Oculus Rift CV1 - Detailed First Impressions

[GenetixStudio]

My Oculus Rift CV1 arrived yesterday! 🙂

It comes in a discrete cardboard box that is not marked in anyway - upon opening that shipping box you will find the Oculus box, which looks and feels great. I've seen people post about how good it smells when you first open the case up, and they are right. Opening the case and first seeing the Rift is a very special (almost dreamlike) thing.

The sensor is actually smaller then I thought it would be, but also has a heavy enough base that  it won't tip over easily. I feel a bit stupid that I had such a hard time getting the plastic tab (covering the battery) out of the Oculus Remote, you can slide the battery door off - that remote is actually much nicer then I had expected and very useful so far. The xbox controller is not to bad at all, i'm used to a PS4 controller for Steam/PC gaming so it took a bit of getting used to. I had no problems syncing it to the computer (Windows 10) and it works great for the way it is designed.

Seeing the headset in person... I've watched so many unboxing videos, and yet it still felt like I was seeing it for the first time. I spent about half an hour checking it out before plugging anything into my computer. It has 3 straps which are easy to use on the sides and top, the headphones are much better then I expected and able to move around in a lot of ways. Wearing the Rift is very comfortable, and the single cable runs behind you, I hardly noticed it for the most part. The cable is pretty long and feels well made.

I already had Oculus Home setup and a number of experiences installed. I was waiting to buy anything until I knew my Rift worked well. The setup process was very simple, literally plug in the headset (HDMI and USB), plug in the Sensor (USB), test Oculus remote and xbox controller and before you are good to go. For some reason my sensor warns me that it is plugged into a USB 2.0 slot, on any USB 3.0 slot that I plug it into. The headset can be plugged into the same slot and not have that issue, despite this the sensor seems to work perfectly.

When you get setup it loads a few of the Oculus Dreamdeck experiences. I've only ever used Google Cardboard (with a nice plastic headset with a strap), I was blown away instantly in the Rift. I am a full grown adult, but I was cowering below the T-Rex at first, and leaning over the side of the tall building was truly scary, my brain stopped me from taking any more steps. I did get a bit braver later on when trying those again - but wow, high end VR is amazing. Positional tracking adds so much to the experience.

The setup went very well and before long I was loading up Lucky's Tale, Oculus Dreamdeck, Henry, and Eve V. It was nearly 2 hours in before I remember people complainging about the Screen Door Effect. I hadn't noticed it or any individual pixels at all up to that point. Once I was thinking about it I was able to see some pixels, but only when I actively tried to focus on them. The rest of the night I forgot about them altogher, I haven't done any 4k gaming yet, but I do play a lot of good looking games and the resolution in the Rift is perfectly fine to me - it looks great. 

So far the experience has been far greater then I had expected, and I've been very hyped for a long time. Let me tell you my 2 major problems with the CV1 so far. The nose gap is huge, I must not have a very big nose, but it was designed for someone like Pinochio (spelling) It is not an issue in the dark, but during day it will definitely pull you out of the experience. That said, I have yet to have any fog on the lenses at all! I plan to buy a VR cover which should help - and last night I took some basic foam sheet (you can get at any craft store for a quarter a sheet), cut out a shape, and taped onto the bottom of the Rift - that pretty solved the problem entirely without adding any weight or other issues. The far greater problem, and one that I wasn't thinking would bug me so bad is the God Rays. These are mostly not a problem while in games at all - but when you see them they definitely stand out. Anything bright over a dark/black background will have them, and it makes you think the lenses are covered in grease or very dirty. I'm not sure there is any way to fix this besides designing software that avoids them. I do have to say, that after the first 5 hours or so, I began to forget about them and notice them less. In time I might not care about them much, but they will definitely stand out to anyone trying the Rift for the first time. I never felt sick at all, after 3 hours I did take about a 30 minute break, and then jumped back in for a few more hours. I don't have much else to complain about, the CV1 is really well made.

I did end up buying a number of games to try this weekend and still need to try many things out. The Unreal demo with the bullets coming at you and the giant robot is awesome, but I ultimately found one experience that completely blew my mind, and I would recommend everyone try out. There is a free game called Farlands. The first 5/10 minutes are interesting but when you beam up to your spaceship magic happens. The details and realizm inside of that space are off the charts. I spent nearly an hour just walking around in the room (not a ton of space, but not small either) and staring the walls, floor and ceiling panels, out the windows, at the gaskets and hinges and everything... It felt so damn real. The CV1 is certainly capable of a decent room scale experience already - I can't wait for the touch controls and another sensor to ship and expand upon this. When my girlfriend got home I had her try it out. She doesn't care much for games or VR - but she ended up walking around that spaceship for quite awhile in awe. I plan to show everyone that tries the Rift at my house that experience, and I can't wait to find more like it.

All in all, I am extremely happy with the Oculus Rift CV1 and feel that it is absolutely worth the price. It is easy to setup, and will take you to another place that no other medium has ever been able to before. This is going to have a major impact, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

[Zoomie]

Thanks for taking the time to write it up!

[GenetixStudio]

From all that I have read here - I imagine everyone will have their very own unique experience with the Rift. I find it amazing so far. Just seeing those metal pipes and gaskets in the ship in Farlands was so crazy - I can't wait to have touch controllers and be able to reach out and grab things. I don't really have the words to express what that is like, but those who have experienced know. To anyone still waiting - it is absolutely and entirely worth it.

[Zoomie]

Oh btw, welcome to the agonizing wait for Touch controllers.  At least you can pass the time in VR now.

[GenetixStudio]

I underestimated how much I would want them, and to that extent how great a bit of room scale / walking around can be. I still had a blast sitting down and playing Eve, but walking around and just looking at an environment is so good.... I've only had it for a day - we'll see how it feels in a month, year, etc... but damn am I impressed so far.

[nalex66]

Yeah, I think Touch will be a big thing for really immersive VR. I really want to get my hands in there!

[BEARDEDFIGNUTZ]

 

How do you charge the battery on the remote?

[GenetixStudio]

The Oculus remote doesn't need charged - it uses a standard CR2032 lithium battery (like the ones in your car keys) that can be replaced for just a few dollars. They are also the same battery inside of most computers on the motherboard, and also in a fitbit (I know because my girlfriend just had to replace hers). Those batteries last a long time from what I have seen, I imagine it will lasts months or maybe even years depending usage. 

[BobHoskiins]

Some responses. 

Setup was not plug and play, only Elite Dangerous allows re-centre in game.

nose gap, hate able at first, but useful like the Vive camera to see the real world.


god Rays, annoying.

screen door effect, awful.

[Comic_Book_Guy]

BobHoskiins said:

god Rays, annoying.

Not that bad at all, it's only on bold 3d text and even then, it depends on the scene and the lighting

BobHoskiins said:

screen door effect, awful.

It's not though. I havn't even noticed it. Low res, blur and bad textures are a issue I notice but are easily forgivable,  but SDE.... can't say I've even noticed it.