3D Headsets

So I bought a 3D headset (a Meta Quest 3 with a combined 4K resolution) and got D2X-XL to work with it, using a modern framework (OpenXR) that allows D2X-XL to work with every common modern headset.

I also tried the headset with Overload (which I have finally started to play, and which makes me wonder why I am still pursuing D2X-XL - it is just beautiful; I have totally changed my mind about it).

Now, what is my verdict?

It is that 3D headsets are still an expensive toy, with capabilities too limited to make them worth the money. Even at 2K per eye, the Quest 3's resolution is too low. With the Quest 3 (and probably other 3D headsets as well), the image data is compressed before it is sent to the headset, which causes a loss of quality even at high transmission bit rates. Even my pretty good rig (RTX 5070 Ti, AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 32 GB DDR5 RAM) cannot drive a substantially higher resolution in D2X-XL.

A big problem for me is that the displays of the Quest 3 are taller than they are wide. The resulting aspect ratio makes everything look very close and much bigger than in a monitor image of the same scene; in the start room of Ahayweh Gate (D2's first campaign level) you feel more like you are in an apartment-sized room than in a large hallway. Overload has the same problem: everything appears narrow and close up, and shots seem to travel rather slowly because the depth appears compressed, as if seen through a strong telephoto lens. This goes hand in hand with a field of view like that of diving goggles. Both effects together make playing with a headset less enjoyable for me than playing on a regular 2D monitor, despite the impressive sense of distance and depth it gives.

I have added a hack to mitigate that problem, but that hack has a side effect: it makes vertical lines shear when you turn your head. Applied at low intensities, the hack already improves the sense of depth a lot and causes only slight shearing, but even that may be irritating when you turn your head in the game. The good news is that you will not notice it when looking straight ahead.

Another problem is the brightness of the displays. You can turn up the brightness, which changes the black level, or you have to apply a gamma factor to the image (which D2X-XL lets you do).

Bottom line: I will keep playing 3D games on my monitor and not with a VR headset.