Over the next few days the Valve Index will finally start arriving on people’s doorsteps. The headset brings improved comfort, resolution, audio, field of view and more to VR. We’re pretty darn excited about it.
But that’s only one part of Index’s offerings. Also arriving this week are the Index Controllers (previously known as the Knuckles controllers). These long-in-development devices add improved VR finger tracking among other features like analog sticks. Again, we really like them and can’t wait for people to get their hands on them. But what games will you actually be able to play with the controllers?
While almost every SteamVR game should support them in an unofficial capacity, developers are updating their games to officially implement finger tracking support and other features. Below, we’ve rounded up every game that either already has or will soon be getting official Index Controller support. Also note that, if you want to save a little money, you can buy the Index controllers separately and then use them with your HTC Vive.
Why add yet more clutter to already-complicated VR setups, right? But the VR balance board’s release on PSVR proved its value, especially for gamers wanting more precise locomotion when using two Move controllers. It’s a niche product for sure, but still a welcome antidote to the headset’s current limitations. Now the VRGO Mini wants a piece of that pie.
The original VRGO was an egg-shaped stool you could lean back and forth on to move around in-game. It aimed to provide an immersive, comfortable means of movement without the need for room-scale space. The idea was sound but it was bulky, expensive and not the most fashionable piece of interior decor. The VRGO Mini, meanwhile, is a much more compact disc you place on top of another chair or couch. It connects to devices wirelessly via Bluetooth.
Indeed, I was startled by how much more convenient the Mini is compared to the original. There’s a special raised mat you can lay down to use the kit on couches and armchairs (which costs extra), though I tried it on a swivel stool. Smartly, the choice of demo was Skyrim on PSVR, perhaps one of the most damning examples of Move’s lack of analog sticks. The kit does support basically every other headset (including Quest) and any other game (through the use of a controller converter on PSVR), but this is where I see it getting the most attention.
Initially, I found the VRGO Mini to be wobbly and unwieldy. Trying to balance the Move’s many buttons in my head whilst literally keeping my balance as I leaned from side-to-side was dizzying. Leaning forward was fine, if a touch too sluggish, but going in the opposite direction had me worrying I was going to fall off of my chair. Obviously, if you were in a chair with a back you’d be less worried about that, but then you wouldn’t be able to lean back as easily. With these extra concerns on my mind, I started to actually find myself more flustered than if I had just been using the Moves.
Having said that, the more I played the more I found myself getting adjusted to the experience. Mini’s cushioned seat is very comfortable, making long play sessions viable. There’s also controller-like vibration, though this was pretty heavy-handed in my demo (and made a loud rattle on the stool). VRGO says it’s still fine-tuning this element, however. There will also be two SKUs, with a cheaper one ditching the haptics.
Ultimately I’m still not convinced that leaning to walk is a more natural means of locomotion than controller-based alternatives. But I’m also conscious of the fact that not everyone can handle that sort of VR locomotion. This is a device aimed at a specific group of enthusiasts that want an immersive way to play while seated. The more I became acclimatized with the VRGO Mini, the more I could see that, I’d just rather stick to standing as it is. It’s down to you whether you find the idea of tilting your feet or leaning your body as the best way to move while seated in VR.
The kit’s launching on Kickstarter today, hoping to raise £20,000 (around $24,500). Its creators expect to start shipping units around six months or so after the campaign’s closure. If you’re looking to use it on PSVR you’ll need a game controller converter. They won’t ship with one themselves. VRGO recommends the Cronus Max or Titan One.
If you’re interested in getting one I suggest you act fast; Super Early Bird prices start at £119 without haptics and £149 with. The longer Kickstarter price is £199 without haptics and £229 with. Afterwards, the kit will cost £269.99 without haptics and £299.99 with.
The Oculus Rift S (read our headset review) is one of the best PC VR headsets on the market due to its affordability, ease of use, comfort, and sharper resolution over its predecessor. We’ve put together this list for recommendations on accessories, games, and more for Oculus’ flagship PC VR headset.
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Being priced at just $399 typically (and getting knocked down to $349 for Black Friday) makes the Oculus Rift S a hard value to beat. The inside-out tracking cameras make it so you don’t need to set up any external sensors or cameras at all to have it work. All you need to do is plug in your headset and you’re good to go.
Out of the box it comes with two Oculus Touch controllers that let you move your hands, pick up things, and interact with objects in the virtual world. The Insight tracking system makes it simple to draw your boundary on the ground so you don’t accidentally punch your TV or walk into a door. It’s really a great, intuitive user experience.
Plus, the Oculus Rift S works natively with the Oculus Home store, Steam, and Viveport.
Where To Buy The Oculus Rift S
Usually the Oculus Rift S costs $399, but starting Thursday, November 28th until December 2nd it’ll be knocked down to just $349, which is the first discount we’ve seen since the headset launched earlier this year. According to Oculus, you’ll be able to buy the PC VR HMD at that price from Amazon, Lenovo, Oculus, and Best Buy.
When you first set up your Oculus Rift S it’s tempting to dive into the deep end of PC-based VR immediately, but we’d actually recommend taking things a tiny bit slower. There is an excellent First Steps app to get you acclimated, as well as an older one named First Contact. Both are free.
After that you can explore your Oculus Home environment, decorate it if you wish, and then start looking into other applications.
For the next few days, Oculus is running a special promotion with a collection of five bundled Rift games – The Climb, Arizona Sunshine, Elite Dangerous: Commander Deluxe Edition, Defector, and Racket: Nx. These games would usually add up to nearly $200 if you bought them separately, but are available in the bundle for just $84.99 until November 28th at 9pm PT which is an amazing deal if you want all the games included.
Plus — if you already own some of the games in the collection, it’s actually prorated to be cheaper for you since you’d only need to buy the games you don’t have. This a great selection of games at such a low price, and features quite a few different experiences for someone who just purchased a Rift S. You can view the collection on the Oculus Store.
Accessories
So if you’re definitely going to buy a Rift S for yourself or someone else — or already own one — then you’re probably curious about accessories and other things that can help enhance your experience overall. We’ve got you covered there too.
The biggest omission from the Oculus Rift S (especially compared to the original Rift) is the lack of included headphones. Similar to the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest, it instead include speakers in the sides of the head-strap itself to provide audio for both you and those around you. The problem is that it’s just not very good. If you want an actual over-ear solution instead that you can just clip onto the headband itself and leave on as a dedicated part of your device, then we highly recommend the Bionik Mantis headphones, which were actually designed for the PSVR but fit the Rift S as well.
This display unit promises a nice stand to place your Rift S headset and hang your Touch controllers. This looks like a nice option if you’re want to store the Rift S on display next to some other gaming consoles, or even other VR headsets. The stand is compatible with the Oculus Quest as well, so you can change the headsets out if you have both.
If you’re looking for something to fit securely into the headset, protecting the lenses, then maybe try this lens protector from Orzero. While we haven’t tested it ourselves, it has favorable reviews on Amazon. You may have to turn the headset off fully when not in use if the lens protector activates the headset’s proximity sensor.
Obviously one of the biggest downsides to using a PC VR headset is that, typically, it means having a thick, restrictive wire coming off the side of your face that makes it difficult to move freely and is often a tripping hazard. One solution to this for the Rift S is to install a ceiling pulley system so that your cable loops up through the ceiling mount and then goes back down to your PC to get it out of the way. We haven’t used these in our own home setups, but this has great reviews and is widely recommended.
If you play a lot of shooters or are interested in getting into the VR FPS scene with games like Onward, Pavlov, and Contractors then you could stand to gain a lot in terms of immersion and also just pure enjoyment by using a dedicated Rifle Stock. These devices let you slot in your VR controllers and hold it, cradled in your shoulder, like you would an actual two-handed rifle. We haven’t tried this particular one but it’s got good reviews and looks to be a good fit for Rift S Touch controllers.
VR Cover is a company that’s been around for a while and is known for making accessories designed to make headsets feel more comfortable against the face as well as improve hygiene. We have tested their Quest covers and original Rift covers in the past, but have not tried the Rift S-specific covers. They don’t offer leather covers for Rift S yet, only washable cloth ones, but it could still be a good improvement especially if you sweat in VR a lot.
This strap modification accessory for the Oculus Touch controllers make them a little bit more like Index Controllers – they’ll stay secured to your hand even if you’re not gripping them. While we haven’t tested them ourselves, these look to be a good option if you’re expecting some longer play sessions.
If you’re using your Rift S a lot, the lenses are going to get foggy and dirty and you’ll want some microfiber cloths to quickly clean the lenses between games and sessions.
Since the Oculus Rift S is not a portable headset really, by design, and requires a capable VR PC to operate, it’s probably not the type of headset you’ll travel with very often. That being said, maybe you use a laptop for VR and do travel often enough that you’d need a dedicated carrying case for your Rift S, in which case (pun intended) this looks like a very good option. We haven’t tried it, but it’s got good user reviews.
China-based VR hardware company Pico Interactive announced the specifications and planned prices for its upcoming Neo 2 standalone VR headset. The company also revealed a new model in the line called the Neo 2 Eye which incorporates eye-tracking technology in partnership with Tobii.
The Neo 2 line is a successor to the original Pico Neo headset and the company’s website lists that it only sells to businesses.
The Pico Neo 2 was first revealed in March of 2019 but specifications for the device weren’t revealed until now. The headset is priced around $700 while Pico also plans to sell the Neo 2 Eye for around $900 offering the same specifications with the addition of eye tracking. Pico claims the headset features a refresh rate of 75Hz and 101 degree field of view with 4K resolution powered by a Snapdragon 845 alongside 128 GB storage.
Pico claims the Neo 2 Eye model will use eye tracking technology from Tobii to “improve daily enterprise operations and applications.” Tobii is the same company that provided the eye tracking technology for the HTC Vive Pro Eye. We gave our impressions of the technology back at CES this time last year, and Tobii later went on to launch their eye-tracking SDK at GDC a few months later.
The Neo 2 headsets will employ full 6 degrees of freedom with inside out tracking and the company says it uses “electromagnetic” tracking with its controllers, pictured below.
This tracking technology may benefit from resistance to occlusion but may be heavier to hold. We’ll plan to see the device at CES in Las Vegas and hopefully report back more details and impressions.
Update: A representative of Pico contacted us after initial publication of this article to say the refresh rate of the Pico Neo 2 headset is 75Hz and not 90Hz. The higher refresh rate was noted in a draft press release they sent us for Pico Neo 2. They also claim the field of view is 101 degrees and not 105 degrees as our original report suggested. Lastly, they also said a “stream box” which they initially said would be “sold separately” to stream PC VR games from a nearby computer won’t, in fact, actually be available for purchase. Article is updated to reflect these changes as of 10:20 am Pacific on January 5 from the original version published at 6 am.
Don’t forget to check out our CES 2020 Coverage Hub right herefor all of the latest announcements for VR and AR tech from the show!
Tired of endlessly switching out batteries in VR? This Oculus Quest controller charging station might have a fix for you.
ONG Innovations revealed this new product over the weekend. As it stands right now, each Quest controller uses a single AA battery, which you’ll often find runs out mid-session. But this Oculus Quest Controller charging station switches out replaceable batteries with its own rechargeable solution, complete with a custom battery faceplate.
When you’re not in VR you simply rest your Touch controllers on a rectangular block, with each controller’s tracking ring and magnets helping to keep the balance. The controllers plug into a charging port to make sure they’re ready for your next play session. ONG’s unique faceplate has space for the charger to connect.
On paper, the concept is sound, but there’s a lot of questions to be answered about this Oculus Quest controller charging station. What would this solution do for weight and battery time, for example? How long will it take to charge? Will it work safely and should you really buy two to make sure you’re not forced to stop playing when the battery goes flat?
In fact, ONG has a few things to work out for itself. The sign-up form for updates on the kit asks how much value potential customers feel the product is worth, for example. For now, we don’t have a release date for the kit, but make sure to keep an eye out if you’re interested.
That takes care of the controllers, but what about the headset itself? Check out the VR Power add-on we saw at CES earlier this month. It adds a battery pack to the back of the Quest, extending its life and acting as a counterweight too.
Would you be interested in picking up this Oculus Quest controller charging station? Let us know in the comments below!
VR tracking company Antilatency has announced a slew of new hardware and updates to their tracking systems, including support for the Oculus Quest and a new software development kit (SDK) for easy implementation. The company’s custom tracking solutions now offer a ceiling set up, alongside a custom six degrees of freedom (6DOF) controller, ideal for enterprise solutions and implementation at location-based VR experiences.
We previously tried Antilatency’s technology at CES 2019, where the tracking system turned the Oculus Go into a 6DoF, multi-user VR experience. This tracking technology operates via a small external “HMD Radio socket” device, pictured above, which is mounted to the headset. Support for the Tag peripheral has expanded to include the Oculus Quest, which provides “full-body tracking, where head and foot tracking is performed by Antilatency trackers, and hand tracking is done by the native controller tracking of Oculus Quest.” The custom tracker device, which works with the Antilatency system, would likely connect to the Oculus Quest’s USB-C port.
Quest support comes alongside the addition of the new Antilatency SDK, which allows for “more flexible configuration of the system for various use cases” and improves upon previous iterations of the technology. This works hand-in-hand with the new ceiling set up option for tracking, which uses the same technology as the previous floor-based system with infrared lights, except it now uses markers and wires placed on a suspended ceiling rig. Antilatency admitted that the ceiling option is not as mobile or flexible as the floor mat option, but will allow for situations where objects are placed on the floor in the playspace, or when real walls are present that also co-exist in the virtual world.
Antilatency is also introducing a 6DoF controller called ‘The Bracer’, pictured above, which is “ultra-light” and mounted to the user’s wrist, allowing your hands to be used to grab objects without having to hold a controller of any kind. This would work in situations where the user wants to hold an external peripheral, such as a gun, without compromising tracking.
All of these new software and hardware updates position Antilatency to be implemented at an enterprise level, both in training situations and location-based experiences. You can read more on the Antilatency website.
A project developed by mechanical engineers Florian Auté and Alexis Roseillier resulted in a 3D printed paddle, grip and holder for an Oculus Touch controller.
The grip replicates the feel of a real racket for use in the VR table tennis game Eleven.
Eleven was already available on PC VR but just launched on the Oculus Quest last week. The game offers realistic physics and environments that simulate the classic game of ping pong. The extreme light weight of a ping pong ball also makes the sport a good candidate to replicate in VR, as the haptic feedback provided is much less than, say, hitting a baseball or tennis ball.
One area that differs the most, though, is replicating the grip of a real table tennis paddle in VR. An Oculus Touch controller, or any other VR current controller, does not have the same grip, feel, orientation or weight as a real table tennis paddle. So modifications to the controller would be needed to make that happen.
To counter this problem, in January Florian Auté began prototyping a way to integrate an Oculus Touch controller with a standard table tennis paddle grip. Auté worked on the initial prototypes with his girlfriend as they focused on connecting an Oculus Touch controller to an existing paddle grip.
Auté then enrolled the help of friends Alexis Roseillier and his wife for their 3D product design knowledge and development expertise, and they began work on new designs for a 3D printed grip. Roseillier and Auté both studied at the same engineering school in France but they live in different countries, the Netherlands and Germany. Auté is a fan of Eleven but Roseillier was not interested in table tennis at the beginning of the project, according to Auté, but now that Roseillier tried their add-on he’s thinking of getting an Oculus Quest.
The final result is a 3D printed racket/paddle holder that securely holds an Oculus Touch controller, while also positioning the center of gravity to more closely match a real table tennis paddle.
According to the creators the total weight is around 167 grams (though weight might differ based on the printing material used and the type of AA battery in the Quest controller) and keeps the controller’s buttons accessible while locked into the 3D printed mount. The tracking remains stable while in the grip, according to Auté, and it can also be used with the table tennis shakehand grip, where your index finger is placed on the back of the paddle.
The user will need to adjust the orientation of the paddle in-game — Eleven allows that kind of customization — so that it matches the offset position of the controller when placed in the grip. We contacted the developers of Eleven and they said they are planning to add a custom preset in the game that will easily adjust the orientation of the simulated paddle to work with the grip without the need for manual alignment.
They posted the 3D model for the grip and it is available free on Thinigverse, an online library where users can upload the files for 3D models they’ve created. This allows others to download the files and print the models with a 3D printer themselves. You can download the grip on the Thingiverse listing now with instructions included on the page. It works with the second generation of Oculus Touch controllers which ship with both the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S headsets. An earlier 3D print was made by different creators for the original Oculus Rift Touch controllers.
Here’s a video of the new accessory recorded by the creators and originally posted to Reddit showing how it works:
The print requires a two M4 screws you should be able to get at a hardware store — one with a 10 mm thread length to lock the controller in place — and another with 35 mm thread length for the hinge.
Spaces co-founder Brad Herman owns a 3D printer and offered to send UploadVR Managing Editor Ian Hamilton two of the prints — one for a right Oculus Touch controller (same as the listing on Thingiverse) and another with a mirrored print for the left Oculus Touch controller. Hamilton is left-handed but his family members are right-handed, so with two of the prints he and his family can use two Quests or a Quest and a Rift S to play table tennis together in their living room. The game attempts to minimize latency when on the same Wi-Fi network and Hamilton noted a ping of only 2 milliseconds when playing with the paddle accessories this week locally. It made for an extremely realistic game of table tennis without any physical table or ball.
Check out the footage here:
All images provided by Florian Auté from Thingiverse and Reddit and posted here with permission. Video rehosted on YouTube with permission from Auté, and the original can be found on Reddit. Managing Editor Ian Hamilton contributed to this post. Post updated on March 6 with video showing matches played with the paddle accessories.
Manus, the VR company that offers enterprise-level hand-tracking solutions, this week revealed a new full-body tracking solution to complement its existing offerings.
Called Manus Polygon, the system works using Vive Tracker pucks. The original Manus solutions already use two of these sensors attached to the backs of your hands to track their positions in virtual space. The sensors utilize the same SteamVR base-stations that track the HTC Vive and Valve Index headsets.
But Polygon adds another Tracker to your waist and two on your feet. We’ve seen full body tracking of this sort in plenty of other applications before (HTC itself was keen to highlight its use). But it’s in the mix of hand-tracking that makes this solution stand out.
In theory, this could take Manus a step beyond some competing VR body tracking systems. Other body tracking systems do sometimes offer finger-tracking, but we’ve tried Manus’ gloves, which are ready to slip on and calibrate. We haven’t tried Polygon itself, but that ease of use could be key. Crucially, the system comes with what Manus says is an easy calibration system that users themselves can operate. Polygon also comes with multiplayer support.
We took a look at the Manus VR gloves in a recent episode of our VR Culture Show. You can see it in action below.
Polygon will be arriving with enterprise customers this June. A price hasn’t been announced but, considering the Manus gloves themselves start at €2990, we wouldn’t hold our breath for a more consumer-friendly option.
During CES in January I tried a pair of controllers called “etee” that were lightweight with finger-sensing features. As I held them in my hands, a laptop screen showed which gestures and movements the controllers recognized.
The lightweight controllers recognized each of my fingers and my grip — even tight squeezing — but they wouldn’t recognize if I spread my fingers out and moved a couple of them vertically up and down along the base of the controller — so no “live long and prosper” hand signals here. That’s not a common movement, so not likely to be a big deal, but what is a big deal is they lack a physical trigger.
They’re seeking nearly $57,000 on Kickstarter to bring the controllers to fruition during the COVID-19 pandemic. An early bird pledge of around $297 promises a pair of the controllers with a “bespoke” SteamVR Tracker included and estimated delivery of December 2020. While that should add 6DoF tracking to the controllers, it is also slightly more than it costs to buy a pair of Index Controllers which have the backing of Valve and either indirect or direct support in most VR games on Steam.
The etee controllers should ship with software tools for developers to use and, according to the group behind the project, they will include “the ability to bind etee finger sensing and other control surface inputs to those of traditional SteamVR controls via the embedded SteamVR UI” and they say etee can “connect to the full range of SteamVR games and applications that are already available.”
That’s a big claim and one we haven’t directly tested to see how it holds up in some popular VR games. As noted above, the hands-on time was just via a 2D screen. The image below from the company’s Kickstarter page shows the way the input from the controllers should be able to be customized.
Every other major controller on the market includes a physical trigger and the vast majority of VR software is built around this fundamental input mechanism. How exactly major games play with the customized input is an open question.
The Kickstarter project raised nearly $10,000 toward its goal at the time of this writing. Hardware Kickstarters, however, are notoriously risky ventures and we should note that even companies like Valve and Facebook have been struck by production problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve seen a lot of different approaches to solving VR haptics over the past few years. It’s safe to say that Wireality is unlike any other, though.
Revealed earlier this month from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Future Interfaces Group, Wireality attaches spring-loaded cables to your fingers a little like a puppet. Connected to a shoulder-mounted device, the kit works with a given VR world to sense when your hand is about to come into contact with a virtual object and stop your fingers in the relevant position.
The aim is to give you the illusion of, say, resting your hand on a wall or wrapping your fingers around a railing. Check it out in the video below. It’s like VR haptics by way of puppetry.
This approach, the researchers say, has a lot of benefits. For starters, the system locks your fingers in place when touching a virtual object, but doesn’t require more power to keep it there. Researchers say it uses 0.024 mWh per actuation.
Perhaps most importantly, though, the entire system was created using less than $35 worth of components, whereas other VR haptics systems currently cost in the thousands.
But, fairly obviously, there’s a lot of hurdles for Wireality to overcome. A lot of what makes consumer VR haptics tough is making it simple and accessible for users. Hooking up an array of cables to your digits and mounting a device to your shoulder before putting on a headset is anything but convenient. It’s also bound to limit how freely you can move your hands in VR, which isn’t something we’d be quick to trade-off.
Plus the system can only apply the illusion of touching a surface to a few parts of the hand; if you were to press your hand flat against a wall, say, you wouldn’t actually feel it on most of your palm with the current setup.
But it’s certainly an interesting avenue for future research.
If you play a lot of shooters or are interested in getting into the VR FPS scene with games like Onward, Pavlov, and Contractors then you could stand to gain a lot in terms of immersion and also just pure enjoyment by using a dedicated Rifle Stock. These devices let you slot in your VR controllers and hold it, cradled in your shoulder, like you would an actual two-handed rifle. We haven’t tried 
