10-10-202308:03 PM - last edited on 08-07-202411:03 AM by NolaBaby
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.
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.
I too am having horrible issue with controller tracking on both Beat Saber and Supernatural. Makes the games almost unplayable, ended up switching back to my Quest 2 for workouts. Any response from Meta on a fix for this issue?
I’ve also switched back for now. Meta hasn’t responded yet, but I’m hoping that because controller tracking is primarily software-based, there will be patches or updates to the controllers that improve the tracking. We’ll see what happens🤷:male_sign:
My quest 3 is super disappointing when it comes to tracking. It was terrible while playing tennis, ping pong, supernatural, and beat saber. I hope they fix this!
Odd. I am having no issues with Beat Saber in Expert mode on the Quest 3, but then, I don't use modifiers to make things more difficult. Hope it gets fixed somehow for your situation!
I have been playing IB Cricket and Eleven Table Tennis for about 2-3 years on Quest 2, almost never had any tracking issues.
Just got the Quest 3 and the games are unplayable, almost after every shot in the cricket I find my bat far away from me and takes a few wiggles to get it back to where it should be!
it’s so bad that I can’t really play the games because if I move too fast I am guaranteed to miss the shot because it loses tracking.
why do they have to mess the things that where working fine in the name of progress?
How is the lighting in your room? are you next to any mirrors? How are you holding the controllers? Are you using any accessories?
The ring less design of the controllers combine information from hand tracking and the infra red l.e.d's around the face of the controller. This can be caught out if you are reaching high above your head or moving your hands far enough back
Did this answer your question? If it didn’t, use our search to find other topics or create your own and other members of the community will help out.
If you need an agent to help with your Meta device, please contact our store support team here.
Having trouble with a Facebook or Instagram account? The best place to go for help with those accounts is the Facebook Help Center or the Instagram Help Center. This community can't help with those accounts.
