Very personal review between HP G2 and Valve Index

[lqqfrank]

Had both running for many months, and recently I got many apple to apple comparison and stay with Index more now. 

No doubt the G2 has much better resolution than index, which really made me working on it for pretty long time (nearly 5 months). 

While valve index makes me feel more compatible with: 

- wider field of view, feel better during enjoying the scenes

- higher rate of refresh rate, this really make the eye comfortable

- more enjoyable color 

This comparison is very personal. While I cannot refuse the G2's high resolution which really help to read the instrument panel more clearly. 

Just thinking to sell one and keep the other and stick to it. Hope not changing mind after another few months. 

Edited May 31, 2021 by lqqfrank

[Lt_Jaeger]

I tried too to go back to the index since I believe it is the better hmd, but if you saw the clarity of the G2 it is very hard to go back.

That is only true for DCS for me, for the rest I enjoy the index over the G2.

 

Have, since today, the vive pro 2 on pre-order and hope to get index feeling with the clarity of the G2. 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Lt_Jaeger

[dburne]

I have both Index and Reverb G2.

I prefer Reverb G2 for my flight sims, and Index for those made for VR games that use those awesome Index controllers.

The cockpit clarity is just so much better in the Reverb G2 for me.

 

I have Vive Pro 2 on pre-order, hoping I can get back to just one headset with it.

Edited May 31, 2021 by dburne

[Dangerzone]

11 hours ago, lqqfrank said:

- more enjoyable color 

 

Have you tried using the universal VR shader?  I was tempted to go from the Reverb G1 to G2 because of more clarity and more color - however when I used the VR Shader, I noticed that I got both (contrast and saturation gave me clearer images and more color). I felt like I got a 'free upgrade'.

 

(Now I know that nothing actually beats having better optics/lenses and LED's - but at least for me, the change I got with my G1 has me holding onto it now until I see what else is released).

[Lt_Jaeger]

2 hours ago, Dangerzone said:

 

Have you tried using the universal VR shader?  I was tempted to go from the Reverb G1 to G2 because of more clarity and more color - however when I used the VR Shader, I noticed that I got both (contrast and saturation gave me clearer images and more color). I felt like I got a 'free upgrade'.

 

(Now I know that nothing actually beats having better optics/lenses and LED's - but at least for me, the change I got with my G1 has me holding onto it now until I see what else is released).

 

For me, the VR re-shade mod is a free performance upgrade. I was able to dial down my G2 to a lower SS and got a smother framerate in return. Even so the vive Pro 2 will be most probably overpowering my 2080ti, I hope to go the same way. For me the reason to give the vive a try is, that I want to get the great index tracking and comfort back. Due to the G2 heavily modded to get some FOV, it became more uncomfortable to wear, also I think the sweet spot is way smaller in the G2 as in the index and reviewers state that the vive sweet spot is as good / bad as the index one, with I prefer over the G2.

 

All in all a hefty price tag for only a little gain (hopefully)

[PicklePicklePickle]

19 hours ago, lqqfrank said:

Had both running for many months, and recently I got many apple to apple comparison and stay with Index more now. 

No doubt the G2 has much better resolution than index, which really made me working on it for pretty long time (nearly 5 months). 

While valve index makes me feel more compatible with: 

- wider field of view, feel better during enjoying the scenes

- higher rate of refresh rate, this really make the eye comfortable

- more enjoyable color 

This comparison is very personal. While I cannot refuse the G2's high resolution which really help to read the instrument panel more clearly. 

Just thinking to sell one and keep the other and stick to it. Hope not changing mind after another few months. 

 

 

This has been exactly my experience as well. There is no denying the G2 inside the FOV that it can show looks gorgeous. But when I actually get into flying, whether dogfighting or doing A-G, the Index has been way more 'functional' for me. I can see more out the corner of my eye, and the size of the sweetspot is really remarkable. The overall motion is a lot smoother not just due to the lower resolution but also the tracking seems so much better.

 

I do use the reshade and like others have said, it feels like a 'free upgrade'!

 

Every week or two I go back to the G2 and I always endup switching back.

 

The only issue I have had with the index has been when cleaning the lenses. I have found that there seems to be a glue in the rubber gasket around the lenses which eventually gets smeared on the lenses when cleaning. It takes some effort to clean them when this happens, but it is more of a nuisance than anything else.

[Mr. Big.Biggs]

Probably covered ad nauseum  but is the re shader mod usable on multiplayer? 
Thanks and sorry for the hijack

[Lt_Jaeger]

21 minutes ago, Mr. Big.Biggs said:

Probably covered ad nauseum  but is the re shader mod usable on multiplayer? 
Thanks and sorry for the hijack

Yeap, it is.

[lqqfrank]

Yes, I do swap many times recently between G2 and Index. And stay with Index more now.

BTW where can I find the “re shade” mode?

[durp]

well, just to add my two cents (and not have to think all the time about the degraded VR performance in the todays patch for me..)

Same here with the Index and the G2, have both of them but after 2-3 weeks exclusively on the G2 I went back to the Index.

 

The dealbreaker was mainly the FOV... ppl. can argue about it but to me it feels like wearing a diving mask. 
Haven't tried yet any FOV mods for the G2 but you can put the Index gasket on the G2 (it will not hold in place, but fits the area.. so you have to hold it with your fingers when putting the headset up/down... gives a little more FOV but not as much as those FOV mods are supposed to do

 

I also find the tracking better on the Index (shouldn't be a surprise) but then, for me at least, there was only a small 'sweet' spot on the G2 that was clear, and outside that circle everything started to blur out.
The quality is okay, the higher pixel density is really amazing on the G2.
 

If you come from an older HMD you will get improvements in pretty much everything, but don't underestimate FOV.. I categorize it in the same category as when going from 2D to VR... there is no way back...

 

Wish I could say something about the FPS, but I have to run it on 80Hz to be able to maintain the half-framerate of 40 fps.

 

 

 

 

[dburne]

Well I may have said this already, but I sure hope the new Vive Pro 2 I have pre-ordered allows me to get back to just one headset.

 

[Supmua]

Reshade VR uses AMD’s CAS technology (contrast adaptive sharpening). It works really well and pictures look fantastic on my Index, although you can still see some screen doors.  
 

I encourage everyone with the Index (or any headset) to try it, also use brightness setting above 100% on the headset to make everything bright and vibrant.  The key is to not overdo the sharpening to minimize halo/shimmering. According to the author of the filter, even at sharpness setting of 0 you will already see a difference so don’t go too high on that. 

[Harlikwin]

6 hours ago, Supmua said:

Reshade VR uses AMD’s CAS technology (contrast adaptive sharpening). It works really well and pictures look fantastic on my Index, although you can still see some screen doors.  
 

I encourage everyone with the Index (or any headset) to try it, also use brightness setting above 100% on the headset to make everything bright and vibrant.  The key is to not overdo the sharpening to minimize halo/shimmering. According to the author of the filter, even at sharpness setting of 0 you will already see a difference so don’t go too high on that. 

 

Yeah its pretty amazing. Its like ED has "blur" filter on by default (im not saying they do) and this turns it off, its that good. Plus it really helps with color on G2.

 

[Supmua]

Another tip to minimize shimmering with Reshade CAS, use default SteamVR SS for your headset then use DCS pixel density for further upsampling; and MSAA x2.  For Valve Index this would be 150% SS on SteamVR, and on my particular setup I use PD 1.2.  For some reason using purely SteamVR for SS gives inferior image quality especially in terms of shimmering artifacts no matter how high the SS is.

Edited June 3, 2021 by Supmua

[Mr. Big.Biggs]

Is this (Reshade VR) the same as the shaders mod that is so popular?  
if not, can you post a link to the most current version?  That has always been an issue. I feel like I am always looking for that fine focus knob. Close but just not there. A bit more crispness may bring this back to enjoyable.  
Thanks
 

[Supmua]

3 hours ago, Mr. Big.Biggs said:

Is this (Reshade VR) the same as the shaders mod that is so popular?  
if not, can you post a link to the most current version?  That has always been an issue. I feel like I am always looking for that fine focus knob. Close but just not there. A bit more crispness may bring this back to enjoyable.  
Thanks
 

https://github.com/fholger/reshade/releases/tag/openvr_alpha2

 

put files in folder that has DCS.exe

HOME key to toggle settings window

END key to toggle effects on/off in real-time. 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Supmua

[lqqfrank]

Thanks mates for discussion and advice of "reshade". I read and download (from thread DCS World and Reshade - DCS Mods - ED Forums (eagle.ru) )

however, it can work in my 2D screen, but cannot take effect in VR valve index. Did I miss any step? 

[Supmua]

Make sure you are using the correct version.  Currently there’s no support for depth textures so a lot of effects will not work (ambien occlusion, SMAA, TAA, etc.), but VR CAS (contrast sharpening) will.  When you fly in DCS hit END to toggle the effect on/off if it works you will see the difference in real time.

[lqqfrank]

Many thanks mate! The zip file you provided works fine!!!

[Mr. Big.Biggs]

Installed Reshade vr yesterday.  It’s like removing the Vaseline vision from my Index lenses and does not appear to slow things up at all.
nice tip, thanks!!!! 

[Mr. Big.Biggs]

I cranked the “sharpness” up to 2.25

holy cow !  It’s like a brand new game!  
a tad of shimmer but I can easily ignore. 
Question, I hit the return to default button by error and all

3 of the color settings went to 1.00. Im not 100% but don’t believe they came that way when I first downloaded.  Anyone have color settings they like? 
thanks

[Harlikwin]

15 minutes ago, Mr. Big.Biggs said:

I cranked the “sharpness” up to 2.25

holy cow !  It’s like a brand new game!  
a tad of shimmer but I can easily ignore. 
Question, I hit the return to default button by error and all

3 of the color settings went to 1.00. Im not 100% but don’t believe they came that way when I first downloaded.  Anyone have color settings they like? 
thanks

 

Im running a G2, which is a bit "washed out" I'm running like 1.2 or 1.3 saturation (I don't recall) but the issue was between balancing the "blacks" in the cockpit with "outside". I think like 1.5 outside looked good, but was too dark in the pit.

 

[Supmua]

My personal preferences is to aim for slight increase in sharpness and saturation, with minimal effect on brightness and contrast.  I think my brightness is 0.999 and contrast is 0.01 or something like that, play with decimals and see what you like the most.

 

you can also reinstall all these files from the zip, and it goes back to the original settings which are a bit too contrasty and saturated for my taste.

[DavePastry]

On 6/12/2021 at 5:57 PM, Mr. Big.Biggs said:

I cranked the “sharpness” up to 2.25

holy cow !  It’s like a brand new game!  
a tad of shimmer but I can easily ignore. 
Question, I hit the return to default button by error and all

3 of the color settings went to 1.00. Im not 100% but don’t believe they came that way when I first downloaded.  Anyone have color settings they like? 
thanks

 

 

when I crank my sharpness up to 2.25 my cockpit looks like I'm some excellent drugs: https://imgur.com/a/JL6YQPV 

[lqqfrank]

BTW , with recently more time on valve index, I do suggest to set the valve index the max. resolution which is 500%, and decrease the in game VR pixel density to 0.7 or 0.6 or even lower to get a smooth frame rate.  

From several tests, with same frame rate, I found above is better than trying to balance the setup such as Index 150% and in game VR pixel density 1.0 or above. 

And the "reshade" is definitely another plus.