Is there any sense in getting a second headset (next to Varjo Aero) for racing sims and stuff?

[Jyge]

I recently built a sim pit for racing games, I got all the bells and whistles, fanatec pedals and wheel and stuff. Now the real problem became with the realization that the VR support for racing games generally really suck. I have Varjo Aero and I use it for DCS and I simply love it. With later updates of Varjo base I have got rid of the headset not found or disconnected issues and I do not want to spend my time changing versions of base or anything like that it just simply feels stupid for such an expensive headset.

Now Varjo works great with Project Cars 2, but I get pretty often crashes with Asetto Corsa Competizione (usually when a race is about to begin, when I sit in the car and wait for the go). Same thing with F1 2024 it often starts but it just crashes the same way. I can't get the EA WRC to start at all and I would love to but I will not buy the 2024 update unless the bloody thing starts working. Dirt Rally 2.0 is ok, but somehow it does not captivate me.

I am now speculating if it would be a solution to get another headset - more mainstream kind - for racing. Maybe something like Quest 3, although I greatly dislike Zuckerberg and what he did to Oculus. I gave my old HP Reverb G2 to my son and I am not that keen on plugging it off from his PC and plugging it in again on mine and I would not really mind to have something without cables. (I am also not sure about SteamVR getting confused with Windows Virtual Reality Headsets and Varjo - although Varjo somehow launches its own SteamVR)

I also would not like to plug the stuff in or off and get the headsets conflicting with each other and stuff like that. I have no intention of replacing my Varjo for now as it is doing a great job with DCS, which is my main use case for all this.

Any thoughts on this, does anybody have any experience running multiple headsets on one PC?

[Maddaawg]

Shouldn't you be asking in the racing forums the question about crashes in the racing game? I can't imagine that the Varjo Aero wouldn't run fine in racing sims.

I would create a dual boot system to run racing on one boot and DCS on the other. That way your HMD's would be on different systems. I run dual boot Win11 so all my regular PC stuff is on the default boot and DCS and its related software are on the second boot. Your Win10 or Win11 will allow this without additional purchase.

[Jyge]

The thing is that there is more expertise about VR in this very forum. It's been longer around in DCS as in racing and I am pretty sure there are others around that do both - Varjo and specifically Aero more or less started from this very place - initially Varjo was only targeting professional applications and then DCS players started experimenting with Varjo headsets and it resulted in Varjo Aero which was then a cheaper more for consumer market targeted product. You could say that without DCS community, Varjo would not probably had any entry in gaming. Varjo Aero has its own specific OpenXR and has its own way of running SteamVR, so it is a headset that has its own challenges in situations where other cheaper more mass market headsets work. I have to say that EA generally botched the whole VR with WRC.

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Using the same doctrine as answering “Are you a god” question, when somebody asks if they should buy something on the internet, always say “yes”. 

Edited October 14, 2024 by VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants

[Aapje]

Most people asking that sort of question have probably already decided anyway, they just want 'permission.'

[Maddaawg]

22 hours ago, Jyge said:

Maybe something like Quest 3, although I greatly dislike Zuckerberg

Maybe a Crystal Light? No Zuckerberg, which I agree with your sentiments too. But I don't like Elon and use Starlink, I don't like Bezos and buy way too much from Amazon, including my Q3.

[maxTRX]

45 minutes ago, Maddaawg said:

Maybe a Crystal Light? No Zuckerberg, which I agree with your sentiments too. But I don't like Elon and use Starlink, I don't like Bezos and buy way too much from Amazon, including my Q3.

Pretty soon... perhaps  they will all combine into 'ONE' entity and if you don't behave... 'No soup for you'   Anyways, @Jyge: I would just try to track down the issue of crashes first. I have Crystal Light and I guess I'm one of those lucky ones not having any issues whatsoever with ACC or the original AC. If I already had a Varjo set... I don't know.

So far AC and ACC are the only games I'm running on my W11 install so I can't run my mouth regarding DCS... not on my rig at the time, just checking the forum on regular bases.

[Jyge]

Yes, it is just very varied, in the beginning I and couple of recent owners had issues with DCS too, whereas some guys that had a bit older Aeros did not, but they got solved

with time, with consecutive patches. If one takes EA WRC I have not really read about anybody having any success with the latest patch of the game. Earlier some guys had it working with Varjo Aero by rolling back Varjo base, but since the latest update of the game (0.19) everybody seems to be sh!t out of luck. I also have a feeling that my issues might actually be sound related...couple of days ago when I launched Asetto Corsa Competizione, I had a faultless gaming session, but this time I used my earphones directly over bluetooth and not like I usually do, plugging them on the Varjo Headset using a small audio cable. The hang-ups I have had, really resemble rather something coming from sounds, as it always occurs with some voice overs at the beginning of the race, but I need to do more testing...

[Jyge]

On 10/14/2024 at 11:59 AM, Aapje said:

Most people asking that sort of question have probably already decided anyway, they just want 'permission.'

Yes, indeed. But as an exception to good rule, I don't need permission, I am simply lacking funds and before I go on with it I would like to know if I can get two different types of headsets to work more or less simultaneously on my PC without the system getting confused with them. If it leads to a hassle where I need to plug things in and out and reconfigure room or whatnot the idea is bonked and the stuff ends up collecting dust and then the money is simply out of the window. A more likely scenario might be to swallow my frustrations and wait for the next headset that tops Varjo, but is maybe a bit more mainstream. I would be equally happy if Varjo announced intention of staying on the consumer market as it might get game developers more engaged to bother with the combability.

Edited October 17, 2024 by Jyge