There’s a few systems out there. Wondering what everyone is developing on. Would like to dive in myself and create some projects but not sure what VR system is the dominant one. Any experts in this area?
Quest 2 is the HMD to choose if you want to maximize value for money and have the most popular system to develop on.
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Like IslandPlaya says, the Quest 2 is probably the best choice. Its relatively cheap and can do PC-powered and standalone VR. If you have a pretty modern gaming rig, id recommend a Reverb G2, because its the best PCVR headset ever made, second to none. As a cheap alternative to a G2, Rift S was the gold standard before Reverb G2 came out, and you could probably get one now for like 1/3rd the cost of a G2.
Interresting viewpoint! Totally new to the vr world. Also thought Oculos was considered hands down the top tier. The reverb g2, does UE engine work well with it or is another brand better for this engine?
This was what I was looking for. What the most popular platform. Did the Quest ended up succeeding over the Oculus?
BEVMAN… what in your opinion makes the ReverbG2 the best? Does it have more sensors?
I should clarify that my day job is in VR development, and as such ive developed for almost every headset on the market from the Oculus DK2 to today.
The G2 is a better headset because it has much higher pixel resolution, which means better fidelity in-game and no ‘screen door’ effect. There’s also the controllers, which are updated, ergonomic versions of the original WMR controllers. You may not find these things as important as the price difference between Rift S and G2, but as far as actual, technical achievement goes, the G2 has it all over the Rifts and Quests.
EDIT: And for what its worth, im not particularly sold by the Vives. The improvements to the controllers make Pavlov actually playable, because with the old baseball-bat controllers, anything requiring you to bring your hands close together was physically impossible. The head straps and HMD design are both really weird, almost like they were developed by different departments; the headset hangs off your face worse than Quest 1 and the strap lost half its elasticity in around a month of daily use. The halo strap on the cosmos probably fixes this though, we’re still waiting for one at the office.
SECOND EDIT: Should also mention the Valve Index. Great HMD, good lenses and screens, cool controllers with finger-tracking, but the big dealbreaker is that your have to use base stations for tracking and they each take up a power socket, meaning that between the headset, your PC, and the base stations, youll need like 6 power sockets.
THIRD EDIT: Something thats also really important to mention, and a crucial piece of knowledge for VR development, is that high resolution screens require more processing power from your PC. Its fine to have all the pixels in the world if your PC can handle it, but if not youll have to turn down HMD resolution by, sometimes, quite a lot, which can make the G2 and VP2 look only as good as a Rft S, just without any screen door effect.
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I would say the Quest 2 or the Valve Index VR Kit. I like the Valve and also both are pretty big in the market of VR.
As far as quality goes, the Vive Pro 2 just got released and it is the best at the moment, the highest resolution and 120hz refresh rate. It is expensive though, doesn’t include any controllers but it can use the Valve Index controllers
doesn’t include any controllers
They’re having a laugh with that decision 
Its more expensive than a G2 and doesnt even come with controllers lol
I just looked it up, and it seems that HTC hasnt released ‘pro’ controllers to go with the Pro HMD? Maybe its me, im looking at the AU store. According to the website, the only controllers available for purchase are the old controllers that not only have the really bad baseball-bat design, but they also require base stations.
This means that between a $1300 HMD, you also need 2 $200 controllers (which you have to buy individually) and at least 2 $200 base stations (that you also have to buy individually and take up a power socket each) bringing the total cost to a truly staggering $2100AUD. For reference, the G2 comes with controllers, doesnt need base stations and only takes up one power socket. And this is if you only want to match the capability of the G2, if you want to go one further and add wireless capability, thats another $600AUD on top, something that Oculus offered Quest 2 users in a free software update.
- consolidated extraneous comments.
I just asked around the office and here’s the vote:
Top of the line: Valve Index
Best for sims: Reverb G2
Bang-for-buck PCVR: Rift S
Best for casuals: Quest 2
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Great info guys. From the looks of it’ Definitely a few choices each with their pros and cons. I was going to ask about the Vives but the price almost kills it with no controllers! I guess a little more thinking to do.
Good summery … the fact that it’s from devs using them makes that opinion valuable. I’ll keep researching the topic.
I have a 16core X3950/Rtx2070 with 64ram. I’d love to try developing with VR for Archviz and product prototypes… what headset would be your choice for this type of roadmap? The idea is to have it in the office and have some product for customers to see in VR and manipulate as easy and freely. As for the Archviz, do the walk through and have a few interactions like the typical wall color change and light switches. What head set would be ideal for a PC user?
For that kind of job I would recommend either: The Oculus Rift/Rift S since it can be used with Xbox controllers if you don’t have the Oculus Touch, plus it will work perfectly on your system requiring only an i5 core 8GB+ RAM or a NVIDIA GTX 1060 or better (Even though you need at least a Windows 10 operating system to work) Its cost is: $500. Or you could have: the HTC Vive which needs less RAM at 4+ (even though 8+ is recommended) also it can work on Windows 7 and 10 which is good if you have Windows 7. But… the big downside from the Oculus Rift is that it needs SteamVR on your laptop to operate. It is made more for wondering around while the Rift is made to sit down. Its Cost is: $799 which makes it the pricier but better option.
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Makes sense. Thxs for the recommended items!
There seems to be news on the Quest 2. Looks like a recall and the current stock being recalled to add a silicone cushion. Also a new version of it being releases with double the memory for the same price. I think ill wait on a decision on anything. But the G2 looks tempting atm.
Yeah the Quest 2 recall is related to the faceplate causing some skin irritation in some cases. The replacement is made by VR Cover so its pretty good quality. And yeah, theyre discontinuing the 64Gb model for a 128Gb model. As of yesterday (at least in my state/country) we cant order any Quest 2s.
At home I develop with a G2 and at my day job I use a Quest 1 and 2 on a daily basis. The other head developer uses a Rift S and a Quest 2, and we have a Vive, Samsung Odyssey, Rift CV1, and Rift DK2 on deck. I still think a Quest 2 is the best option in your case, both as a new developer and for the price point. You can use a Quest 2 with SteamVR, but not with WMR, while a G2 uses WMR and SteamVR and cant be used with Oculus software. The downside is that I guess youll have to wait a bit before ordering a Quest 2.
I never said the Vive Pro 2 was cheaper, but it’s the most advanced headset you can get right now. It can use either the regular Vive controllers or the Index controllers but they must be purchased separately which is definitely expensive.
As owner of the G2, Rift S, Rift, Odyessy +…and casual VR developer, I definitley recommend Oculus Rift S for development over all. The lower pixel density means you don’t have to have a top of line computer to create great visuals (even though I use a 3090 system). Oculus software presently is the best to work with and the controllers are the easiest to program for…they just work without effort.
The G2 is as everyone says…the top HMD out there. The controllers are similar to Oculus but cheaper and without touch…but are presently a pain to get working with SteamVR and other things. Once you do though they do the job.
Since everything VR is going OpenXR, there won’t be a need for individual HMD plugin drivers. OpenXR will be taking care of everything starting in UE4.27+. So whatever HMD you choose, OpenXR will be the go to driver for all.
Oh yes, the Oculus Quest 2 is definitely worth looking at, though the higher pixel count might be a slight factor if trying to push a lot of visual stuff in VR when attached to the PC. I haven’t used one yet but am considering getting the updated version come August 24 where I live.
Cheers!!!
Good thread!
My 2 cents: No reason for Rift S with Quest 2 Link (both wired and wireless) development being as good as it is, you’re just getting less of a product for the same money at this point. And with Quest 2 having 120hz support now… difficult to beat 
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