D**I
PHENOMENAL minus BOUNDARY-SHIFT!
My Oculus Quest 64GB arrived today. I was sweating, bare chested dancing with an alien and boxing within 15 minutes, but I’ll start from the beginning and I’ll take about my BOUNDARY-SHIFT!-----------------UNBOXING / HEADSETThe box (pictured) is quite substantial. A very solid box inside the outer sleeve, contains all the gear with dense padding affixed inside giving a feel of assurance and quality.Taking out the headset first, I felt the fabric coating around the sides. This gave an extra feel of quality and it certainly felt different from the cheaper plastic of the Go. I wondered at this point if it were appropriate however since people *might sweat whilst using this and the fabric would absorb it. The padding around the headset which makes contact with the face appears to be the same foam as the Go. This too will definitely soak up sweat, though arguably necessary for comfort - and you’re going to want that playing for long periods of time.The front of the headset is a nice smooth, ‘premium’ plastic with the logo Oculus embossed at the bottom. Four cameras shine an aura of blue in each corner and it’s these things which marked the most interesting feature I wanted to see - augmented reality - awareness of the room!The colour is of the headset is black with the fabric taking on a more dark grey colour.Buttons / ports on the headset include: Volume + and -, focus slider and two headphone jacks at either side. The focus slider makes a literal mechanical horizontal adjustment to the two screens behind the lenses I believe.There’s a fixed shape rubber band at the back of the headset with side and upper velcro adjusters. I put the headset on, resisting powering up, and found I only had to adjust each side by 1cm or so. Once it’s secured to your face, there’s a ‘give’ in the elastic which allows you to pull it out a few centimetres from your face. I found this such more more comfortable than the Go which relies upon elastic to hold on the head. What’s more you can slide it back in to reduce the overall headset size when not in use and slide back out (to your preset head size) when you put it on.There’s a smaller box inside containing: USB cable, 15w USB AC adapter, a ‘frame friendly’ spacer (for those who wear spectacles), instructions and 2 AA batteries - one for each controller.All present nicely and very Mac like.—————————TOUCH CONTROLLERSThe controller also have two textures. Smooth plastic on top with a very pleasing rubber with plenty of grip on the underside which is very subtly ribbed.The buttons comprise; trigger, side trigger, shiny Y and X buttons reminiscent of an XBOX controller, a thumb-stick reminiscent of a Nintendo Switch controller and an Oculus button. The trigger and side trigger are used for various ‘hand’ functions such as grab and point, though this will differ according to the application. The Oculus button is used to reset alignment on screen. A double click of this button takes you back to the home screen. Each controller has what feel like a smooth suede wrist strap for safety so you don’t launch them by accident.The controller feel very similar to the Go, apart from the buttons and thumbtack are where the smooth touchpad is, and of course, there’s a big sensor ring at the end.Overall feel is very robust and they have a slight weight to them since they contain the all important….RUMBLE. Now we can feel the action. Fire a gun and we feel the kick. Get punched in the face, we feel the impact.———————————STARTING UP ***SPOILERS***It took me a good minute to find the power button since it blends against the side of the headset. Pressing it, nothing happened and I assumed it may need a charge, but holding it a little longer and more firmly it switched on.Racing to fit it in my head to eagerly admire the image quality difference between this and the Go, I put it on. The Oculus logo was there - a little bit closer than what I remember on the Go, much brighter, but blurred. It took the same level of physical up and down adjustment as it did with the Go. Once you do it, it’s easy to do it again, which is fortunate since it’s always necessary. On the Quest however, we have the focus slider at the button of the headset which slides the inner screens to give an even greater focus in accordance with ones own eye spacing. I was at the startup screen and though dull and monotone colours were present, the vividness was already showing.After pairing with the app on my iPad which I already has installed for the Go, I connected to WiFi (it failed to connect to my extender, but this doesn’t matter to me) and I was prompted that a download was taking place. This took around 15 mins.Once complete I wasn’t greeted with the typical home screen I’m used to.Instead, I was suddenly looking at my sitting room in a monochrome 3D. I was shocked.I was then prompted to set the floor level and draw a line around the safe areas of the floor to mark a boundary, which if I stepped close to or over, it would warn me. Quickly putting my cat in another room, I put the headset back on and drew my boundary. It set up a visible matrix in my sitting room. This was getting good!With that done, I was left standing in the middle of my sitting room in darkness (on the screen) before being whisked into a totally immersive, vibrant psychedelic intro. I said ‘wow’ and I meant it. The Go hasn’t managed to deliver this level of experience! Fractals flying everywhere, I eventually lay to rest standing in a room with objects and activities to learn how to use the controllers which act as hands to point and make fists. I set off rockets, played punchball and played a shooting game which was great in its own right and I felt the RUMBLE for the first time which was effective.The immersiveness is outstanding The colours are outstanding in comparison to the subtly washed out colours of the Go. I felt part of it and inside of the experience.I could physically walk around my living room inside of this cage / matrix which would only appear of I got close to its boundaries. The the REAL room would show. If I’m half in, half out, or if I stick my head throw the boundary, I can see half VR, half real room. Absolutely and utterly bizarre!Next I’m standing in a room and I have to physically walk over to an alien robot character to dance. I danced for 5 minutes sweating.At one point I braved an eloquent twirl. The twirl was a mistake. I witnessed what I called ‘BOUNDARY-SHIFT’ (You heard it here first). The boundary as I later found out, after hitting my knuckles full force on my door frame, had shifted about 15 cm to the read of my sitting room. The ‘safe zone’ was now over the doorframe, my standing acoustic guitar my fireplace. Not good. I did find however after testing, that it is very reliable. Just ensure that you don’t do an eloquent twirl or you’ll witness BOUNDARY-SHIFT.The overall recommended area to clear in the room is 2m x 2m, but I only have a narrow sitting room and adjoined bedroom in my apartment which gives me a 1.5m narrow strip of floor, which is adequate. Naturally, there’s also an option for being stationery too. A personal boundary is present with this option.———————IMAGE QUALITYColours are much more vibrant that the Go as mentioned. This no doubt will be due to the OLED technology in each of the two lenses. Although I assumed this would be nice, it’s more than that. It adds lot to the immersiveness. The resolution looks better. The Quest, has 400 more pixels per eye than the Go if I remember, but the pixel comparisons were deemed void due to sub pixels being a factor.Oculus Go: 1280 x 1440 per eye - 5.5-inch display Oculus Quest: 1,440 x 1,600 pixels per eye - 72Hz OLED display.Difference: 160 x 160 (for what it's worth). Most notably the ‘screen door effect’ (grinding) looks about 50% less and this does add a lot to the immersiveness. Everything is a lot more clear than the Go and you actually feel like you're in the VR location. It all feels a lot more real - almost like looking through binoculars without magnification.There seems to be less eye strain. Less effort to have to process the image with the brain. It’s just more relaxed and more easy to look at. It's like being there, whereas the Go had a constant feel of looking at a screen.The level of depth is so much more greater than the Go.Glare is actually very noticeable when there’s a bit of white on a black background - a splash screen for example with a logo, but thankfully this dissipates when an array off colours are presented simultaneously. The focus slider the the bottom of the headset can also help to reduce glare - or at least the most prominent position of the glare.Though this isn’t directly related to image, there was a slight bleed of light seeping through the nose bridge of the headset. This is noticeable too when there’s a black background or dark scene. It’s very slight (at least in the case of my nose).——————SOUNDThe sound appears to be pretty much the same as the Go with the speakers situated in the side straps.The lows, mids and highs seem around the same.The only difference which I think I noticed was that the max volume was a little lower which didn’t make any difference.I must admit, I’m sure why there are two headphone sockets at either side of the headset, so comments regarding this would be appreciated.*** I will be experimenting with a pair of Senheisser HD650s later.———————————APPS & GAMES / PERFORMANCEI was quite surprised at the very limited selection of games and apps available currently on launch.I do intend to take my time and appreciate each individual game before I buy the next, but the Store does seem very empty currently.I still have a lot more to discover, but at this point it looks like my Go games aren’t compatible since they aren’t on the store. it would appear there are two separate stores for Go and Quest. Understandably so from the standpoint of Go which has lesser hardware, but vice-versa, I’d expect to see all the existing Go games. Perhaps at this point, I’ve missed something.Regardless, those demo’s I’ve played from the small selection which appeared to have downloaded automatically during installation, they are phenomenal - ‘Rise to Glory’ (Boxing)in particular. At first, it really is overwhelming (in a good way) when there’s someone right infront of you throwing punches. It’s really something that has to be witnessed since words do it no justice.Next I played Sports Scramble - a tennis game in which you hit all kinds of sports balls / projectiles and use an array of different bats and objects. I played literally soaked with sweat against an online opponent. Thoroughly enjoyable. A great laugh and pick-me-up.Overall, the degree of accuracy, together with the responsiveness of the controllers to interact with the environment just makes this shine. It works and it works well!Head tracking appeared to be notably more responsive, so needless to say this gives a more true-to-life experience. There is no delay and no feel of ‘drag’. I will be testing this too when then hardware is pushed to close to the limit with a fast action game.** I’m due to buy Robo Recall since this looks like one that’s going to fully test and boast the hardware capabilities.The refresh rate of the Oculus Quest is 72Hz.———————FINAL THOUGHTSThis isn’t just slightly better than the Go. It’s another level entirely.It looks better and this time, it does feel like a virtual world, rather than simply looking at (and around) one.To walk in a virtual world after setting up the boundary matrix in your house / room is something else.Playing tennis, then walking off to poke your head through the grid to see your real room is amazing.Whilst I still have a lot more adventuring ahead of me, I know already that the general experience (with games aside) make this something to buy and experience.I’ve already given my family a Go for xmas, but I can’t wait for them to experience this at the weekend.Having the ability to WALK, and use two hands to handle objects and interact with the environment, just bring this completely to life.If you’re new to VR (and perhaps considering the Go too), Oculus Quest is the one to buy - no question.Everyone needs to experience this!Advantages* Room-scale freedom!* Mixed reality is amazing* Brilliant colour in contrast to the Go — OLED Lenses* Greater feeling of being elsewhere - in a room / place.* Sharper image with much greater feel of depth* More responsive head tracking* Headset fan (when it turns on) is near silent* Comfortable & easy to fit* Much less eye strain & post-disorientation* Quality, responsive controllers with rumble* Good battery life* Comfortable Weight* No PC required* Two controller / hand articulationDisadvantages* Launch titles are limited* Physical games cause the padding to literally soak in sweat* Fabric cover, though nice, is prone to sweat and grime too* Facebook is still required to furnish the home area and watch media* Glare with white on dark backgrounds* BOUNDARY-SHIFT from eloquent twirling
Z**N
The Future of Gaming looks "AMAZING"
The media could not be loaded. So I have been gaming since i was about 5 years old. First playing on a Atari back in its heyday then moving from console to console and PC gaming over the cause of 30 years. I have seen and tried most consoles. they have come and gone and some evolved. But I can honestly say that the future of gaming is here and this feels not only new but for once not a gimmick. I havent in a long time got actual goosebumps when playing a game and I think the other console creators need to pay attention and just admire the pure and fresh take on this gaming industry. Been playing on the console now for a few days and I am absolutely having a blast. I havent played any PC or console gaming since I openned the box.Packaging:First off we have to thank Apple for the benchmarking in packaging. The console is packaged perfectly and as a customer really appricate the effort that goes into something as simple as a box with a well packaged product. This shows pride in a product and I think they nailed this one.The Headset:I have not had a VR headset of my own until now, so I can't really compare it to other VR headsets. But for a first time user I think it fits well. The ways it fits your head is well designed, light and easy to adjust when someone else wants to have a turn. I have been putting in about 4 hour sessions at a time and I just get lost in the immersion. The headset tracking system is incredible and the gaurdian system works extemely well even in smaller rooms. You will, however, need a mobile phone to install the Oculus App to start your adventure.Controllers:This was a something new for me, the tutorial was excellent and blew my mind. It didn't take me long to get the hang of it, and the more you use it the better it gets. My daughter wanted to have a go, she didnt even need the tutorial. I passed her the headset and controllers and she figured it all out in about two beat saber songs. The controllers are very well built and super responsive, I have yet to see any latency in this area.Visuals:This is mind blowing for me. The colours pop out and are vibrant and really makes you feel like you actually in the game. I know there are better headsets out there but just being able to pull this headset out of the box and going into the virtual world is insane. When you start the tutorial (as a novice to this) you will see exactly what I mean. The colours are perfect and it met every expectation I had and so much more.Sound:The sound is in the head straps, is pretty cool. Something new to me again but can't fault it at all. I dont know how they do it but those little speakers are amazing and send a good polished clear sound to both ears. When I am playing on my own I just attach my astros to them and close myself off to the rest of the planet.Games:I have bought most of the games so far that are on the store. I have not had any issues playing any of them. Like I mentioned in the beginning this is the future and the games are fun to play solo or as a family or with friend in turns unless you have more than one console. The game prices are reasonable, but I think they should definetly add more content on a weekly basis. The more games there are, the more we can experience and there sure is a lot to do in there. There are the standard Apps if you into media like Youtube and Netflix and they also look great when you try them out on a cinema side screen.Streaming:You are able to stream your gameplay to Facebook and cast to mobile. It says it can cast to Chromecast but it not working for me so will do some more investigating on it. I have only used the casting fuction to my mobile and it worked for the most part. There wasnt any issues casting from the home inviroment but there was some games that disabled the casting functionality. Which was a bit of a let down but the game made up for it. I would say that in this area it really falls behind for me. On most consoles and PC you have option to stream where you like to Twitch, Youtube, Mixer and arent forced to use only Facebook this was very disappointing for me.Performance:In this department it works great, you get a great experience from the headset. The contollers compliment the gameplay and its all keeps up nicely, everything seems to work well together The headset makes almost no noise the fan built into the front of the headset I couldnt hear it at all while playing games. Where it falls down a bit, is with the battery I only get about 2 hours on a full charge. The headset doesnt take to long to change full again though its OK, but not great for me personally. So I ordered a 24800 mah power bank that I put in my pocket. works like a charm. I do wish that the headset lasted longer on its own change but there has to be a sacrifice somewhere.Pros:* PC/Console freedom* Well packaged* Great design* Visuals are amazing* Controllers are well built and very responsive.* Comfortable to wear for long periods* Easy to move from user to user* Sound is awesome with and without headphones* Games play well and are very fun* Games arent expensive* Overall performance is great* Light wieght* Fun factor* Social (If you want it to be)* Game quality is excellent* You not just sitting playing games all day* Active (You will break a sweat in some games)Cons:* Facebook Streaming ONLY* Not enough games in the store yet* Not enough Apps in the store yet.* Battery Life* Not striaght forward to install APKsConclusion:I am very happy I bought this VR headset, its new, its fresh and its blown my mind. If you enjoy gaming and want to move into the VR gaming world this is your ticket. No PC needed just unbox install the Oculus App and play. I will warn you that if you anything like me you will want more than one of these in the home. I would highly recommend this VR headset if you looking to try out VR gaming without any additions.
Trustpilot
1 month ago
2 weeks ago