My Valve Index Review

[pelota]

OK, I just got this thing (Valve Index) going and it has been a bit of an ordeal to switch from Oculus CV-1 to Steam VR/Index settings.  Actual hardware setup was not difficult.  All is good, but it took some time to ensure that my game settings (planes, account, personal preferences, etc...) remained unchanged.  At any rate, lets get down to the nitty gritty: is it worth the $1,000 making the switch from Oculus CV-1 to the Valve Index?  In my honest opinion, no.  Yes, there is some improvement in the picture clarity (less of the hazy/screen door effect, somewhat clearer gauges and text) when going from Oculus CV-1 to the Index, but the difference is not that significant--certainly not justified by the $1K price tag of the Index.  I think that the FOV is a little bit improved as well. But, again, it is not like my FOV changed from a binoculars view to seeing "wing to wing."  I tinkered with the FOV and managed to max it to about 150 degrees; but, honestly, the "game play" really did not change much for me, as I still use my hat switch joystick button to view what I cannot see, since I favor doing that over turning my head, saving my cervical spine in the process....  We owe lots of gratitude to Hitech for that feature, since anyone with a history of neck pain understands that constantly turning your head 180 degrees in VR can wreak havoc on the neck.  This brings me to my next point about the Index: it is a heavier headset than my Oculus CV-1.  It is comfortable, but it feels heavier on my head, which is a negative from my standpoint, as the cervical spine is now loaded with a heavier weight.  One other thing: the cable that connects to the HMD is thicker and heavier and I do not like the location of the clip, which is more posterior than lateral.  What am I going to do moving forward?  I will look into returning this thing back to Steam (if I can) and likely go back to the Oculus CV-1, instead of sticking with the Valve.  Call me old fashion, but I was really expecting more: much more clarity, more comfort and a lighter HMD, and similar software to Oculus Home, which Steam is not (this is more of a personal preference than a negative).  Well, that is my two cents!  Hope this help those who are on the fence about buying the Valve Index.  Note: my computer specs are the following: CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC, Liquid Cool Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCI-E NVMe SSD, WiFi Ready & Win 10.  There is definitely plenty of CPU and GPU in this thing to more than handle this game, as I never got below 90 fps playing this (and IL-2 BOS) with my Oculus CV-1.  No frame rate changes were noted between the Oculus and the Index, as I was consistently getting 90+ fps with all features enabled.  Hope this review helps <Salute>



-Owl

[fd ski]

great point about snap view feature. This is main reason why i find DCS/IL2 just untolerable for long term play.

I was thinking about gettin Index or G2, thanks for feedback.

[Eagler]

Aces high is only flight sim I have found that has the stick views enable in vr

This with its icon system makes this sim the only one I play in vr

Eagler

[Drano]

Aces high is only flight sim I have found that has the stick views enable in vr

This with its icon system makes this sim the only one I play in vr

Eagler

Tho not directly supported in-game there is a small app developed by an IL2 player that makes use of the hat views to extend the range of view. It's called NeckSafer. Works with SteamVR outside the game and works great. Works with IL2 and now he says also with DCS.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[FLS]

...but it took some time to ensure that my game settings (planes, account, personal preferences, etc...) remained unchanged. ...

It sounds like you switched game versions. You don't need the Steam version of AH3 to use Steam VR. That's why you get the choice of using Steam VR when you start AH with an Oculus headset.

[Drano]

There are a few different VR runtimes available that will run AH. I have a RiftS and can run it with the Oculus runtime. You can also run it with SteamVR just fine. There's also OpenCompositeVR I'd installed to run Steam VR games without steam. It gets a bump in performance over Steam VR . You don't need to run AH thru the Oculus or Steam home screens tho. Just run the AH DX11 exe from the desktop as you normally would and you'll get a prompt asking which runtime you'd like to run depending on what you have installed and running (Oculus or OpenVR) or say no to them which starts it on the desktop (not in VR). Either way, if you're in VR and it seems like AH has frozen, peek under the headset and respond to that prompt that's gonna be on the monitor.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[1stpar3]

Tho not directly supported in-game there is a small app developed by an IL2 player that makes use of the hat views to extend the range of view. It's called NeckSafer. Works with SteamVR outside the game and works great. Works with IL2 and now he says also with DCS.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

REALLY!!!! Dang Wild Turkey..messing with my comprehension! "Works with Steam VR outside the game"?? Not in On-line? An app like VoiceAttack? Just google "NeckSafer"? HOLY STUFF(lol).....GAME CHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Drano]

REALLY!!!! Dang Wild Turkey..messing with my comprehension! "Works with Steam VR outside the game"?? Not in On-line? An app like VoiceAttack? Just google "NeckSafer"? HOLY STUFF(lol).....GAME CHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/67985-simple-tool-to-check-your-six/

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[Drano]

I would have linked to the program files but that would have had no explanation of how it works. A Google search didn't get me anything related to this other than a video somebody made testing it out.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[Eagler]

Should not have to run a 3rd party app to make it usable

They should allow 6 and 12 oclock high views

If some consider that "not realistic" they do not have to use the views

To allow 3rd party hacks does not seem the way to go IMO

Dont the multi player servers check for changes like that?

Eagler

[Drano]

Should not have to run a 3rd party app to make it usable

They should allow 6 and 12 oclock high views

If some consider that "not realistic" they do not have to use the views

To allow 3rd party hacks does not seem the way to go IMO

Dont the multi player servers check for changes like that?

Eagler

I've only been messing around with IL2 for about a year. My biggest turn off about it was not being able to look around in VR without literally breaking my neck. Consequently, I might have logged only a couple of dozen hours online there. Just no fun not being able to track anybody. I see there's a thread in the VR section, a couple of them actually, discussing this exact thing. Been going on for over a year! No hat views in VR there so these guys are coming up with all manner of third party hacks to get a hat switch, and in some cases a button on a game controller, to make this happen. Literally jumping through seventeen flaming hoops! Then one of the programs they'd use would update and not work and they'd start all over again. I posted something like... Maybe just allow hat views in the game? Nothing to set up and it just works for anyone that wants or literally needs it to? Don't want to use the hats and hurt yourself then have at it! Got laughed out of the room! We'll never go back to hat views! We're all abouts the realisms! I was like.. But guys... Isn't that EXACTLY what you're all trying to do? Silly me Lol!

Then last month this guy comes out with this super easy to set up program that... Gets the hat views to work. And he's a superstar! Hilarious.

Of course the realism guys are all using TIR where you can check six+ by simply budging your head left or right but that's OK! Totally real! The playing field is getting leveled on them now.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[1stpar3]

  Thanks! Looks interesting. 

You are correct, a "program link" link would have had me scratching my head..so you did GOOD in posting the article

[Mayhem]

OK, I just got this thing (Valve Index) going and it has been a bit of an ordeal to switch from Oculus CV-1 to Steam VR/Index settings.  Actual hardware setup was not difficult.  All is good, but it took some time to ensure that my game settings (planes, account, personal preferences, etc...) remained unchanged.  At any rate, lets get down to the nitty gritty: is it worth the $1,000 making the switch from Oculus CV-1 to the Valve Index?  In my honest opinion, no.  Yes, there is some improvement in the picture clarity (less of the hazy/screen door effect, somewhat clearer gauges and text) when going from Oculus CV-1 to the Index, but the difference is not that significant--certainly not justified by the $1K price tag of the Index.  I think that the FOV is a little bit improved as well. But, again, it is not like my FOV changed from a binoculars view to seeing "wing to wing."  I tinkered with the FOV and managed to max it to about 150 degrees; but, honestly, the "game play" really did not change much for me, as I still use my hat switch joystick button to view what I cannot see, since I favor doing that over turning my head, saving my cervical spine in the process....  We owe lots of gratitude to Hitech for that feature, since anyone with a history of neck pain understands that constantly turning your head 180 degrees in VR can wreak havoc on the neck.  This brings me to my next point about the Index: it is a heavier headset than my Oculus CV-1.  It is comfortable, but it feels heavier on my head, which is a negative from my standpoint, as the cervical spine is now loaded with a heavier weight.  One other thing: the cable that connects to the HMD is thicker and heavier and I do not like the location of the clip, which is more posterior than lateral.  What am I going to do moving forward?  I will look into returning this thing back to Steam (if I can) and likely go back to the Oculus CV-1, instead of sticking with the Valve.  Call me old fashion, but I was really expecting more: much more clarity, more comfort and a lighter HMD, and similar software to Oculus Home, which Steam is not (this is more of a personal preference than a negative).  Well, that is my two cents!  Hope this help those who are on the fence about buying the Valve Index.  Note: my computer specs are the following: CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC, Liquid Cool Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCI-E NVMe SSD, WiFi Ready & Win 10.  There is definitely plenty of CPU and GPU in this thing to more than handle this game, as I never got below 90 fps playing this (and IL-2 BOS) with my Oculus CV-1.  No frame rate changes were noted between the Oculus and the Index, as I was consistently getting 90+ fps with all features enabled.  Hope this review helps <Salute>

-Owl

I just got my Valve index last week. Unlike Owl's experience I had issue with set up. Mostly because I run 3 displays on digital display port and to run all 3 and the index, I have to use an DDP 1.4 MST Hub. Unfortunately the Index knocks my MST hub out when it's connected directly to the GPU and it will not run through the Hub itself. I also had to play music USB ports with a few of my devices. Over all it took me around 6 hours to set it up and get it working from the time I opened it up to the time I got it working.

I'm mostly happy with my index but I have some concerns. occasionally my headset flashes to grey and back and I have no idea why, other than maybe it lost connectivity with the light houses.

The display has a very slight screen door effect and while it's no G2 or Pimax I can actually run Aces high III at max with a 1080ti and a Xeon e3 1231 v3 (I7 4970 equivalent).

It basically looks ok. Tracking is awesomely spot on and it tracks better than I expected it to. Running Half Life Alyx is a blast I just wish they had a better and less convoluted way to customize the index knuckle controllers.

Least I don't have to worry about getting locked out of it.

I think my biggest concern is the value. I may have been worth it at $1000 bucks when it released but with the Hp reverb g2 out for $600 and the Quest 2 going for $300 to $500 not to mention Pimax always updating their gear, Valve should have knocked the price on the full valve index kit to around $750-850ish just to be competitive.

[1stpar3]

I just got my Valve index last week. Unlike Owl's experience I had issue with set up. Mostly because I run 3 displays on digital display port and to run all 3 and the index, I have to use an DDP 1.4 MST Hub. Unfortunately the Index knocks my MST hub out when it's connected directly to the GPU and it will not run through the Hub itself. I also had to play music USB ports with a few of my devices. Over all it took me around 6 hours to set it up and get it working from the time I opened it up to the time I got it working.

I'm mostly happy with my index but I have some concerns. occasionally my headset flashes to grey and back and I have no idea why, other than maybe it lost connectivity with the light houses.

The display has a very slight screen door effect and while it's no G2 or Pimax I can actually run Aces high III at max with a 1080ti and a Xeon e3 1231 v3 (I7 4970 equivalent).

It basically looks ok. Tracking is awesomely spot on and it tracks better than I expected it to. Running Half Life Alyx is a blast I just wish they had a better and less convoluted way to customize the index knuckle controllers.

Least I don't have to worry about getting locked out of it.

I think my biggest concern is the value. I may have been worth it at $1000 bucks when it released but with the Hp reverb g2 out for $600 and the Quest 2 going for $300 to $500 not to mention Pimax always updating their gear, Valve should have knocked the price on the full valve index kit to around $750-850ish just to be competitive.

As to,"My headset flashes Grey and back", the Rifts also have this some times. The rift is Black and back though. Do you remember the what was happening, when you get those flashes? I have been keeping records, to the best I can. For ME/MY experience, this usually happens in "crowded" areas. Like Large Air fields, Fleet Ack and Missions(12 or more in tight group). It has also happened when Connection to Internet goes a bit wonky. I would say, 90% Frame Rate(due to first example) issues to Internet 10% SNAFUS with connectivity. Another observation as to the Internet Gone Wild....it usually manifests more, when using Coms in those situations. Eh, not a "deal breaker"...even with all it Growing Pains.....Hands Down an awesome experience! Closest I will ever get, to actually flying/Piloting..

[Mayhem]

As to,"My headset flashes Grey and back", the Rifts also have this some times. The rift is Black and back though. Do you remember the what was happening, when you get those flashes? I have been keeping records, to the best I can. For ME/MY experience, this usually happens in "crowded" areas. Like Large Air fields, Fleet Ack and Missions(12 or more in tight group). It has also happened when Connection to Internet goes a bit wonky. I would say, 90% Frame Rate(due to first example) issues to Internet 10% SNAFUS with connectivity. Another observation as to the Internet Gone Wild....it usually manifests more, when using Coms in those situations. Eh, not a "deal breaker"...even with all it Growing Pains.....Hands Down an awesome experience! Closest I will ever get, to actually flying/Piloting..

In AH/DCS/AW:Squadrons It only does it when I'm looking for something on my desk and I'm leaning forward to feel around. This is most likely caused by my monitors (I have 3) blocking both light houses.

In HL:Alyx it seams to happen when I'm  jumping around a lot, Clipping in the game, or my Frame rates drop to low.

When I play Simulators I'm at my desk.

When I play Alyx I'm standing or sitting in the middle of my room.

It does not happen that often.