Meta might seriously be interested in adding a VR cloud gaming feature to the Quest 2 because a quest user had it accidentally enabled on their headset.

Just over a month ago I made a video where it was found in old firmware code, version 24 back in february of 2020 to be exact that meta might be working on a cloud gaming service code named avalanche. This month there seems to be more light to that theory.

Reddit user technical throw away, nice user by the way, shared a screen grab and video that shows inside the experimental features tab in the settings menu an enable avalanche alpha function. Which matches the code that was found by firmware sleuth samula.. TTA posted that they pressed it and it said finding server for 20 seconds then loaded oculus home. For about 15 seconds it was a really decent framerate, but with a little bit of lag then a spinning ring came up and it stayed like that. 

Tech Trow Away updated their post saying “I've had access to this for a few days now and been trying to find out how to get it working.” When it worked, it was super smooth, but there was definitely noticeable lag between moving the controller and seeing it move. It only worked for 10 seconds, it was basically the same experience as airlink. I didn't get a chance to see what games were available on first launch though, sad face.

With this coming to life it shows that this has been on the oculus / meta’s radar back in 2020 Consulting CTO and Doom creator John Carmack had things to say about wireless and cloud gaming back for the Quest 2 launch.

Of course there are now services like plutosphere, and shadow pc out there that can kind of make this happen through a cloud networked PC connection but they are expensive and personally I’ve had trouble making them work. Speaking of expensive I wonder if this means an oculus pass plus is coming in the future and just how much would that be..

As we’ve learned meta likes to roll out new features quite randomly and scarcely. So this may have been a part of that or a total oopsie. Either way I’m excited for the possibility of official cloud gaming if they can get it right. What do you think? Let’s discuss below and I’ll catch you in the next quickie.

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

My Favorite Oculus Quest 2 Accessories:

Quest 2: https://amzn.to/3PfvOi7

BOBO Battery Headstrap: https://amzn.to/3FvYVcw

Kiwi Pro Grip Covers: https://amzn.to/3l09346

VR Cover Facial Interface: https://amzn.to/3L1prf8

With the newest quest update version 40 an experimental feature landed on our headsets to prepare us for the upcoming mixed reality presence platform. Here is how to find it and set it up.

Inside your headset go to the quick settings menu on the left side of your home nav bar. Then hit the cog wheel for the settings menu and over to guardian. Under general scroll down to room setup dash experimental.

This will take you to a passthrough view, with a pop up box to setup your room in VR.. Hit continue to begin digitally marking your walls by first finding a bottom corner of a wall in your room and pulling the trigger to drop the first marker. I would suggest unlike me start with a wall that isn’t obstructed, then go ahead and pin the top of that corner to set the wall height. Next just mark the top corners of each of the surrounding walls until you connect back with your first corner and hit confirm.

If you’d like you can now outline your desk by marking the floor underneath the left side of your desk first, then the top left corner surface of your desk and then over to the right corner to set the width and then mark the back right corner to mark the depth. 

Feel free to also set up windows and doors by finding the top left corner then dragging to the bottom right corner of those areas.

Drop in a couch or in my case I used my office chair with the same directions as the desk and there you have it, your room is now set up for mixed reality.

Unfortunately the frustrating thing is as of recording this video there is no way to use the room you just set up.. A window pops up asking you to download the Mixed reality app zuck talked about in the project cambria highlight called the world beyond. But I can’t find it in the store, on mobile, desktop or in headset yet. I guess that is why this feature is still under experimental. Hopefully we will get to play with sweet little oppy soon. 

What do you hope to see make use of this room setup feature and the upcoming presence platform. Let me know in the comments and I’ll catch you in the next quickie

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

My Favorite Oculus Quest 2Accessories:

Quest 2: https://amzn.to/3PfvOi7

BOBO Battery Headstrap: https://amzn.to/3FvYVcw

Kiwi Pro Grip Covers: https://amzn.to/3l09346

VR Cover Facial Interface: https://amzn.to/3L1prf8

Kiwi Designs hit me up and sent 5 quest accessories to try out and here are my thoughts.

Gone are the days of the rubber cover knuckle grips that you have to remove everytime you need to change out the battery. These grips completely replace your battery cover on your touch controllers by sliding and locking into the provided groove on the controller and then have a door accompanied by a pull tab to easily replace your battery.

The grippy material does feel premium and the knuckle strap itself has a nice soft rubber that I find very comfortable but If you want to rubber shame me there are two included velcro cloth wraps that can go over the grips. They also come with a ring coverfor extra protection which all gorilla tag players could use.

The extended length was something I needed to get used to but now I prefer it even though it makes it harder for me to pack with my headset into my case but thats a trade off I’m willing to make. Overall this is my favorite accessory from Kiwi and you can grab (these grips) from amazon right now on sale for $28 which is a steal in my opinion.

https://amzn.to/3GalTWY

Next up is Kiwi’s enhanced elite headstrap. We’ve all seen the defective cracks in the official elite strap and its lackluster adjustability Kiwi goes next level with the legit durable side straps and a comfortable head strap and skull pad. The strap padding is thicker than harry potter and the half blood prince, not really but you know what I mean and the skull pad is actually padded unlike the elite strap that is basically a styrofoam cup. Also it rotates at the speaker points for a more customizable fit. 

Pick this thick boy up for $44.

https://amzn.to/3wMBRCq

Number 3 is simple yet important. If you want the best fidelity and connection to your quest for playing PCVR games you need a link cable, and with the price tag of the official oculus link cable coming in at 80 freakin dollars you might be like me and just pass on it. But Kiwi came to the rescue with a $20 link cable, yes I said $20 that has the same 5 gigabyte per second transfer speeds and matching 16 feet of length. The only difference is that it is usb A to right angle usb c which I might argue as a pc user you have more A ports available than C. But if you are looking for a usb C version Kiwi has a 10 ft version for $18 and a 16ft for $60. Let’s just hope you have a usb A port available to get more bang for your buck. 

https://amzn.to/3wCZsqi

Next we have the new fitness facial interface, say that three times fast (3x) this kit comes with not one not two but threes different face pads. 2 leather foam pads for normal use and a sport pad for working out that is made for absorbing your sweat and more importantly it’s machine washable.

The nose guard is expanded to help even more with blocking light leaks and it comes with a glasses spacer in case you lost your original one. The foam feels great and I really like the option of the sweat sucker pad for those thrill of the fight sessions. This is rando but I really like that lens cover in this kit, its just easier to pull in and out of my headset.  Grab this upgraded face kit for $46 or get the more affordable version that leaves out the sweat sucker for $36

https://amzn.to/3lzMGCT

Speaking of fitness last but not least is the VR dumbbell weight for your touch controllers. Admittedly this is a niche product but if you want to challenge your beat saber or synth rider sessions this will do it. Slide in the bottom controller attachment and then the top and you can place however many of the 3 50gram weights into the slot and close the cover then slip on the protective cover. I will say you may want a controller grip for these because the top heavy weight does create an almost constant I’m about to drop my controllers feeling. Honestly these aren’t really for me but I can see the usefulness for anyone that wants to push their vr workout.

https://amzn.to/3lHLhu3

If you are interested in any of these products all the links are in the description below and feel free to ask questions in the comments and I’ll answer them. Thanks again to Kiwi for letting me check out these products

Today at Meta’s annual share holders meeting Mark Zuckerberg answered questions about the Metaverse from his stock holders where he confirms there are 4 product teams working on new VR devices, privacy in the metaverse and more.

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

My Favorite Oculus Quest 2Accessories:

Quest 2: https://amzn.to/3PfvOi7

BOBO Battery Headstrap: https://amzn.to/3FvYVcw

Kiwi Pro Grip Covers: https://amzn.to/3l09346

VR Cover Facial Interface: https://amzn.to/3L1prf8

It’s all about security in the newest quest firmware update, here’s what’s going on with version 40.

You can now lock individual apps and games with an unlock pattern (can’t imagine what you would use that for…) But if you share your headset and need to keep a youngling away from blade and sorcery here’s how:

Go to the settings cog wheel then security, click the switch for locked apps and then create a passcode if you haven’t already to enable that switch. Then go to your apps page click the three dots and choose lock on the app of your choice. and wala your secrets are now hidden like your high school live journal

New secure payments hit the quest headset with 3DS enabled credit cards. What’s 3DS you say? Its a form of secure payment where the acronym stands for 3 domains meaning the payment passes through the card issuer, the retailer and then the 3ds platform which basically a secure go between for you and the retailer. 

Side note this will also need to be authorized by each developer for in app purchases. honestly I don’t really know what it is other than your payments will now be extra secure 

Messenger is testing end to end encryption inside chat so when you tell your buddy he sucks in blaston its going to be on lock down.

Your quest Audio is also getting some updates for those who are hard of hearing. A new mono option allows the user to hear the same audio from both right and left channels on your headset and in headphones rather than the default spatial audio setting. 

In this setting you can balance the audio to what suits you if you are hard of hearing in a certain ear you can use a slider towards that ear to feel more audibly centered.

Apparently You will be able to do this under the accessibility tab in the settings menu but as of this video I did not have the feature yet.

Lastly for the keyboarders out there meta adds support for the apple magic numeric keypad and the Logitech k375s and MX keyboards. 

There you have it, what are your thoughts on the big 40 update? Lets hash it out in the comments and I’ll catch you in the next quickie.

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

My Favorite Oculus Quest 2Accessories:

Quest 2: https://amzn.to/3PfvOi7

BOBO Battery Headstrap: https://amzn.to/3FvYVcw

Kiwi Pro Grip Covers: https://amzn.to/3l09346

VR Cover Facial Interface: https://amzn.to/3L1prf8

Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth took to instagram to answer some of our questions on the upcoming project cambria headset, the future of the quest line of headsets, log in changes and more.

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

My Favorite Oculus Quest 2Accessories:

Quest 2: https://amzn.to/3PfvOi7

BOBO Battery Headstrap: https://amzn.to/3FvYVcw

Kiwi Pro Grip Covers: https://amzn.to/3l09346

VR Cover Facial Interface: https://amzn.to/3L1prf8