Buying a VR headset for Godot

General
1

I was thinking about getting into VR programming in Godot, but I am getting a little lost trying to figure out what kind of headset to get. A lot of the information I’m getting from internet searches seems to be out of date.

To keep costs low, I was thinking of getting one of those cellphone camera headsets. I have a fairly new Samsung Galaxy A15. I think Samsung used to offer a headset for this, but I think it’s been discontinued.

Anyhow, most of the headsets seem to be third party, many look sketchy or are out of date, and I don’t have a lot of confidence they will work.

Perhaps I should go with a regular VR headset instead? But I don’t know what to get there either. I want something that’s not too expensive and that will work on PC with Godot.

2 Likes
2

Phone drop-in headsets usually aren’t great. I have a Quest 3 and a Valve Index. I’ll speak on the two I currently own and have experience with.

I have tried a google cardboard phone-in-the-box headset like you described, it’s terrible, maybe by God’s grace that tech has gotten better; I believe it’s stuck to it’s niche as a cheap way to view VR videos/images.

Quest 3

The Quest has the benefit of being it’s on computer and with the Godot 4.4 dev editor on it’s app store, so one could make a whole game in-vr for vr, but even with a bluetooth keyboard it’s not realistic to be strapped in for development tasks. It’s also one of the most popular headsets today, so a great target to test for marketshare.

On hooking it up to your computer, I haven’t had great luck with quest linking or ALVR or WiVRn. Streaming, even through a cable, hasn’t been as good as on-device performance and visuals. It is built to be it’s own computer and it shows.

I did find a funny trick to start a Web build for my game, then connect to it through the quests’ built-in VR web browser, this lets me test WebXR games without a single cable, just my punching in my dev computer’s IP address. Though WebXR games are limited, it’s a emergent market if you can get revenue. When developing tethered (for PC games) it needs to be worn to keep awake, I have to trick the headset by putting a stuffed animal inside it’s view.

The battery life is pretty low, and I don’t think it can charge in-pace with it’s drain rate when running plugged-in.

The “Pancake” lenses are superb, first VR headset where I didn’t have to adjust the HMD at all, putting it on your head is enough to get a clear image. This isn’t common, everything else needs to be just right to see clearly.

Valve Index

Expensive! And with hints of Deckard(?) being in development it might not be a good buy for now. I love my Index, though surprisingly SteamVR has been horrible for using it, I’ve got it working smooth in Linux through Envision, and I hear Windows has Virtual Desktop; without one of these compositors I get constant horrible stuttering, often games do not even register the headset through SteamVR.

This machine needs a computer connected, and is wired. Beefy GPUs recommended since VR screens are so pixel dense and high framerate. I don’t mind the wire so much, but if you are bothered I recommend attaching the wire to your ceiling and it’s like it isn’t there at all.

Working in Godot is seamless, I leave the VR compositor running (Envision/SteamVR) and clicking play instantly loads the game. With desktop-to-vr solutions like virtual desktop or wlx overlay I can check my desktop screens for Godot’s debugging tools easily.

The controllers last a long time, 10+ hours. The grip allows for fingers to register individually, this is often supported in games visually, but not important for gameplay. A “grip” and “trigger” action is used for most games, nothing pinky-finger specific.

Conclusions

I am really torn on the two, but I certainly get more use of my Index. I am surprised by how much more the Quest 3 can do, with it’s VR web browser, pass-through cameras, and hand tracking, even though it’s a locked down computer it’s got some great features that are just so hard to access as a developer. The workflow for development, addons/modding, and even playing games is wildly easier on the Index.

I think the Quest 3 is a better buy, again there may be a Index 2 (Deckard(?)) soon (valve time lol)), the market share is better, and a lot of my prejudice may be from working on Linux which isn’t Meta’s target platform. If I only had a Quest 3 I think I could get it working and be happy, but for now I always reach for the Index.

Ask me anything!

4 Likes
3

Definitely get a real VR headset. Don’t bother with anything requiring a phone. They are crap. I used one briefly, and it was horrible.

I have only ever used a Quest (2 and 3) beyond the crappy frankenphone I mentioned above. I make my VR games on Linux, which introduces an extra step not present on Windows since Meta doesn’t support Linux. But it’s not hard. Get SidequestVR to make life much easier.

I also make my games able to play on VR and PC in the same codebase, which also makes the development cycle much easier since I can do a lot of testing on my PC. I believe Meta’s Windows support provides much better integration between the PC development environment and the Quest, so the development cycle is shorter.

My VR workflow: write code, export to Quest, use SidequestVR to transfer the exported file to Quest, and playtest. Repeat until done.

1 Like
4

If you just need a device for testing on, then ignore this. If you might like using one for other reasons, I have a counter argument to gertkeno’s statement that the Quest 3 is “not realistic to be strapped in for development tasks”. I use my Quest 3 specifically for work when I’m on the road and want 3 giant virtual monitors from my laptop. No more jacking in to hotel TV’s. The BOBOVR M3 headstrap is mandatory for me when I’m in it for hours at a time. The supplied strap is designed for torture.

1 Like
5

If you have to ask, get a Quest 3 + a BoboVR S3 Pro strap to replace the stock strap. It’s the most versatile option and the aftermarket strap fixes the comfort + battery life issues (it has an external battery included).

This is the setup I use personally. I’ve only ever used it standalone or using Air Link, so no need to connect it with a physical cable to a PC either (which matters a lot for the feeling of immersion).

The battery life is pretty low, and I don’t think it can charge in-pace with it’s drain rate when running plugged-in.

The Quest 3 can definitely do that, even in the most strenuous scenarios.

6

Wait, you can edit your Godot projects, in VR?! WHAT!

7

By “running while plugged-in” I mean streaming through the cable, mine would not keep up charge from my PC and streaming through the same cable. I do not use wireless streaming as my wireless router is not fast enough.

8

Yes, there is a mobile XR port of Godot that runs on a Quest headset. See this announcement page for details.

1 Like