With sadness I noticed that HP decided to fade out the Reverb G2 (which I planned to buy soon).
The Reverb G2 was the VR headset which MSFS 2020 was optimized for (at least according to this). I now read in the forum that Microsoft also intends to stop WMR.
So, I am wondering which headset will be the one working best together with MSFS in the future? Are there already any recommendations out there?
You can wait at least another 2 years. Hard cut is when ms removes wmr from their servers which is nov 2026.
Hi,
This is false information, WMR is the software of which many HMDs use and this title was never optimized for any single HMD, I can understand where this confusion comes from as the initial details surrounding the VR inclusion where at best farcical.
Thanks
Quest 3 - no brainer at the price. This coming from an Index.
AFAIK, MSFS wasn’t optimized for the G2 in any real way. In fact, it runs a lot smoother with the Aero (and Quest too I think). I’d recommend the Aero if you can deal with the low VFOV. Kind of hard to fully recommend anything else right now. Q3 for downright value I guess.
I had a Vive Pro. I just bought a Q3 and I find it to be great tbh. I am using Link Cable (940mbs) and the clarity is miles ahead of my previous Headset (which was very similar to Valve Index).
I even ramped up the Res via OXRTK to 4300+. I run 72hz and 36fps via forced ASW. It looks great to me. I even switched on Turbo mode which seems to work perfectly fine in the Quest 3 even with ASW enabled. Works fantastic equally in DCS (ASW with turbo enabled).
I’m pretty happy so far. Even though its not really my thing, I played table tennis downstairs well away from my PC and in an open area on the Quest 3 (Eleven table tennis standalone mode). I could see my surroundings with the pass through as well with the table superimposed into my room. Was great fun.
Having said that, given the history of VR support for MSFS and now Microsofts official lack of interest in it, I am not entirely confident MSFS2024 will even support VR properly when the day finally comes.
Probably the Quest 3, or the Pico 4 at a similar price point to the G2.
The Pico 4 has the same resolution as the G2 (somewhat higher than the Q3) but like the Q3 has pancake lenses, that give a much wider sweet spot than the G2’s Fresnel lenses. You will need to purchase Virtual Desktop for the Pico 4’s store to get the best results.
Other than that the Aero, or the more expensive Pimax Crystal, which I use and currently has the best visuals and FOV available now in a consumer headset.
In 2024, the upcoming Somnium VR1 looks to be even better, as it is a dedicated PC VR headset. without the battery requirement of the Pimax Crystal. Not sure of the price, but I believe it will be more expensive than the Crystal.
The Somnium has had some preview videos already with a few people who have used the prototype. It doesnt sound promising tbh. Its way too front heavy and they still have some issues with CA and warping in the middle of the view. I wouldnt hold your breath for that one tbh.
We’ll have to wait and see what Somnium actually brings to market. I know they are still working on the firmware to improve CA and distortion profiles, plus they are using a two element aspheric lens design, as opposed to the Crystal’s interchangeable single element design. Also they have announced a hardware fix as a paid upgrade to a higher spec model which apparently fixes CA and improves sharpness overall.
As for weight and balance, they may well improve the mounting strap design on release. If not, an aftermarket fix, such as the Apache headstrap and balance weight such as I use on my Crystal could be an option.
They seem to know what they are doing, so I’ll reserve judgement until it becomes available. Of course they may also have some initial quality control issues, as Pimax has had, but they are a European company, so perhaps that is a positive.
See VR Flightsim Guy’s recent interview with Somnium regarding all this and more.
I saw VRFSG videos. I take them all with a pinch of salt. I’m kind of wary of a company that was into the crypto space tbh. But like you say… time will tell.
Lol, as do I.
Of course another thing to mention regarding the Somnium is the value for money. Unlike the Crystal the base model does not have eye tracking, pass-though or inbuilt audio, and of course without inside out tracking, you need base stations as well. So getting up towards Varjo XR-4 territory pricewise.
Right now the Crystal works very well for me, touch wood, and with the Almalence digital lens plugin I get insane clarity at decent framerates with a 4090 in MSFS.
Why has no one brought up the Pimax Crystal ??? It looks clunky but most say the visuals are unmatched. And I’ve heard Bigscreen Beyond is promising ??
Just curious if you ever ran the Quest 3 with Virtual Desktop and if so, how much the 930Mbps link connection improves things?
Crystal is in different price category than Reverb G2.
If we consider G2 a midrange headset, Quest 3 will be probably the successor, with much better pancake optics.
Crystal, Somnium, Bigscreen, Aero are in high end performance/price category (to reveal full potential they also require high end PC which makes it even more expensive).
I migrated from G2 (and midrange PC) to Crystal (and 7800x3D, 4090 PC). The result is great, but it was a risky move when it comes to still keeping my marriage intact 
No, I havent used Virtual Desktop. I just use link cable for the moment.
The good thing about the G2 was, at £500 or so, it was decent value for money. There’s so many people out there who want to enjoy the sim in VR but just can’t afford the sky high prices of everything you need.
I don’t know what the Quest 3 is like but I sold my Quest 2 and bought a G2 and the difference was night and day better. A much smoother over all experience with the sim and noticeably better visuals.
Until someone brings out a good relatively affordable VR headset then the Quest line up will dominate and be the headset to get.
I guess we’ll just need to see what the future is for FS2024 and VR in a world without WMR. And indeed whether any more good mid range VR headsets start being made by someone else.
Pico 4 is, as I understand it, one of the best price vs performance deals right now. My understanding is that Quest 3 also is great. A tad more expensive, and has better AR-capabilities. But for MSFS I guess Pico 4 is just as good??
But now in April, they will announce a Pico 5:
And here they say it will have “Pancake second gen”. It will be exciting to see what that is all about:
Ref the comparison table, Pico will also release a Pico 5 Pro and a Pico 5 Pro Max. The Pro Max could maybe also compete with Crystal, but not on sale until December…
I currently now have the Pico 4, and it is amazing.
Though with my 3080ti and 5800x3D, I don’t get the best resolution, and I am probably hardware-limited.
So for me, I guess Pico 4 is one of the best options without upgrading my hardware.
(But loving the immersion with my Pico 4, even though I have to reduce the settings a little!)
The Pico 4 is a great option and I have been using it for a few months. We’ll need to wait and see if the Pico 5 does actually become a thing though because the rumours are that it has been cancelled with Bytedance laying off a lot of staff in their Pico division. Hopefully get confirmation either way by end of Feb.
Int he meantime, here are my thoughts on Pico 4 vs Quest 3 as I recently made the switch:
2 points:
Report: Pico 5 canceled, a new Pico 4 still in development
Seems Pico also fired a whole lot of their employees.