The virtual reality revolution has arrived. Oculus Rift debuted earlier this week to largely positive reviews, and now HTC Vive is looking to deliver a second swing.
In anticipation of HTC Vive's Consumer Edition release to market, we're going to go over the vital information that you need to know as we head toward launch week.
Orders Began Shipping Today
This morning (3/31) brought with it the first reports of consumers being charged for their order, as well as FedEx tracking notifications going out. The earliest reports appeared to be from Australian consumers, who will receive their shipment directly from HTC Corporation in Taiwan. The box is said to weigh 8.8kg, and signature upon delivery is required.
All first-wave orders are scheduled to be delivered on April 5th, which is next Tuesday. Most orders made during the first week following pre-order availability are rumored to be shipping before the end of April. Pre-orders made today are scheduled for May.
Unboxing the Consumer Edition
UploadVR has published a video where they unbox the official HTC Vive Consumer Edition box. If you'd like to see what's included in your shipment before it arrives, this is the best way to do so.
The HTC Vive box is very good-looking, and well thought out. Included are all the hardware components that you expect, along with cabling, a cleaning cloth, and a backup face liner. See for yourself:
Valve has deliberately placed instructions at the top of the box, so that new users are encouraged to follow instructions and setup the headset with ease. It's a good idea given the complexity of the HTC Vive's multi-element approach.
Official Setup Videos Have Been Posted
If you plan to use Roomscale with HTC Vive, and you should, you will need to clear some space for it. As a matter of fact, you will need 5 x 6.5 feet in order to make it work correctly. For the purposes of preparing for the experience, you may want to reorganize your room.
HTC has published three videos that showcase how to setup the HTC Vive, and make sure that Roomscale is properly configured. You can watch them via the links below:
Keep in mind that you will need to place the two Lighthouse sensors somewhere in your room. They are small black boxes that can be mounted, and are said to work best if placed above 6 feet in height. You will want to have both of them placed on opposite ends of your room.
The Games
At launch there will be more than 60 games available for HTC Vive. 101 are currently listed on Steam, although a few of the entries are DLC content. Speaking of DLC content, several developers have been working on patching in VR support into their games, including The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Some developers will be charging a price for the support patch, while others will release their work for free.
Purchase of the launch bundle will include three games at no cost: Job Simulator, Fantastic Contraption, and Tilt Brush by Google. Each of these three games are built specifically for Roomscale, and do a great job of showing off the technology.
Do You Meet the System Requirements?
It's worth checking to make sure that your PC is ready to run HTC Vive. It is a very demanding piece of hardware due to the resolutions and high FPS involved, and you may just want to consider overclocking your CPU and/or GPU to get a little better performance out of them.
Below are the official system requirements:
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970, AMD Radeon R9 290 equivalent or better
- CPU: Intel i5-4590, AMD FX 8350 equivalent or better
- RAM: 4 GB or more
- Video Output: HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2 or newer
- USB Port: 1x USB 2.0 or better port
- Operating System: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 or later, Windows 10
If you don't have a GTX 970 or better, you may want to wait a couple months for the new line-up of Nvidia cards. They are rumored to be delivering a big boost in performance over current generation technology.
Virtual Desktop Is Already Available
Priced at $14.99, Virtual Desktop allows you to use your PC in a traditional fashion. That is, you can view applications and games that are running, but within the 3D space of the headset with head tracking. This software supports hardware accelerated 360 video playback, multi-monitor, music visualization, and more. It's been very well received by Oculus Rift owners who have been able to use it during the past week.
If you would like to play games that are not directly supported by VR with your HTC Vive, then you will absolutely want to invest in this software. It's available for purchase through Steam.
Early Reports Have Been Positive
During the past few months many journalists have reported that they prefer HTC Vive over the Oculus Rift. Although the headsets themselves are very similar, HTC Vive's included motion controllers and Roomscale appear to be vital elements of a positively immersive VR experience. Although there is nothing certain at this point, everything points toward HTC Vive potentially being the leader in VR quality, and making waves at launch.
