When it comes to virtual reality, the second

word is the most important part: you want

things to feel as close to reality as possible.

How do you do that? Cramming as much

tech as possible into the thing you stick

on your face is a good place to start, and

HTC has very much obliged with its new

PC-powered Vive Cosmos Elite.

On the inside there are two 3.4in LCD

displays that offer a combined resolution

of 2880x1700, with less space between

the pixels to minimise the screen-door

effect, while the faceplate on the front

offers better inside-out tracking than

the original Cosmos. It also comes with

two Lighthouse Base Stations, which track

the movement of the headset and the

controllers from wherever you put them

in the room.

With that much tracking going on, your

in-game thrusts and swipes should be

more accurate than ever before, with fewer

blind spots. What’s more, the faceplate is

swappable, so when the AR-focused XR

version launches (see right), you’ll also be

able to buy its faceplate to go on your Elite.

Anyone know any virtual banks we can

virtually rob?

As hot as... a ‘sauna on Venus’ VR experience

£899 / vive.com

COSMIC RAISE

HTC Vive Cosmos Elite

HOT

FIVE

Ziggy

star-trussed

It doesn’t matter how

immersive a VR world is if you

keep getting tangled in wires.

HTC sells a wireless adaptor

for the Cosmos range... but

it does add £300-odd

to the price.

Station
to station
These sinister black cubes
are the Base Stations, which
allow you to create a playable
space of up to 15m^2 (around
3.5x3.5m). Place them as
high as you can for
best results.