Honored Contributor

Question

The Index thread (please keep to subject)

2974 replies
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As per the title, please respect the users who post here and keep it on topic, any nonsense and......grrr

A

Anonymous

Probably dumb question.

Controller batteries - is there not an indicator of amount of charge remaining? Does it give a warning when batteries need recharging?

T

TomCgcmfc

Honored Contributor

Anonymous You can check your controller batteries once in a while by hovering your mouse over the controller icons displayed on the SteamVR desktop panel. You will also get a low battery level warning (includes a few vibes). One nice thing about using external battery packs is I can put them on charge and continue using them while they charge. Adds another wire into the equation though and the supplied charging wires are too short so I need to add a 1-2m extension.

9800x3d, rtx5090, X870E MB w/wifi7, 64Gb 6000 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11pro, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with 2x2.0 base stations, Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

A

Anonymous

Awesome great stuff thanks guys!! Giving them a good charging now.

A

Anonymous

Initial very early impression:

FOV is going to be nice. Definitely see an improvement here, and I am even half blind I only see left of center- I can imagine how good it would be if I had full range of eyesight. Definitely a larger display in both horizontal and vertical.

Sweet spot seems bigger than G2.

Comfort - not very comfortable for me. Heavy, and when I adjust it on my head does not feel like it has much of a cushioning effect. I have ordered a VR Cover for it and it will be here Tuesday. I really like the VR Cover on my Reverb G2 so hoping this helps the comfort issue with the Index.

Tracking - as expected I think it is going to be superb and second to none. Especially controller tracking.

Audio - like the G2 which has the same speakers, I did not much care for it. I much prefer earbuds so that is what I will use also with Index. At least it does have a headphone jack in the headset which makes it nice. G2 I use extended earbuds plugged into my Creative Sound on my motherboard as the headset does not have an audio jack. I will try Index audio through headphone jack and compare it with my Creative sound.

Giving the controllers a good charge this morning, should be able to get some good gaming time in with it today. That is where the rubber will meet the road for me.

RuneSR2

Honored Contributor

When you get white light from the controllers, then they are fully charged.

I'd recommend trying the Index speakers one last time in Alyx and maybe Boneworks. I've grown really fond of them, but there are still games where I prefer the CV1 bass, like Pistol Whip. But when used optimally, like firing a machine gun in Boneworks, the Index speakers do deliver in spades, also deep bass. Also you don't get the 3D like sound without the Index speakers. 2c 🙂

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

A

Anonymous

RuneSR2 wrote:
When you get white light from the controllers, then they are fully charged.

I'd recommend trying the Index speakers one last time in Alyx and maybe Boneworks. I've grown really fond of them, but there are still games where I prefer the CV1 bass, like Pistol Whip. But when used optimally, like firing a machine gun in Boneworks, the Index speakers do deliver in spades, also deep bass. Also you don't get the 3D like sound without the Index speakers. 2c 🙂

Fwiw I have always gotten better bass through earbuds. This was true in CV1, true in Rift S, true in Reverb G2 and now in Index. Hopefully by using the headphone jack in Index I will still get 3d like sound, will see.

A

Anonymous

RuneSR2

Do you find a use for those track pads on the controllers? Have not really got into using them much yet just curious for going forward with it.

RuneSR2

Honored Contributor

Yes, but the trackpads are underused by devs. RoomVR supports them and also Garden of the Sea (but devs are working on fixing the finger tracking in that game right now).

But do try Alyx, Moon Dust demo and Aperture Hand Lab on Steam for a start 🙂

The trackpads ensure full compatibility with Wands in games where the Index isn't fully supported too.

In SteamVR Home you can use the trackpads for scrolling. The trackpads are advanced and even support haptics.

With full finger tracking and much more, the Index controllers have always been full 2nd Gen to me - while no other VR controller even comes close. But you need to play some Alyx 😉 Maybe C17YSCAPE 🙂

Btw, using Revive, pressing the left trackpad on the Index controller corresponds to pressing the flat Oculus button on the left Touch controller (to bring up in-game menus etc). So Revive supports the trackpad too 😉

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

A

Anonymous

RuneSR2 wrote:
Yes, but the trackpads are underused by devs. RoomVR supports them and also Garden of the Sea (but devs are working on fixing the finger tracking in that game right now).
But do try Alyx, Moon Dust demo and Aperture Hand Lab on Steam for a start 🙂

The trackpads ensure full compatibility with Wands in games where the Index isn't fully supported too.
In SteamVR Home you can use the trackpads for scrolling. The trackpads are advanced and even support haptics.
With full finger tracking and much more, the Index controllers have always been full 2nd Gen to me - while no other VR controller even comes close. But you need to play some Alyx 😉 Maybe C17YSCAPE 🙂

Yeah Alyx is first on the hit list to play - will be starting a new game with it here in the next few minutes. Controllers are now all charged up.

Thanks much for the feedback, was just not sure how I would use those trackpads. Need also to get the straps adjusted good so they feel natural in my hands. Bit of an adjustment coming from Rift and Reverb G2 controllers.

But that tracking is oh so sweet, I can tell that already!

P

pyroth309

Up and Coming

The biggest differences of the Index to the G2 to me is the FoV, the Tracking Volume and the god rays/glare. You will definitely be stepping back in terms of clarity. The tracking volume of Index is far superior to G2 and it'll be nice to hang your hands down by your side and not lose tracking. 144hz is nice in certain games also. Glare varies between individuals but it's objectively worse than G2 for most.

One of the issues I had with my Index was TAA blur. Even at 200% SS there was still significant blurring in some games that I couldn't remove. Rune and others complain about it frequently still. At the time I owned Index, I didn't notice any difference when going above 200% supersampling. (I only had a GTX 1080 at the time which may be a factor). I don't know if that's still the case today. I'd be interested to know if you go above G2's resolution at 100% if the blur is still there.

On a side note, That blurring I believe is incorrectly associated as an LCD VS OLED issue when it's really a resolution/TAA issue. In my Samsung Odyssey+ which was an OLED with the same resolution panel as Index, it had the same problems with blur in the same games. With the G2's resolution, it is high enough to cut through TAA blur and it looks quite good. Asgard's Wrath is a good game to test in. The only game I've run across that I couldn't cut through the blur in with my G2 is Gnomes and Goblins (it wouldn't let me supersample) but I'm sure there's others. The main differences to me between OLED and LCD is colors and blacks. OLED colors do pop a little more and obviously it has true blacks. Well, and Pixel Arrangement.

A

Anonymous

Not sure I am seeing any blur really, at least in Alyx which is all I have done so far today.

RuneSR2

Honored Contributor

There is no blur with the Index in Alyx - only in certain (Revived exclusive Oculus) games when you enable temporal antialiasing (TAA). Alyx does not support TAA at all if I remember correctly.

The blur may be a feinschmecker thing/discussion - many may never notice it. The blur is not limited to the Index, but to all lcd hmds including Rift-S, G1 etc.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

A

Anonymous

RuneSR2

You were right on the power for the Index. Unlike my Reverb G2 which turning off the USB kills power to the headset, the Index it does not. I have to actually unplug the AC adapter for the Index to kill the power to the headset. No big deal really, I always unplug it by actually unplugging the AC adapter from the surge protector.

A

Anonymous

One thing I am not crazy about with the Index controllers, is how they did the batteries. I would much rather have removeable rechargeable batteries. With my G2 I have two sets of 4ea 1.5v rechargeable batteries, so I could always have one set charged up ready to go when the other set got down to needing a charge.

I suppose I could just plug them in at night and leave them to charge for the next day, but I have always felt it best to let them run down a good bit before recharging else they would develop memory and the usage time between charges would decrease.

RuneSR2

Honored Contributor

I charge them when the batteries are empty, normally I'm in VR average about one hour a day, so Index controllers usually last a week - more when I'm also using CV1. After close to 2 years I still get 6 - 7 hours, haven't noticed any decline.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2

Honored Contributor

Found out I've never written an Alyx review - but there're so many - still now I've finally done it - I'm so proud of myself, better late than never!

I guess the next time I become Alyx will be for real - 144 Hz - Hard difficulty. Well, that's Plan A, lol.

I guess returning to Alyx in 144 Hz using hard difficulty might be close to this

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

Zenbane

Honored Contributor

Speaking of Steam reviews for Alyx, this review is a great example of why PCVR is still not worth the investment for VR Enthusiasts,

While there are some exceptions to this statement, such as Lone Echo, overall this reviewer makes a very strong point. Lone Echo creates the best VR Experience while Alyx creates the best VR video gameplay, but beyond that... most other titles feel inferior.

It's unfortunate that we don't have enough AAA titles to support PCVR. Which is probably why we're nearing Summer 2021 and STILL only talking about Alyx

A

Anonymous

Lol.

Lone Echo = VR Video Game.

Half Life Alyx = VR Video Game.

I never cared for Lone Echo that much myself really, it was ok for it's time I guess. Maybe it was trying to be an "experience" whatever the heck that is.

Lone Echo 2 , whenever it sees light of day, will be a - VR Video Game.

Zenbane

Honored Contributor

Anonymous wrote:
Lol.
Lone Echo = VR Video Game.
Half Life Alyx = VR Video Game.
I never cared for Lone Echo that much myself really, it was ok for it's time I guess. Maybe it was trying to be an "experience" whatever the heck that is.
Lone Echo 2 , whenever it sees light of day, will be a - VR Video Game.

Nope. Lone Echo is very much an experience, but one would need to understand "whatever the heck that is."

Maybe this will help:

https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/an-experience.htm

As a random example: Tic Tac Toe is a game, while Chess is an Experience.

Granted, it depends on the person. There's ways to make Tic Tac Toe an experience (e.g. a drinking tournament) and ways to make Chess just a game (speed chess without applying any actual strategy). Yet at their core, it's clear that one is intended to be just a game and the other an entire experience.

I think we've already established, though, the difference between a VR Enthusiast and a Video Game Enthusiast. So yeah, when a video game enthusiast encounters something like Lone Echo - which is a VR Experience made for VR Enthusiasts - then it would make sense that it would be less appealing. Just like someone looking for a quick game of Tic Tac Toe would be turned off if they had to study hours of strategy in order to engage in a proper game of Chess.

A

Anonymous

I don't think "we" - meaning "you" established anything.

But there you go again.

Anyway my controllers have a nice full charge, back to Half Life Alyx now in my new Index.

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