So I bought a second hand Reverb G2 in mid-November and of course a month later WMR was announced as deprecated.
I’m eyeing up a second hand Vive Pro 2 that includes the base stations. New this is retailing for NZD 2200, but I can grab it for NZD 1400. I’ve also considered the Pimax Crystal, which I can just afford, but it’s NZD 2900 and I’m a bit put off by it using a battery pack and still using proprietary software.
I’ll be using it primarily for simracing and my thought process is that the Vive at least has a steam app so if HTC stops supporting it I’m not completely screwed like I am with the Reverb. Pimax is different because their software is completely standalone as far as I’m aware. So is it worth saving 50% or so and getting something comparable to the Reverb, or am I selling the Crystal short?
The G2 will still work up until at least next year. I will just wait until they either announce to make WMR open source (see c/virtualreality for a petition) or until the G2 stops working and new HMDs will have been released.
Looking at the market, though, I am kinda disappointed with the development and progress.
Vive Pro 2 uses proprietary software as well, if I’m not mistaken. Right now there are only 4 SteamVR native headsets:
- 2016 Vive
- Vive Pro (wired only iirc)
- Valve Index
- Bigscreen Beyond
There have been rumors that PSVR 2 is coming to PC this year. Havent personally used it, but it seems like a with upgrade over the WMR headsets. Inside out tracking, good controllers. I just hope the software side id things are solid.
No real answer for your main question sorry OP. Maybe a quest 3 would be best, it supports SteamVR link wireless connections now.
I hope so, then Microsoft will open source WMR for sure to keep people from switching to those.
I… don’t forsee them doing that. Id have my money on piles of new ewaste.
I own several headsets and use them on a daily basis. The Vive Pro 2 is still my most reliable headset for VR dance and free-standing games like Skyrim. The tracking is good, and importantly, the cable is relatively durable and flexible. The fresnel lenses are the biggest issue with the VP2, imo, but it’s still a great headset for being physically active in an open space.
The Pimax Crystal is absurdly large and I can’t begin to use it for free standing activities. It’s to much weight on my neck, so I only use it for Sim flight games. It has beautiful optics but I can rarely last more than 45 min using it. I recently got a Bigscreen Beyond headset, and while it doesn’t look as clear as the Crystal, is so so so much more comfortable I essentially no longer use the Crystal. However, I don’t use the Beyond for free standing activities yet because it’s fiber optic cable is somewhat stiff and less comfortable when you’re moving around
