Wanted a VR headset for a long while, wasn't sure which one to get and when. But after looking around for a while, eventually settled on the Oculus Quest. Reasons:
- Standalone play capability + PC-based VR in one unit (via Oculus Link)
- Good resolution, better than the Rift S and the same as the Valve Index
- No beacon installation required, inside-out tracking
- Relatively affordable.
Took some time to find one in stock at a reliable retailer, but eventually one showed up, and I got it. Now that a couple days have passed, I'm happy to report: complete success.
- Standalone play is awesome, it boots up really quick and works well. Beat Saber, Superhot and other "simpler" games run great and are a heap of fun.
- PC-based VR is even better than I expected: it doesn't need the Link cable! In fact the Link system is a bit crap using a third-party USB-C cable, and the original cable is both overpriced and not available. But there's a 20€ app called Virtual Desktop that allows
wireless VR streaming from the PC, complete with SteamVR game support including controllers, using WiFi-5G. I didn't expect much from this, but was completely blown away by how well it works. Played several hours of Elite: Dangerous and Tabletop Simulator so far - there doesn't seem to be any noticable latency, picture quality is great, and it just works as if this was the way it's always been designed. Will be definitely getting HL:Alyx next, probably come weekend.
- Inside-out tracking works just as well as beacon-based tracking on the HTC Vive that I've played a bunch at a friend's place. Even when moving the controllers behind my back they are still tracked correctly for a while, the IMUs in the controllers seem to be doing the bulk of the work necessary there. Having four cameras in the headset also allows for a "passthrough" mode, and in contrast to the Vive it's full stereo and has a wide FoV, allowing one to actually walk around unimpeded and do stuff IRL without taking the headset off - which has come in handy much more than I expected.
- The only downside is the resolution. It's better than the earlier Rift developer kit headsets and the Vive that I've tried before, but still far from "really good". For simpler games, especially room-scale stuff where things are large and happening close to you it's absolutely fine. But in games like Elite: Dangerous with cockpit displays in the spacecraft you do notice the text bluriness, and sometimes you even have to lean in to a display a bit to read it properly, and far-away ships and space stations are hard to discern any detail on until you get very close indeed. However, it's definitely within the "good enough" zone even for that, and after getting into a couple dogfights in a dense asteroid field you completely forget about any bluriness or other issues
All in all, I'm very happy with the purchase, and am pretty sure the thing will see regular use with a whole bunch of games for me. And can definitely recommend one to anyone looking to get into VR.