Oculus Rift

[Wennerholm 44]

   Hey! I am tempted to buy Oculus Rift. Is anyone already using this equipment with the B744? I guesses there will be trouble finding the accurate command keys on the keyboard. On my Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, I can find all the command buttons I need, even if I do not see them. I do not know a sh-t about Oculus Rift. I start my survey of Oculus Rift in this forum because I know that there are many competent people here.

[GCBraun 2,390]

Which keyboard commands are you referring to? I have a bunch of functions programmed with FSUIPC and LINDA to my Warthog and that helps a lot!You can also use the mouse to interact with switches/knobs.

Considering that the B744 performs really well, it is a blast to fly in VR.

Thiago Braun

[Wennerholm 44]

Thank´s for your reply! I do not use FSUIPC yet. I control all lights, APU, LOC, APP etc. with my keyboard. I will test to interact with switches and knobs. I have to decide if HTC Vive or Oculus Rift is what I need.

[GCBraun 2,390]

Also check the LINDA forums, as most controls for lights and other switches are easily configured with LINDA modules (everything is free). 

Regarding the HMD, I have the Oculus and it seems to be the best option for flight simulation in general because of the slightly better screen and controls (not used in P3D, but useable on XP11). 

[cavcpt 4]

Wenholt, 

 

Do not hesitate to purchase the Rift. Like GC stated above, the Oculus is generally considered the go-to HMD for VR flight simulation. I successfully use it for P3D, DCS , X-Plane, Aerofly, IL2, and when the mood hits me, even Truck Simulator. With the recent updates to both X-plane and P3D, you can easily transition between VR, Track IR, and traditional 2D as the situation dictates. In your example of the 747, I do 90% of my pre-flight work up "outside the VR hood" so I can more clearly manipulate the CDU, read my charts, etc. Before push back I'll go under the hood until comfortably at cruise and then come out again to rest the eyes, check fuel calculations, study for the approach and MAP, etc. Then back to VR for the remainder.   

Even if you choose to stay in the hood, its not difficult to manage. FSUIPC, Voice Attack, HOTAS, a gaming mouse, etc. can all make manipulating controls easy to perform while in VR. Finally, with a slight adjustment of the headset strap you can easily look down your nose at a kneeboard, keyboard, manual, etc.  Ultimately the benefits of VR far outweigh having to mitigate a few challenges. 

Stephen Luebbert

aka Cav

[himmelhorse 1,276]

Hello all,

I do not use VR in any shape or form so these remarks are totally unqualified.

Both Occulus and Vive appear to be much the same in resolutions and other specifications, and for me, it would appear to be a very hard choice between them.

Pimax is the one that caught my eye and even though it has yet to be released (this I believe, is planned for first quarter 2018) I have always felt that Pimax would be the one VR system to drag me, kicking and screaming, into modern 64 bit sims. I believe this will be offered in 2k, 4k and 8k resolutions and with a very much better field of view. All of this could be pre-release propoganda of course, including the release dates and we should take that into consideration.

Given the above why would the patient people among us (not many I guess) wait just a little longer for something, that  has the potential , at least, to be the pick of the bunch. The only downside is the fact that with these specifications, it also has an extreme potential to be the most expensive.

Any thoughts??

Regards

Tony

[Smasher77th 13]

I'd say go for the Samsung HMD Odyssey because it has better resolution (1600 x 1440) on each eye

[GCBraun 2,390]

9 hours ago, himmelhorse said:

Hello all,

I do not use VR in any shape or form so these remarks are totally unqualified.

Both Occulus and Vive appear to be much the same in resolutions and other specifications, and for me, it would appear to be a very hard choice between them.

Pimax is the one that caught my eye and even though it has yet to be released (this I believe, is planned for first quarter 2018) I have always felt that Pimax would be the one VR system to drag me, kicking and screaming, into modern 64 bit sims. I believe this will be offered in 2k, 4k and 8k resolutions and with a very much better field of view. All of this could be pre-release propoganda of course, including the release dates and we should take that into consideration.

Given the above why would the patient people among us (not many I guess) wait just a little longer for something, that  has the potential , at least, to be the pick of the bunch. The only downside is the fact that with these specifications, it also has an extreme potential to be the most expensive.

Any thoughts??

Regards

Tony

There is already an older Pimax 4K available to purchase, but it is an incomplete solution without touch controls and head tracking. The newer versions may or may not be released in the next months (it is a kickstarter project after all). I think getting a Rift now may be a good choice to test the technology out, considering that it works out of the box with all the simulators and its price has reduced dramatically.

I must say that, after configuring it to supersample at 1,6/1,8, I do not have major difficulties reading the gauges. Sometimes I do need to lean or move inside the cockpit using chaseplane, but that is not a huge burden and something that can happen even in real life. 

 

55 minutes ago, Smasher77th said:

I'd say go for the Samsung HMD Odyssey because it has better resolution (1600 x 1440) on each eye

The new Windows Mixed Reality displays are not 100% supported by P3D/XP11 and, while usable, you may need to revert to hacks and not get a fulfilling experience in the end. 

Thiago Braun

[YukonPete 580]

14 hours ago, Wenholt said:

   Hey! I am tempted to buy Oculus Rift. Is anyone already using this equipment with the B744? I guesses there will be trouble finding the accurate command keys on the keyboard. On my Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, I can find all the command buttons I need, even if I do not see them. I do not know a sh-t about Oculus Rift. I start my survey of Oculus Rift in this forum because I know that there are many competent people here.

I would hold off a few years. VR is terrible at the moment. The resolution is terrible and its difficult to read gauges. Anything off in the distance looks fuzzy.  Lots of people on these forums buy and sell there VR unites months later as it is bad!

[GCBraun 2,390]

7 minutes ago, YukonPete said:

I would hold off a few years. VR is terrible at the moment. The resolution is terrible and its difficult to read gauges. Anything off in the distance looks fuzzy.  Lots of people on these forums buy and sell there VR unites months later as it is bad!

It is not terrible. I have been used VR for over a year now and would never go back flying in a Monitor only. The fact that all platforms implemented native VR and that the number of units sold is growing exponentially shows that while the technology can improve, it is already more than good enough. 

To the OP, you can always buy a Rift, try it for a while an return it if you feel it is not for you. 

[YukonPete 580]

10 minutes ago, GCBraun said:

It is not terrible. I have been used VR for over a year now and would never go back flying in a Monitor only. The fact that all platforms implemented native VR and that the number of units sold is growing exponentially shows that while the technology can improve, it is already more than good enough. 

To the OP, you can always buy a Rift, try it for a while an return it if you feel it is not for you. 

The resolution is terrible so reading the gauges is difficult and you can see the pixel mesh and you say its not terrible? You must have a very low standard. Is VR the future? Probably but not in its current form! Just because the current platforms have implemented VR doesn't mean its good yet. It is still early days.

[GCBraun 2,390]

3 minutes ago, YukonPete said:

The resolution is terrible so reading the gauges is difficult and you can see the pixel mesh and you say its not terrible? You must have a very low standard. Is VR the future? Probably but not in its current form! Just because the current platforms have implemented VR doesn't mean its good yet. It is still early days.

Well, I am not sure I have a low standard, considering that I own basically every study-sim aircraft for all the platforms available.

As I said, if you Supersample (something that I do not know if you are aware of and if your hardware is capable), the most important gauges are readable. If you think it is hard to fly a 777 or 747, then use the NGX or Dash-8, both of which have HUDs that make VR flying even more immersive.

You have every right to decide that VR is not for you at the moment, but please do not make that conclusion for others or state that someone that is happy with VR has "low standards"s. You just do not know me...

[himmelhorse 1,276]

Thiago,

A really great and informative response. VR is a concept that I am seriously going to consider in the near future. This is mainly due to the fact that I do not think I can ever operate any platform other than fs2004 using 6 monitors utilising ANY of the current hardware.

Sad really, as I really do get an incredible sense of immersion using this configuration and I am so used to it that using fewer monitors is not a consideration. VR may well put a stop to my nonsense and really let me enjoy P3Dv4 and XPlane 11.

Is there any perceptible difference to the Occulus and the Vive (including controllers) ie resolution and field of view?

I am extremely apprehensive about this move and I attribute this to my age, because 10 years ago I would have jumped in rapidly, and, probably without forethought. Today things are different and when I have already spent more on hardware than software, change comes reluctantly.

So for now, the more information the better and I think you have made a great contribution. I still think though, that a wait and see what Pimax is going to present to us and at what prices is going to be prudent, at least for myself.

 

Adrian123,

2-4 years may be a bit of a stretch if Pimax are not telling fibs and release 4 or 8k in the first quarter of 2018.  As Thiago says it will largely be dependent on what is offered with it and how true their specifications are when eventually released. Also as stated in this and other VR threads, many simmers are very very happy wioth their "low res???" Occulus rift or Vive setups. i would suggest, if you have not already done so and have the resources in your area, to try it and see. For me, this is not an option as freight charges would be at least half the oriuginal cost and then I have NON refundable custom duties to pay on top. I recently bought a GPU from Amazon which cost US700  and eventually cost me AUD1500.00 (with all the charges) It turned out to be an incorrect item and I returned it. The customs duty on that was AUD301 and cost me a further AUD304 for the correct item when that was sent. Just be aware of returning an item from a foreign country.

Cheers

Tony

[GCBraun 2,390]

32 minutes ago, himmelhorse said:

Thiago,

A really great and informative response. VR is a concept that I am seriously going to consider in the near future. This is mainly due to the fact that I do not think I can ever operate any platform other than fs2004 using 6 monitors utilising ANY of the current hardware.

Sad really, as I really do get an incredible sense of immersion using this configuration and I am so used to it that using fewer monitors is not a consideration. VR may well put a stop to my nonsense and really let me enjoy P3Dv4 and XPlane 11.

Is there any perceptible difference to the Occulus and the Vive (including controllers) ie resolution and field of view?

I am extremely apprehensive about this move and I attribute this to my age, because 10 years ago I would have jumped in rapidly, and, probably without forethought. Today things are different and when I have already spent more on hardware than software, change comes reluctantly.

So for now, the more information the better and I think you have made a great contribution. I still think though, that a wait and see what Pimax is going to present to us and at what prices is going to be prudent, at least for myself.

 

Adrian123,

2-4 years may be a bit of a stretch if Pimax are not telling fibs and release 4 or 8k in the first quarter of 2018.  As Thiago says it will largely be dependent on what is offered with it and how true their specifications are when eventually released. Also as stated in this and other VR threads, many simmers are very very happy wioth their "low res???" Occulus rift or Vive setups. i would suggest, if you have not already done so and have the resources in your area, to try it and see. For me, this is not an option as freight charges would be at least half the oriuginal cost and then I have NON refundable custom duties to pay on top. I recently bought a GPU from Amazon which cost US700  and eventually cost me AUD1500.00 (with all the charges) It turned out to be an incorrect item and I returned it. The customs duty on that was AUD301 and cost me a further AUD304 for the correct item when that was sent. Just be aware of returning an item from a foreign country.

Cheers

Tony

Hi Tony, thank you for the kind compliments. I do not have the Vive. From what I could research, it seems that the Rift has a somewhat better screen and more functional touch controlers. The Vive, on the other hand has, a slightly bigger FOV. The fact that the Rift is much cheaper than the Vive, leads me to believe that, at least for flight simming, the Rift is the best choice at the moment.

There are, as you already stated, other variables to take into consideration. The VR market is booming and multiple new headsets are being released. Besides the Windows Mixed Reality Devices and the Pimax, if you check HTC`s latest tweet, there seems to be some incoming announcement on a VR product with increased resolution that is being made in the next days on CES.

I was in contact with an Australian developer the other day, and he said it was very difficult to test these devices in his region. It seems that you echo his concerns! If you have easy access to Amazon and its prime delivery, I say you could buy one, test for a week, and return it without any extra costs if you don`t like it. On your case, it seems it is a really more complicated than that, so perhaps the best option for you is to wait a bit?

[G-RFRY 1,705]

I think VR need`s improving the cost is also holding it back, VR makes up just about 1% of gaming at the moment at the moment it`s a niche market.