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So, recently I decided to get an Oculus Quest VR headset. I was debating all summer about getting one, whether it would be worth the money, since you know, $400. I mean, would I actually USE the thing a lot, would my family be interested in it? Or would it end up sitting and gathering dust?

This is not my first foray into the VR world. I have a PSVR and it is pretty neat. There are some good games for it and it works reasonably well. But I WILL admit, that damn wire is ANNOYING, and the wands don't make the greatest control system. (Though the VR gun is AWESOME!)

But back to the Quest. What convinced me to go for it and get one was the fact that there are actually many games and programs people use to exercise with. That's right, it's NOT the entertainment factor that convinced me to get one, but the fact that I could do VR workouts with it. And the Quest was PERFECT for that since it is a totally wireless device, which would make it easy to move around.

Ok, so Quest ordered, it comes, and how is it? I will tell you, it is AMAZING what it can do. Being able to easily set up a play area anywhere you want, as BIG as you would feasibly like is great. With exercise games I can take it to the gaming house, move some stuff around, and draw a 15 by 15 space to play and not have to worry about hitting anything as I move around in a 360 degree virtual space playing futuristic racket ball. And I will tell, you after 30 min of that, I am TIRED!

And it's not just exercise stuff. being able to move around untethered while playing games is something else. Ok, sure, the quest will NOT give the same graphics as a Rift or Vive, but it is still a lot of fun to play. Plus NO beefy computer needed to do this, it's an all in one unit. And the controllers, Oh the controllers are SOOOOO much better than those stupid PS wands. It is so easy to control and move things in VR with them, grab and throw, and do things more naturally.

So I have established that the Quest is cool by itself and does not need a PC, BUT.....
the thing REALLY shines if you DO have a computer that can do VR and a good wifi connection.

That's right! If you have a good computer, you can put programs on the Quest and your computer that allow you to stream PC VR games to your wireless Quest, and it ACTUALLY works! I have used Google Earth VR, An Art museum VR program, Free Steam VR games and demos, and an Aircar simulator and they work on the Quest! I have even played Alien Isolation in VR, ON my Quest, and it is AWESOME playing cat and mouse with a 9 foot tall Alien in a gloomy space station where everything is an in your face 360 degree all encompassing view.

Ok, being a hacked program forcing rift games to work on the Quest, the program is forcing the round pegged quest to fit into the square hole Rift game compatibility. It is NOT perfect, there are issues here and there and some games won't work. But it is amazing how many DO work. If you are wondering, the program pretty much makes the Quest a monitor receiving the video streaming over Wifi. The computer and wifi do all the heavy lifting, which is why you need decent versions of both for this to work.
But hey, I have a 5 year old I7 4770k and only a AMD 580 video card, and it STILL works! I can only imagine how much better it would be if I had a more up to date system and one of the Nvidia 2000x cards.

But that is NOT all! Not ONLY can you play VR games from the computer, if you have the Virtual Desktop program on your Quest, you can play NORMAL 2d computer games on the Quest too! Yes, that's right, you can play FF14 on your Quest VR unit and it WORKS!
I have played FF14 while sitting in my bedroom on my bed with a XBOX elite controller. The VD program streams the video signal over wifi to the quest, turning it into a computer monitor and allowing you to fully see your computer screen while wearing the unit. Just use the Quest VR controllers as the mouse, start the game, and you are off.

I will admit, there IS a little lag at times if a lot is going on at once, but it is amazing that it actually works. Plus you can chose from a number of screens to project the image on. Anywhere from a computer room with a 32 inch curved monitor, to a huge 200 inch theater screen and stuff in between.

The bigger screens look awesome landscape wise, but it is hard to see all the info you need to see for fighting. The computer monitor is actually the most practical to use to play FF14. So I sit in bed looking at a virtual representation of a monitor right in front of my eyes and play the game.

If you are wondering, yes, you CAN pull up a virtual keyboard using the Quest's controllers to type stuff with. It's not the Speediest, but it works in a pinch.



Of course, all is not roses with the thing, Downsides:

VR motion sickness IS a thing, especially with FPV free movement, which is why many games do offer teleporting movement. One needs to build up their 'VR legs' to get used to it all to play for longer periods. This is also especially noticeable with the Quest because of it's wireless free roaming ability, it's VERY easy to move wherever you want quickly causing nausea if you are not careful. Note: This is NOT a thing for 2d games like FF14, only true VR games.

Eye strain is ALSO a thing with a VR headset. Having 2 screens so close to your eyes makes them quite tired after a time and your eyes begin to hurt causing headaches. This also requires one to build up a tolerance to it to be able to use a VR headset for longer periods of time. Unlike VR programs, this issue ALSO crops up when playing 2d games and watching movies with a VR headset. So yeah, no 3 hour FF14 playing sessions unless you are really used to wearing a headset.

So yeah, there are some downsides. But oh the GOOD things. After playing a good VR game, going back to 2d stuff is just sooooo lacking. VR really puts you in the world of the game you are playing. The outside world is just shut off and you are there experiencing stuff in a first person in your face view like you would experience it in real life. RE7 on the PS4 especially amazing at this. That game is absolutely terrifying in VR. When playing the game from 8 feet away on a tv screen, the scary stuff is not that scary. But remember, with VR you are RIGHT at eye level with whatever is happening and see stuff like you would see it in real life. So that means when your crazed ex girlfriend Mia runs from a darkened area screaming while wielding a knife and gets right in your face with it, it is DAMNED scary and you WILL probably cry out in real life in fear!


So, VR is slowly growing and you can do some amazing things with the thing now if you have the money and want to try it. But it IS still in the early generations. Future products will of course be better if you want to wait, and who knows, maybe they will solve more of the shortcomings of using the thing.