Virtual Reality is amazing. It can also be a pain. Between diving into an incredible medium of interactivity and figuring out how to get everything working properly, your first few months with a headset may vary between fun and frustration.
What's more, not everyone's experience will be the same. There are a lot of different headsets with different capabilities and motion sickness differs widely from person to person. The good news is, it may not be as expensive as you might think to get into VR gaming. Given time and patience (and money), throwing on a headset and getting right to a range of immersive experiences will be a breeze. If you can avoid the pitfalls.
10 Know Your Comfort Limits And Find Games That Fit Them
Everyone experiences motion sickness differently, which makes remedies for it somewhat fickle. Luckily, VR games vary dramatically in intensity and comfort, and there are plenty of titles with great accessibility options. From Half-Life: Alyx to Lies Beneath, games big and small include options like teleportation and sitting play that'll turn a queasy frown upside down.
Meanwhile, puzzlers like Myst are fantastic, low-intensity options for those more interested in relaxation than firefights. Buying into low-intensity, highly accessible games, at least at first, can make for a smooth introduction into VR and a happy player. Some VR titles are just too much for those new to the technology.
9 Ensure Your Headset Is A Perfect Fit For Your Head (And Keep It That Way)
Headsets have all kinds of buttons that change the way they fit, and it's surprising how drastically one small pull with a Velcro strip can affect comfort. Depending on someone's needs, it may also be worth investing in a headset with more comfort options. Oculus' Quest 2 has a single Velcro strap on the top, two pulleys on the back, and three IPD settings (the space between your eyes). The Valve Index, on the other hand, is packed with comfort options, such as an IPD slider that provides way more than three settings and a nob to adjust the distance between your eyes and the lenses. Even the controllers can be tightened or loosened to better fit different hand sizes.
For some of us, even getting a haircut (or growing hair out) is enough to necessitate adjustments. Taking the time to fit a headset to the contours of your head can greatly reduce those annoying aches, strains and pains.
8 Performance Can Help With Comfort, Too
On a monitor, it's disappointing to turn a game's graphical settings down in order to wring out a few more precious frames. In VR, a game's settings could mean the difference between heart-pounding action and other bodily functions.
Turning some of those settings down and boosting your frames could make dealing with fast motion and multiple moving parts much easier. Headsets like the Index and Quest 2 provide a few different refresh rates, while the Index also has an option to scale the render resolution. Lowering this, while not great for the visuals, can make games run more smoothly.
7 With Experience Comes Higher Tolerance (Maybe)
Depending on a given player's susceptibility to 'VR sickness,' more time spent using the technology could produce a higher tolerance to intense experiences. Possibly.
There isn't a lot of obvious data indicating that this is a real phenomenon. Some users may claim that tolerance comes with time, while might insist that it doesn't. The lack of scientific evidence aside, though, it's not uncommon for people to feel as through their tolerance increases with time and experience. If it feels as though VR isn't for you at first, be cautious but don't give up too quickly.
6 Let Your Headset Warm Up First
Switching on the PC and donning the headset right away may cause blurry images, as the lenses are cold and more susceptible to fogging. Fortunately, it doesn't take an awful lot of time or heat to stop this from happening and ensure a clear and enjoyable experience.
After switching the PC on, give the headset a minute to boot. Maybe even run Steam VR or open the Oculus dashboard and let it sit. After a brief period, it'll be ready to go and won't fog up at the first sign of breath.
5 Give Your Arms A Break: Range Of Motion Vs Force
In many games, the force with which you swing a weapon or throw an object matters less than the range at which you moved it. As an example, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners doesn't require you to swing a bat as fast as you'd actually need to swing it to defeat a zombie. Instead, it's about the range at which the bat is swung; the distance between the beginning and end of a swing is what matters.
Often, the speed of a mundane high five is enough to destroy an enemy or toss a grenade, as long as you cover the range the motion requires. Granted, it'll take some practise to understand what that range is, especially from game to game, but it will keep your arms (and elbows, shoulders and wrists) healthy.
4 Keep Those Lenses Clean
Remember that soft, gentle wipe that came with your headset? Never underestimate how valuable it actually is. That wipe will keep you in the game(s) like you wouldn't believe. Wiping your lenses takes seconds and keeps those colors nice and bright.
Depending on the kinds of titles you play (VR offers everything from action titles to great romance games) and how heavily you breathe with the headset on, the regularity with which you'll need to do this will differ. Luckily, packs of microfiber cloth are relatively cheap. As long as they're kept away from dust and debris, they will keep lenses shiny for a very long time.
3 Accessories Aren't Just A Bonus, They Extend The Life Of A Headset
There are a ton of accessories out there that'll enhance what a headset can do and extend its life cycle. Some come come at a fairly cheap cost, too. Those of you with an Oculus Quest 2 will know that its speakers lack the punch of more expensive headsets. Luckily, though, there are plenty of options (from earbuds to headphones) to improve that.
A machine-washable mask cover will keep an old, aging mask feeling and smelling fresh for years. Like a screen protector for a smartphone or tablet, some simple accessories are all but essential.
2 Plan To Play With Friends? Buy Games On The Same Storefront
It's not always simple to join a friend in a VR title if they purchased their copy of a game on a different storefront. It's important to bear in mind that this does differ from game to game, but it's a common issue.
As an example, Steam and Oculus have two different friend applications, and not all games have easy ways of sending in-game friend requests or inviting people to a game. If you have an Index and a Steam copy and your friend has a Quest 2 and an Oculus copy, simple actions like joining a game together may be unintuitive or tedious. The simple solution here is to purchase games on the same storefront if possible.
1 You May Already Own Some Awesome VR Games
Many excellent games are already available in VR. War Thunder, Elite: Dangerous, Subnautica, Phasmophobia, Project: Wingman, and many more all have options for VR play. Furthermore, the likes of Elite: Dangerous provide some of the most awe-inspiring VR visuals around.
Before dropping cash on games for your new headset, take another look at your existing library. A great VR game may already be waiting for you. Subnautica is also a phenomenal VR experience, assuming you're not afraid of endless watery depths and the gigantic, frightful creatures that dwell in them.