VR headsets have at all times been fairly an costly proposition for lots of people. Oculus could have been slowly driving down the worth of VR over the past couple of years with their PC-based Rift S headset and standalone Oculus Quest, however HTC’s Vive headsets have remained firmly on the greater, extra prohibitive finish of the VR gaming pool ever for the reason that very first Vive got here out in 2016. At first, it was all to do with delivering a superior expertise to Oculus’ respective headsets because of HTC’s superior monitoring expertise, room-scale VR and better decision show, however the onward march of expertise has meant that upgrading a Vive headset has turn out to be more and more extra pricey with each new iteration.
The HTC Vive Cosmos makes an attempt to rectify that drawback with its modular faceplate design. Instead of getting to chuck out the complete headset when a brand new one comes alongside, all you have to do with the Vive Cosmos is purchase a brand new monitoring faceplate and snap it onto the entrance. It’s a superb thought in idea, and one which’s simply starting to come back to fruition with the upcoming launch of the even cheaper Vive Cosmos Play and the more advanced Vive Cosmos Elite headsets. I’ll be reviewing the HTC Vive Cosmos Elite in a separate piece very shortly, however evidently, shopping for a brand new faceplate for £200 / $200 is rather a lot simpler on the pockets than shelling out nearly a grand for a completely new headset. Is it an ecosystem value shopping for into, although?
Compared to the unique Vive and Vive Pro, the Vive Cosmos is a giant enchancment, each when it comes to design and its general specs. Not solely does it have a sharper, greater decision show of 1440×1700 per-eye, making a mixed decision of 2880×1700, however the headset’s general ergonomics have additionally been refined to make it really feel like a extra trendy, premium little bit of package that’s extra deserving of its £699 / $699 value.
To modify the headstrap on the HTC Vive Cosmos, you possibly can both twist the rear dial or tighten the highest Velcro strap.
The rear dial, for instance, makes it a lot simpler to stretch over your head than its two predecessors, and its entrance hinge permits you to flip up the show if you have to chat to somebody or verify one thing in your PC with out having to take the complete factor off your head. The velcro strap that goes excessive of your head nonetheless feels a bit price range, admittedly, however when a lot of the weight is centred across the entrance of the headset, it does assist to take a number of the strain off your cheeks and brow. Besides, even the dearer Valve Index nonetheless has a velcro strap, so it’s most likely simply one thing we’ll should put up with till somebody comes up with one thing a bit extra elegant.
The Vive Cosmos additionally has built-in headphones, negating the necessity to plug right into a separate headset and have one more contraption weighing you down like the unique Vive. Best of all, although, it has inside-out monitoring, which implies you don’t should scramble round discovering a number of plug sockets for any exterior trackers. Instead, all the things you want is constructed proper into the headset and its accompanying controllers. This was one among my greatest gripes with the unique Vive, as there wasn’t a single room in my home the place I may actually set it up with out trailing lengthy cables throughout the ground.
The HTC Vive Cosmos’ show has a decision of 1440×1700 per-eye, making a mixed complete of 2880×1700. That’s greater than the Valve Index.
The Vive Cosmos, however, is rather a lot easier to get going. All you have to do is plop the bundled batteries within the controllers, connect the headset to the management field, join its USB3 and DisplayPort cables to your PC and plug it in. In this respect, the Vive Cosmos is simply as handy and simple to arrange because the Oculus Rift S, and on paper it’s a headset that I can very a lot get behind. No exterior trackers, good specs, a smaller dent on my pockets relating to improve… Delightful.
In idea, at the very least. In follow, getting the Vive Cosmos to play properly with my PC was an altogether extra irritating expertise. Not as soon as in my total month of testing was I in a position to simply plug the headset in and begin enjoying games. Instead, I needed to spend at the very least half an hour attempting to wrestle SteamVR into submission earlier than I may get it working, which was continuously crashing and encountering deadly errors on start-up. It additionally appeared to be in perpetual battle with Vive’s personal Console software program, which additionally wasn’t a lot assist in attempting to diagnose what the issue was. Instead, I used to be simply needed to restart the headset time and again till some magical second when each bits of software program determined to shake palms and put their variations apart. In equity, I additionally had issues getting SteamVR to play ball with the Valve Index, however the further hurdle of getting SteamVR and Vive’s Console software program working on the identical time positively threw an additional spanner within the works.
As I discussed in my article concerning the best VR headset for Half-Life: Alyx, I additionally encountered issues getting the Vive Cosmos’ inside-out monitoring to work correctly. On a vibrant sunny day with the curtains open, the Cosmos stated my room was too vibrant. At evening with the curtains closed and the lights on, it stated that my room was too darkish. The solely time when it didn’t throw up a warning message was through the day with my curtains closed.
Thanks to the Cosmos’ built-in hinge, you possibly can elevate the headset up fairly simply with out taking the entire thing off your head if you have to discuss to somebody or rapidly verify one thing in your PC.
That appeared to be the candy spot for the Vive’s six cameras, however up to now I haven’t encountered this daylight difficulty with every other VR headset I’ve examined. The Valve Index, Oculus Rift S and even the Oculus Quest have all appeared to deal with open curtains completely wonderful at time of writing, and it simply finally ends up including one other supply of frustration to the Vive Cosmos’ setup in comparison with the competitors.
You can nonetheless keep on utilizing the Vive Cosmos regardless of these messages, in fact, however it does have an effect on the headset’s skill to trace each your palms and the world round you precisely. Indeed, there have been a number of moments when the entire world juddered and froze for a bit, even after I was doing one thing pretty sedate corresponding to wanting round Vive’s dwelling menu, and my digital palms did all types of unusual issues after I was enjoying Half-Life: Alyx, too, from straying away from my physique to getting caught on bits of furnishings.
Once I’d received the software program working and shut my curtains to get the suitable lighting, although, the expertise of enjoying games on the Vive Cosmos was truly fairly all proper. I used to be in a position to get a fairly sharp image, too, as soon as I’d used the little dial nozzle on the decrease proper of the headset to regulate the interpupillary distance, and I didn’t should preserve shifting it about on my head an excessive amount of to maintain all the things in focus.The rear dial was sturdy sufficient to maintain the headset in place, and for essentially the most half I used to be in a position to learn textual content completely wonderful.
There’s nonetheless a slight port-hole impact when you look too intently on the very edges of the display, nevertheless, and in some games there have been noticeable halo results framing my field of regard after I checked out vibrant textual content on darker backgrounds. Here, it grew to become rather a lot more durable to maintain issues in focus, because the sheer quantity of sunshine pouring out of those phrases made all the things round them look fuzzy and vague. This diverse game to game – I didn’t discover something to the identical extent in Half-Life: Alyx, for instance – however it’s nonetheless one other level of rivalry all the identical.
It’s a disgrace, as there’s truly little or no gentle bleed coming in from the underside of the headset as soon as it’s in your face. The Vive Cosmos does an excellent job making you are feeling immersed, in that sense, and there was loads of room to suit a pair of glasses in there, too. The match wasn’t fairly as comfy as after I was sporting my contact lenses, all informed, however that is to be anticipated. This could also be as a result of I’ve a narrower face than most, however at no level did it really feel like they have been being crushed towards the facet of my face whereas I used to be sporting them.
Each HTC Vive Cosmos controller has an analogue stick, two face buttons, a house button and three rear triggers.
If something, the best supply of discomfort got here from padding round my brow. Again, this will merely be a results of having a barely smaller head than your common PC gamer, however I at all times got here away from the Vive Cosmos feeling like I had a very dangerous pressure headache. It didn’t press down on my cheeks just like the Rift S or Oculus Quest, however the further strain on my brow was arguably simply as uncomfortable general. As a end result, I needed to take common breaks whereas enjoying the Vive Cosmos, conserving play periods to round half an hour.
The controllers are additionally fairly heavy in comparison with different VR headsets. This wasn’t an enormous drawback within the grand scheme of issues – they’re not so heavy that they began to make my wrists ache or something – however there have been occasions after they felt noticeably extra cumbersome than the competitors. My thumbs tended to gravitate towards the face buttons moderately than the analogue sticks, for instance, which typically resulted in a fleeting second of panic as I fumbled round for them at midnight, and the rear triggers typically felt fairly spongy and gradual in comparison with the taut clicks and beautiful sense of tactile suggestions supplied by its Oculus and Valve rivals.
In equity, this type of controller-based stodginess solely actually reared its head in fast-paced motion games – Half-Life: Alyx included. When I attempted extra sedate VR games, corresponding to Job Simulator, the Cosmos controllers have been completely as much as the duty. Still, given the worth of the headset, I’d have anticipated a better degree of responsiveness from each its face and set off buttons alike.
As for the varieties of games you possibly can play on the Vive Cosmos, it’s appropriate with each SteamVR game in addition to what’s on HTC’s personal VR retailer, Viveport. Viveport isn’t fairly as nicely stocked with must-have exclusives as, say, the Oculus Store, however there’s a good choice on provide that features all method of games, apps and movies. Most of the best VR games, although, are multi-platform.
You can modify the Vive Cosmos’ interpupillary distance with the little black dial close to the entrance of the headset.
You additionally get a free six-month subscription to Viveport Infinity included with the Vive Cosmos, which is HTC’s subscription service of so-called ‘premium’ VR content material. This works a bit like Netflix and different streaming subscriptions in that you just get limitless entry to all Viveport content material and unique VR channels for so long as you subscribe, and you’ll cancel at any time. You additionally get unique reductions and free games to maintain in your library perpetually. Currently, there are two methods to pay for it: month-to-month at a moderately costly £12.99 / month, or yearly, which ordinarily works out at £8.99 / month however is at the moment £4.49 / month because of HTC’s Play At Home sale. I’ll must spend a bit extra time sampling the Infinity games earlier than I can positively say whether or not it’s value subscribing to or not, however up to now nothing has actually grabbed me in the identical means that a number of the games on the Oculus Store have. If you’ve gotten any suggestions, please do go away them within the feedback under.
Ultimately, although, the HTC Vive Cosmos simply isn’t fairly as simple or as pleasurable to make use of as the remainder of its competitors. Its inside-out monitoring is okay while you’ve received the suitable lighting circumstances, however it may be fairly finicky at occasions and pales compared to the inside-out capabilities of the Oculus Rift S. It felt like I used to be continuously combating towards it, from the monitoring to its Vive Console software program, and that’s not the sort of response I would like after spending £699 / $699 on it. I’m additionally not totally bought on the headset’s modular idea, however I’ll discuss extra about this in my HTC Vive Cosmos Elite evaluation.
There’s no denying that the HTC Vive Cosmos is a superb headset on paper, however the execution of these concepts leaves rather a lot to be desired proper now – and sadly I don’t assume its flaws might be fastened just by sticking one other faceplate on the entrance of it. There are deeper points at play right here, making for a moderately wobbly basis on which to stake your future VR dwelling.
There is a few salvation to be discovered within the Cosmos Elite, however as we’ll quickly see, none of that’s actually all the way down to HTC’s {hardware}. Instead, it’s the choice to make use of Valve’s Index controllers with it that in the end save the day, however the sheer price concerned in getting all these related parts collectively implies that first-time VR headset consumers could as nicely simply save up for the £919 / $999 Valve Index and have completed with it. Meanwhile, if it’s hassle-free, inside-out monitoring you’re after, then it’s the cheaper £399 / $399 Oculus Rift S you need to be shopping for – a separate evaluation of which can be on its means – not the Vive Cosmos.
