Benie's General Blog

I have decided to keep the VR Set. The response is at the bottom of this post.
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Trying to think of a proper title to this blog post (and a response to the last one) was very tough, but I defaulted on this.
So anyway, I’m on the fence if I should keep WMR, or sell it and wait ’till I get the much needed hardware upgrade. For I have been given the answer to the issues I’ve been
having… and have somewhat good news; or news where I can say “it all worked out at the end.”
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Three things are causing the issues, and what I tried to do to get them;
1. The motion trackers would get the best results -if- the Bluetooth adapter is placed on the front of the tower instead of the back.
And 2. Apparently, the Bluetooth adapter does not have to be in a USB 3.0 port. It can go in a 2.0 port and still work.
So anyway, for these first two things– given how I managed to get the clip-on mic to work on one of the front USBs, I was hoping that it just might be possible I could do it with the adapter. And, my assumption was correct that it refused to work like that. I watched a bunch of videos, as others had similar issues with the front USBs not working. But, nothing got it to be recognized. Not even Windows Update could help me this time.
In defeat, I plugged it in one of the USB 2.0 ports on the back of the tower, knowing this is something I’m either going to have to get used to, or get my money back.
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But a stroke of good luck happened. For some reason, when turning on the motion controllers, they started tracking a hell of a lot quicker than I remembered!
Playing about in VRChat, the controllers were a lot more responsive than they were before! This is.. awesome!! 😀 Who knew raising the position of the adapter, would increase their tracking capabilities! I LOVE this!!

Finally, the 3rd. As expected, my CPU was picked on. Being told “that CPU is really underpowered for VR (or even regular AAA gaming).”
Tell me something I don’t know…
This is also the reason why I get nausea with extended use, and it’s slightly bothering me. I was told I should be seeing FPS in the 90’s when in VR, instead of the 60’s. And when it dips down into 30 or below, I don’t initially feel it..  until later on. Finally, some proof for once. But proof that is quite hard to swallow.
Though I still remember saying, that this VR set would let me know if a hardware upgrade is really needed… sadly, the answer is ‘yes’. It IS needed.
What’s even more annoying, the clip-on mic is no longer being detected on the front USB ports. First the Bluetooth adapter, now this. But, I found a good free fix. Even though I have to plug it in the back, I took a piece of tape and taped the cable to the side of the tower, which will keep the cable from going under the primary monitor and yank it off its stand. Brilliant fix!! Wish I came up with the idea sooner!

So, I’m just unsure if I should send the WMR set back to Amazon and get my money
back (to start saving up on the hardware), or keep it and learn to deal with nausea occasionally happening. But I just want to know if keeping it would actually be worse for my health, than selling. Because to me, with a low FPS, I don’t think this is something that occasional use is going to help me get used to.

But I think I’ll leave it up to you folks to help me decide on my next move. Should I sell it, to get a head start for the upgrade, or keep it (and it becoming a nice heavy paperweight while I start saving)?

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EDIT: Wow.. you guys (and gals) are FAST! Thank you so very much for your support of me, and of this website! It means so much to me! 🙂
Going over all of your emails (and as said, you folks are crazy!), I tallied the
responses. And with a vote of 62 to 28, most of you have said for me to keep it; but on one stipulation, that I use it less often (and pay attention to the FPS more often). That when it drops below 50, reboot my computer and try again, or take off the headset for the time being.
Others that say to keep it, suggest that I close everything running in the
background (except for the WMR Portal and SteamVR). Saying the more I close, the more system resources will go to keeping the FPS high in VR. This includes things like Discord, Firefox, and ShareX– which use up the most memory. And I’ll be doing that.

Once again, thank you all for your helpful, constructive words (and even the ones that weren’t).

I’ve decided enough is enough, and I wasn’t going to let my Hypochondria take over my life. The dizziness still comes and goes, but I’m happy to report that the nausea is gone. I remembered dealing with a dizziness feeling being similar to what I’m having, being related to simple sinus pressure and pain.
But one thing stopped me from putting that headset back on (and plunging back into the world of VR). And that’s the issues I had with doing HDS Part 1 (that I wrote about here).
I wanted to see if the acquaintance was having the same issues I am, and knows a way to fix them. And at the end.. sadly, there was no fix. He indeed does have similar issues, but mentions “Vrchat doesn’t support the joy sticks for our kind of controller so we use the d-pad which is used for emotes.”
The ‘d-pad’ he mentions, is the same as the Directional Pad on a game controller. This controls movement, as well as emotes.

So, that was a waste of time.. :/ Then he says that I should set up a boundary (aka a
play space) which would help minimize nausea (according to him).
Telling him that I’m usually sitting down, he said I can still do it while sitting.
Went through the first option of this, it telling me to trace out my play space (and how it has to be a 5x7FT area).
First time, I traced around the space around my chair. “Your boundary is too small” it tells me… did this again, same thing. So, it doesn’t matter if I get over my ailments.. my fucking ROOM isn’t VR ready. 😛
Talked with him again, telling him I have a lot of furniture around me (feeling my only option is to pack up the set and get my money back, since it obviously expects me to have a large bedroom). He asked “can you get your headset over it?”, adding on that all I would need to do is trace the walls of my room.
Tried it again, slowly moving the headset around my room (getting my chair out of the way) while trying to keep the headset ‘pointed’ at my computer. Lost tracking on the dark ends of the room, but was able to somewhat complete the really messy tracing job. It even took pity on me by saying “We lost you there, but we’ve managed to fill in the gaps!”
My play space is now set (at least, I hope).

Put on the headset, telling myself with a deep sigh “as soon as you start feeling nauseous, take off the headset and wait ’till it goes away”. I’m going to trust strangers, that everything will be perfectly OK.
But I went through hell. Not with my body, but of my computer struggling (and failing) to get both motion controllers to show up. I feel eversince I got the boundary done, this had done something to it. Anytime one (or both) the controllers lost tracking, my computer kept freezing for about 5 seconds (and this may/not always had gotten the tracking back when it stopped). What’s odd is Task Manager wasn’t picking up any insane use that could be causing it.
Eventually (which was a timespan of a half an hour), I had control.
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I also finally found this ‘Virtual Desktop’ I needed to launch Google Earth VR correctly (to where it should render in the headset). Also, the Cliff House is NOT required to use it. And it’s not even called that — it’s simply called ‘Desktop’.
To access, either hit the Windows button on the motion controller, or the Windows key on your keyboard. Then go to All Apps, and there you can find ‘Desktop’ (which is simply controlling the mouse with motion controllers).
This also has multi-monitor support, allowing me to switch between my monitors automatically. Created a shortcut and tried clicking on it, launching SteamVR.
I saw the screen (as if I took the headset off and saw it). And then I saw.. a static image. Taking off the headset, it wasn’t tracking it.
*sigh* I’m about ready to say FUCK YOU to this app!! It’s not worth all of this effort!
But I created another post in the WindowsMR Reddit channel, hoping for new info. So far, I’m seeing “I’m having the same issue”. I know.. others are having it! That doesn’t solve the issue!!
The last response (upon typing in this blog post), is a “I fixed it, but I have a Nvidia
card”… NOT. HELPFUL!! D:{
I would had LOVED to stay with Team Green, and gotten a GTX 1070 Ti. But I was short on cash at the time!
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Decided to get in VRChat (in VR), still fighting with the movement controls. This is starting to become less and less enjoyable for me. I wish I was WARNED about this, because if I knew just how annoying the controls are, I would had never wanted
WMR (and had just gone for the Occulus after getting my PC’s hardware upgraded).

I’m losing my patience everytime I try to go forward, it assumes I want to go into a
wall (and/or refuses to turn left). I shouldn’t fucking have to be fighting with a $200 piece of equipment!! Especially when the batteries are good enough! Sure, they’re not at a 100% fucking charge, but that shouldn’t matter!
There has GOT to be a fix to this. Or I swear, I’m going to get my money back. ‘Cause I’m not tolerating this shit any longer.
Made a post in the VRChat Steam Discussion board, as well as a duplicate copy in the WindowsMR Reddit, being as detailed as possible with my issues. And if I don’t see a
fix (besides “upgrade your CPU”)… well, you heard me.

I’ve stopped using VR since yesterday night. The reason being, I was feeling very nauseous (to the point I felt anytime I was going to throw up). And I won’t be putting that headset on until all symptoms go away.

The symptoms I’ve been feeling are thus;
-A feeling of weight and pressure on the front of my head (and above my nose).
-My eyes feeling I’m still in VR (at times), even swearing I’m still controlling my avatar’s arms and hands.
-Over time with use, the part where my hair ends at my forehead, it itches and feels sweaty.
-A slight nauseous feeling that came and went, but only intensified until what it is now.

But yeah, I was sick as a dog last night. Clearly I over-exerted myself, feeling that my body would eventually get used to it. …No. I felt ready to die. Though I drunk some water, and it barely stayed down. As time went on, I was able to drink more and not feel as bad.
As I write this, I only feel slightly nauseous. And I’m able to keep food down. This is a really, really good sign that I stopped at the right moment (before it could’ve gotten irreversible).
*deep sighs*
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I kind of want to blame the acquaintance, for saying the first two are ‘perfectly normal’, yet never said “take a break”. However, I also shouldn’t be depending on him. For he did say that it affects everyone in a different way.
Ergo, I blame only myself. It’s just, before, my body seemed fine with it (was still getting the first two symptoms, then started getting the 3rd yesterday). So this needs to be a life lesson to not push myself. Infact, I felt almost dreaded to get the headset on, worrying about the nausea feeling. That’s never good. I never should feel I have to force myself to get used to this.
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This is clearly going to take a very long time, with careful training and moderation. I got to find my limits, and when to stop when I hit them.
Though, what if I never get used to it? What if my body just can’t handle VR? That makes me more sick than wearing it. I’ll be blaming myself, over and over.
But on the other hand, I also should feel proud, not embarrassed. For I was able to experience VR for the first time in my life! I can write it off the list of things I need to do before I die.
There’s also lots of others who cannot get their body to tolerate VR.

Infact I’m going to try to get my mind off of this, attempt to hook up the equipment to get my PS4 into my secondary monitor, and play some Assassin’s Creed Origins.

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EDIT: Instead of doing the above, RL issues got in the way and they weren’t good. But anyway, I spoke to several people in VRChat, who say even the nausea I’m feeling is ‘perfectly normal’, and “everybody gets it”.
Was also told that my symptoms — my ailments — should go away in either four days or up to a week.
When I asked how long should I play in VR (to get my body used to it), one said 1-2 hours. Adding on that he would play for 1-2 hours, then take it off and do something
else. Then 2 hours hours later, put it on for another 1-2 hours. Essentially, rinse and repeat.
..
So, in order to get used to VR, I should only stop if I start to feel nauseous (and stay off until that feeling goes away). It’s just like riding a bike; eventually, you’ll get the hang of it. But at least with VR (as long as you’re in a sitting position that is), you won’t fall off and hurt yourself.
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EDIT 2: From the way I was acting after that edit, you would think I’d be confident enough to get back into VR… but you’d be wrong. My Hypochondria (illness anxiety disorder), demands proof I’ll be OK. Even though I can feel my symptoms very, very slowly starting to wane, I need proof that in a week from now, they’ll be gone.
That’s why I’ve decided to do this. This is the only proof I can think of (outside of seeing a doctor, which may (or may not) be a waste of my parents time of getting me up there).
A week from now, and I’m completely cured of all my ailments, THEN and ONLY then will I feel confident enough to get back into VR. Even though I know my symptoms will just start right back up, I’ll know I’ll get over them (with the previous experience).
I don’t fucking care how many times I’m told “you WILL get over it” (from strangers), VR affects everyone differently.

And if I don’t get over it (which I feel is more likely), I’m packing the WMR system back up and getting my money back. Because by then, I’ll know I cannot get used to VR.
Then I’ll say “at least I got to experience VR for the first time in my life, before I die”.
*deep sighs*
It’s up to my body now. In a week (on October 1st), it either gets over the effects of VR (to let me know I’ll be OK), or it doesn’t. Either way, I’ll have my very much needed proof.
It’s going to be a long week…