he says it wouldn't be fair because Oculus was more focused on the headset while Steam focused on motion controls. Well, he saved an hour and 18min of my life. The review is totally worthless without looking at the products as a whole.

I thought the same thing as you when I heard that, but then I kept going because he does get into more of the actual ergonomics, optics, etc. of the headsets themselves that are fairly interesting. He does also mention that he is just focusing on the headsets alone, not the overall experience.

 

[LurkerLito]

I liked that comparison video a lot. I learned a bunch of stuff I wanted to know about the HTC Vive cause I am kind of thinking of getting one. But ugh it has the touch pads on the motion controllers and not thumbsticks. I hate that dam right touch pad on the steam controller as a "second thumbstick". But man look at all those wires on the HTC lol.

 

[MavericK]

I really don't see much of a point to a thumbstick on a motion controller, especially with room scale. You're either going to be teleporting or walking around physically, and the touchpad is far more versatile overall.

 

[LurkerLito]

Thumbsticks are better for movement in FPS type games than the touchpads. The teleporting feature in that one game video I see is an interesting idea on the vive, but it would suck if every game copied it. I don't want to play every game where I play a guy who has no use of his legs. You need to stand still and let the left hand thumb be your movement, push forward and you walk/run forward depending on how hard you press forward, back to go back and left/right to turn or strafe with the say the trigger pressed. That way you can actually turn around to look behind you and shoot with the other hand while still moving forward. It won't be full immersion but it will work better than teleporting to each spot in every game IMHO. You can kind of do that with the touchpad, but there is a thumbstick for movement on the left side of the steam controller for a reason. Movement always gets messed up with touch controls, just go play any android game that uses a dual stick like setup with onscreen touch "sticks" and you will feel it. You move it forward but at some point you'll leave the circle and it will do weird things as you come back towards center. Lifting the thumb off the area screws you up even further because you can press a bit off center and then things can go nuts depending on how they coded it to track the thumb. With the steam controller touchpad a similar thing happens in dual stick mode, it's better for the touch pad to be in "trackball" mode to reduce the weirdness. I completely agree with the video that if occulus' motion controller has a thumbstick on both hands it will be very much superior over the Vive one with the touchpads.

That said, even with that touchpad issue, I'd still rather get a Vive. IMHO they should just make the FPS type Vive games use both a controller (held only in the left hand for the analog stick and trigger for movement) and a single Vive motion controller in the other hand for the gun part. Kind of the way it works with the old PS3 Move in Killzone 3 but without being limited to having to face forward.

As far as room scale IMHO it's a limited feature for me. I know I really can't use it due to space requirements. I can basically only stand in a small area and turn 360 degrees, crouch and maybe one small step in any direction, so really I don't even consider it a real option for movement.

I guess in the end I'll just have to figure it out when I get the Vive. Not sure when I am getting one but I have been kind of thinking about it a lot. Last time I got like this was when upgrade-itis hit me and I had to get a 980Ti.

 

[noko]

Room scale for home to me would rather limited too, it would also mandate a given area to be maintained for active use. The Omni is my best hope and would solve a number of issues with VR particularly motion with legs. I too don't like the idea of teleportation as a viable solution, maybe in a few game types or parts of a game. I just lack real experience with a VR headset as well. Maybe best if I wait a few months to see how touch and other devices for VR turn up.

 

[MavericK]

Well, with HTC allowing other developers to make peripherals using their tracking sensors, we could/probably will see some other controller options, some of which might even have thumbsticks.

As far as room scale IMHO it's a limited feature for me. I know I really can't use it due to space requirements. I can basically only stand in a small area and turn 360 degrees, crouch and maybe one small step in any direction, so really I don't even consider it a real option for movement.

Whereas for me, that is the whole draw of the Vive. So I guess it depends on what you want to do with the HMD. Most people seem to concur that the Rift is superior if you just want a sitting / controller-based experience.

 

[pj-]

Thumbsticks are better for movement in FPS type games than the touchpads. The teleporting feature in that one game video I see is an interesting idea on the vive, but it would suck if every game copied it. I don't want to play every game where I play a guy who has no use of his legs. You need to stand still and let the left hand thumb be your movement, push forward and you walk/run forward depending on how hard you press forward, back to go back and left/right to turn or strafe with the say the trigger pressed. That way you can actually turn around to look behind you and shoot with the other hand while still moving forward. It won't be full immersion but it will work better than teleporting to each spot in every game IMHO.

Joystick movement in VR is a terrible idea. Some people can handle it but the majority will get motion sickness instantly. The first time you experience it in VR you realize why valve/oculus discourage it so heavily. Most room scale games for vive use teleportation for locomotion. It is basically guaranteed to be comfortable and it works very well. The "dash" used by Raw Data and Doom is slightly different and apparently less immersion breaking than a "blink" teleport that's common now.

The absolute worst thing to do in VR is joystick movement with variable speeds. Acceleration causes the most discomfort so games that do allow for joystick movement usually only 1 movement speed, with no acceleration/deceleration. When you let off the stick you stop immediately.

The good news is that lots of developers are adding multiple movement options in their games, so you are able to pick what works best for you. In general though, full analog joystick movement is a bad idea and would probably be blocked from Oculus' store. If not, it would be a guaranteed "Intense" rating.

That said, even with that touchpad issue, I'd still rather get a Vive. IMHO they should just make the FPS type Vive games use both a controller (held only in the left hand for the analog stick and trigger for movement) and a single Vive motion controller in the other hand for the gun part. Kind of the way it works with the old PS3 Move in Killzone 3 but without being limited to having to face forward.

As far as room scale IMHO it's a limited feature for me. I know I really can't use it due to space requirements. I can basically only stand in a small area and turn 360 degrees, crouch and maybe one small step in any direction, so really I don't even consider it a real option for movement.

There are already some fun FPS on vive. The best one I've played is Battle Dome. It's made by one dude so it looks like crap but the gameplay is extremely fun. It has a mechanic inspired by Splatoon, where you can only teleport to parts of the map that have been painted by your team. You teleport/paint with one controller and shoot with the other. There is a cool down on the teleport so you're not just seeing blurs of red and blue streak across the map.

More room is always better but since most games have teleportation you don't really NEED a huge amount of space for a lot of "room scale" games.

Room scale for home to me would rather limited too, it would also mandate a given area to be maintained for active use. The Omni is my best hope and would solve a number of issues with VR particularly motion with legs. I too don't like the idea of teleportation as a viable solution, maybe in a few game types or parts of a game. I just lack real experience with a VR headset as well. Maybe best if I wait a few months to see how touch and other devices for VR turn up.

I live in a 1BR apartment and am able to get a clear 2m x 3m space by moving a chair and the coffee table in my living room. It takes about 2 minutes to set up for VR including getting the headset out and turning everything on. The biggest problem most people would have is probably having their PC close enough to the VR space.

I don't think treadmills are a good solution. They take up a lot of space, are expensive, and don't actually simulate acceleration. E.g. when you go from a stop to walking speed, your feet will be moving but your head will not. The mismatch of information in your brain (seeing acceleration, not feeling it) could trigger the motion sickness response in a lot of people. It also will feel very unnatural when you walk over uneven surfaces. Imagine playing Fallout 4 VR with a treadmill. You are walking at a constant speed and approach a set of stairs. Your brain sees that you are ascending, but your body is stationary on a flat surface with just your legs moving.. This can also trigger motion sickness. Another negative is that you're kind of strapped in so you can't bend over to pick something up or take a closer look at a pretty VR flower. You can't even lean very much really.

 

[Aireoth]

Joystick movement in VR is a terrible idea. Some people can handle it but the majority will get motion sickness instantly. The first time you experience it in VR you realize why valve/oculus discourage it so heavily. Most room scale games for vive use teleportation for locomotion. It is basically guaranteed to be comfortable and it works very well. The "dash" used by Raw Data and Doom is slightly different and apparently less immersion breaking than a "blink" teleport that's common now.

I can attest to this, had the DK2 and have a Vive (couldn't support Oculus practices). I can play the vive for hours and feel comfortable and fine (even exercised) but using a xbox remote on either system results in significant motion sickness over time, longest session I got in the Oculus was 2 hours and that took Gravol. Even sitting it happens.

Honestly, how to move about a larger VR environment is the biggest challenge these systems face.

 

[LurkerLito]

Joystick movement in VR is a terrible idea. Some people can handle it but the majority will get motion sickness instantly. The first time you experience it in VR you realize why valve/oculus discourage it so heavily. Most room scale games for vive use teleportation for locomotion. It is basically guaranteed to be comfortable and it works very well. The "dash" used by Raw Data and Doom is slightly different and apparently less immersion breaking than a "blink" teleport that's common now.

The absolute worst thing to do in VR is joystick movement with variable speeds. Acceleration causes the most discomfort so games that do allow for joystick movement usually only 1 movement speed, with no acceleration/deceleration. When you let off the stick you stop immediately.

The good news is that lots of developers are adding multiple movement options in their games, so you are able to pick what works best for you. In general though, full analog joystick movement is a bad idea and would probably be blocked from Oculus' store. If not, it would be a guaranteed "Intense" rating.

ROFL really? I guess there goes that idea. I am pretty sensitive to motion sickness. It's the main reason I have waited so long. I still want to try it though sitting down of course so I don't topple over. With a bad FOV almost all FPS games make me sick. It's a min FOV of 90 to be playable for me. At a FOV of 60-70 I get about 30 minutes max before I have to stop (in some games not even 10 minutes like in some spots in Sniper Ghost Warrior 1).

Strangely though Racing and Flight sims don't affect me that much which is what I want the Vive for mainly.

 

[Isti-Pisti]

ROFL really? I guess there goes that idea. I am pretty sensitive to motion sickness. It's the main reason I have waited so long. I still want to try it though sitting down of course so I don't topple over. With a bad FOV almost all FPS games make me sick. It's a min FOV of 90 to be playable for me. At a FOV of 60-70 I get about 30 minutes max before I have to stop (in some games not even 10 minutes like in some spots in Sniper Ghost Warrior 1).

Strangely though Racing and Flight sims don't affect me that much which is what I want the Vive for mainly.

Same here! I am identical to you when it comes to motion sickness. Racing and Flight sims are fine but all FPS games induce it immediately.
I was really worried that I would not be able to enjoy VR before I finally got to test the Vive. I was extremely surprised and happy to learn that using the Vive had no negative effect whatsoever
This may be due to the controls and movement that have wisely been chosen, so I am glad they refrained from introducing joystick movement mechanics that are suggested in the thread.

 

[tybert7]

Room scale for home to me would rather limited too, it would also mandate a given area to be maintained for active use. The Omni is my best hope and would solve a number of issues with VR particularly motion with legs. I too don't like the idea of teleportation as a viable solution, maybe in a few game types or parts of a game. I just lack real experience with a VR headset as well. Maybe best if I wait a few months to see how touch and other devices for VR turn up.

Maybe I'm just being a lazy sack but.. do people want to game for extended periods walking around in an Omni? Seems incredibly uncomfortable.

 

[Tamlin_WSGF]

This guy didn't include the motion controllers? In the first few minutes he says it wouldn't be fair because Oculus was more focused on the headset while Steam focused on motion controls. Well, he saved an hour and 18min of my life. The review is totally worthless without looking at the products as a whole.

Edit: I went ahead and watched the whole thing. The review is not bad. I'm not sure it was worth 1hr 18min of my time, but it was informative. His conclusions definitely aren't overly influenced by other reviews. He outright contradicts other reviews in some instances.

I liked the review well, especially since its a review over months spend with the headsets and he focus on the headsets themselves. Extra gear is something that will come more and more of, especially now that Vive has opened the lighthouse to third party controllers. The headsets are the bottom line and though the controllers and room scale brings VR to another level of immersion in my opinion, its an addon to VR itself.

Reviews of the Rift and Vive is often based upon little time using them, his was based upon extensive usage, which made it more comprehensive then the ones from the regular review sites.