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

[NotDream]

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. 

[DeeX0]

Same issue here. 😞

[TheAntiSocializer · Accepted solution]

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.

[JDRstrength]

On the quest 3 there is a sensor at the bottom of the controller that the headset needs to read in order to track properly. If you’ve got rubber covers on the controllers, you’re blocking that led the headset needs for tracking and that could cause a ton of issues.

[FlipperPA]

@TheAntiSocializer Thanks for your efforts, I really hope it improves. If you're looking for testers, let me know, I've been testing VR units for over 20 years since making videos for Vuzix VR Wear. I've returned my Quest 3 and sticking with my Quest 2 for now.

[NotDream]

Hi @TheAntiSocializer, thanks for acknowledging this post and communicating with the engineering and production team(s)! Sorry for the delayed response😅
As for the information you asked for:

1. Full Version Number: 57.0.0.297.669.526537896
2. Current Firmware Version: 1.5.8
3. Meta Quest App Version: 233.5.1.1.0

Other (potentially relevant) info:

• Software Update System Version: 49698210077900510
• Runtime Version: 57.0.0.297.669.526236543
• OS Version: SQ3A.220605.009.A1

[TheAntiSocializer]

[Not A Solution] - Just marking this as the solution so that everyone is able to see and answer the questions for the team.

Hey everybody! It looks like the team is wanting some help replicating the issue, so could everyone please answer the following to the best of their ability:

1. Are you seated or standing when the issue happens?
2. Can you replicate the issue consistently? Describe the steps taken to replicate it.
3. How were you moving the controllers?
   • Describe in detail the motions you are doing when you experience the issue.
4. Where were the controllers relative to your body?
5. If you increase the brightness in the play area, does the issue persist?
6. If you move to another room/area, does the issue persist?
7. Were your hands covered by long sleeve clothing when you observed the issue?
8. Were the controllers attached to an accessory that would remove it from your hand, or cover the surfaces of the controllers?
9. What brand / model of battery are you using?
   • If you switch to a new battery of a different brand / model, does the issue persist?

I'll be passing along answers for further review, thanks again! 

[DeeX0]

Will test and report back!

Please everyone else do the same. 

Thanks!

[NotDream]

1. Seated or standing, it happens during high-speed controller movements.
2. Yes, I can replicate it consistently. Imagine throwing a baseball or frisbee, swinging a sword, or punching. All of these motions (when done fast) will cause the controller tracking to perform poorly for <1 second.
3. See the youtube video links for reference (I was doing the motions mentioned in 2. https://youtube.com/shorts/p-8K7mi9skI, https://youtube.com/shorts/Zg6-4ZW6VHs) 
4. Controller positions relative to body - ranging from directly in front, to about 45 degrees left/right/above/below. At the start of some of the motions, the controller would be a couple inches from the side or top of the headset.
5. Yes, my standard play area consists of 2 lights on opposite corners of the area (quest 2 controller tracking works fine with this setup). I've also tried with IR floodlights, adding 2 more lights to the remaining corners, and even using a sunlight-simulation light box. The videos I recorded on youtube contain the 4 lights (1 in each corner) as well as the IR light.
6. Yes, I tried in my bedroom as well with multiple lights set up the same as 5. Still the tracking performance is the same.
7. No, I wore a t-shirt.
8. No accessories on the controllers. I hold them the standard way (with thumb hovering on joystick or a/b and x/y buttons).
9. Batteries that came with the Quest 3 (Heybright brand). After switching to standard AA Duracell batteries, the controllers behave the same way.

[TheAntiSocializer]

Thanks for getting this over, I'll be sure to pass the information along! As for the videos, I'm not able to actually see them so I think they're on private? Are you able to double check if they're set to public by any chance? 

[FlipperPA]

This is also getting some notice in the press now: https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2023/10/meta-quest-3-ai-tracking.html