We’re excited to announce that an elaborated Pimax Store is now officially LIVE , it has the upgraded PiTool and along with amazing VR games that selected by Pimax.
Here are the surprises that we prepared for you:
A FREE Mystery Game!
Games that are specifically Optimized for Pimax headset!
Does it still require forced login? Then I will skip it untill PIMAX recognizes and accepts, there is not always a stable internet connection. Even Steam does not require to be online all the time, besides transactions or online mode games.
I fear, the new 12KX will require this client. Then I am out.
PIMAX team, please consider, this is not industrial level, where you can force companies to accept online heartbeat license services, where you can just shut it down if you like. But it is still consumer level product. If you follow the evil google pathway like FitBit wearables etc., you may lose customers. If you think, institutional users will substitute enthusiasts, there is still the issue with internet connection not always accessible or reliable.
I will not accept the need for hacks or circumvention methods but a standard solution to use my headset always offline.
I miss an official statement about it.
If you do not provide a quick answer soon, I will freeze my software version, block all internet traffic to PIMAX and may have a look into it after two years or later, if.
I still like the way Pitool is. I like a nice small light thing to run next to Steam and Steam VR.
Is it still possible to just use Pitool?
I also prefer the way Pitool looks. I don’t like the black and dark grey colour schemes all software these days has. It’s depressing.
Right now it is, and I suspect for Vision series headsets it will work for a long time yet. I’m guessing Reality series headsets will require Pimax Client rather than Pitool though.
Didn’t work with the version I had installed before. With the new revision it seems to start in offline mode now again. Good! (It still phones home at startup which isn’t optimal - but when it works in offline mode then one can block the ports, so it’s okish in my book)
Is this so? Can you confirm, once activated, no more login required, even after a reboot or closing all progs or logoff? Does it run without internet connection? can you confirm? If not…
Edit: If you do not want to use the shop, but are urged to register and login, that´s still awfull and kind of blackmailing.
Yepp, just checked it (disconnected from wifi). One still has to be logged in (which was better before), but it doesn’t seem to demand an online connection during startup or even permanently.
What I don’t know is whether the locally stored credentials will expire at some point, so one has to go online once every few days or so. I hope not!
And I also haven’t investigated whether it collects usage information offline and sends all that to Pimax at next opportunity.
But if there are no Pimax Experience cloud profiles anymore then I see no reason not to block the client in the firewall anyways. So I’ll find out soon whether the login expires.
Thanks for checking and confirming.
But: If you do not want to use the shop, but are urged to register and login, that´s still awfull and kind of blackmailing. I do not like.
I do not accept to login, just to use my headset, even if it is once. It´s a dealbreaker for me.
Yes, was better before - having a clear separation between what is needed to run the headset and the app shops.
But what is the important part at least for me is that there should be no data collection happening that is associated to a user account.
Shouldn’t be a deal breaker though. As the client can also make filing support tickets with if not implemented yet by also collecting log files for a user to review and include with the ticket if tech related.
Agreed it should be optional to participate in usage data sharing and in some regions also a requirement to fully disclose what is shared anonymously or not.
I don’t know what’s the big deal about auto log in. Isn’t that what other software done the same like Steam and Vive? I don’t mind that it auto log in…it’s just convenient. So, I don’t get why you’re whining.
The main issue is separation of concerns - one needs to have an account to buy a game in most online stores. And some activation based DRM needs the PC to be online at least once. And to play an online game one needs and account and - well, be online. Same for social media, for cloud storage, for asking an online navigation service whether to go left or right etc.
It starts to get a problem when more and more of these things are offered under the same umbrella. You start to be at the mercy of this vendor, if they ban you for whatever justified or unjustified reason you lose everything related to that account. And they can correlate all the data from different sources and create more and more detailled profiles. Profiles that not only get bigger but that don’t only exist here and now but also for the unforeseeable future - in situations and with possibilities that are hard to predict.
So long story short: The best way to protect against data misuse is to prevent unnecessary data collection in the first place.
And it is completely unnecessary to be logged in to use a headset. The issue just comes up mainly from the mixup with the shop.
P.S.: You are right that Steam tries to be online shop, DRM, social media plattform and more at the same time. Which is the reason why Steam is the last option I consider when buying a game. Same with Meta and Bytedance.
At least for me one important aspect of using a Pimax headset is to be an alternative to the companies that are mostly in the VR and AR game to collect data (subsidizing their hardware like crazy). If Pimax tries to join that club then this advantage would be gone.
