Samsung Odyssey+ for use with P3D and Cabri G2

[Brianl 2]

Hi folks, I have a request for information and hope you can help. Background first. I'm a long term glider pilot from Hus Bos. 4 years ago my wife got me a trial lesson in a Shweitzer 300CBi and I've been flying it since. I recently converted to the Guimbal Cabri G2. I use a sim for all my practice flying (affordable) and have the G2 available on P3D v4.2. The PC is good and modern and gives good frame rates with Orbx high res scenery. I've got 3 identical flat screen displays (1920x1080), L & R landscape for side window views and centre portrait for forward & some of the instrument panel - all OK within reason. BUT imagine all the gaps between the 3 displays. All the missing areas that a real pilot should be scanning during flight, including the sky, the tip-plane, the ground for nav and all the out of sight instruments inc GPS radio and xponder. Hence my desire to move from the limited displays to a VR headset.

Enough of the background, down to the questions. I've got a lot to ask and it will take a while. I'll understand if people lose patience. Hopefufully some will provide some answers.

It would be nice to think that once the Odyssey+ arrives all I have to do is follow the instructions to plug it into my PC and turn it on. Then commission it, turn on P3D as normal and select the usual Cabri G2 default flight at Beccles and, wonder of wonders, find myself in what appears to be the pilot's seat of the real helicopter with everything that I'm used to on the sim all around me. Just like it (nearly) is on my 3 current flat screens. Then all I'll need to do is go through the pre-flight checklist, pressing all the right buttons, turning all the right knobs and flicking all the right switches to get the rotors turning. Then fly! But I've got a horrible feeling it won't be that easy. I've seen mention that I'll need Steam before I can start. And FlyInside. And although my Cabri G2 works perfectly with P3D, will it be happy in the Samsung Odyssey+ VR headset? Oh and by the way does it matter what I turn on first? The PC, the VR kit, WMR, Hill House, etc etc?

Folks, I think it will be some time before the Samsung Odyssey+ becomes available here in sunny East Anglia England. Time maybe for someone to provide a bit of guidance on what I might need to do when the box arrives. Here's hoping.

All the best,

Brian

[whitav8 98]

@Brian,

      You have reason to wonder whether it will be easy to setup - it might be and maybe... Well, I suggest you get a lot of ideas from reddit  Reddit - Windows Mixed Reality (which is what you will run with Odyssey+). You don't say what your PC is but if you are getting reasonable frame rates on three screens (separate views, not NvSurround) then you might be OK. I have a brand new PC with a 5Ghz i9 CPU, an Nvidia 2070 GPU, P3D on a fast SSD, and brand new motherboard with USB3.0 ports and running Version 1809 of WIndows 10 - along with my Odyssey+   With all of that, I had a fairly easy time of getting going with P3Dv4.4 (set with Single-pass VR) and I am able to run medium graphics settings (minimal shadows and 2xMSAA) in low density photoreal scenery (no major cities or airports nearby)at 45 fps. This 45 fps requires the forum discussed edit of the following file:

XXX:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\MixedRealityVRDriver\resources\settings\default.vrsettings to read:

    // DHW - was 1.0 but 2.0 and SteamVR Manual override SuperSampling set at 200% is much more clear for instrument panels
    "driver_Holographic" : {
        "renderTargetScale" : 2.0
    },
    "driver_Holographic_Experimental" : {
        // Motion reprojection doubles framerate through motion vector extrapolation 
        //     motionvector = force application to always run at half framerate with motion vector reprojection
        //     auto         = automatically use motion reprojection when the application can not maintain native framerate

     // DHW The next line is commented out by default and should be for sims/games other than P3D
         "motionReprojectionMode" : "motionvector",

You will need to install Windows Mixed Reality Portal unless it came with your WIndows 10 update. Then Steam and Steam VR, AND SteamVR Mixed Reality plugin.  I start these applications first and make sure that all is well with the image of the Steam VR "Home room". I may have started P3D already and position myself with the scenario of choice in a non-VR mode. I use a HOTAS joystick (mine is the PS4 version of the Thrustmaster HOTAS.X) so I can use buttons for pitch trim, brakes, flaps, gear, speedbrakes, and HMD - Recalibrate Origin. A check of FPS should show above 100 before I go to VR Mode - which I do by using the Virtual Reality Tab of P3D and select SteamVR. The monitor screen should show two images and the FPS should be right at 45 which shows that the SteamVR reprojection mode is on and is providing half of 90fps "sync". Your flight should now be fairly fluid and the view is tremendous (but somewhat less clear than a monitor) - enjoy!

As you can see from the Reddit forums, there are many folks having troubles with their headset working right out of the box because of HDMI or USB problems. I suggest getting those solved first before any hope for P3D. 

Best wishes

Dave W.

[Brianl 2]

Dear Whitav8,

Just a very quick thanks Dave for your response. I'll be studying your points carefully next. Will report back as things develop.

Cheers,

Brian

[Guest]

My experience with the Odyssey+ flying the Aerosoft Discus X is totally real. It is like you are there. I found that I fly the glider just exactly like I would fly real glider. I wasn't even really fully aware that I was not really flying in the sim the way I would in reality. Only really became aware of the difference in the way I engaged sim flying vs real flying. I would go so far as to say that you haven't really simulated flying until you have done it in VR. I have had some experience in 737NG full flight deck simulator and I would say that the VR experience is more immersive.

Once your headset arrives your in for a disappointment if you discover that your GPU has only one HDMI port. You will need to have one monitor plugged into your GPU and your Samsung Odyssey+ will also need a HDMI port. 

My 980ti only has one HDMI port so once the headset arrived had to wait until I got my hands on a display port to HDMI adapter. Since you have 3 monitor you may already have one or two of those.

Initially I though I needed a Display Port to HDMI adapter that would meet the requirements of the Samsung Odyssey but in fact I ended up plugging my Monitor into the GPU via the display port adapter and plugged the Odyssey+ into the GPU's HDMI port.

Once I got past that obstacle the fun began. You might want to run the WMR app to determine if you system is VR ready.

Welcome to the club😁

[Brianl 2]

 Thanks for your response Avidean, very interesting. First, the Discuss. I did a type rating on the Discuss 22 years ago at Hus Bos followed by 3 hours in good lift. That was a glider with a glide angle of ~42:1 as I remember it. Are we talking about the same airctaft? As to your comments about enjoyment on the sim, not noticing the difference much and pleasure on the sim, I've been seeing that for years with sim flying and I think I understand why and it's not just the cost difference. In all my flight hours I can't honestly say that I enjoyed much of the flying! Almost all time was spent preoccupied with necessary scans: for conflicting traffic, suitable fields, where's the airfield(s), the next likely thermal, instruments. I don't ever remember relaxing and just enjoying a flight. All the enjoyment, LOADS of it, came from pre-flight planning and post-flight reviews. But the sim, even now without VR goggles, lets me enjoy each flight while it happens.

I'll be OK for display cnnectors on the PC as you guessef from my current 3 (HDMI) displays. I've done the WMR check from Microsoft and the PC has been given a green tick. Frame rates are fine on the 3 displays & I think should be fine in WMR, fingers crossed on that one.

What have you found about other comments on the need for Steam and FlyInside (etc)? Does the Odyssey+ go OK without these?

And once it's all turned on are you able to just look all around you and see what you would expect to see in the real Discuss? I've tried an Occulus Rift in John Lewis but, not surprisingly, they didn't have a flight sim available so I'm still not really sure what to expect. Not even if my Dream Studio Cabri G2 for P3D will work with the Samsung Odyssey+.

Looking forward to your feedback. And maybe some info on your real life flying.

All the best,

Brian

[Guest]

I don't see any reason why you Cabri G2 wouldn't work in VR so long as it has a virtual cockpit. The one thing I did notice is that 2D textures for objects in the VC that are actually 3D in reality might stand out a bit like a sore thumb in the 3D environment of VR. I notices this even in the NGX. But that's not eve close to being a deal breaker.

You will need SteamVR for P3D and XP11 but I don't use flyinside. I understand that it is less relivant now that P3D's native VR support has been improved.

So I should say that I have never flown a real Discus. I regularly flew a Jantar Standard 2. (That's me in the avatar flying said sailplane 😀). So I'll qualify that the experience of flying the Aerosoft glider Discus X in VR is very much like flying a real glass sailplane whereas flying it on a screen is not at all like flying the real thing. Once you experience is you will now what I mean. Actually, there is one caviat. looking to the left or right in the Discus in VR results in the clipping of the canopy. i.e. your view cuts through the canopy. This is a real immersion killer but its fixable and I just haven't gotten around to fixing it. Hopefully I'll sort that out tonight. It also happens with the A2A Spitfire. I think the scale of the pilot vs the aircraft is a little of and that's why that happens. I am sure its fixable. I would recommend the Aerosoft glider discus X. I am kind of annoyed at Aerosoft for not keeping it up to date and I am not a fan of Aerosoft in general but if you are a glider pilot and especially if you have flown a real Discus its a must have. Glider for P3D are slim pickings. I can't see any seasoned glider pilots really being interested in their K21. Who wants to fly a K21? Not me. I want a an ASG29. I'd settle for an ASW 27 or 28. I want legs and speed 😁

You probably know of Condor2 The competition soaring simulator which is now VR compatible. I was going to take advantage of the ORBX sale but I've decided to get Condor2 instead. I flew many online races in the Original condor and even won a few of them. Its a blast! Can't wait to try it in VR.

The may aggravations I had at the outset with VR where: 1. Recalibrate Origin. Map it to the a button on your joy stick. Chances are that after you start the scenario and put the Head set on you will not be oriented in the cock pit correctly. Ignore the view and sit straight and look straight ahead then press the Recalibrate Origin button and you will be looking straight ahead from the pilots point of view in the cockpit. 2. Their is a small translucent sphere in the view. You use it to select switches and to highlight instruments in the panel. It can either be controlled by your head movement or mouse movements depending on what you select under VR setting in the P3D ALT Menu.(Menu that appears across the top of screen when you press ALT.)

The other main problem I had what getting the VC sounds to work in A2A aircraft. You have to select the sound device from A2A under the addons tab again in the ALT menu. It also requires a restart.

Also I found that sometimes that setting didn't seem to take if the sim loses focus.

Anyway, that's about it.

It sounds like you where flying gliders in busy airspace. It wasn't to bad where I flew. Sure you always have to be on the look out for traffic and be able to chose primary and secondary land out feilds. So long as I was above 2000' agl I wasn't to concerned about where I was going to land. I flew over rural Ontario farmland and there where lots of options. I only landed out once in my gliding career. I lost my medical a couple of years ago due to a heart issue so my soaring career was cut short. Regrettably before a point where I would have considered myself as having "arrived". I got my FAI silver badge and I was looking for an FAI Gold badge which requires a 300km flight which I never achieved. The gold badge is the plateau. If you can do that everything after that is gravy.

[Brianl 2]

 Thanks for your response Avidean, very interesting. First, the Discuss. I did a type rating on the Discuss 22 years ago at Hus Bos followed by 3 hours in good lift. That was a glider with a glide angle of ~42:1 as I remember it. Are we talking about the same airctaft? As to your comments about enjoyment on the sim, not noticing the difference much and pleasure on the sim, I've been seeing that for years with sim flying and I think I understand why and it's not just the cost difference. In all my flight hours I can't honestly say that I enjoyed much of the flying! Almost all time was spent preoccupied with necessary scans: for conflicting traffic, suitable fields, where's the airfield(s), the next likely thermal, instruments. I don't ever remember relaxing and just enjoying a flight. All the enjoyment, LOADS of it, came from pre-flight planning and post-flight reviews. But the sim, even now without VR goggles, lets me enjoy each flight while it happens.

I'll be OK for display cnnectors on the PC as you guessef from my current 3 (HDMI) displays. I've done the WMR check from Microsoft and the PC has been given a green tick. Frame rates are fine on the 3 displays & I think should be fine in WMR, fingers crossed on that one.

What have you found about other comments on the need for Steam and FlyInside (etc)? Does the Odyssey+ go OK without these?

And once it's all turned on are you able to just look all around you and see what you would expect to see in the real Discuss? I've tried an Occulus Rift in John Lewis but, not surprisingly, they didn't have a flight sim available so I'm still not really sure what to expect. Not even if my Dream Studio Cabri G2 for P3D will work with the Samsung Odyssey+.

Looking forward to your feedback. And maybe some info on your real life flying.

All the best,

Brian

[Brianl 2]

Many thanks Avidean for all the information - exactly what I hoped for. I'm having great trouble with this thread at the moment so will keep this short, before I lose more attempted messages.

Last question: if you bend forward toowards your sim Discuss X instrument panel, is the resolution on the Odyssey good enough to let you read the mB subscale on your altimeter?

I'll be in touch when the link looks more reliable..

Regards,

Brian

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Brianl said:

Last question: if you bend forward toowards your sim Discuss X instrument panel, is the resolution on the Odyssey good enough to let you read the mB subscale on your altimeter?

AS far as I can remember, yes, but I'll check that for you next time I'm in there. I recall that the small text on all instruments are perfectly sharp when you lean in and you can lean right in up close if you need to. There is one is on issue in VR that I should warn you about as far as the Discus is concerned and that is Canopy Clipping. Basically the Plane of you view cuts through the canopy when you look around. I have been able to reduce it slightly but apparently it cannot be illuminated. It's quite the immersion killer!

I'm sure you won't see it in you Helicopter. It seems to apply only to aircraft with very cramped cockpits and canopy's. There are other issue with the Aerosoft Discus in P3D. Some sounds are missing and you cannot adjust volume or turn of the variometer  sound. Also the vario is not total energy so you will get stick lift. I have never had the time to site down with the manual and figure it all out!

I do intend to get into some serious soaring simulation though. Bit I will be using Condor2 "The competition soaring simulator". It is now VR ready and I expect its going to wipe the floor with P3D or XP11 as far as VR gliding is concerned.

[Brianl 2]

Thanks again Avidean. What you've said fills in so many gaps. I don't feel free to continue our discussion on gliding here, thread time is like ATC time - valuable for essentials but not chatter. There's lots I'd like to discuss if you're interested. You can reach me on littlewood69@btinternet.com if you want and the admin people let this through.

I'll keep this thread open if the people in charge let me in case anyone else has comments. Maybe I'll hear from you again here anyway, hope so. As to your Gold and the licence, what a shame. But doing what you're doing now isn't that far off is it? And it's a word not allowed sight easier than arranging a retrieve after a land out!

Cheers,

Brian