SteamVR tips from a gal who has figured out how to get it working most of the time.

[mluthanen]

I just wrote a review of the Oculus Quest 2 on Amazon and decided it contained enough info to post here and maybe help anybody who ran into some of the roadblocks I hit at first...

This was my first VR experience. (NOTE: I bought mine from a local Walmart because I wanted it right away.)

Setting it up and starting to use it for real is almost a breeze. The software running just on the OQ2 is great and virtually seamless. It's cool to set up the "guardian" and see the wall of + signs marking the safe zone - you use the controller to paint the border on your floor. While using the headset, you will see the wall when you wander too close to it and it makes it a lot easier to trust that you won't accidentally punch a hole in your television or knock a lamp over. The head tracking is perfect as far as I can tell and it really feels like you're standing in a computer-generated room. Wielding lightsabers in the Vader Immortal dojo (running right on the OQ2) is as fun as it sounds.

PC use is a little more complicated, but works well once you get it set up. Here are some pointers*:

- Install Steam VR (free) from Steam on your computer.
- Install the Oculus program on your computer.
- Connect the OQ2 to your computer with the cable it came with to get it to register. (You will not need a cable after that.)
- In the settings menu of the Oculus program, hit the Beta section and enable Air Link. NOTE: it sometimes turns the Air Link setting off, so I find it's best to just confirm it's on when I am about to run a VR game.
- You should now be able to connect the OQ2 to your computer over your home network. I have a decent gateway from Comcast and my computer is wired to it, which I gather is the ideal setup. I have had some hiccups while in the Steam VR "lobby", but it recovers after a few seconds and I have not had any misfires while running a game so far.
- Once the Devices view of the Oculus program shows the OQ2 and controllers (and, for example, an XB1 controller if you're going to use it), you can put your headset on.
- The settings menu on the OQ2 will now include the option to use Air Link, so use it.
- Now look at the curved bar with various buttons hovering toward the bottom of your vision. The last one to the right is the... can't rightly remember, but it's "[something] Desktop", I think (the graphic in the box is a simplified monitor) and hitting it will give you a large projection of your computer's display.
- Now this is the crucial part for some Steam games, such as Half Life: Alyx**: Launch Seam in Big Picture Mode. Seriously, use BPM.
- Now, access your installed Steam programs WHILE IN BIG PICTURE MODE and launch Steam VR.
- You will know it's working if you are taken to a huge lined plane with mountains in the distance.
- Hit the system button on your left controller and you will get a floating window with your recent games.
- It is from here that you launch some of the VR games.
- For SW: Squadrons, you can skip Steam VR and just launch the game right from Big Picture and once it is running, you can enter the game's settings and toggle VR on. It works really well for that game. I recommend you play sitting in a desk chair that you can swivel a bit.

I suppose I'll post this in the Steam forum, too. Anyway, happy gaming and I can say with the confidence of someone who has had one for a couple weeks that you are going to love it. It is the coolest thing I have ever owned.

*Okay, it turned into something of a full tutorial. Classic Emma, amiright?
**OMG, such a cool game. At one point, I found myself crouching behind a concrete pillar trading gunfire with a jerk in military garb. I have never played a Half Life game and Alyx still totally works and is awesome.

[Stryder]

Nice write up and Welcome to VR!

Doesn't sound as if you're familiar with the Reddits. There are several, but for the Quest there is https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/.
There's also https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/ for more general VR.

Have fun but be careful! Nothing like punching/kicking a tv or your mate or child or a pet!

Note: you're likely to loan it to other people. There are covers for hygiene available.
Also, VR sickness is common: make sure that you have some ginger around. Make newbies drink a glass of water and/or eat a couple of pieces of candied ginger before playing. They can get sick on their own time. A couple of sicko's really put a damper on the parties!

In addition, they make games that can be played with one person/s at the computer and the other in the headset. Can make for some fun social times...

Good Luck!

[Mario Malheiro]

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