Reverb G2

[Boyezee]

Hi all

Decided to get a Reverb G2 given the positive comments on it however I'm pretty disappointed with it, before I return it I just wanted to see if the reasons for my disappointment can be overcome by changing any settings?

Firstly the clarity is excellent in the sweet spot however around the edges it blurs, for example this means I find myself moving my head down to look at the instruments rather than just flicking my eyes down as I did in my Rift. (Maybe because the rift is just blurry all the time I didn't notice it with the CV1).

Also the FOV seems worse than the CV1, I know from reading specs that isn't the case but I suspect the increased distance from my face to the lens is making it seems worse, anybody else had that issue? Feel like I'm looking down a tunnel more.

Although I'm only using GTX1080 until the GPU shortage is over I have been pleasantly surprised by how well it runs on that GPU so in have no issues with that side of things, just the experience side of things noted above.

[Ginger]

Hi Boyezee
The moving your head rather than your eye's is part of the package i think , it's my first headset so had nothing to compare it to ,so it doesn't feel strange to me!
maybe someone who's had both might be more help,

[Jaydog]

I think its just a matter of getting used to it in comparison to the CV1. I have heard of some different face mask/ gaskets mods to increase the FOV allowing your eyes to be closer to the lens. With my Rift S I found myself leaning into the instrumental panel slightly for gauge readings because the clarity and screen door effect, which I no longer need i to do n the G2. Maybe this mod could help.

[Kit Pepper]

Right Ginger, both Jaydog and myself started with the Rift S and upgraded to the Reverb G2. Jay can give you his comparison. For me, the clarity is better with the Reverb. And yes, it's sharper in the center and blurs a bit on the edges. However, I can see the instruments much clearer with the Reverb, than I can with the Rift.
For FOV, yeah, it feels like looking through scuba goggles, but I use the "FrankinFOV" mod. That's the replacement headset padding that puts my eyes closer to the lens. It does give me a slightly greater FOV, and cuts the scuba goggle depth by a third. They now feel and view more like aviation goggles (which the real guys had to wear). Keep in mind that the FOV is about the same as a flat screen, it's just that the edges are blacked out, unlike the flat screen where you can see the rest of your room around the edges.
All this said, the flat screen will give you a sharper clearer picture, true. But the experience of being IN the cockpit as apposed to seeing it through the window of your desk top monitor, is worth it. That's why I love it.
Oh, I have a 1070 card, and it handles it well. Of course I will upgrade eventually.
I would suggest that you fly VR for a few weeks and let it grow on you. The smoothness of seeing all around while moving your head without the artificial transposed hiccups that Track IR has, is intuitive and natural.... more real. It's just better, hands down.

[Kit Pepper]

Right Ginger, both Jaydog and myself started with the Rift S and upgraded to the Reverb G2. Jay can give you his comparison. For me, the clarity is better with the Reverb. And yes, it's sharper in the center and blurs a bit on the edges. However, I can see the instruments much clearer with the Reverb, than I can with the Rift.
For FOV, yeah, it feels like looking through scuba goggles, but I use the "FrankinFOV" mod. That's the replacement headset padding that puts my eyes closer to the lens. It does give me a slightly greater FOV, and cuts the scuba goggle depth by a third. They now feel and view more like aviation goggles (which the real guys had to wear). Keep in mind that the FOV is about the same as a flat screen, it's just that the edges are blacked out, unlike the flat screen where you can see the rest of your room around the edges.
All this said, the flat screen will give you a sharper clearer picture, true. But the experience of being IN the cockpit as apposed to seeing it through the window of your desk top monitor, is worth it. That's why I love it.
Oh, I have a 1070 card, and it handles it well. Of course I will upgrade eventually.
I would suggest that you fly VR for a few weeks and let it grow on you. The smoothness of seeing all around while moving your head without the artificial transposed hiccups that Track IR has, is intuitive and natural.... more real. And VR give you real depth perception. You will never get that on a flat screen. It's just better, hands down.

[Boyezee]

Thanks guys for the replies, I have used the CV1 for a few years on and off so I'm to used to the VR experience, I just expected more I think from the Reverb given the very positive comments on it.

I bought it mainly for sim racing so will give it a good go at that and see if I can get used to it, will also check out the face mask mods as well.

[Coopes]

Boyezee, I tried VR again on my G1. I was running pretty stable most of the time at 90 frames.
I know you have a similar screen to me and what I found is after a week I went back to my screen.

I personally think the image is the greatest hurdle. If you can accept and not question it graphically looking like your screen in sharpness and clarity it’s a win all day. I could not, and I went back to the screen. That is what holds me back from VR.

Racing is different. Everything is closer proximity, I don’t great distant sharp visibility. For flying, I just got detach from the image quality.

[Cule]

Hi Boyezee

The sharpness in the centre only is probably due to the G2 being sharp in the first place and the inherent VR fisheye kicking in. I did not notice it on my older VR sets. You get used to this. But there's other issues you do not get used to, like the lesser FoV. This is a huge issue with the G2 but it means you gotta wabble your head more, no way around it. I have one of those FoV mods but the increase is negligible.

VR improves your gunnery by tenfold and is very immersive and cool but is a setback in competitivity, overall graphics quality, and not to mention SteamVR is riddled with terrible issues.

You should decide if it's worth it for you.

For me, it's definitely not worth 600 bucks and it makes my flying way way worse than before. I used to be quite effective at spotting and IDing contacts and my mates used to rely on me for situational awareness. I'm terrible at that now.

But I plan to keep it anyway because it's something fresh and immersive and I've been flying on the flat screen for long, time to shake it up.

At least for ACG I can say VR is super awesome because of the immersion and authenticity factors.

[Jaydog]

Hi Boyezee

The sharpness in the centre only is probably due to the G2 being sharp in the first place and the inherent VR fisheye kicking in. I did not notice it on my older VR sets. You get used to this. But there's other issues you do not get used to, like the lesser FoV. This is a huge issue with the G2 but it means you gotta wabble your head more, no way around it. I have one of those FoV mods but the increase is negligible.

VR improves your gunnery by tenfold and is very immersive and cool but is a setback in competitivity, overall graphics quality, and not to mention SteamVR is riddled with terrible issues.

You should decide if it's worth it for you.

For me, it's definitely not worth 600 bucks and it makes my flying way way worse than before. I used to be quite effective at spotting and IDing contacts and my mates used to rely on me for situational awareness. I'm terrible at that now.

But I plan to keep it anyway because it's something fresh and immersive and I've been flying on the flat screen for long, time to shake it up.

At least for ACG I can say VR is super awesome because of the immersion and authenticity factors.

Cule, Yes you are right....A lot of truth about Steam VR, gunnery, FOV and situational awareness. I definitely have to work harder to keep my situational awareness but am used to it now pretty much looking around a lot more without even thinking about it. It becomes instinctive. My spotting has actually gotten much better with VR than a flat screen in BoX. If only it had the Index FOV or Pimax FOV. ....In due time I suppose.

I agree that if you're ultra competitive however and are one of the ones who is concerned about permaeath characters survival, it is a setback and the graphics suffer a little too but that is just small potatoes to me. I just love feeling like i'm in a cramped cockpit.

[Cule]

Yea, exactly that Jay!

Maybe in the future there is a generation of VR headsets which can overtake the flat screen in all its advantages, who knows?