You can jump into VRChat right now for a digital New Years celebration across the globe. The New Years Eve party is live right now in both the PC version and Quest version of VRChat complete with musical performances, a ball drop, and fireworks.
VRChat NYE party is live! Celebrate New Years across the globe in a Virtual Times Square with the ball drop and fireworks! Updates @vrchatnye#vrchatnye
You can watch the party happening live on Twitch as well for a preview if you’d like courtesy of VirtualBass, or join in for free on PC, PC VR, or Quest.
Within the Virtual Times Square there are musical performances to enjoy, 16 different community storefronts you can actually enter, the Great Pug rooftop lounge is of course featured with an excellent view, and more.
Earlier this week we awarded VRChat with the ‘Most Improved Social VR Platform’ designation specifically for things like this. Granted, VRChat hosted a similar party last year too, but this is just a single point across a year-long trend of helping people adapt to and accept life under pandemic lockdown restrictions.
Virtual parties like this are never going to actually equate to the real thing, at least not in the near future, but it still does a great job of approximating social interaction within a shared physical space unlike anything else out there. It also helps that I can wear a Spongebob avatar if I want.
Following on from the Christmas sale just over a week ago, Facebook are running a New Year’s Sale offering discounts on bundles of Oculus Quest and Quest 2 games.
The sale isn’t as comprehensive as the Christmas sale, nor does it feature any sales on individual titles. All of the discounts available are for bundles or collections of two or more games, unlike the previous sale which featured a large list of discounts on individual games.
There are three New Year’s Packs — the 2021 Starter, the Fitness Essentials and the Action Essentials pack.
The 2021 Starter bundle includes Walkabout Mini Golf, Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale, Real VR Fishing and Richie’s Plank Experience for $49.99, down 30% from $69.96.
The Fitness Essentials bundle includes Racket: Nx, Synth Riders, and Pro Putt by Topgolf for $44.99, down 30% from $64.97.
The Action Essentials bundle includes In Death: Unchained, Space Pirate Trainer, and Golf Club VR also for $44.99, down 30% from $64.97
There’s also a separate Chronos Duo Pack that includes Tokyo Chronos and Altdeus: Beyond Chronos for $59.99, down from $79.98.
Hitman 3’s VR support was built up by a surprisingly small number of developers – just 10 to 12 people worked on the integration.
That is according to a recent Game Informer article talking about the assassin sim’s new VR support. This team makes up only a small percentage of the entire IO staff – a 2016 MCV article put the studio’s headcount at around 170 developers. This week’s article also notes that, obviously, Q&A staff worked on the VR support too.
It’s undoubtedly impressive based on what Hitman 3 is set to offer in VR. The entire game can be played inside the PSVR headset and you can even import old levels from Hitman 1 and 2 to see them with fresh eyes too. Plus IO has integrated motion control support in the DualShock 4 for an entirely new way to play.
“Everyone gets super excited,” lead game designer Sidsel Hermansen said of the PSVR support. “The coders also got super excited, like, ‘We could do this!’ and ‘Actually, we usually wouldn’t go there, but aw, f— we have to do it,’ right? So that excitement has really driven us and we’ve done much more than should be possible on a relatively small team because of the excitement. I don’t know if that was surprising, but it’s been a beautiful thing.”
Hitman 3 lands on January 20th. You’ll need the PS4 version to play with PSVR, even if you own a PS5, but both versions of the game are included if you pick it up on PlayStation. No word yet on possible PC VR support.
Many social VR platforms are playing host to informal New Year’s Eve parties, with users banding together to ring in the new year. VRChat is going the extra mile this year though to put on a 24-hour NYE bash that includes ball drops on the hour and live music so everyone can celebrate.
VRChat’s New Year’s Eve celebration is already in full swing, replete with a Virtual Times Square.The space, which is accessible on PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest, features community-created billboards, 16 community storefronts, and rooftop areas to view the ball drop and (of course) virtual fireworks.
Like any good NYE party, live music is being offered up from a number of artists, which is courtesy of Virtual Bass, a VR festival organizer group with focus on electronic dance music. Check out the schedule below, with showtimes listed in PST:
Image courtesy VRChat, Virtual Bass
Jean-Michele Jarre NYE Concert
Electronic music pioneer Jean-Michele Jarre is also hosting a concert in VRChat that is slated to take place December 31st at 11:25 PM CET (local time here).
The concert is set to take place in a virtual recreation of Notre-Dame in Paris. Check out the promo video below.
There, Jarre will preform tracks from his upcoming album ‘Welcome to the Other Side’.
To experience it live, simply search ‘NOTRE-DAME CONCERT’ once in VRChat. The world is open to both PC VR and Oculus Quest headsets.
Replays of the concert will be available for 24 hours after the live performance.
Know of any other awesome NYE events in VR? Let us know in the comments below!
While Oculus doesn’t offer much publicly in the way of understanding how well individual apps are performing across its VR storefronts, it’s possible to glean some insight by looking at apps relative to each other. Here’s a snapshot of the top 20 Oculus Quest games and apps as of December 2020.
Why We Publish This Data
While the SteamVR library already has a comprehensive tracking database thanks to SteamDB, Steam 250, and more, no similar database exists to track applications on Oculus storefronts. We publish this data to give users, developers, and analysts insight into the Oculus app landscape.
Some quick qualifications before we get to the data:
Paid and free apps are separated
Only apps with more than 100 reviews are represented
Rounded ratings may appear to show ‘ties’ in ratings for some applications, but the ranked order remains correct
Best Rated Paid Oculus Quest Apps
The rating of each application is an aggregate of user reviews and a useful way to understand the general reception of each title by customers.
Oculus Quest 2 has been backordered at major online retailers since before Christmas. If you act now though, you may just be able to snag one and start playing next week, all with an added bonus of a $15 gift card for future purchases at NewEgg.
The deal, which is priced at the standard MSRP of $300, is only available for the 64GB version of Oculus Quest 2 on NewEgg’s US-based site.
You’ll need to act fast though, because the offer ends at 2 AM ET on December 31st (local time here), and also while supplies last.
At the time of this writing, deliveries are expected between January 4th – 8th in the continental United States, which means you could be playing a ton of great games as early as next week.
NewEgg says the $15 promotional gift card will be mailed four days after the purchase goes through, and will expire 365 days after issue.
With that sort of cash, you can offset the cost of an Oculus Link cable, which will let you play SteamVR and Rift platform games, provided you have a VR-ready PC on hand. NewEgg also has washable face pads, the official Oculus Quest 2 carrying case, and headstrap replacements—all of them recommended for long-term Quest users.
Despite the world grinding to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, indie game studios and ‘AAA’ studios alike continued their work from afar and set new bars for VR gaming. Although some of the games we were looking forward to in 2020 were delayed, the good news is there’s a steady stream of content coming down the pipeline next year.
Here’s a look at 11 highly anticipated titles slated to arrive in 2021.
Hitman 3
Platform: PSVR-compatible on PS4/PS5
Developer: IO Interactive
Release date: January 20th, 2021
Studiodescription: Agent 47 returns as a ruthless professional in Hitman 3 for the most important contracts of his career. When the dust settles, 47 and the world he inhabits will never be the same again.
Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife
Platform: SteamVR, PSVR, Quest, Rift
Developer: Fast Travel Games
Release date: ‘early 2021’
Studiodescription: Even the dead are terrified inside the Barclay Mansion. As a Wraith, use your supernatural powers to unravel its secrets and hide from the sinister Spectres. Afterlife is a first person VR horror exploration game set in the World of Darkness universe.
Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual!
Platform: Quest, ‘PC VR’
Developer: Happy Giant
Release date: ‘the first half of 2021’
Studiodescription: Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual! is the Freelance Police’s first original game in over a decade, and the pair’s first foray into VR. The game’s development team includes several team members that worked on the original Sam & Max: Hit the Road by LucasArts in 1992, as well as the Telltale series. The new action adventure title is slated to come out for VR headsets in the first half of 2021.
The Climb 2
Platform: Quest
Developer: Crytek
Release date: ‘coming soon’
Studiodescription: The thrill of climbing comes alive with The Climb 2–explore a new city setting and exhilarating new maps with breathtaking views. Ascend grand peaks, navigate vast caves, climb skyscrapers, and discover hidden shortcuts as you find your path to the top. Compete with friends and conquer leaderboards in asynchronous multiplayer modes. From exploring mountain environments to scaling urban settings, feel the rush of climbing without ropes, and experience breathtaking vistas as you scale new heights.
Baba Yaga
Platform: Quest
Developer: Baobab Studios
Releasedate: ‘coming soon’
Studio description: Baobab’s newest VR experience, Baba Yaga, invites viewers to be a main character in a haunting fairytale world completely reimagined. Their choices determine the ending of this story of love, fortitude and magic. Sometimes a force for evil, sometimes a force for good, the enigmatic witch Baba Yaga uses her powers to stop the villagers whose settlement encroaches upon her enchanted Forest.
Delayed Games
Lone Echo II
Platform: Rift
Developer: Ready at Dawn
Release date: previously Q1 2020, now 2021
Studio description: Jack and Liv are back in Lone Echo II. Return to the rings of Saturn in this highly-anticipated sequel, to unravel the mysteries of Lone Echo and journey deeper into space – past the very boundaries of time itself.
LOW-FI
Platform: SteamVR
Developer: IRIS VR
Release date: previously late 2020, now Q1 2021
Studiodescription: You’re the sheriff of cityblock 303, a retro-futuristic cyberpunk slum where the only inhabitants of note are other “low-fi”. Humans too poor to jack into the platform, and rusting old robots that didn’t achieve the intelligence singularity. What you do with your time is up to you. Are you a good cop, hotshot?
Vertigo 2
Platform: SteamVR
Developer: Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, Errol Bucy
Publisher: Zulubo Productions
Release date: delayed to 2021
Studiodescription: Vertigo 2 is a single-player VR adventure. Explore the depths of the vast Quantum Reactor as you descend to finish your journey home.
Sniper Elite VR
Platform: SteamVR, PSVR, Quest, Rift
Developer: Rebellion, Just Add Water
Release date: ‘coming soon’
Studio description: A dedicated VR stealth-action experience from the makers of Battlezone and the BAFTA-nominated Sniper Elite 4, in partnership with Just Add Water. Fight for the Italian Resistance in a daring mission to rid World War 2 Sicily of the Nazi U-boat menace.
After The Fall
Platform: SteamVR, PSVR
Developer: Vertigo Games
Release date: previously 2020, now ‘Early 2021’
Studiodescription: Explore the remains of a civilization ground to a halt in an alternate 1980s, craft a range of ranged and melee weapons, and wield devastating powers with real-life movements. Go solo or join up with players worldwide as you face relentless hordes and colossal bosses in a bid to take back the city.
Panzer Dragoon Voyage Record
Platform: PC VR, ‘Console VR’, ‘Standalone VR’
Developer: Wild Inc.
Release date: crowdfunding & release delayed until 2021
Studiodescription: The records of past voyage is coming… Omnibus of Panzer Dragoon / Zwei / Saga trilogy for VR from Wildman Inc.
Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!
It’s been a hard year for Humanity. No, not that Humanity (forgive the pun but it really can’t be helped). I mean the upcoming PSVR game from Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect developer, Enhance Games and THA. The title is now coming in 2021.
A tweet from the game’s official Twitter account confirmed as much just ahead of Christmas. “2020 took an unexpected turn for Humanity,” the message reads. “But 2021 is our year.” A short video seen below shows the game’s crowds of tiny people shifting from a 2020 message to 2021.
Humanity Arrives In 2021
2020 took an unexpected turn for Humanity. But 2021 is our year.
Happy holidays, stay safe, and we’ll see you next year.
We haven’t heard much from Humanity throughout 2020 after the game was first announced in 2019. Back then an ambiguous trailer showed us scores of people colliding with each other as they navigated levels, occasionally fighting other crowds, occasionally overcoming obstacles. What you actually do and how you play, though, remains pretty much anyone’s guess. Check out the trailer below for some hints.
Still, we’re excited. The game has optional PSVR support and looks like a technical achievement. The developer didn’t give any word on a possible PS5 release but, even if that’s happening, we all know we’d need to play the PS4 version to access the VR support.
A reason for the delay wasn’t given, although Enhance has also been working on ports of Tetris Effect in 2020 and, you know, had to contend with the pandemic like the rest of us.
Tundra Labs, which makes chips and development kits for devices which use SteamVR Tracking, is building its own tracking accessory for the tracking ecosystem. The company is positioning its Tundra Tracker as a smaller, cheaper, and better alternative to HTC’s Vive Tracker. A Kickstarter campaign to fund the project and gather feedback is planned for next month.
The Open SteamVR Tracking Ecosystem
SteamVR Tracking Base Stations
Valve’s SteamVR Tracking is an open tracking system which allows any third party to build devices which are tracked by SteamVR Base Stations. Valve’s own Index headset, along with third-party headsets from companies like HTC and Pimax, make use of the shared system for high quality room-scale tracking. The flexible system allows users to mix and match devices (like being able to use an Index headset with Vive wand controllers), and also allows additional devices to be added into the mix—like HTC’s Vive Tracker, which is a general-purpose SteamVR Tracking device that can be attached to things like props or limbs to track those objects in VR.
As the only consumer-available device of its kind, the Vive Tracker has become the defacto general purpose tracker for the SteamVR Tracking ecosystem. It’s commonly used to augment VR motion capture by attaching to a user’s feet and hips, thus providing six points of body tracking (head, hands, waist, and feet) rather than the usual three (head and hands). This allows the movements of players to be captured and represented more accurately, giving VR avatars an impressively wide range of motion.
Friendly Competition
Image courtesy Tundra Labs
As the defacto choice, comparisons to the Vive Tracker are inevitable; Tundra Labs founder Luke Beno says the Tundra Tracker will best the incumbent in several ways.
Specifically the device is expected to be “60% smaller, consume about 50% less power, weight 50% less, and have twice the battery life,” compared to the Vive Tracker, he tells Road to VR. Beno also plans to deliver the Tundra Tracker at a slightly lower cost than the $100 Vive Tracker, along with additional discounts for tracker bundles.
But the Tundra Tracker isn’t purely a competitor, it can also work in tandem with the Vive Tracker, allowing users who have already invested in Vive Trackers to augment their tracking setup without needing to completely switch from one tracker to the other.
In fact, users will be able to pair Vive Trackers, Tundra Trackers, and even Index controllers to the Tundra Tracker’s USB dongle. “It’s the beautiful nature of SteamVR’s open ecosystem,” Beno says.
Placement & Mounting Options
Image courtesy Tundra Labs
With its reduced size and weight, Beno says the Tundra Tracker will also offer more flexible placement options.
“The tracker shape is also designed to fit in places that Vive Tracker cannot. The default baseplate has two loops where a user can thread though a strap or shoe laces. I’m also considering integrating magnets into the base so that it can snap onto a metal plate that can be embedded or sewn into clothing.”
Image courtesy Tundra Labs
Tundra Labs is also considering other base plates for different applications, but is waiting to lock down the options until gathering feedback from potential customers. “I’d like to sort of ‘crowd source’ ideas [for the tracker’s mounting options] such that it is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution like Vive Tracker,” he says.
Tundra Tracker Kickstarter
Image courtesy Tundra Labs
To that end, Tundra Labs will run a Kickstarter campaign for the Tundra Tracker, which is planned to start in January with units shipping later in the year.
While the Kickstarter details are still being finalized, Beno tells Road to VR that Tundra Labs will also offer ‘multi-port dongles’ through the Kickstarter, which will allow users to pair multiple trackers (Tundra Trackers or Vive Trackers) using a single USB connection.
The plan is to offer multi-port dongles capable of pairing up to three, five, or seven trackers, respectively. They will also be small enough to fit into the opening in the front of the Valve Index headset (AKA the ‘frunk’), which would ensure the dongles stay close to the trackers for a strong connection.
Beyond the consumer Tundra Tracker and the multi-port dongle, Beno says the Kickstarter will also offer a ‘Dev Edition’ tracker which includes a “very comprehensive expansion connector,” which could be used by other companies to build functional, tracked accessories like VR guns, gloves, and more.
Bigscreen released a holiday update just before Christmas bringing new environments and features. Plus, the developers are seeing strong statistics and retention on Quest 2.
The biggest part of the update is the new drive-in theater environment, which the developers said was the #1 most requested feature from users.
In addition to the drive-in, the app has also been redesigned over the last few months and now features a brand new user interface. The developers say that the new UI should make it easier to discover new rooms and content, which is convenient as there’s also 60 new TV channels being added into Bigscreen in this update. The channels “including major crime-drama series such as Narcos and hilarious game shows like Wipeout.”
A new TV category called “To Infinity and Beyond” is also being added to Bigscreen for livestreams and re-runs of rocket launches. According to the developers, SpaceX launches are some of the largest social events in Bigscreen and VR in general, with thousands of people all watching at once.
The developers also noted that the Quest 2 launch has been massive for Bigscreen and has meant that the team had to upgrade their servers. According to the developers, “core metrics are up 3-5x since October” and people are spending more time in the app than ever. “The average session is nearly an hour, and power users spend 20-30 hours every week in Bigscreen. Quest has become the most popular headset in Bigscreen’s userbase, followed by the Oculus Rift S, Valve Index, and HTC Vive.”
Thanks to the server upgrade, lobbies now support 12 people (up from 8) and the plan is for room size limits to increase up to 25 or even 50 people sometime next year.
Next year, Bigscreen plans to ship several features, including “a friends system, new avatars, new environment, major improvements to our video streaming, a new ultra-low latency Remote Desktop feature and more.” PlayStation VR and Mac app support are both also “on the roadmap” but without a strict timeline.
In recent weeks the developers of Eleven Table Tennis have been dealing with something that’s not exactly common for a virtual reality title. So many people were playing at the same time that the servers crashed. While frustrating for those affected, the temporary setback puts a spotlight on what might become a new trend for VR.
Is VR keeping alive sports that can’t be safely or affordably played in the physical world? Is it even introducing new players to those games? And is it possible more people seek out the physical version of their pandemic pastimes once it is safe to do so?
While we’ll have to wait to see what the answers to some of these questions are, there is some anecdotal evidence already of an answer to the first question.
Yes, some people are keeping their love of ping pong alive during a pandemic through VR.
Is VR now home to one of the largest table tennis clubs in existence?
There are tens of thousands of people who purchased Eleven Table Tennis in 2020 for around $20 on the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 standalone headsets. It is also available on PC VR headsets as well with cross-play available between the different VR systems.
For that one-time price, players get unlimited access to a kind of table tennis club of sorts. Ping pong clubs exist in lots of major cities around the world with players paying a membership fee to meet up once a week or so in community or recreation centers to play a more serious version of the game most people only know from the garage or backyard.
The key difference is that Eleven is 100% pandemic-safe, unlike every other ping pong club in the world where people toss a physical ball in the air before hitting it to an opponent in the same room. The biggest risk to your body playing Eleven from the safety of your own home is that you might try leaning on a table that isn’t physically there. And that’s a legitimate concern — just check the reviews for the game where people mention the risk — because of just how completely the software makes you believe the table is actually there.
And all those people buying the game and stuck inside throughout 2020 means that right now, in the middle of a pandemic, at any given moment hundreds of people around the world are playing ping pong in Eleven Table Tennis. Arguably, that makes Eleven Table Tennis one of the largest and most active table tennis clubs in the world. During a recent sale which temporarily discounted Eleven’s price, the game’s lead developer says there were 820 concurrent players online in the game.
Social Play In A Pandemic
77 percent of the reviews for Eleven Table Tennis on the Oculus Quest store are five star reviews. If you wade into them and read past the reviews praising the game despite the threat of actual physical injury due to leaning on the virtual table — you’ll see the reviews from people praising the game for getting them through the pandemic.
“The short story is this app…turned the Quest 2 from something I was considering returning, to something I play for multiple hours a day. It’s that good,” wrote user AlexSowT in a review. “I was an avid table tennis player in real life, and since lockdown, have been bumbed I could not play…its like being back at the office playing table tennis until the late evening.”
“I’m writing this review to thank the developer because Eleven has seriously been an important element in my piece of mind mid-pandemic whilst working from home. At the office I would play table tennis every lunch time and I lost that joy when we were all forced indoors,” wrote TenaciousThumbs.
“I’m glad this game exists, especially since I own an outdoor ping pong table which I don’t use in the winter, so this game serves as a great replacement,” wrote sparklezfan1000.
”I am currently rated ~2300 in the game. After two months of practice, I can now loop the ball pretty well on both my forehand and backhand. The trick is to slow down my stroke. And focus more on improving hand eye coordination in the VR world, which actually took me a while to calibrate. I know that will affect my real game, but it is still better than not practicing at all during the lockdown,” wrote VRGoldenL.
”As someone who likes to play table tennis in real life, this is amazingly like the real thing….multiplayer is great too…comes into its own in lockdown,” wrote Dom321.
”Forget about your dream of buying a real ping pong table. This is the real thing,” wrote Maldororr.
Paddle Adapters And Phase Sync
The developers of Eleven Table Tennis as well as the players of the game are working together to make it even more realistic.
Fans of Eleven have already made a number of adapters for the Oculus Quest controllers. The adapters hold an Oculus Touch controller for you, freeing your grip to instead hold the accessory that’s 3D printed to feel more like a physical paddle. You could print them at home on your own 3D printer, or purchase one from a site like Sanlaki. The latest $24.99 adapter comes in right-handed or left-handed versions with a reusable fastener to lock the controller in place.
While Oculus Touch controllers take AA batteries, it is even possible to get AAA lightweight rechargeable batteries and place them in a plastic adapter to lower the overall weight of the controller. The end result is an experience in VR which even more closely matches the overall feel of a physical ping pong paddle in terms of weight, grip and the overall center of gravity.
In addition, an update currently being tested for the game takes advantage of Facebook’s “phase sync” technology which should shave milliseconds off the perceptible latency in the game. The update should enable players to make tiny corrections to their fastest swings and see those actions matched up in game more accurately.
Oculus Quest 2 has everything you need in the box to get playing an awesome selection of VR games. Once you’ve owned it for a few weeks though, you may be looking to reduce the headset’s inherent pain points with some aftermarket stuff. Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best basic accessories you may want to consider as a long-term VR user.
1 – Upgrade Your Headstrap
With onboard computing, sensors, and battery all located inside the Oculus Quest 2, the device is decidedly front-heavy. You may not notice right away, but the more you play, the more those niggling comfort issues will arise.
Your neck will thank you in the long run by replacing the stock fabric headstrap with either of Facebook’s official headstrap replacements, the Elite Strap or Elite Battery Strap, which provide good counterbalance to better center the headset’s bulk closer to the middle of your head.
Elite Battery Strap | Photo by Road to VR
At $50 and $130 respectively (the Elite Battery Strap comes with a questionable quality, albeit useful travel case) these are pricey, but effective solutions.
For slightly less at $40, you can also get a a number of white label straps similar to the regular Elite Strap on Amazon that do the same job. If you’re looking to save $10, all of the ones with this design seem to be well rated by users.
2 – Get a Cover or Spare Facepad
After playing VR games regularly over the next few months, you may start to notice grime and grease buildup on the face pad (also called ‘facial interface’) of your Quest 2. The stock face pad is basically a sponge, so to make headset sanitization simple, you should really invest in either a VR cover or a replacement pad that are easily cleanable.
Silicone VR Cover | Image courtesy VR Cover
There are thankfully a number of solutions on the market. VR Cover produces an official third-party facial interface replacement set for $30 which takes the place of the original. It comes with anti-fog airflow channels, removable nose guard and two wipeable PU leather-covered memory foam replacement pads.
VR Cover also makes a silicone cover for $15 that goes over the stock face pad. It offers a hand-washable medical-grade silicone construction and nose light guard too, which is handy. If you’re looking for a cheaper solution, for $13 you can buy a similar silicone cover on Amazon, although it’s unclear if the silicone used is the un-oiled variant seen in VR Cover’s version, which could cause skin irritation in users with sensitive skin. Whatever you buy, make sure it fits Quest 2 specifically since the headset has a unique face pad design.
3 – Buy a Long USB-C Cable
Whether you’re just looking for comfortable charging during gameplay, or you want to connect Quest 2 to your computer via Oculus Link to use it as a PC VR headset, you probably want a nice long cable so at very least you can charge while playing native Quest games with ease.
Official Oculus Link Cable | Image courtesy Oculus
Oculus has the official 16-foot Link cable for $80, and although it’s light weight thanks to its fiber optic design, that may be a bit too much for most people. Thankfully, any 3.0 USB-C cable will work, and there are tons on Amazon that will do the job. Just pick one, and you’re off to the virtual races.
4 – Get Charging Squared Away
Ok, so you have a nice and long charging cable now, but you may not have a computer capable of running PC VR games via Link. There’s a few products out there that help you keep your headset and controllers charged at all times.
Anker just introduced its $87 Quest 2 Charging Dock, which not only acts as a nice place to rest your headset and Touch controllers when not in use, but also makes sure they’re always at 100% battery when you’re ready to play.
Image courtesy Anker Innovations
Barring that, a quick and easy solution is a ready supply of rechargeable AA batteries and battery charger. You’ll find them everywhere, from your local supermarket, to IKEA, to Amazon. Many long-term VR users go for Panasonic’s name brand Eneloop batteries, which offer a low discharge rate when not in user and high rechargeability, but here’s an insider tip: the AmazonBasics and IKEA 2450 mAh Lada batteries are very similar for a much cheaper per-battery price. You’ll want plenty—at least four to make sure you always have a spare ready for when Quest throws you the dreaded low battery warning.
On the topic of batteriers, there are also USB-rechargable batteries from Survival Frog that have a USB connector integrated into the battery’s design. A four pack will cost you $15, and come at a lower 1450 mAh rating, but it certainly gets major points for reducing clutter.
Image courtesy Survival Frog
Headset charging can also be made simple too without buying Anker’s special dock. A set of USB-C magnetic cables on Amazon for as little as $13 will do the trick, although you can’t use it for Link gameplay, only charging.
5 – Protect Your Glasses (and Lenses too)
Glasses wearers already have the plastic off-set included in the box, which puts a bit more room between the Quest 2’s lenses and your precision specs. This may work for a majority of users, but if you’re looking for some special kit, you’ve come to the right place.
Many long-term VR users and developers have opted for a separate pair of low-profile glasses entirely, so you can play in any VR headset, past, present or future. For as low as $30 (depending on your prescription), you can get a cheapish pair of glasses to suit your needs from Zenni Optical, prescription lenses included.
Frames Direct offers an official third-party solution for $80 for prescription inserts which include an anti-reflective coating. There are multiple vendors offering more or less the same thing though, with VR Optician offering theirs for $70. Whatever company you go with though, make sure to have a copy of your prescription since you can’t buy corrective lenses online in the United States without it.
Image courtesy Oculus
Still, you may be in for accidental scratches from your cheapy specs, which leads us to the an expensive, but awesome solution for the myopic among us. You can also buy special inserts that come in both prescription and non-prescription versions.
The same basic design can also be purchased without non-prescription inserts too from a number of companies, which not only protect from scratches but also in some cases blue light too. These are much cheaper, with pricing typically around $20 – $30 for a pair.
Why We Publish This Data
