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October 11, 2023
Solved

[UNRESOLVED as of May 30, 2024] - Quest 3 Controller Tracking Issues

  • October 11, 2023
  • 531 replies
  • 194120 views

update May 30, 2024: There have been no updates/improvements to controller tracking since Meta Support marked this as solved! Community consensus seems to be that this issue stems from hardware/software limitations with the controllers, specifically the method of tracking (as a software developer working specifically in the machine learning and computer vision space, I agree that this technology is not particularly robust enough to handle some types of movement). If you play games that require fast hand movements and/or dynamic hand positioning, I would recommend not buying a Quest 3, unfortunately. I've heard some anecdotes regarding improved tracking with the Quest Pro controllers, but the improvements are marginal at best - not worth the additional ~$300 for minimal performance gains IMO. My personal recommendation is to stick to Quest 2. Not to detract from the various improvements that the Quest 3 has brought (e.g., color passthrough w/higher resolution, better hand tracking, higher overall hardware specs compared to Quest 2, etc.), but Quest 2 controller tracking is significantly better than the Quest 3's. Ideally, my hope is that Meta will push an update that allows for pairing Quest 2 controllers with the Quest 3, but as of right now, that's just a pipe dream as Meta has given no indication of making these headsets/controllers backwards compatible. While I'm (naively) hopeful that things will change, realistically speaking, I have 0 expectations and a lot of disappointment.

 

tl;dr: I've had a Quest 2 for almost 3 years. I received my Quest 3 today and was very excited to use it. Controller tracking performance is much worse than the Quest 2, at least in the context of games where you swing your arms as fast as you can. This was not a problem for the Quest 2 (unless controllers were physically damaged, e.g., hitting a wall, dropping them, etc.). Don't buy if you play games like Gorilla Tag, Beat Saber, Synth Riders, or any of the other games mentioned throughout this thread!!!

 

Question:
Are there ways to modify the Quest 3's controller tracking such that fast hand movements won't be affected by the prediction-like behavior where the in-game hand moves farther than you swing? When I perform a baseball throwing movement with my hand/arm, the tracking will not keep up and it ends up losing my hand's position for a fraction of a second, causing my in-game hand to be positioned farther away than my hand actually is (this is not an issue with Quest 2 controller tracking).

 

Details/Context:
I primarily use VR for exercise, and I mostly play Gorilla Tag. Gorilla Tag is a game where you play as the upper half of a gorilla, using your arms as your means of locomotion. Basically, you use your arms as if they were your legs, and you can run, climb trees, wall-run, etc. It's an infection-based tagging game where you join a lobby of up to 9 other people, and the game will randomly select a player to be the first tagger. The tagger(s) will continue tagging until everyone in the lobby has been tagged (infection-style), and then a random player will be selected as first tagger; this pattern just continuously repeats.

While the learning curve is pretty steep to play at a high level, there is a growing community of players who are very competitive (approx. 10-20k players based on the communities I participate in - Competitive Gorilla Tag on Discord and Gorilla Tag Competitive on Discord). As a prominent member of this community, people have been seeking my feedback on whether or not the Quest 3 is worth it. While I feel that a majority of the new features are amazing, I have had issues with the controller tracking.

Gorilla Tag is an active game where you're constantly swinging your arms as fast as you can to travel around the map(s) to avoid being tagged. The primary player base for the game is Quest 2 users. Aside from physical damage, most players have not had any problems with controller tracking on the Quest 2, aside from when the controller goes out of the tracking range of the headset (as expected). 

However, the Quest 3 controllers lose tracking during medium-fast to fast hand movement (medium-fast: like playing catch with a friend; fast: throwing a baseball as hard as you can). The consequence of this in the context of Gorilla Tag is that your in-game arm extends to the game's max arm length frequently, causing your hand to collide with the wall/tree/ground and launch you away from the surface. This is a big issue for games/activities involving fast-paced hand movement as it's not nearly as reliable as the Quest 2 controller tracking performance. 

Best answer by TheAntiSocializer

Hey everyone, I've connected with the team and they are actively investigating tracking issues like you've mentioned. We'll be working to improve performance, especially for competitive players in games like Gorilla Tag, Supernatural, IB Cricket, and Eleven Table Tennis. We expect to roll some of these improvements in the upcoming releases.

531 replies

New Participant
October 28, 2023

I’m having issues trying to play Contractors with a protube gunstock.  The tracking is bad.  I first thought it was the gunstock’s controller straps.  I thought the straps were covering up the bottom ir sensors.  Then, with the help of Protube, I made a hole to give access for the sensor.  Still a problem.  So I decided to play freehand, with just the controller straps, and without the gunstock.  Tracking was fine after that.  Once I reattach to the gunstock, I have tracking issues again.  I then sent back the headset, hoping that it was a physical problem with the controllers, and bought another quest 3 headset.  Same issue.  Only thing that works is using the pro controllers.  

New Participant
October 30, 2023

TheAntiSocializer @Im highly contemplating about returning quest 3, as the tracking hasn't been solved yet. However, if the meta support assures that they are going to add quest 2 controller support in the near future I am more than happy to change my mind. Would you be able to help me/people in the same situation make the return decision easier by providing a statement on the status of this issue with an estimated timeline for fix? Thanks.

New Participant
October 30, 2023

Tracking is a pain with the Q3 for eleven tt. Tested it as a major step downwards from Q2 controllers. Thinking about the pro controllers, but they are heavy and my favourite paddleadapter does not support...

Participant
October 31, 2023

TheAntiSocializer  I upgraded to Q3 and tested Eleven Table Tennis extensively with a few adapters and with a controller by itself. In all my cases I experienced loss of tracking after fast wide motions.

Allowing to use Q2 controllers with Q3 would be ideal in my view. I don't think the can be fixed by software updates.

I will probably return my Quest 3 if the tracking issues are not addressed by Meta very soon and go back to Quest 2. Quest 2 tracking in ETT was working much better (if not perfectly).

Please do keep us in the loop about Meta's plans to address this issue - it is a serious issue and I am expecting Meta do something about it in the timely manner.

Kind regards

New Participant
October 31, 2023

I've played over 23,000 Eleven Table Tennis matches and I love communicating with all players that I come across. There are tons of individuals waiting for the tracking to improve before they purchase a Quest 3. As you can imagine, Ett is a very fast sport where every point matters. The angles need to be precise and accurate contact needs to be made. When top players sometimes swing and miss the ball entirely in tournaments, the spectators and community know something is wrong. I am also waiting for positive news from the discord and FB community before making the switch from Q2 to Q3.  It's mind boggling the amount of individuals that purchase VR's to solely play Eleven Table Tennis. For many, it's the best game on VR, but I agree, tracking needs a very nice boost.

New Participant
October 31, 2023

Hey,

so I’ve been stuck with this too…. I have had to modify my bat adapter on VR Cricket to suit (see images) this makes it work perfect so it’s all on positioning and the ability see the controller ring around the black.

if it helps then this link takes you to a new Quest 3 adapter but not sure how this would work with your issue?

https://www.mint3d.design/product-page/virtual-printality-sports-grip

 

 

New Participant
November 1, 2023

We made it into The Verge, everybody: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/1/23941613/meta-investigating-quest-3-controller-tracking-issues. Thankful this issue has garnered interest. For what it's worth, as an update to my last post, I've used Q3 for Supernatural for three days in a row, and the controllers don't go crazy anymore when they get to the edge of the viewing area. There's still a little loss in tracking that leads to the occasional missed target, though.

Up and Coming
November 1, 2023
New Participant
November 1, 2023

I've also experienced this a few times, in games like Beat Saber, Smash Drums and Synth Riders. Very annoying. It often/always involve fast hand controller movement in the outer edges of the FOV. 

My Quest 2 doesn't have the same issue. 

New Participant
November 2, 2023

Issues last night playing the new ghost busters game. Tracking kept losing the controllers then blank screen then back again. Quite annoying 

 

Up and Coming
November 2, 2023

Thanks for including more on Beat Saber. I'm a long time player with over 1000 hours in Beat Saber. The Quest 3 was definitely not up to snuff for several reasons:

  • The tracking around the periphery was not accurate.
  • Sabers would often "float" into space, before snapping back like a rubber band when the cameras lost tracking
  • Most professional / high level players use a "claw grip": that is impossible with the new controllers.
  • Even with the normal grip, the edges and fast speeds caused the controllers to drift in space.

It's a problem across the board.