I am not great at PCVR racing sims it turns out.
Following its recent announcement I finally got to try the Vive Focus Vision headset from HTC, and based on this early preview I’m excited to see more of what this headset has in store when it launches on October 18.
First up, I and four other players slipped on the headset and were dropped into Sandbox VR’s Squid Game experience. Before the trials even began, we got a taste of one convenience the headset affords – automatic IPD adjustments thanks to its eye tracking. This meant my vision wasn’t blurred because I hadn’t adjusted the lenses properly, and another helpful feature was the headset slipped comfortably over my glasses. So, this isn’t one of those headsets that forces you to buy custom lenses to use it.
Eye-tracking can also be used to facilitate foveated rendering. However, this is a feature software developers have to implement into their games and apps to take advantage of this eye-tracking benefit. Foveated rendering allows for more ambitious VR games from less powerful hardware, as the headset only needs to fully render what you’re looking at rather than everything at once.
After defeating the Squid Game competition and continuing my competitive VR winning streak, my enlarged ego was given a reality check when I hopped into a PCVR racing sim demo.
The immersive setup was complete with a paired racing wheel and pedals, but my abilities made me question if I should be allowed to drive a real car.
