The new Vive Cosmos from HTC is less than a week old and already the company is having to address issues. The headset received a lukewarm response from early adopters, finding concerns with low-light tracking and reporting poor usage hours for a new set of batteries in the controllers. So HTC Vive has addressed these concerns, detailing new info as well as publishing updates and working on others.
Vive Cosmos uses inside-out tracking by way of six cameras mounted around the headset, making set much easier in comparison to external sensors. However, users were reporting a ‘Dark Environment’ message when trying to use the headset, even when there was sufficient light for other headsets to work.
To address this HTC Vive has released the following statement: “Our engineering team continues to fine tune the performance of the headset for different kinds of play environments and we’re looking into low-light reports from some users who were getting a persistent “dark environment” message. We’ve adjusted the notification window for low-light scenarios and the update is already live. We’re continuing to refine the tracking and notifications in these scenarios and expect to release another software update soon.” So hopefully that should solve most owners tracking problems.
Another query the company has addressed is that of controller life using new batteries. Reports suggest that it can be quite short although HTC Vive states that with a fresh set of AA batteries: “We’ve seen a wide range of performance and expect four to eight hours depending on light, environments, type of content, and other variables. The quality of the battery itself may also impact longevity. Our engineering team will continually work to optimize for performance. We’ve tested NiMH rechargeable batteries and found them to perform well.” Four still seems a little short even with heavy usage.
And then there’s content. Handily Vive Cosmos comes with a free Viveport Infinity subscription (12 months if you pre-ordered or six months after launch) giving players access to a wealth of content for free. The majority of these should’ve been optimised for Vive Cosmos but it appears some which say they are, aren’t. A fix is being worked on to make them compatible which is expected to roll out this week.
It’s fair to say Vive Cosmos has had a few technical teething issues which aren’t great for a £699/$699 headset. As further updates are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.
