Yesterday was pretty crazy– getting VR, going through hell setting it up, Windows Update nearly kills my computer. But it all worked out at the end.
And, for the first time in my life, I am happy with my purchase (and the product). It literally does what I’ve been told; turns VRChat into an entirely different game. Where everything feels real. Avatars feel real. …There’s just no other way to describe it, except HOLY FUCK I LOVE VR!! 😀
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So the delivery came around 3:47pm, and I was super hyped (yet also reminding myself that this thing could be DOA).
Checking the documentation, the headset requires an additional USB 3.0 port (on top of the Bluetooth 4.0 adapter). But I got it to work.
All there was left is to install the non-rechargeable batteries in the controllers (note to self, buy them next month). I should had asked if they could be charged.. but I didn’t. My fault. Thankfully it’s not the end of the world, as I have more batteries (to hopefully get me through next month). Then all there needs to be done, is to run the software.
That software is ‘Mixed Reality Portal’.
First problem I ran into was ‘Connect your headset.’.. when I already have the cables connected to the back of my computer. Great way to get rid of all that hype.
Spoke to my acquaintance, who tried his best to help me (while I tried my own attempts at fixing, but to no avail).
Noticed Windows Update had a few new updates available, and remembered that this was the way to get the drivers needed for the Bluetooth adapter. Installed them, and then decided to do a scan for more updates. Sure enough, three new ones popped up.. including a quite promising one named ‘Microsoft – Holographic’.
After it installed, Mixed Reality Portal re-opened itself. Clicked on the button as I did before…and it went past the message!! YES! It was telling me to set up the controllers. And as I was doing that, Windows Update said “I need to restart”.
I’m alright with it, and allowed the restart.
10+ minutes later, the screen is still saying “Preparing your PC”. I was going to give it a half an hour, but I felt like this was taking a ridiculously long time (and did what it said not to do.. turn off my computer).
Turning it back on, Windows tried to load, and froze on the Windows 10 loading screen. I thought for sure I had fucked the registry (or something). Waited 15 minutes, praying my computer would recover. Then I walked over to it, and noticed a small button next to the hard drive activity light. Assumed this was a reset button and pressed it.
Whatever it was, was a problem solver! Computer booted into Windows… then telling me “a previous USB device that was plugged in is malfunctioning, and Windows cannot detect it”.
I thought it was the headset, but it was the Bluetooth adapter. Pulling it out and putting it back in, fixed that problem. And I was able to complete the installation, paring the controllers to my Bluetooth adapter.
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Then, it was time to experience VR for the first time in my life. I was taken to this cliffside villa, where I was taught how to use WMR. I was expecting to feel motion sickness, but I never did. This is damn promising, and so was the framerate. Who knew that a GPU upgrade had been separating me from VR.
Taking off the headset for a bit, I… I was fucking blown away. I was able to manipulate objects, and bring them so close that I swore it was sitting on my lap!! The level of, mind fuckery… I don’t even have words. This is just truly remarkable.
To think just.. what, 10 years ago? …this shit wasn’t even possible!! How fast technology has exploded, is crazy!
Then I tried to go for VRChat. SteamVR wouldn’t detect the hardware, that was until I found there’s drivers that emulate the HTC Vive (so WMR can use it).
After it was installed, SteamVR’s tutorial came up. However, came up in an unexpected way. One of the cores from Portal greeted me, and then went behind me, telling me to hit the buttons on my controllers.
I didn’t see my controllers infront of me, yet I was still able to use them. I was forced to turn 180* around in my chair to see what was going on (and I still didn’t see the controllers in my hands). Ended up closing it out (as it was telling me to ‘press the MENU button’ (which only brought me back to the Cliff House), and with the help of my acquaintance, was able to launch VRChat in VR mode.
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Freaked out when I saw my hands infront of me! No more broken arms! WOOT!! Now it was the grueling task of learning how to play VRChat in VR. And this started with having my mic muted (and being unable to toggle it on my keyboard). Turns out, enabling the mic to always be on (and then restarting VRChat) is the key.
Soon I had a fairly good understanding of the controls. I even tried out the personal camera, which is a Pita to use. The fact you can’t really see what you’re aiming at, I ended up creating a plethora of screenshots by accident. Also, the labels are so small to read, that I have to lean in closer IRL just to make out what I’m clicking on. Clearly, this is going to take many days of practice, until I become familiar with these controls.
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Played Battle Discs (in VR) for the first time. Wow… okay, this is nowhere as easy as I thought it would be. You have to hold down your primary trigger, and then throw it forward as hard as you can. Hearing myself smack (hard) into the side of my computer (and other objects), I’m pretty sure this thing is best played while standing up (and away from the computer); less risk of smacking the controllers into something important.
As I said, I had a LOT of fun! Though there’s something ‘odd’ about it, how I kept being told that you’ll get motion sickness if your FPS drops below 40. Yet I was in a few worlds (where it was dipping to 15-30), and didn’t feel a thing. I saw the horrible framerate, yet it didn’t bother me. Perhaps my years of staring at a monitor, has made me immune?
Who knows. All I do know is I loved every bit of it!! I can pat people’s heads, I can wave, I can hug people! I’m finally able to do things I could only DREAM about! I felt I had a purpose of playing this game!
Next month, as I said, I’ll be buying a pack of rechargeable batteries (and the charger to boot). I can already see the controllers lose tracking a bit more often than I remembered, proving once again that the battery level means everything (when it comes to wireless devices). But as I said, I have spares. I have Energizer batteries (that are designed for high use electronics), which claim they’ll hold a charge for up to 10 years.
I’ll also be purchasing some VR games, such as Job Simulator. And also that model train game Dan played that I absolutely want.