That’s really hard to answer. Personally, I’m extremely happy and wouldn’t want to play without eye and face tracking anymore. The same goes for the feedback from the beta testers, who’ve been using the hardware for several weeks now.

I obviously don’t have the funding or an engineering team to create a fully polished product like Meta, Bigscreen, or Apple can. But I can promise you that everything I sell is made and tested to the best of my knowledge and ability and not some half-done bullshit I'm not using myself.

If you want the absolute best, perfectly tuned eye tracking without any installation effort, this kit probably isn’t for you. You’re better off getting a Quest Pro or waiting for a headset that includes native eye and face tracking.

But if you’re looking for a way to add eye and face tracking to your Index with a reasonable amount of effort and you’re okay with a few quirks like blinking not being perfectly detected every time, then this project is exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s obviously hard for me to be fully objective, since it’s my own project. But I wouldn’t want to go back playing without eye and face tracking. The only upgrade that ever felt this impactful for me was going from half-body to full-body tracking in VRChat.

Sure, it can be a bit finicky at times, but once you have it, you’ll never want to play without it.

Performance can vary depending on the software you use, your face shape, lighting, facial hair, calibration or headset movement, so I can’t guarantee perfect results for everyone. For Baballoonia, the current capabilities and known limitations are as follows:

Eye:

• Eye movement – perfect, smooth, and reliable
• Blinking – works well with adjusted thresholds; short blinks may be missed but rarely noticeable
• Winking – mostly reliable with proper calibration
• Half-closed eyes – not supported
• Eyebrows – not supported

Face:

• Expressions like smiling, puffed/sucked cheeks, showing teeth, mouth opening, tongue movement (up/down/left/right), and more work extremely well
• Occasionally, mouth opening can trigger tongue detection, usually fixed by adjusting thresholds

No. This kit is made for social VR apps like VRChat, not for foveated rendering.

No. The mainboard and plastic parts are the most expensive components which you will need regardless, so splitting it into separate versions would barely change the price for you, and would make logistics messy for me.

https://facefocusvr.com/safety/

Yes. You can get all plastic parts for cheap via JLCPCB3D. LEDs and cameras can be replaced too, but you can only buy them from me since they’re custom-made. Replacement prices will be fair, but shipping outside the EU can be expensive.

No. It’s made for the Valve Index only.

VR Optician lenses will be supported for preorders; others hopefully later.

Yes, it has a small built-in fan. However, it’s weaker than the Kiwi one. You could 3D-print your own Kiwi mount, but that’s not officially supported.

Technically yes, but it makes no sense. The kit you buy already includes everything. Using both would just duplicate hardware.

Yes. It adds a passthrough USB port on the front that technically works, but it’s power-limited, so only use it if you really need to.

Hopefully Valve adds native tracking to the next headset, but I can’t see the future – if I could, I’d play blackjack, not VRChat.

You can enter your details in the form (https://forms.gle/AcVPiBrvvGV4uibz7). As soon as ordering or pre-ordering becomes available, expected around the end of November, you will be contacted by email.

Yes, https://shop.facefocusvr.com/. However, please see the question above to find out how you can place an order.

I wish it could be cheaper, but small-scale electronic production is just expensive.

Inside the EU it’s included in the price. Outside the EU (like USA), DHL will contact you for customs or VAT if needed. Check your local rules before ordering!

You’ll get an email notifying you when your order can be placed if you filled out the Google form. News and updates only on Discord.

No soldering, but you’ll have to remove the Index frunk and face gasket. Full guide: https://facefocusvr.com/instructions/

Maybe later, but not on release. The written guide already has tons of pictures and explains every step.

Depends on your understanding of plug and play. You don’t solder or hack anything, but you need to follow the setup guide and open your headset. It’s definitely more than just plugging in a USB stick, but nothing too crazy.

Yes, if you follow the guide it comes off cleanly without leaving any marks.

The LED PCB sits close to your face and isn’t sealed, so not really. However, if you break an LED ring, it’s user-replaceable and not too expensive. I haven’t seen any signs of sweat damage on my own setup, which has been used regularly (including Beat Saber) for months.

Black or transparent resin.

Yes, all 3D and PCB files will be free to download.

Each kit is tested before shipping so very unlikely, but if it fails inside the warranty window, it’ll be repaired or replaced. If you broke it yourself, please be honest and don't abuse the system.

It’s very unlikely that you’ll damage your Index, but no!

No, and please be honest when reporting things like that. I’ll do my best to help and offer replacement parts at my cost, but please don’t abuse the system.

1-year warranty, and replacements/repairs are handled generously as long as the system is not being abused.

General or technical questions → ONLY Discord (https://facefocusvr.com/discord)
Questions regarding your order → Email ([email protected])

Shopify handles store data (https://shop.facefocusvr.com/policies/privacy-policy). The tracking software I recommend works locally, nothing leaves your PC. From time to time, I may ask if you’re willing to share your eye/face data anonymously. This helps improve the AI model for tracking, which in turn leads to better tracking performance for everyone, including you. Of course, this is completely optional, though I strongly recommend it.

Quest 3 Hardware is planned, but don’t expect updates before 2027.

Yes, prototypes were already tested and improved based on feedback.

No free samples for ANYONE atm. This is a one-person project and I don't have the funds to just hand the hardware out for free. But everyone is very welcome to post videos and feedback.

If you already create content related to VR hardware, VRChat, or similar topics, early access might be possible. Please DM me with some background or examples of your work.

Yes! lol