TheRoto VR Explorer chairasks, why cant we have both?
What you give up in that bargain is ease of use andif you get VR sick like meyour lunch.
I cant even read my phone for too long in the passenger seat of a car without feeling queasy.
© Jorge Jimenez / Gizmodo
That makes VR a tough deal for me.
Thats a pretty bad deal for the $800 Roto VR Explorer.
To use the chair, you turn your head, and the chair spins to match.
© Gif: Jorge Jimenez / Gizmodo
The concept makes some sense.
It may be a big accessibility win for those with mobility issues who want a more immersive VR experience.
Yet, my issue with VR sickness stems from my body remaining motionless as my character moves.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The Roto VR Explorer requires more effort to set up.
The most difficult part is getting the Roto VRs haptic rumble to work.
There were a few instances I gave up and just used the Quests own audio.
The chair requires an additional hockey puck, called a head tracker, to function.
The puck slides into the top of the Meta Quest band and tracks your head movement.
It pairs easily and charges wirelessly from a slot in the base of the chair.
It also makes you look much more like a dweeb than the Quest already does.
After you finish the setup, the head tracking works as intended.
I didnt notice anything but the slightest millisecond delay when I moved my head before the chair started swiveling.
That was until I tried removing it without turning off the hockey puck first.
Then I looked far more cartoonish as I swiveled uncontrollably like Dr.
Evil from the Austin Powers movies.
If youre rotating at speed and straightening your head, the Roto VR Explorer comes to a jarring halt.
Its much more gentle if youre not turning your noggin 90 degrees.
Thats difficult when gallery shooters like theVader Immortalgames.
There are a few games that wont work well with the Roto VR.
I stopped, leaned forward on my knees, and took heavy breaths until the nausea passed.
The sweat beaded up under the headband strap.
I was as uncomfortable as Ive ever been in VR.
Its better if youre seated back on a mount without needing that independent movement.
Its better when playing with any teleport movement capabilities.
Still, enough games like this allow for analog stick rotation.
The real question we have to ask is whether its honestly useful for some games.
RotoVR hopes to make it compatible with other headsets like the Apple Vision Pro.
The headset may be more interesting when combined with Apples spatial UI or watching a 360-degree video.
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