Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA.

I promised in another thread that I would share more about my first impressions about the Steam Frame soon, so here I am.

There's still not much I can say because, in my case, using glasses inside isn't an option. But whatever questions you have and couldn't find answers anywhere else, let me know and I can check for you (be it settings, small things no one thinks about, etc)

I'll be recycling a bit what I already said in the other comment (with a few corrections), but here goes my first impressions and some thoughts:

• I said in the other comment that the spacer for the glasses was disappointing, but that's actually not true. To be fair, they do their job. The glasses should be as close as possible to your face anyway, and you can't have too much space between your face and the lenses in the VR, so the spacer does give you a bit more space that should be enough for most/all people. I was able to confirm that both my new glasses and my old ones do not touch the lenses. That said, I still wouldn't play a VR game that needs me to move a lot, the risk of them coming loose and scratching the lenses isn't null.

• My problem with the glasses is different. My new glasses are too wide. They barely fit inside and put a lot of pressure on my face, I think it's the sides of the VR that push the glasses against my face.

• So yeah, if you use glasses, I highly recommend getting prescription lenses (this also applies to any VR headset, but still).

• I was able to run on the Frame: Ace Combat 7, Hades 2, Dragon Commander and Dispatch. All of them were playable (Ace Combat 7 was a pleasant surprise!). Dragon Commander technically ran well, but it didn't recognize the controllers.

• There's a tab for Steam Frame verified games, but you can download anything from your library. Cyberpunk 2077? Knock yourself out. Will it run well? Nope, but it does run.

• • Sidenote: the new proton for ARM processors make me hopeful that laptops with ARM processors could become a viable alternative to traditional ones (I mean besides macbooks)

• Speaking of controllers, they're MUCH better than Meta Quest 3's. The layout of a conventional controller means that they can be used as such. Furthermore, at any moment you can activate the "pointer", which turns the respective controller into a mouse (while the other remains a controller). Meaning if you have a game where sometimes you need a mouse, Steam Frame has you covered.

• I got the ergonomic kit because of the controller straps, but as for the headset itself, I'll be the contrarian against the rest of the internet and say that those extra pieces actually aren't necessary. Or at least, not as ABSOLUTELY necessary as people make it look like. The space between the headset and my nose is not sealed, true, but unless I get conscious about that "hole", I won't notice it. I also felt that the top strap isn't necessary, the headset feels firmly held against my head.

• • That said, let me admit a few things: I didn't play a VR game yet, so maybe "firmly held" could be a different story in that scenario. And for a 1k euro device, there's an argument to be made that these ergonomic accessories should've been included by default, which I wholeheartedly agree. The nose thing, might have to do with my head shape, might not, I don't know; I just felt that whenever I was looking at the "screen" inside, I didn't notice the "hole" down below.

• The battery is... Underwhelming. Be prepared to get a good powerbank if you plan to have mid-long sessions.

• I tried using the wireless adapter on my gaming desktop (running Fedora 44), and it looks like it worked! Pleasant surprise, as I was under the impression it didn't work on Linux yet.

• Streamed Red Dead Redemption 2 for a bit. Rockstar launcher popped up so I could validate my account.... Except this window didn't appear on the SF, only on my PC's monitor. On the SF, I wasn't able to change windows, I only got a black screen. Once I entered the game, I could hear the sounds of the intro playing but the screen was still black. After fiddling a bit inside the VR, I managed to make it show the game itself, then I was able to play it normally.

• • This is to say, "window management" inside a game is finicky. So games with their own launchers? Expect them be as annoying here as they are in general...
• • • Caveat: only tried one game in this condition (opening launchers/windows alongside the game), so it's possible it was just bad luck and not representative.

• (copy pasted from the other comment) the update process (that you're forced to do) was really slow - the download would top at 10mb/s, but on average it was on the kb/s.

• (copy pasted from the other comment) The environment is really polished - more than the Steam Deck it looks like. I like how from inside Steam "app" itself, I can open the desktop mode as if it was an application. I don't have bluetooth keyboards but I think it should be possible to use this as a normal PC, which is really cool.

• (copy pasted from the other comment) Just like the Steam Deck, you have control over almost everything. Hardware usage, screen framerates, etc.

Some basic comparisons against the Meta Quest 3:

• Unlike MQ 3, the SF works just fine in any kind of environment, even if it's pitch black. Side note: it's a bit mesmerizing checking out the LIDAR's and Face ID's lights from my iphone. This thing is unironically a really good device to spot hidden cameras.

• YMMV, but for me the lack of colors in the passthrough isn't a big deal. I spend most of the time "inside" the virtual world and barely used it on MQ3, only for when someone was calling for me - or my cats. But even then, 95% of the time I would just take the headset off if whatever was demanding my attention wasn't quick. Talking to people with it on your head is weird af (especially for the other person). What I'm trying to say is that there were never situations where I needed to see the world around me and it needed to be in colours; I would just take the headset off in those cases.

• • Caveat: 1k euros device, I get it. It's dumb that you still need to fork over another 100 euros just to get colours. And I guess it's not a good thing for AR games.

• The SF is a bit smaller, lighter, and it's more comfortable imo. The idea to move the battery to the back of the head was smart, I think long sessions with SF should be more comfortable.

• MQ 3 has hand gesture recognition while SF doesn't. But personally, I don't really care. On MQ 3 this feature is finicky, frustrating to use, it's annoying when I'm watching movies/videos, and more importantly, it makes me want to throw the headset against the wall (exaggeration for comedic effect). So for me it's not a huge loss.

• If you feel that after these impressions I'm biased against the MQ3, well.... You're not wrong, but I just realized that it feels like I'm defending SF too much and criticizing MQ3 too easily while writing this. I'm biased against it mainly for privacy reasons, but on a hardware level, MQ3 is a great headset in its own right. It's equivalent to SF and costs a lot less. If you don't care about privacy, you probably should go for it instead of the SF.

Feel free to ask me anything about the Steam Frame and if I can check it out for you, I will.