Gamepass PC, VR, and quite a few anti-cheat systems (so online games) are still windows only.
I made the switch because those make up a very small percentage of my (PC) gaming but they are very much things that aren’t available with a linux based device.
Gamepass and anticheat I’ll give you, though the latter situation is improving greatly, but using a handheld for a PC VR headset seems… impractical. Not to mention a cluster fuck of a liability
The Oculus (so Facebook) Quest works pretty well. And the very strong rumor is that the Deckard is (effectively) an HMD with a cable going to a steam deck with a big phat battery. And people have been using WMRs and even indexes with laptops for years.
I don’t think it is a super common use case, but it is very much a concern for the overall “why linux and not windows?”
The Quest works because it is a standalone device. You don’t have to plug anything into the unit, you don’t have to have wires everywhere, and you don’t have a significant risk smashing the unit to the floor because you literally can’t see where the cables are, what they’re snagging on, etc.
Meanwhile, conventional VR setups get around this by the PC being heavier than a handheld, as well as possibly by being situated under the desks. Laptops are less risk still than a SD, because the former is still heavier than a Nintendo Switch and is made to be used on a desk, with rubber feet for grip, something the SD form factor doesn’t have
That and the conventional use case for the SD is fundamentally incompatible from a user experience perspective. It’s a mess of cables, and most VR software requires more physics space to operate than you would realistically have in a non-home environment.
Its almost like you actively ignored where I pointed out Deckard which is strongly beleived to be a “fanny pack” VR
So I’ll just repeat myself.
The latest Valve product we are all eager for any hot goss on is Deckard. Very poorly kept secret (almost like Valve are advertising and testing the waters) but it is believed to be an HMD similar to the Facebook Quest but with the compute components either in a box on the back or in more of a hip mounted (fanny pack) configuration, depending on the leak. The former being the safe bet but the latter building more towards a Steam ecosystem and, honestly, being a better design choice in general.
Because for VR? The only cable you really need is one (thunderbolt 3 or better) USB C cable. Power, data, and video all fit on that.
And laptops have basically been the foundation of “backpack VR” for years now.
But the idea behind all of this (okay, backpack vr was more about any way to be portable for a large play space) is that compute is hot and heavy. So if you are putting everything in the HMD, you are increasing weight and heat generation on people’s heads. Whereas offloading that to a backpack or even just the equivalent of a steam deck (which can easily handle quest level VR) with a big ass battery duct taped to it, greatly relieves neck strain AND allows for much bigger batteries without weight or heat worries.
Its almost like you actively ignored where I pointed out Deckard which is strongly beleived to be a “fanny pack” VR.
I did. Partially because it is a rumour and not an actual product yet but also because, quite crucially to the point, it won’t be a Steam Deck form factor PC. Because my entire point hinges around:
Steam Deck form factor + conventional VR setup with all the typical wires and stuff = considerable liability and just not fun.
My argument is not about the Linux OS but the form factor of the Steam Deck. A problem that wouldn’t be solved by slapping Windows on it.
Gamepass PC, VR, and quite a few anti-cheat systems (so online games) are still windows only.
I made the switch because those make up a very small percentage of my (PC) gaming but they are very much things that aren’t available with a linux based device.
Gamepass and anticheat I’ll give you, though the latter situation is improving greatly, but using a handheld for a PC VR headset seems… impractical. Not to mention a cluster fuck of a liability
The Oculus (so Facebook) Quest works pretty well. And the very strong rumor is that the Deckard is (effectively) an HMD with a cable going to a steam deck with a big phat battery. And people have been using WMRs and even indexes with laptops for years.
I don’t think it is a super common use case, but it is very much a concern for the overall “why linux and not windows?”
The Quest works because it is a standalone device. You don’t have to plug anything into the unit, you don’t have to have wires everywhere, and you don’t have a significant risk smashing the unit to the floor because you literally can’t see where the cables are, what they’re snagging on, etc.
Meanwhile, conventional VR setups get around this by the PC being heavier than a handheld, as well as possibly by being situated under the desks. Laptops are less risk still than a SD, because the former is still heavier than a Nintendo Switch and is made to be used on a desk, with rubber feet for grip, something the SD form factor doesn’t have
That and the conventional use case for the SD is fundamentally incompatible from a user experience perspective. It’s a mess of cables, and most VR software requires more physics space to operate than you would realistically have in a non-home environment.
Its almost like you actively ignored where I pointed out Deckard which is strongly beleived to be a “fanny pack” VR
So I’ll just repeat myself.
The latest Valve product we are all eager for any hot goss on is Deckard. Very poorly kept secret (almost like Valve are advertising and testing the waters) but it is believed to be an HMD similar to the Facebook Quest but with the compute components either in a box on the back or in more of a hip mounted (fanny pack) configuration, depending on the leak. The former being the safe bet but the latter building more towards a Steam ecosystem and, honestly, being a better design choice in general.
Because for VR? The only cable you really need is one (thunderbolt 3 or better) USB C cable. Power, data, and video all fit on that.
And laptops have basically been the foundation of “backpack VR” for years now.
But the idea behind all of this (okay, backpack vr was more about any way to be portable for a large play space) is that compute is hot and heavy. So if you are putting everything in the HMD, you are increasing weight and heat generation on people’s heads. Whereas offloading that to a backpack or even just the equivalent of a steam deck (which can easily handle quest level VR) with a big ass battery duct taped to it, greatly relieves neck strain AND allows for much bigger batteries without weight or heat worries.
I did. Partially because it is a rumour and not an actual product yet but also because, quite crucially to the point, it won’t be a Steam Deck form factor PC. Because my entire point hinges around:
Steam Deck form factor + conventional VR setup with all the typical wires and stuff = considerable liability and just not fun.
My argument is not about the Linux OS but the form factor of the Steam Deck. A problem that wouldn’t be solved by slapping Windows on it.