HTC Vive vs. Oculus Rift

[Ciggavelli]

So, I have both the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. I thought I'd give a little comparison.

Vive
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Pros:
-Very easy Steam integration
-More games
-Higher build quality
-Motion Controllers
-Two sensors
-Full Room usage
-Front facing camera


Cons:
-Heavy headset
-Looks worse than the Rift, in terms of resolution
-Finicky startup. I have to unplug and plug it back in to get it to work every time I start it up
-Games too focused on the Motion Controllers (gimmicky "wiimote" like games)
-More expensive
-Earbuds are cheap (though you can plug in other earbuds if you want)
-Worse exclusives (though apparently you can play Rift games to some extent)
-Need a relatively large space to setup the base stations (the sensors)
-Headset gets hotter than the Rift


Rift
--------------------------
Pros
-Lighter, more comfortable, headset
-More "real" traditional games
-Cheaper
-Non-video game applications (like news and videos)
-The resolution looks better (I don't know why, since it's the same as the Vive, but it looks better for some reason)
-Better headphones
-Games are more "traditional," where you use a controller. It's a perfect blend of the old way of gaming (seated experience with a controller) and the new way (3D VR)
-Better exclusives
-More "home-brewed" mods to games
-Very easy setup

Cons
-No motion controls
-More USB 3.0 ports needed
-Rift Platform has slow downloads
-Cheaper Build quality
-No motion controllers just yet (they're coming at the end of the year though)
-Seated or standing position only (no full room usage where you can walk around)


My personal experience
------------------------------------
-I've had the Vive longer, but I've played the Rift a lot more. The games are just better. I like sitting down, in the traditional sense, and using an X1 controller (compared to gimmicky wiimote like controllers)
-The Rift is a lot more comfortable. After putting on the Vive headset and then putting on the Rift headset on right after, the difference is very noticeable.
-The Rift has Facebook money, and better exclusives
-The Vive relies too heavily on the motion controls. The games are gimmicky right now. That might change in the future, but the motion controls are hindering creativity. Most of the games I played on the Vive could be played on the Wii (shooters, golf, etc.). Out of the 40 or so games on the Vive, I only really like a few. As for the Rift, I like a lot more.

What you should buy
------------------------------
I recommend the Rift over the Vive. The Rift just has better exclusives and games. Plus sitting down and playing games with an X1 controller just feels more natural. It's a perfect blend of the "old way" of gaming and the "new 3D VR" way of playing. Additionally, the headset is a lot more comfortable. Plus, it's $200 cheaper.

Conclusion
---------------------
I'm going to keep both devices (so I don't miss out on anything), but I expect to continue to play the Rift a lot more. It's just the better platform right now. I was initially disappointed with the Vive, but I was immediately impressed with the Rift. If I had to keep just one headset, I'd keep the Rift

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

Good info. Sounds like your experience confirmed every one of my expectations so far.

 

[daze23]

did you experience any VR sickness with the Vive?

 

[Ciggavelli]

did you experience any VR sickness with the Vive?

No, the Vive has that fast jump. I never got queasy with the Vive, but I did with the Rift. The Vive jumps you quickly to the next spot. It helps out with the stomach problems, but takes away from the immersion. I played a bunch of high intensity Rift games today, and I gotta say, I'm getting more used to the VR experience. Eve Valkayrie would of made me sick a few days ago, but now I feel fine. You definitely gotta train your body though. VR sickness is real. Strangely enough, the Vanishing of Ethan Carter made me the most queasy. When you move left and right with the thumbstick, it's a very jarring experience. I got used to it now, but it's definitely not a game I'd start out with. Racers make me less queasy now too. I think my brain is getting used to VR now. I'm gonna try Windlands on the Vive and Rift tomorrow (to see if there's a difference). It's supposed to be a very "intense" game. We'll see which headset makes me sicker. I like the sick feeling though (strangely enough). It makes it seem more real to me. I feel like I'm more in the game. The Vive tries to eliminate that with their "jumps," but I think it takes away from the immersion.

 

[teacher]

are the motion controls gimmicky because they don't work well (responsive, 1 to 1 etc) or are you biased? IMO games like Metroid prime and zelda skyward sword weren't gimmicky and played at least as good and more fun then traditional controls

 

[Barney Rubble]

All Oculus games work with Vive and some even use the touch controls that oculus is yet to release. Oculus doesn't work with Vive because you need the controllers. The oculus probably looks better because it's a dimmer display so the pixels aren't as noticeable. The built in audio of the oculus is a big negative to me considering my headphones cost more than both combined. The Vive is a killer social experience and had people coming back the next day begging for more. bytches love it. I have Oculus coming, too, but so far Vive has impressed me much more than the two Rift development kits did.

 

[Barney Rubble]

are the motion controls gimmicky because they don't work well (responsive, 1 to 1 etc) or are you biased? IMO games like Metroid prime and zelda skyward sword weren't gimmicky and played at least as good and more fun then traditional controls

The motion controls work perfectly, in fact every single person has commented how exact they are. I've never lost sync or had lag but I made sure my setup was on point

 

[Ciggavelli]

are the motion controls gimmicky because they don't work well (responsive, 1 to 1 etc) or are you biased? IMO games like Metroid prime and zelda skyward sword weren't gimmicky and played at least as good and more fun then traditional controls

They work perfectly fine. Maybe I'm biased against them, but they feel gimmicky to me

 

[Liquid]

are the motion controls gimmicky because they don't work well (responsive, 1 to 1 etc) or are you biased? IMO games like Metroid prime and zelda skyward sword weren't gimmicky and played at least as good and more fun then traditional controls

They work great and MUCH better than the Wii.

Granted I only played one game, but it was very fun in my short time with it. More than I ever enjoyed Wii Sports when I first played on the Wii.

 

[Fatboi1]

Motion controls have been pretty accurate for a minute. The Wii motion plus adapter I think was good and so is the PS Move.

 

[Ciggavelli]

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter literally almost made me throw up. Turning left and right so quickly (like when going up a spiral staircase) fukks you up

I can play almost any other "intense" game fine, but this one is difficult to adapt to. I'm sure I will, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm still fukked up in the head after having the headset off for 30 minutes

 

[CurrencyChase]

How is the screen door effect of both models?

 

[Ciggavelli]

How is the screen door effect of both models?

Very noticeable. I'm used to playing in 1440p or 4K, so maybe I'm more sensitive, but it's definitely noticeable. I think it's a bit better on the Rift, but only slightly. The resolution is definitely low (lower than 1080p. It's 1080 X 1200 in each eye on both headsets, but 1080p is 1920 x 1080). You get used to the screen door effect after a while, but it's definitely blurry. A graphically intense game like the Vanishing of Ethan Carter looks blurry. It's hard to distinguish each leaf on the trees, etc. Other games, with less polygons, look less blurry. But the screen door effect is very real. The resolution is one of my biggest grips with VR at the moment (but I realize we don't have the GPU power yet to make higher resolution headsets).

 

[daze23]

Fated just came out. looks kinda cool

FATED: The Silent Oath on Steam

 

[Ciggavelli]

Pro tip for the Vive: My base stations (sensors) weren't going into sleep mode at all and the motors have been spinning for weeks now. Go into settings and sync the base stations through bluetooth and then select "Go into sleep mode upon exiting" (or something to that extent). Now my base stations are in sleep mode whenever SteamVR is not running. Also, I no longer have to unplug and plug back in the power to the headset with bluetooth selected. I just have to go into settings and "wake up" the base stations. The HTC Vive help desk people didn't even know about it. Thank god for reddit. Now everything is working perfectly with my Vive. I've been playing for the past hour or two. It's good VR, but I still prefer the Rift and it's X1 controller. My arms are actually tired right now after playing a Skeet Shooting game. Pump, shoot, pump, shoot, pump, shoot...etc., is actually tiring.