Posts in series "Buying the Steam Frame"

It's getting on for six years now since I got my first VR headset, and it's the best part of five years since I sorted myself with a PCVR setup. Between then and now I've played a lot of VR games and spent a lot of time in VR.

This last year, though, aside from a quick dabble with the PS5 version of Zero Caliber, I've not really been in VR. Mostly this is down to me moving late on last year, and evenings and weekends now being busier with other things. It's sort of always felt like a hassle to have to set up the PCVR rig (when you live alone it's fine to have your PCVR rig lying around the living room all the time; when you share with other people and your cat... not so much).

So when I saw the Steam Frame announced and realised that it would likely give me standalone access to some PCVR-level games (yes, I know, not really PCVR, but I would hope that there will be a push to get many games running standalone), I was tempted. Very tempted. Not only does it offer a good-quality standalone headset, it's also still designed as a full PCVR headset. Feels win/win.

Fast forward to yesterday evening...

I don't know that I'll return to recording PCVR quite yet -- I guess that'll depend on what the Frame offers in terms of being able to record -- but I aim to dive back into any parts of my catalogue that will work with the device. I think a full revisit to the world of Half-Life is necessary if nothing else.

I didn't have to spend too long in the Steam Frame reservation queue. I'd just sat down on the sofa, after having dinner yesterday evening, opened the MacBook to hack on some code, and had this turn up:

I didn't hesitate. However, during the checkout journey, there was a glitch. I opened the email, clicked on the link to go and confirm the purchase, and on the Steam site I was greeted with a message to the effect that the quantity I was buying was too great! It wouldn't let me proceed to the payment. I clicked on the button to view my basket and this is what I saw:

This did make me slightly nervous for a moment. It was an obvious glitch, but was it double-counting the same unit, or had it somehow added two units to my basket? Given that I couldn't progress without doing something, I removed one and... it was all okay.

So as of right now I'm paid up, I have an active order, and now I wait for physical delivery. The estimated delivery time seems to be between 3 and 5 (working?) days.

Meanwhile, I now need to figure out what to do about prescription lens inserts. The inserts that Valve recommend on the Steam Frame page are currently "coming soon", which is mildly annoying. I have noticed in the Steam Frame subreddit a couple of people mentioning other companies who are already manufacturing and shipping inserts. I might take a look at them.

The need for prescription lenses is one annoyance of VR for me. Sure, it's easily fixed, but it's a bit of a shame when, upon opening the box, I have to go with a blurry experience for a wee while. Of course, I could wear my glasses in the headset, but based on my experience when I got my Quest 2 back in late 2020, that's not comfortable and there's the danger of scratching the glasses, headset lenses, or both.

It's not worth the risk.