Oculus Rift vs HTC Vive

[Crowgasm]

Hi folks,

 

I'm about to take the plunge (I think) on either an Oculus Rift or a HTC Vive and I'm wondering if there's a consensus on which is better for PC flight sims. I've played flight sims since the late 90's and after a break of a few years I've gotten interested in them again. I just picked up IL2 BoS and all the DLC, and DCS World. I also play a number of racing sims. From what I've read on steam forums and in reviews, there's not a whole lot to pick between the two current main VR devices, so I figured I'd ask an active audience.

 

Some steam comments suggest the Vive has a few problems with IL2, related to horizontal black bars on the side of the display. Others speak of motion sickness with either device, the lens/display fogging up, the headsets getting hot/sweaty and in the case of the Vive being too heavy for the kind of prolonged session flight sims tend to inspire. A lot of the negative comments I've found tend to relate to VR games designed for either platform, rather than flight/racing sims which are taking advantage of the technology. I don't have any interest in VR as a gaming/tech concept so I think that's broadly irrelevant. None the less, I'm curious what kind of experience flight sim enthusiasts have had with these and which people would recommend and why. 

 

Any info/recommendations much appreciated. 

[MacLeod]

Right now the oculus is best for il2 imho.

 

But there are nice new stuff going on, like Samsung odyssey (some people have had problems with ipd) and the pimax 8k (waiting for one in January) that have 200°fov, and in theory will be the best out there.

 

So, I would suggest to wait a little if you can and see what’s going on with the market on the next 2 months, but if you can’t, I would go rift, specially that it’s half the price of the vive now

[dburne]

Welcome to the forums!

 

I would suggest the Rift, certainly most economical and handles flight sims very well. I have also seen reports the SDE ( screen door effect) on the Rift is slightly better than the Vive.

 

The Touch Controllers are awesome as well. When I got my Rift back in Jan I thought flight sims would be all I would use it for, have had some fun with some Oculus games as well. I mainly use it for flight sims but do enjoy playing some Touch games occasionally as well.

Edited November 27, 2017 by dburne

[BeastyBaiter]

Currently it's between the Rift and Samsung Odyssey, the Vive is not worth considering. The reason for ignoring the Vive is the price. It does nothing better than the Rift, but costs a whole hell of a lot more ($350 vs $600). The other worthwhile option is the Samsung Odyssey. It has significantly higher resolution compared to either the Rift or Vive and comes in at $500. However, it was only just released and has some teething problems. I'm sure the bugs will be fixed, but right now it seems unusable in BoS due to an IPD bug (distance between eyes).

[Dutch2]

Like was wrote down by Macleod, I’m waiting for the nextgen sets from StarVR and Pimax, that will be released spring 2018.

Edited November 28, 2017 by Dutch2

[North_Wolf]

I use the Vive and I have not encountered horizontal black bars on the side of the display or any other issues.

 

The main advantage of the Vive (unless you get an extra sensor for the Rift), is its room scale support and 360 visibility.  I do believe the Rift + extra sensor still comes out cheaper though.

 

I went with the Vive for reasons other then flight simulators (using it is a family thing around here), I prefer the controllers, since they feel like guns when I am playing things like Payday 2.  Both are solid choices however and I concur that the Rift is a solid pick if you want to hop into VR in flight sims.

[WIS-Redcoat]

People need to stop recommending the Samsung.  It does NOT yet work with the game and there is no word from the Developers on if/when it will work.  

[MajorDogbite]

Like was wrote down by Macleod, I’m waiting for the nextgen sets from StarVR and Pimax, that will be released spring 2018.

Think you might be a little disappointed if you think you can get either of these in the spring. StarVR isn't even being developed for non-commercial use at this time and we Pimax kickstarters hope to see our orders by then (it will be April before the controllers are ready at minimum). I'll bet the general public doesn't see Pimax 8K before summers end, but you never know. The other thing to remember is the Pimax isn't going to be in the same price category as the 110fov headsets when it hit's retail. The HMD+2 tracking stations + 2 controllers was $800 on the kickstarter for most of it and Pimax has stated they are making no money on the KS and the retail price will be higher.

[MajorDogbite]

I can recommend the Rift. It is solid tech and the software and firmware are mature. As a wheel and stick player for decades and one who bought the Rift for DCS, Elite Dangerous and IRacing, I can tell you there is no playing without VR for me since I got it. I also echo the point of excellent controllers. Touch controllers are simply awesome in general play. When you add to that games that take advantage of them like Robo Recall, The Climb, Lone Echo and such, you are verging on stand alone platform territory.

Edited December 6, 2017 by MajorDogbite