Valve has been Linux friendly. It says the new steam frame “is a PC” and will run Steam OS but I feel like there’s an insinuation that, like the steam deck, you can install whatever you like. I am cautiously excited at the premise of really digging in and having a Linux box strapped to my face.
Another friend has already referred to it as the Linux Vision Pro.
Edit: watching Linus tech tips review, it mentions side loading Android APKs as well
I’ve had an HTC vive for like the last 7 years. I always loved it and still use it when I can. But its limitations are very obvious and the age is starting to show. I’ve been wanting to upgrade with an index but never found the right moment and my play time has decreased considerably.
Now this one… It looks amazing! So many improvements! And at the same time a bit scary, can the streaming work well enough? I haven’t had great experience with it but have never really needed it either. That dongle looks like a must. Will the tracking be good enough without the external lighthouses? That would be a great improvement in play area for me if so. The battery seems like a risk factor too but I’m far less worried about that.
And finally the one thing that has me raising my eyebrows in confusion, what is it with the controllers? They seem okayish enough for normal gaming in the headset and OK enough for tracking them… But it seems like a regression from the index controllers with finger tracking and no need to constantly hold it grabbing onto it thanks to the straps. I wonder if the index ones would still be the best for proper VR gaming. And with the steam controller also being tracked, I’d rather use that for any other gaming.
Overall I’m excited and I might jump at the opportunity of finally upgrading the vive but quite a few questions remain to be solved. Too important questions for buying it right away when released.
They will sell optional controller straps, and the controllers have 5 finger capacitive tracking.
So maybe it’s ignorance on my part, but when I saw capacitive finger tracking I thought it meant as in “touch control” like you know, capacitive touch screens. Just as the deck has on the thumbsticks. But I guess making it strong enough you might be able to track the fingers at a further distance. I probably should check in the index controllers if they call it also capacitive tracking.
I’m a bit surprised about the optional straps… It feels like a mandatory thing for VR… :/
Take another look at the controller info. They have finger tracking and it looks like you can add accessories that will let you open your hand without dropping them.
Like I wrote in answer to the other comment. I might have misunderstood due to ignorance what the capacitive tracking was, I expected something more of a touch area in the bottom of the controller as indicated in the specification section. I’ll need to look at the accessories and check the videos released. So far all I could do is check the description in steam. Anyway thanks for bringing it up, I found it weird they wouldn’t support that.