Thanks BWX. I've just unboxed my new PS5, PSVR2 and GT7 (couldn't wait any longer; too excited), not having raced since my PS3 and GT6 days -
I was both amazed and disappointed by the PSVR2 (read on).
I'm hanging back on ordering the DD wheelbase, GT3 wheel and 80/20 rig until I decide if I'm going to need a screen holder with the cockpit. Thus for my initial impressions I'm using a controller (for the first time ever), which takes some getting used to when changing gear manually during a trail-braking turn! ...I'm too old for this **** - give me a wheel and pedals any day.
I was blown away by the immersive realism the first time I started a race, but with regards to the quality of the display, I think my expectations were overly hyped, having watched so many YouTubers singing praises and showing 4K videos. The 3D in-car views were generally far from high-res with fuzzy detailing around other cars and trackside banners, although the floating text overlays were sharp, provided I moved my head to look right at them. The World Map screen was sharp wherever I moved my head to look at it, but with my head central and looking outwards, I could not even read the menu titles, they were that blurry with bad chromatic aberration!
On the plus side, I had no issues with my essential tremor, and only felt momentarily queasy if I lurched to overtake a car from the opposite side from where I started, if you get my drift. In fact, the first time I used the headset, I did so for two hours non-stop, after which I suddenly started to get a headache and a churning stomach ...that's longer than I expected to be able to use it for on my first outing.
So I researched the blurry image issue and came across a colossal Reddit thread on the subject, which showed that I was not alone in my disappointment. Following the advice therein, I checked the lenses with a bright torch (flashlight) and cleaned them meticulously with a microfibre cloth. I went though the set-up and position adjustment process with each of my pairs of glasses (distance glasses for TV, desk glasses for computer programming, and my general varifocals (progressive) which I wear for real driving), before settling on the varifocals as the best pair to wear. I moved the various parts of the headset around for ages to find the illusive 'sweet spot', but although the end-result was better than my first impressions, it was still disappointing after my heightened expectations.
So then I started my two-hour acclimatisation, starter-car winning and licence passing session, and realised what all the fuss was about when it comes to track inclines and car interiors ...whodathunkit that raceway banking was THAT steep, and why are my legs and arms so tiny? And isn't it friggin awesome to be able to look all around you inside the cars! It is a surreal experience and bit-by-bit, despite the blurry details and aberrated text, I was sold on my first outing into the world of VR.
And then, just to see what I was missing, I did one of the same races in front of my massive 4K OLED TV. And it was flat in every sense of the word! How can I possibly now go back to racing in 2D after being able to properly judge inclines and distances in 3D? ...I can't. The TV might be 100 times more detailed and bright, but in terms of immersion, the two are in different universes!
I've given the blurriness issue much thought, and have concluded that apart from the understandable problems of (1) enlarging teeny-tiny pixels to the equivalent size of 'friggin big', and (2) the no-way-round-it issues of fresnel lens distortion, my particular problem - I think - stems from the fact that the bottom of my varifocal lenses do not reflect reality with regards the distance from my eyes to the cockpit instrumentation (not sure why, but it's a fact), and the top of my varifocal lenses are set for distance, not a load of race data floating just above my car bonnet. I would be interested to hear the opinions of others who wear varifocal glasses. I tried my distance glasses but then couldn't see the inside of the car properly (which is what will happen if I fit fixed-focal-length lens inserts).
It's only Day One for me, but I have just abandoned all thoughts of buying ACC as it is now so flat and 'last year'. I will probably buy a cheap (non gaming) monitor for my new rig so that I can flip through non-in-car screens and manage my account etc. without having to move my head about to read every line of text, but the general concept of sim-racing with GT7 and a PSVR2 gets a thumbs-up from me despite the lower resolution than I was expecting.
Oh, and with regards to being stuck in 'helmet-cam' view: this was a major concern for me as I hate it with a vengeance in GT6 ...HTF am I expected to see where I'm going? But as others on this thread have said: it all makes perfect sense once you're sitting in the car looking out the window, just like you would be in a real car.
Thanks everyone for your posts that helped me make the decision to buy a PSVR2
