VR blooms ahead of Alyx revolutionizing FPS.

Good news for those still living in the past, ahead of upcoming FPS of the year (just one month away and not Doom) a bunch of more varied pricing models of VIVE have been released, opening up the market just that little bit more. This includes both cheaper and enthusiast models.

HTC unveils three new versions of its Vive Cosmos VR headset

Say hello to the Play, Elite, and XR.

Half-Life: Alyx is just over a month away, and those looking to step into the heady world of VR gaming have a new range of options to consider courtesy of HTC, which has just unveiled three new iterations of its Vive Cosmos headset.

The original Vive Cosmos launched at the tail-end of last year, offering a high-end PC-based VR experience that, in terms of price at least, occupied the middle ground between Oculus' £399 Rift S and Valve's maxed-out £919 Index, coming in at £699.

Vive Cosmos' three new variations - the Elite, XR, and Play - all have the same 90Hz 2,880 x 1,700 LCD display as the original model, but each utilises its own (removable) faceplate, providing support for a range of different features.

At the lower end of the scale is the Vive Cosmos Play, an entry-level VR offering with a faceplate that supports four-camera inside-out tracking, as opposed to the six-camera set-up of the original Cosmos. At the upper end is the Cosmos Elite, whose faceplate features external tracking utilising two included base stations. Two Vive controllers are also provided.

Notably, the modular faceplate design of the Cosmos series means that owners can integrate a different feature set at a later date, regardless of the model they own, simply by purchasing and installing an alternative faceplate.

Last of the new models is the Cosmos XR, a mixed-reality headset in the vein of Microsoft's Hololens, featuring two pass-through cameras. This one's primarily intended as a development tool at present, and will debut in the form of a developer kit in Q2 this year.

There's no release date or price for the Cosmos Play just yet (although we know it'll cost less that the standard model Cosmos), but the Elite has an £899 price tag and is due to launch in the first quarter of the year, with preorders opening on 24th February.

Those eager to explore VR can peruse their available options more thoroughly in this handy guide created by Digital Foundry's Will Judd.

VR is the future and the future of gaming (not you Streamers) is alive and well.

Thank you Sony for helping VR go mainstream.

I'm not putting that shit on my head.

yea really looking forward to future of Oculus Quest and PSVR 2.0

Future of gaming is going to be awesome!

P.S. Ignore all the nay sayers who can't afford VR or stomach it. We in for a ride.

I'm hoping VR in the future is like this.

I only have a launch vive at the moment. I should probably hook it back up and mess around some more

$699 for the original Vive Cosmos? Yeah no. What's the price for the cheapest VR set of the new versions?

That sounds like they got the actual Street Fighter announcer.

This episode looks goofy, need to watch it lol

VR is blossoming!

Still niche, but not for long.

It's pretty great.

Definitely a change from the usual Black Mirror episodes as far as tone goes (though the overall theme is the same).

VR da best.

No it wont. Valve getting free pass for screwing their fans, ripping off etc. its not like they have not done it before.

they made left 4 dead 2 year after original as full fledge sequel rather than it should have been a DLC. but still they got free pass.

Doom Eternal is going to save gaming.

nothing will save you

Yeah, VR is blowing up for sure. I do kind of worry about all these freaking headsets flooding the market, though. Variety us great, but too much is...too much.

The options above look cool though.

I think the only reason this would be an issue is A) quality and B) gate-keeping preventing you from playing game

Generally, the only assholes doing that have been Facebook and software exists to get around it.

Doom 2016 save FPS genre after it was destroyed by COD and battlefield. Doom Eternal going to save gaming in genreal.

Doom slayer is enough for everyone.

@ghosts4ever: Nope. Half-measure games with Bethesda having a stranglehold on id.

@uninspiredcup: Where's your shil...I mean hype thread cup???

Make one and keep all your shilling in the one place lol.

I don't want a hype thread, Ghost must be right, which could be devastating.

@uninspiredcup: If you make one and Ghost is indeed right you'll have to leave the forum. You can't face shame like that. It's humanly impossible.

I think you and casual4ever should make a bet that which ever scores the highest between the 2 games you unashamedly shill then the other should not post for a WHOLE month.

Its only fair as all you 2 do is shill, shill, and more shill.

How about it guys. Its time to put your shills where your mouths are.

Who else would like to see that???

You're no fun Cup :(

Fragile ego just can't handle it.

Nobody could face Ghost besting them, let's be honest. The man has never won in his life, being that blip would be a disgrace beyond measure.

So what you're saying is that all that shilling of Alyx an VR being the bestest ever was just a charade as you have no confidence in Valve/Alyx/VR, man admitting that is just as bad as being bested by an alt.

All the VR nutjobs and not one that actually believes what they type to make a hype thread for a VR game LOL.

It was all a sham.

@warmblur said:

@uninspiredcup said:

It was all a sham.

That gif is breathtaking :P

@uninspiredcup: I must say, you handle numbnuts exceptionally well.

I dont call 20 plus hour with MP battle mode half measure game.

bethesda also published Prey, one of the best game of this gen. old school immersive sim.

bethesda also published dishonored last gen and it was closest thing to theif ie immemrsive sim stealth.

bethesda are excellent publisher when they work with excellent developers.

you wont play immersive sim because there no MP out there. and according to you they are all half measure games lol.

i get it cat, "EVERY GAME NEED MP OTHERWISE IT SUCK".

PSVR is shit and they have held exclusives hostage on the platform, but I still give them respect because they did help VR quite a bit.

@ghosts4ever: enjoy your spider hole casual4ever

Bethesda is a trashcan and it just takes idiots like you to embolden them and their piss poor decisions.

lol try Prey on hardest difficulty and told me how much you survive.

you might not be familiar with original Deus Ex and System shock 2 which also inspired Prey. enjoy your casual MP games (PUBG, fortnite crap) with 20 year old kids. and let some of us have real games.

@ghosts4ever: ok casual4ever.

Never played fn. Both Prey games were complete crap. I don't play with casuals because games have this thing called mmr...but i dont expect for you to know what that is. Or what tourney / lan play is like either.

original one was crap because it was easy run of the mill poor mans Doom 3.

2017 Prey is amazing. its hardcore old school immersive sim. if you familiar with immersive sim, you would appreciate it but not.

MP games suck.

@ghosts4ever: Theres a difference between games sucking / you sucking at them. simple as that.

And in no way is Prey a "sim" lol.

Prey is a great game that has the unfortunate favor of Ghost.😞

VR is in full bloom traditional gaming is gonna try to fight it off

VR will also likely hit photorealistic graphics before flatscreen gaming due to Foveated rendering.

If they want people to give a shit about the cosmos then they're going to have to pack the knuckles controllers in with it, not their outdated junk.

@dxmcat: its immersive sim, you wont play it because no casual MP here.

I guess you wont play Cyberpunk too and waiting for its MP when everyone is waiting for its SP.

Remember EA said SP games dying. But Doom and Cyberpunk exist in world.

we may disagree politically but when it comes to this.

we are in 100% agreement

@ghosts4ever: so glad you can make up terms and genres. shows how delirious you really are

I play everything, just because I slam a developer for being lazy....yea I dont need to say the rest. the only thing "dying" here is your pathetic argument that you don't have a leg to stand on. Now you're just trying to mirror shit like a child.

Casual4ever calls esports "casual"

SP only for teh real menz.

im not making up geners. immersive sim is genre. mostly associate with FPS/RPG or games that are immersive

Deus Ex, System shock 2, STALKER, and most recent Prey are immersive sims.

STALKER is best FPS i have ever played and only reason because how immersive it was. if it released today, you would hating it and claiming it has no MP etc.

Casual4ever calls esports "casual"

If thats not casual i dont know what it is.

I play everything, just because I slam a developer for being lazy

you slam every developer lazy no matter how passionate they are, just because they focus on SP component. no matter how good, long and engaging SP is. its all worthless unless it has MP.

i dont want MP in my SP franchise. so glad they are better off without them.

Yet more hardware PC gamers are obligated to patch on to their "rig". And it isn't even a first party asking you to!

All I know is that the VR display at my local Microcenter went from a large, centrally located live demo area, to a couple of shelves full of VR gear, to a single end cap near the entrance. VR is and always will be a niche market.

Not until it's priced that even the average consumer can afford it.