![]() ![]() How would they work with current VR software? Would those big tracking rings hit my hands? Where was the Joystick version I’d previously seen? Pimax Sword and Sword Sense controllers (Image by Pimax, provided by Rob Cole) Why did Pimax ship their controller with Touchpads? Bought some spare controllers, but these then required RMA, too… More questions… I went through an unfortunate number of Index controllers during 2 years of warranty coverage as an EU customer, and whilst the RMAs were always handled as quickly as possible, this often meant weeks of downtime. Valve Index controller single £139 includes free shipping and taxĬould these provide a more robust alternative to the affordable, but relatively fragile Index controllers? Index controllers ready for RMA (Image provided by Rob Cole).Valve Index controller pair £259 includes free shipping and tax.Pimax Sword controller pair £313 includes paid shipping and tax.HTC Vive controller (2018) pair £386.00 includes free shipping and tax.HTC Vive controller (2018) single £193 includes free shipping and tax.This is the current SteamVR controller pricing in GBP (shipping to UK) at the time the article was written: Users finally have a third choice of SteamVR motion controllers, as it’s been 6 years since the release of Vive “Wand” controllers and over 3 years since the launch of the Index “Knuckles” controllers.Īs someone who has spent a lot of time using different PCVR controllers like Wands, Index, Windows MR, and different versions of Oculus Touch, I wondered: how would these Sword controllers compare? QuestionsĬould this new controller from Pimax provide a more affordable alternative to the robust but somewhat limited Vive controller? Touch-like controllers (Image provided by Rob Cole)ĭespite some misgivings about the lack of joysticks and going against the current 3-button layout, the release of Sword is genuinely good news for the SteamVR ecosystem and this shouldn’t be understated! Similarly to Touch though, Sword featured side mounted grip buttons and large triggers up front. “Variations on a theme…with input parity: 3 face buttons, joystick, side grip, trigger.” There also seemed to be a button missing, compared to the ‘Touch-like’ 3 button face input (A/B/Menu) used by many controllers to ensure parity with Meta’s now dominant control layout. (?!) With many games now catering for the popular free locomotion movement style, the lack of joysticks seemed an odd choice for a new controller in 2022. ![]() Immediately noticeable was that it had large trackpads, but no joysticks. Vividly presented images showed their striking new design with huge tracking rings and fabric hand straps, finished with a special blue coating advertised as being resistant to environmental contaminants. Perhaps a new SteamVR controller would finally be “just right”. Much as I’d enjoyed many experiences and games with the Vive and Index controllers, both had their own issues. The email from Pimax about their Sword controllers was welcome, especially because I’d recently been wondering if we’d ever see a new SteamVR motion controller. Kevin from Pimax explains where the name came from:ĭuring the development of the new controllers we joked the most popular prototype resembled a swashbuckling sword and the name stuck. The Sword controllers were something I’d certainly heard of but had somewhat forgotten about, until now. Getting electronics built at volume on time and at acceptable cost was proving difficult, and a number of development projects had sunk without trace or were seemingly stuck in perpetual Kickstarter mode. The World had since gone through the initial shock of the Covid Pandemic whilst dealing with the aftershocks many manufacturers were still suffering component shortages and rising costs, shipping delays, factory shutdowns caused by covid lockdowns, and power shortages. On the 11 th of May, I received an email from Pimax about their new “Sword” virtual reality motion controllers, which had finally become available to purchase, following a reveal way back in January 2019 at CES. Pimax Sword Controllers – review by Rob Cole for Skarredghost (Image provided by Rob Cole) Introduction
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