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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

    Up and Coming
    March 19, 2017
    I really want an omni or something similar.  Looks good - I guess you need to get used to the mechanics a bit.  Those vive wands just don't look natural at all though.  Like you're cleaning some windows.
    Rift-S, Quest 128GB, GO 64GB.
    HiroProtag0nist
    Honored Contributor
    March 19, 2017

    kevink808 said:

    I really want an omni or something similar.  Looks good - I guess you need to get used to the mechanics a bit.  Those vive wands just don't look natural at all though.  Like you're cleaning some windows.


    Vive wands in the wild:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eLoakHQ8KU
    Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3
    Up and Coming
    March 20, 2017
    They feel as awkward as they look.  Oculus support contacted me back, so hopefully I can be back to using Rift and touch again.
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Inspiring
    March 20, 2017
    do they really remove motion sickness altogether or do you still feel some or even a little bit nausea when moving in an omni?

    have you tried any other games with it? maybe a bigger title like arizona sunshine or robo recall?
    Up and Coming
    March 20, 2017
    I never got motion sickness, but I do not feel that weird sensation when you move with a thumb stick while standing still.  My wife said she still gets a little nauseous, but she is very sensitive to it.  I've used Doom 3 BFG, and GTA V with it though I am still tweaking Vorpx as it is difficult to get it natural.  Any full VR titles that use motion controllers will not currently work as it only emulates WSAD and thumbstick motion.  Hopefully more developers adopt the Omni and leave keyboard commands in place for movement.  A lot games I purchased through Oculus Store, so I do not have them on steam to play with Vive.  Hopefully I get my Rift back soon.
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Up and Coming
    March 21, 2017
    That movement looks cumbersome, like watching someone trying to manouver a heavy supermarket trolley.
    Inspiring
    March 21, 2017
    @TheWombatCave if you don't mind me asking, what was your backer # for the Omni? I'm still waiting for mine and am not nearly as excited for it anymore. I just don't want to be ripped off AGAIN from another Kickstarter project I backed.
    Up and Coming
    March 21, 2017


    Any full VR titles that use motion controllers will not currently work as it only emulates WSAD and thumbstick motion.  Hopefully more developers adopt the Omni and leave keyboard commands in place for movement.  


    Ok, that really decreases my enthusiasm...I guess it's back to waiting for this niche market to mature before I jump in.  Definately would want to be able to use it with existing applications.
    Rift-S, Quest 128GB, GO 64GB.
    Up and Coming
    March 21, 2017

    kcampbell said:

    @TheWombatCave if you don't mind me asking, what was your backer # for the Omni? I'm still waiting for mine and am not nearly as excited for it anymore. I just don't want to be ripped off AGAIN from another Kickstarter project I backed.


    I was backer #1050 received March 10th.  As far as build quality, it is almost entirely steel, I was really impressed.  I feel Virtuix has followed through with their kickstarter promise.
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Up and Coming
    March 21, 2017

    kevink808 said:



    Any full VR titles that use motion controllers will not currently work as it only emulates WSAD and thumbstick motion.  Hopefully more developers adopt the Omni and leave keyboard commands in place for movement.  


    Ok, that really decreases my enthusiasm...I guess it's back to waiting for this niche market to mature before I jump in.  Definately would want to be able to use it with existing applications.


    I agree, it is frustrating right now as the Omni is almost entirely dependent upon VorpX injected games as the developers have dropped keyboard commands on newer VR titles.  It is still early on, i'm sure there will mods for VR games soon.
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing