It didn’t take much for me to justify $350 for an Oculus Rift DK2—after all, I told myself, the consumer version of the virtual reality headset won’t be out for a year or so, and I’ve spent far more on video cards that I’ve kept for less time before upgrading.

Don’t think about the credit card. Just hit the purchase button.

So I did, and now I’m pretty sure my eyeballs are going to fall out of my head.

Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration. However, I most definitely am running into some weird issues with how the device’s 1920x1080 Samsung AMOLED display affects my everyday vision. With the Rift fitted properly against my face, the normally too-tiny-to-see pixel grid of the display is clearly visible, and staring at that grid for hours at a time is burning the pattern into my retinas, like a Pac-Man maze making a permanent impression on a CRT monitor.

One problem with describing issues like this is that the Rift is a lot like the Matrix: you kind of have to see it for yourself. There’s no really good way to capture in still pictures or video exactly what wearers see when they strap one of these things to their faces (this site when set to 1920x1080 and low persistence has a fair approximation of what the Rift DK2 looks like, but it’s not quite right—the pixels stand out a lot more). So, unfortunately, I can’t actually show you what I’m seeing when I close my eyes right now, but I’ll try to describe it.

I’ve been playing Elite: Dangerous, which to me offers the most compelling Oculus Rift experience currently available. The game’s developers spent a great deal of time ensuring that the latest Elite beta works well with the Rift, and the results are jaw-dropping—it feels like you’re sitting in a spaceship. You look around and the cockpit has weight and depth. You can turn around and look over your shoulder at the hallway door behind you. You can crane your neck and peer through your roof window to get an idea of what’s above and behind your ship. It’s just bloody amazing.

It’s so amazing, in fact, that I’ve been spending many, many hours immersed in the game, running missions and trading and upgrading my ship. The sense of immersiveness and sheer presence that the Rift gives makes even mundane tasks like running cargo between two outposts an awesome experience. With the Rift on my face, time just flies.

But even 1920x1080 isn’t that high a resolution when the screen is centimeters from your eyes, and the lenses necessary to focus the screen make it look like you’re sitting inches from a TV (as many of us oldsters used to do when watching Saturday morning cartoons). The individual pixel elements of the screen are clearly visible in a grid or "screen door" pattern. The image itself is quite fluid as it changes, but the bright dots making up the picture themselves don’t move.

I can still faintly see this grid right now when I squeeze my eyes shut, in spite of the fact that I’ve had a solid night’s sleep. It’s superimposed over the usual retina noise I get when I close my eyes—or perhaps it’s better to say that it’s a very prominent part of the noise. It’s definitely less prominent than it was last night after a five-hour gaming session, but it’s still there.

As Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has told me, this should only be a temporary problem; the current Rift DK2 is already hopelessly outclassed by newer prototypes from Oculus. The consumer version, when it eventually launches, should look even better, with an ultra high-resolution display that won’t have any (or very little) noticeable screen-dooring. However, at least for now, don’t stare too hard or too long into the Rift DK2—it’ll do freaky things to your vision.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go. My Cobra Mk III is fueled up, and this consignment of superconductors isn’t going to deliver itself.