What's a
Virtual Reality Gunstock?
What is a VR Gun Stock For?
Virtual reality gunstocks go by a wide range of terms including: vr stocks, vr guns, rifles, bars, sticks, controllers, etc. VR stocks are a virtual reality gaming accessory built to help users aim down sights more reliably, as well as provide a more immersive in-game feel when playing first-person-shooters. Since virtual reality gaming still hasn't reached mainstream popularity, it's sometimes hard to get information about what vr gunstocks are for and why they're important. This article will show you exactly how a virtual reality stock works, we will be using our SPINE VR rifle as an example of our under-mounted stock.
If you have any questions or want to know more about our stocks after seeing this article, you can always reach out to us on our chat or send us an email at info@olenvr.com. We'd be glad to give you any additional details around virtual reality accessories and gunstocks compatible with the Oculus Quest 2, Valve Index, or any other virtual reality headset you use.
How Does a VR Gun Stock Work?
With the virtual reality market growing so rapidly, there are many clever ways people are making their own virtual reality gun stocks. The most popular stock mounting styles at the moment are bottom-mounted, top-mounted, and hybrid. Our SPINE gun stock, for example, utilizes a bottom-mounted style. Which style you pick usually depends on what experience you're looking to get with your virtual reality FPS game as well as what you're most comfortable with.
The way our VR stocks works is very simple, yet effective. The underside of the SPINE stock body is metal which is where the virtual reality controller mounts snap to. With every stock purchase, you'll receive a set of controller mounts.
The Quest 2 gun stock style is our bread and butter, those mounts simply are mounted inside the tracking ring of the Oculus Quest 2 controller. There is a magnet located at the top of the controller mount, this is where the simple magic happens. The magnet on the controller mount snaps to the magnetic underside of the vr gun stock body.
This technology allows you to steadily aim both hands to increase your overall aim consistency as well as anchoring your trigger hand to provide more aiming stability.
What Games Does a VR Stock Work With?
We've tested out dozens of virtual reality FPS games to make sure the SPINE is as versatile as possible. VR stocks in general should work with most shooters but we've compiled a list of every game which our stocks will run flawlessly with.
The most popular games like Onward, and Contractors also include physical stock customizations to make each weapon and stock feel as comfortable as can be. Check out our list below and if you haven't already played some of these amazing games, we recommend you do!
Is a VR Gun Stock Easy To Use?
If you're someone whose used a stock but didn't like it because it was too difficult to use, there's still hope! A caveat with using a virtual reality gun stock is the fact you can't see your stock in-game. Plenty of users want to peek through the bottom of their headset to see where the stock is when reloading or reattaching.
Don't worry as this is completely normal and expected as you're getting your VR stock legs conditioned.
You'll definitely need to develop muscle memory to get the most use out of the stock as possible.
The amount of time it takes to gain the needed muscle memory all depends on your coordination, for some it's within an hour, others it's a couple weeks.
Don't let your difficulty level deter you from using a stock, there's numerous advantages you can gain from a vr stock that you'd otherwise never have playing free-hand.
Ask For Help!
The VR community is a very wholesome and humble group of amazing people who want to see virtual reality, as a whole, grow to new heights. The more people out in our world enjoying vr games and gunstocks means more advancements in our industry!
If you ever feel stuck or need tips and advice, Reddit's VRGaming subreddit is filled with awesome folks who want to help.
As always you can reach out to us for recommendations or questions on our live chat or via email: info@olenvr.com
We're a small team but entirely dedicated to helping virtual reality gaming grow, not just the games but the people involved.
Now get out there, get your hands steady, and start shooting!