VR is something of an odd property in gaming. With a bucketload of potential, it still has yet to take hold with the masses. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth covering, and with that in mind, our editor Matt has decided to report in on his first six months with the Meta Quest 3. He will be tackling this over three parts, focusing on the hardware, the software and the games, giving the system the full once-over. Welcome to part 2, part 1 can be found here and stay tuned for part three over the coming weeks.
Six Months in Virtual Reality - Part 2 - The UI and Software
So, I’ve established that the hardware itself is pretty darn good, but how does the Meta Quest 3 perform when it comes to actually using it? Well, that’s what I am going to look at now, and it isn’t an easy thing to examine. Using VR, especially for someone who hasn’t done so before, is a unique experience, so UI elements are often something that has to be learned and adapted to by the user. That said, how easy it is to learn and how intuitive the experience is are the key points to a VR headset’s UI, and it seems that Meta has taken the lessons learned from their previous two SKUs and really put them in play here.
Firstly, the initial setup is quite easy, that is, if you have a Facebook account already. Meta is obviously the company behind Facebook, and that means the Quest 3 is heavily integrated with the social platform. You can use the headset without a Facebook login, but it isn’t the best experience, and things may be limited. For some, this will be enough to put them off the Quest 3 entirely and frankly, I can’t blame them. Facebook hasn’t exactly been a pillar of the community, so supporting them comes with a catch.
If you do have a Facebook account and you are happy to use it in this case, then the setup is a breeze. The headset gives a simple tutorial upon bootup and helps users set everything up to their preference. Users will set up their room boundary, WiFi connection and control type (using hand gestures or the controllers) and then be taken to a UI tutorial that runs them through some of the basics of the Meta Quest headset. If you choose to use hand gesture controls, it will teach you how to navigate using nothing but your mitts, but I will have to say, I could never get the hang of it. That doesn’t mean you won’t, but I needed the tactile presence of a controller to feel, well, in control. My dreams of a Minority Report-style interface where I can do everything with my fingertips are still quite a ways away just yet.
Using the controller is much simpler. The controllers have a visual representation on the screen with a pointer extending from whichever controller you are using to allow you to select items on screen. The triggers act like a click on the mouse button, and the Meta button accesses menus (and if held down, recenters your view.) It really just mimics what people would do with a mouse, so it is easy to understand and grasp. New users will take a little time to learn what each button does, so they don’t have to look down at them, but for gamers who have been using controllers for years, I would say this learning period will be all of five minutes.
Once in and acclimatised, there are a host of things to do and explore on the Meta Quest 3 before even considering gaming. This is where there has been a huge improvement over the Quest 2. The 3 implements Mixed Reality experiences wonderfully, allowing for some cool tech and fun little additions to the menus, software and of course games. What really impressed me is the way the Quest 3 maps out the room. I went into my very messy lounge room, with a clothes drying rack, folded washing on the floor, a coffee table, lounges, TV, the works and it mapped it all without any issues, allowing me to experience the mixed reality software no matter how cluttered my room was. The built-in game, First Encounters, demonstrated this beautifully, giving a fun little experience where little fuzzy balls gradually break through the walls, and I had to shoot them as they hid behind objects in the room. While it isn’t something I would go back to, it is the perfect thing to show family members who want to give VR a try.
Other cool software that is well worth checking out are the movie players. Meta TV is the main one and it features a range of documentaries, concerts and shows that can be watched in a 360-degree view, and it is quite the experience. I have to say, watching the Red Bull Cliff Diving in this manner is more than a little unnerving and probably should come with a warning for those who are scared of heights. Concerts are the true winners of this format, though. I won’t say it is just like being there, but it certainly feels more immersive than just watching a show on your TV. Sadly, the selection of shows is pretty limited at this stage, so I hope this is a library that keeps growing.
The Quest 3 can also handle your standard internet things, like Google, YouTube and the like. The onscreen keyboard is fine, and with the ability to adjust screen size, it is a cool way to watch media, even if it isn’t designed for VR. Of course, it means you look like an anti-social git sitting in your lounge room ignoring everyone in the house, but you know what? Sometimes being an anti-social git is exactly what the doctor ordered.
The final piece of built-in software I want to mention is Horizon Central and its associated “worlds.” This is, to use a dreaded piece of marketing terminology, the Metaverse, and it is where users can congregate, interact and take part in social activities built around themes and interests that are represented as “worlds.” In layman’s terms, it is a more advanced version of Second Life and doesn’t really move the bar in any significant way. I did appreciate the NBA world, where I could watch games in VR on a simulated massive cinema screen, but otherwise, there was little here to excite me. Clearly, I am not the only one who finds this a little uninspiring because anytime I logged in, there was hardly anyone online and those who were tended to be of the younger and more annoying persuasion (yes, I am a grumpy old man, what of it?)
All that said, the Meta Quest 3 gets the important things right. Both the ease of use and the tech used to centre the user in the world around them while in VR is bang on, making the Quest 3 something enjoyable to use. I am not sure how much use some of the other software items will get, but it is nice that they are there for people to at least try out. There are some well-thought-out ideas here, and it is clear that despite a limited market, a lot of effort has been put into the refining and perfecting of the UI and its associated software, so credit where credit is due.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where I will look at the gaming experience offered by the Meta Quest 3.
