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Up and Coming
March 16, 2017
Question

Received Virtuix Omni, strange turn of events as Oculus died same day so purchased Vive.

March 10th I received my Virtuix Omni I had Kickstarted nearly 4 YEARS AGO!   Assembled it, tested it, worked fine and planned on doing in depth reviews the following day after work.  Next day turn it on, Oculus says not connected and has orange light inside.  trouble shot for next few days, tried every remedy there is, cannot get rift to display an image.  So I pondered my dilemma of waiting weeks to get a new Rift from Oculus and stare at my Omni that I waited years for, or go to the Microsoft store and purchase am HTC Vive which they had in stock.  Obviously I threw down the $850 on the Vive and ran home to test Omni. 

     Now I have used Oculus for years from all the dev kits to the CV1 since release day, over 6 months now.  I was very pleased with my Oculus and the performance of the touch controllers as they blew me away.  I was anxious to done a Vive on my face however, as I had never tried one.  Everyone in the house had these exact same reactions:

1.) The vive is a little bit brighter, maybe 10% but noticeable.
2.) Oculus has a better image, screen is wider, clearer on edges, and I will gladly take the occasional god rays to get the clarity the rift has, it is hard to read on Vive unless you are looking right at the the word you are reading.
3.) Vive is heavy and unnatural, moving your head causes it to shift and move you out of the sweet spot and everything is blurry.
4.) The tracking....OMG.... I loved my touch controllers, they tracked well in a play area over 15 square feet.  But the Vive light house tracking is a new level.  I didn't realize the touch tracking was a problem till I used the vive, it tracks perfect all the time.
5.) Touch controllers however, way easier to use, way more comfortable and way more immersive.  Vive wands are awkward at best to hold.

Conclusion:
    The Oculus has WAAAAYYY better optics hands down.  Oculus Touch controllers WAAAYYY more immersive and comfortable in design.  Oculus' lighter headset is WAAAAYYY better than Vive, I really miss how comfortable it was.  But....

The lighthouse tracking is so much better than Oculus optical is it insane.  It feels like your hands are moving 20 FPS in Oculus and 120 in Vive.  My brain really knows the Vive wands are my hands, where the touch controllers were a best guess by a computer where my hands were.  An issue I didn't even realize until I used the Vive. 

I was having issues running 3.0 extensions to pc from Oculus cameras in a room 18x18, but the Vive lightboxes need no connection to pc and solved all these issues.  Overall the future of VR is in the lightbox design, Optical tracking needs to be dropped.  That being said, Oculus has beaten Vive in every other aspect no question. I really miss my Oculus and hope I get a replacement soon, cause the Vive is killing the Bridge of my nose.  Will be interesting to see where these companies chose to go for next generation, but if they each combine strengths from the other we will all win..  Overall I am glad I purchased both and feel excited for the future of VR.

As for the Omni.... I need more time to give an accurate review.  It is a thousand times better than moving with a joystick, but is nothing like actually running and has a steep learning curve.  Am having several friends over tomorrow to try it and get all their feedback and suggestions and then will do a formal review.  I must say though, running full speed, when you hit the corner right, shooting behind you, while looking for next target, is the most exhilarating thing I have ever done in VR.

    38 replies

    HiroProtag0nist
    Honored Contributor
    March 16, 2017
    Why would you have to wait weeks for a Rift?

    Should have just ordered a new one instead of the Vive.

    If you're talking about replacement, well, do that as well - 2 Rifts in the house then!  Win, win!
    Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3
    Inspiring
    March 16, 2017
    I look forward to your omni review! I've wanting to get one as well one day to complete the set, but have been holding back due to money issues and me wanting to know more on its life span and future uses
    Up and Coming
    March 16, 2017
    @TheWombatCave, forget the Rift/Vive comparisons, that's played out and we all know Rift > Vive now.  I want to see pics and review of the Omni!  I'd have ordered it had they not shut the pre-orders down literally the week before I whipped my credit card out.  Seeing as they won't be filling any new orders for 1-2 years from now, I'm probably in the market for something else by then. 

    Rift-S, Quest 128GB, GO 64GB.
    Participant
    March 16, 2017
    Yes, pics and review of the Omni!!
    We are Cas & Chary. Two girls who love VR gaming. Our goal is to help push VR forward and give it the support it deserves. Support us by subscribing: https://www.youtube.com/c/caschary
    HiroProtag0nist
    Honored Contributor
    March 16, 2017
    I was very excited by the Omni when it was first revealed - the idea of really walking and running in VR is just incredible but seeing it now, it just doesn't look very natural, and what about crouching?

    I suppose it needs to evolve and this is a first step.
    Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3
    Up and Coming
    March 17, 2017
    Nothing looks natural in VR as a spectator.  I'm more interested in how it solves locomotion for games like Robo Recall for the user.  The solutions we have now are anything but natural.  
    Rift-S, Quest 128GB, GO 64GB.
    Up and Coming
    March 17, 2017
    Why do you have to mod it at all?  Shouldn't it feel comfortable out of the box?
    Rift-S, Quest 128GB, GO 64GB.
    HiroProtag0nist
    Honored Contributor
    March 18, 2017

    kevink808 said:

    Nothing looks natural in VR as a spectator.  I'm more interested in how it solves locomotion for games like Robo Recall for the user.  The solutions we have now are anything but natural.  


    That's what i meant - "it looks like" it won't feel natural for the user - i don't really care what it looks like because i won't be using it down the pub, but i excitedly await the reviews.
    Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3
    Up and Coming
    March 18, 2017
    You've drawn pretty similar conclusions to my own, Wombat.  I've been home about a week and I've played a few Touch titles now (shhh, don't tell anyone I'm back) and while the Touch controllers feel great, the default front facing setup has me occluding the controllers when I play 360 games.  Go figure, trying to make it do something it's explicitly not set up to do.  

    I will pick up a third camera once I have a larger play area.  My office is 10'x9' and it has two fairly large desks occupying about a third of the floor space.  I'm truly lucky not to have broken a wrist or Touch controller to this point.  

    The Rift Headset is superior in every sense except FOV and perhaps brightness (if you say so). I haven't noticed since I usually play when the room is dark, and I haven't had the good fortune to try the Vive in a few months.

    Touch controls are amazing but the tracking still needs some work.  Two years ago I admitted that Valve seemed to have a better tracking system whereas Oculus had the edge pretty much everywhere else.  Recent experiences haven't done much to change that opinion.  Now, Touch tracking is still pretty amazing, but it's just a little bit less precise than my memories of Vive's wands.  I'd love to try them side by side to get a reality check on whether my perception is correct or just some personal bias and selective memory.
    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C Clarke
    Up and Coming
    March 19, 2017
    I have had several people over and try the Omni, most everyone is very positive.  I want to spend some time with it before making a real review.  My daughter really enjoyed it and gave her impressions. which are very similar to what everyone else says.  Found another caveat with the Vive, the microphone is horrible.  I didn't realize how bad until after we recorded the video, but it still shows how responsive the Omni is.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsbhQkYzUUA


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