Future and its syndication partners may earn commission when you buy through links in our articles.

ac thursday

in it weekly columnAndroid Central Senior Content Producer Nick Sutrich explores all things VR, from new hardware to new games, upcoming technologies, and more.

One of the things I like most about the Meta Quest platform is its simplicity. It’s a console, so all I have to do to play games is plug it in and start playing. That’s why I don’t often try out crazy accessories that add complexity to the experience.

But the Roto VR Explorer chair is the coolest gaming chair I’ve ever used, and it’s especially helpful if you suffer from motion sickness while playing VR games. Even though I’ve been a seasoned VR gamer for the last decade, the “soft spin” in VR games still makes me dizzy and dizzy, but the Roto VR Explorer chair fixed all that.

The Roto VR Explorer is a chair designed for Meta Quest that rotates when you turn your head, recreating the feeling of inertia that occurs in your inner ears when you physically move in real life. Works with all Meta Quest games but it has special integrations in games like Dig VR. No doubt it’s expensive at $800, but I’ve never used immersive equipment this easy.

digging with originality

Dig VR launches today, November 14, and brings the original heavy machinery simulation with a mission structure like this: Pressure Washing Simulator or Lawn Mowing Simulator and plenty of mini games to keep things fresh.

Part of the originality, at least in my case, is playing the game while sitting in the Roto VR Explorer chair, which connects wirelessly to Dig VR to rotate and vibrate along with the machine I’m using. It creates one of those pivotal moments of immersion that you can only experience in VR.

There’s something ridiculously awesome about being inside a moving and swinging simulator at a theme park or arcade, but there’s something even cooler about being in your own home. When I moved the digger and felt the chair realistically shake and rotate with the machine, I knew I had found something special.

Dig VR’s controls allow you to use the controller in a more traditional video game style, using dual joysticks to move the rig and control the boom arm for digging, or opt for the full simulator approach and take over the physical controls inside the cockpit.

The two arms in the middle allow you to move the digger in any direction you want by moving the individual steps at the bottom of the digger. The top of the digger is mechanically separate from the bottom where the steps are located, so you have separate control handles that can be held and tilted in any direction to rotate the cockpit and move the boom arm.

Dig VR is the ultimate digging simulator! Build your business in the town of Diglington, earning money to train bigger and badder diggers so you can complete bigger and badder jobs. Plenty of humor keeps things going, and casual and serious players alike will find a slot with countless control schemes and options.

buy now Meta Horizon store

I’m not big on simulation games, but the feeling of authenticity I got from controlling this big digger while sitting in the Roto chair convinced me that I should try these games more often. I should have been in the mood to do it – after all, this game simulates a job that people usually get paid to do – but starting my own business in the quaint town of Diglington was surprisingly enjoyable, especially with Roto. chair.

Of course, if you don’t have a chair or don’t want to spend the money on it, Dig VR is still a lot of fun and has options to significantly simplify the control scheme to minimize frustration. For example, while my son preferred to use the joysticks on the controllers, I found that locking the in-game controls to just wrist rotation made it easier for me to control the diggers.

The game has over 70 different customization options for each digger, and you’ll acquire new diggers and tool heads throughout your time in career mode. If you’re not feeling the rated mode, there’s also a zen sandbox mode for each level that lets you explore to your heart’s content.

It even has a multiplayer feature, so you can join the game while chatting with your friends. Sometimes you just need a fun activity to get a good conversation flowing, and Dig VR is a strangely ideal way to do that.

I’ve never used a gaming chair like this.

Considering its price, the Roto VR Explorer chair isn’t made just for Dig VR, as you might expect. More precisely, it works with any Meta Quest game. Even better, no configuration is required to start playing. Attach the pokeball-looking disc somewhere in your Quest—I’ve found sliding it on the top strap for best results—and turn your head to turn the chair.

You don’t even need to plug anything in because it’s completely wireless and works independently of your Quest. I actually assumed there was a manual or some instructions included in the box because it seemed overly simple! The puck even charges wirelessly when placed in the cradle at the base of the chair, allowing it to automatically charge and pair with the chair.

The puck can be connected to your headset via the 3.5mm audio jack to enable rumble, but I found that I didn’t much care for the haptic motors that use sound to create the effect. It’s very reliant on a game’s sound effects to work perfectly with the speaker, and you almost always have to turn off the music entirely, which kills the vibe for me.

This small disc will automatically pair with any disc Bluetooth headsets or headphonesSomething that’s not usually possible with VR due to the latency of Bluetooth products. Crazy affordable I used it CMF Buds Pro 2 to test because there is a volume dial built into the case.

While I don’t care much for voice-driven haptics, a game like Dig VR with native integration (just click “Connect to Roto VR Explorer” in the game’s menu) will use this haptic engine more intelligently without unnecessary extras. vibration caused by sound-focused application.

The chair itself is expertly crafted and well-made, featuring strong metal parts and bend-free connectors. Putting these together is a bit like assembling something from IKEA, except apparently it will take less time unless you’re an idiot like me who can’t read the instructions.

A port on the rotating cylinder under the seat magnetically connects to the haptic motor, and there’s even a genius USB-C port on top so you can charge your Quest while you play. This is located behind the post and moves with the chair to ensure you don’t get tangled in it.

The cushions on the chair and back are quite sturdy so they should hold up well over time. The material used to cover the pads can be easily cleaned if you sweat a lot while playing.

Picture 1 / 5

Picture 2 / 5

Picture 3 / 5

Picture 4 / 5

Picture 5 / 5

While all of this is great, the most important part of the chair is that the physical movement completely corrected the dizziness I felt when using smooth rotation in VR. While I’ve always used snap rotation in VR games to alleviate this issue, smooth rotation is much more immersive, especially when paired with natural head movements.

In fact, Roto VR Explorer worked perfectly in every game I tried. Smooth turn racing games like EXO Cars or even other simulators like Lawn Mowing Simulator also work incredibly So for different reasons.

EXO Cars is a fast-paced racing game that often leaves me feeling dizzy, but the subtle movement the chair makes as I turn my head to anticipate turning the car mimics real inertia enough to make it feel comfortable. Lawn Mowing Simulator is much slower, but still feels great in the chair, just like EXO Cars does.

What about games where you don’t get into the vehicles? These all work perfectly with the chair too!

Just making a video of me playing games Batman Arkham ShadowI also played a few other games. Subway RevivalYou can test the chair’s stability and ability to move quickly using Medieval Dynasty or even Blade and Sorcery.

What I found was that this was significantly better than any old swivel chair for a number of reasons. First, the heavy-duty steel design ensures that the chair remains stable even on carpet. There are also wheel locks to keep it in place on other surfaces. When you tilt the chair a little, an alarm will go off, so you know you need to calm down a bit. However, I only heard this alarm when I sat on the chair.

Second, it moves towards where you are looking. This meant that I stopped using the right stick to artificially turn and instead treated movement in the chair more like I was standing. The difference, of course, was that I wasn’t using the lower half of my body at all. This is great for people who need to sit for any physical reason or who just want to have a more relaxing session.

Ironically, I found that I enjoyed playing Metro Awakening more while sitting in this chair because it eliminated the feeling of having to physically crouch while sneaking around the game. Sure, I can use the game’s virtual crouch by clicking the control stick, but where’s the fun in that?

It may be expensive, but I’m thoroughly impressed with the Roto VR Explorer chair. It is much more than a boring old swivel chair as it provides the necessary inertial movement to combat motion sickness. You can use your legs to move a swivel chair, but it doesn’t register in your brain the same way and requires much more work. In my opinion, if you’re going to do this, you can stand.

Overall, this chair is incredibly impressive and did exactly what it was designed to do: completely eliminate motion sickness in VR.

The ultimate gaming chair is here! Roto VR Explorer rotates with your head, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in VR games, eliminating motion sickness and keeping you comfortable for hours. It will even charge your Quest 3 while you play!

View Opportunity