Renting VR rig, instead of buying

[Kryzon]

The PC game Half-Life: Alyx is coming this March 23rd and it's a VR-only game. 
I don't have a VR rig or the powerful PC needed to play, so instead of spending money getting the hardware needed to play it, I was thinking if renting said hardware wouldn't be better (I only want to play the game, not own a VR rig).

A local VR rig rental company in my city told me they'd rent me 1 HTC Vive + 1 PC with the specs needed for 3 full days (72 hours), at the cost of about US$400. I need a second opinion if this value (or this whole rent-and-play idea) is absurd, lol

[Qube]

at the cost of about US$400. I need a second opinion if this value (or this whole rent-and-play idea) is absurd, lol

$400US for 3 days to just play one game - Yes that is absurd!

Just think... 12 days rental and you could have a VR rig all sorted. That price for 3 days is completely crazy. $40 for 3 days is more like it but even then I'd only pay that if I really really really must play the game.

[Xerra]

Agreed. It's absurd. You're also relying on being able to finish the game in that time-frame which, will possible, might not be easy.

What about if you want to replay the game at a later date? Or you get into the multiplayer game, if there is one?

Save the money and buy the setup yourself. You'll probably find other games you want to play on it at a later date as well.

[Kryzon]

Thanks guys. 
I agree, that price is too high. That company said that they work with events, like renting for other companies, concerts, parties etc. that want to have a VR booth for people to try. They said they were making a special price for me since I'm a person, not a company (my ass).

They also suggested looking for VR arcades, places that work like LAN houses (pay per hour) but for these devices. 


(The reason I don't want a VR rig is that it's a money blackhole, the hardware is all expensive in my country because of import duties and the games a bit overpriced. I'm a fan of the H-L franchise, so I'm trying to find a way before settling with just watching a playthrough on YouTube, most of those streamers suck at games.)

[Qube]

Buy an Oculus Quest as they are awesome for the price. Also they are doing a link cable which allows you to use your PC to play VR games ( SteamVR for example ), so it nigh on turns the Quest into a Rift.

[Kryzon]

That's good to know, Qube. I hope it doesn't have too strong of a screendoor effect, as when I tried a headset at a tech event, that peculiarity really bothered me, it was a bit distracting. 
The Valve Index and the Samsung Odyssey+ headsets seem to have anti-SDE care. 

It essentially trades the screendoor effect for blurriness: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d9qwSvlRrw

[3DzForMe]

My VR is somewhat lower rent.....

I bought Excalibur VR Glasses for 1.99 from Cash Converter, I just insert my cheap as chips (oh... alright, maybe 30 bags of chips) into the holder - voila - VR.

Just before Christmas I got a tello FPV drone - apparently you can fly it in '3D' mode - I've got myself a Bluetooth controller - looking forward to giving it a whirl later today.

Don't think my VR will be alyx compatible for a while though.....

[Derron]

I bought Excalibur VR Glasses for 1.99 from Cash Converter, I just insert my cheap as chips (oh... alright, maybe 30 bags of chips) into the holder - voila - VR.

Think your phrase misses an object ... so you inserted WHAT into "the holder"? I assume a phone with gyroscope - which was and maybe even is not default standard in all cheap smartphones.
I also own such a "google cardboard"-plastic-replacement but as my phone (some years old now) does not have a gyroscope nor does it play actual video codecs, I did not use it yet (and I do not want to take away wife's phone just to check out VR porn movies).

Modern VR solutions have a wider Field of View - with the card boards you have a lot of "black areas" around the view - similar to watching through spyglasses (maybe not as bad ). This is surely based on the straight physical requirements ("magnifying lenses").


@ Qube
Wasn't the Quest not ready for the desired game here (HL Alyx) ? If he needed to "link" it to make it a pseudo-rift, he needs the computer rig to be able to play the game.


bye
Ron

[Qube]

@ Qube
Wasn't the Quest not ready for the desired game here (HL Alyx) ? If he needed to "link" it to make it a pseudo-rift, he needs the computer rig to be able to play the game.

The Quest is an excellent standalone product that doesn't require a PC but it now officially supports SteamVR via the link cable. So if your PC is compatible then you have the best of both worlds.

[Derron]

It might be a nice product - this was not put in question.

I think the game does not run there - except when linked to a "real PC" - which needs to be powerful enough to play the game - which is not the case for Kryzon's rig.


bye
Ron

[Kryzon]

If they can lower their price of rental, perhaps buying a Quest and then renting the high-specs PC from them could be better than paying almost the same for the pair and without keeping the headset at the end. 

I'll report back what they say, best case scenario we all laugh at myself.

[Matty]

This idea might sound a little silly.....

Do you have any friends who own a piece of equipment like that and who enjoy similar games?

If so....then perhaps arranging some 'guys time' playing games for a weekend would be better, and you even probably get pretzels and beer thrown in for free!

[Kryzon]

That's not silly at all Matty, it's a great suggestion. I don't have any gamer friends though. 
Then I would make a deal with gifting them the game on Steam, in exchange for being able to play it, heh

[therevills]

If you are in the States, I've read that people are having decent results using ShadowPC and VR headsets.

[Kryzon]

Someone recommended me the same! I'd never heard of Shadow before, it's like a Google Stadia that actually has games in it (well, you upload them yourself).