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Steam Frame starts at $1059

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Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#371

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> It's a steep price for a niche with not a lot of games. There are a lot of good games and unique experiences (Lone Echo). A lot of these games also get you moving i.e. you won't need to do cardio exercise if you play games. Many of these games aren't even considered fitness games Batman Beat Saber Mother Gunship Superhot Pistol Whip Gasland Thrill of the Fight Underdogs Synth Riders Guerilla Tag Blade and Sorcery G…

I've never understood the whole VR game ecosystem. There is a handful of titles (outside of Half Life Alyx, which even then looks pretty shit and clunky) that are worth playing on VR. Most are short bursts of fun and don't really have any moat.

There are a lot of titles that both look great and are fun, but you wouldn't know because you don't use VR. That doesn't included mods to existing games ever since Unreal made it easier to make most games, running on their engine, VR compatible. It also depends on whether you're using standalone or PCVR. Why critique something that you're not very familiar with?

VR still has a lot of problems. Some of which may never be solved, but lack of content is no longer a problem.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Admittedly my VR glasses are older, but for me this is a really terrible experience. If a game lacks native VR support, it's far more comfortable to just use my widescreen monitor in the real world.

Same. I'd say it's ridiculous to even mention it as a feature, it's more like a compatibility fallback. A shitty monitor showing an even shittier monitor while you have a fat brick strapped to your face. Maybe this gen is better, but from what reviewers say the practical hardware changes are very minimal. What's more interesting is that it's a linux desktop open for tinkering. Maybe lots of virtual desktops all aroun…

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Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#373
post #18

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For me a lot of the value comes from the freedom you get with frame. Valve says “it’s your PC, install what you want” and it runs an open source OS. It’s the first truly Linux friendly headset (it runs arch btw) and I don’t have to send my data to Meta. Also foveated streaming means, according to reviewers, a pretty decent wireless PCVR experience. I can’t wait to play half life Alyx without a tether. Valve is just d…

Yeah, I've been Linux-only on the desktop since the early aughts and trying to get the Valve Index working was so frustrating and inconsistent I eventually gave up. It sits collecting dust and I've still never played more than the first fifteen minutes of HL: Alyx (because no game is worth installing Windows for). Very much looking forward to maybe actually being able to use VR on my gaming computer.

Even the Frame doesn't support Linux properly. You cannot do streaming from a Linux machine, it must be a Windows machine. (yet).

I'm sick of pretending Valve cares about Linux. Their own games have major issues with Linux.

Every CS2 update breaks something, last time it was the inventory screens which were completely broken for like 2 weeks.

Left 4 Dead 2 has major frame pacing and stutter issues on the Native Build & Proton doesn't let you play multiplayer.

Counter Strike Dev Tools only runs on Windows.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#374

I know everyone is singing the praises of the Steam Frame's wireless capabilities but honestly, I just want my wired VR experience back. I had a Rift 2, Reverb G2, then Quest 2 and eventually Quest 3. Despite the Quest 3 having a resolution similar to the G2, it looked more like the Rift 2 than the awe inspiring G2. Wireless gaming never looked as sharp and streaming over USB was also a very poor experience, with inp…

> Wireless headsets also _suck_ for simulators and productivity - where a battery only adds weights and a wire is not noticable.

you could... just plug it in? unless the frame cannot be used while charging, but i haven't seen anyone claim that.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#375
post #196
post #150

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So it may be a good wirk machine to use during long flights, with a compact wireless keyboard. Unless you fly first class, using a laptop on a plane is painful.

The question here is whatever Steam Frame displays resolution is sufficient to work with text. So far only mass produced device that was really suitable is a Vision Pro. So far all reviews I've seen been centered around gaming and not work.

Maybe I'm hard to please but I would say even the AVP isn't actually suitable for multi-hour text sessions.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#376

I don't game much nowadays; can I just use this to replace my monitor, and work within high fidelity VR?

You could do it, but the resolution isn't high enough for it to be a good experience. (2160x2160 per eye sounds like a lot, but with a 110 degree fov it's only ~19 pixels per degree. Which is like sitting very close to a 27" 720p monitor.)

What hardware are people using to run modern VR?

1440p (2560x1440) is 3,686,400 pixels.

2160p (2160x2160) is 4,665,600 pixels, per eye, so 9,331,200 pixels.

This headset will require a million more pixels to be rendered than 4K. 9 Million pixels @ 144hz is no easy task.

My RTX 4080 (9800X3D) struggles with 4K gaming.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#378
post #217
post #134

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This machine runs Linux, it comes with KDE. This is the open Apple Vision Pro alternative that you can use as a real computer. It comes with a black and white passthrough camera but you can add on a 5K color one. There's ongoing work for a full Plasma XR mode, so you aren't restricted to a "virtual desktop" experience: https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/merge_requests/8671

Being able to comfortably sit back / lie down and work is an interesting proposition. The Apple Vision Pro is too bulky and expensive to carry that whole category on its own, they need an 'Android equivalent'. But I think Apple messed this up by creating an absolute patent minefield (some 5k patents for AVP features iirc).

Wow imagine we can have masses of people lie back and work. Think of how small we could make the cubicles

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#379
post #205

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The real question is why did they release this as a standalone unit for $1049 and then claim they couldn't sell it for less due to the RAM shortage - when that implies they could have released a dumb unit that depends on the Steam Deck or Steam Machine for far less?

You're asking why they couldn't completely change the product from a full-fledged VR machine into a headset in roughly a year, especially when they already sell a regular VR headset for $1,000?

They do not, in fact sell such a headset, in that it is permanently out of stock. You can risk buying it used for $1800…

It was released in 2019 and by comparison, sucks. A new index with new displays of the frame but without the things that make the frame expensive (ram) would be welcome.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#380
post #302

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It is 21.6 Wh capacity and charges at up to 45W, so it should take less than half an hour to fully charge from zero. Not sure where you got the 3-5 hours from?

Valves own testing + reviewers. Nobody anywhere has got anything close to the speed you're suggesting.

On the GamersNexus review Valve says charging should take 90 minutes. But it took GamersNexus and other reviewers 3 hours. So it probably broke in a software update and a fix is likely coming. But if this is important to you, make sure to wait for the update to land before making a decision...
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