Hi all,

As the title states, I am about to re-enter VR after I decided it was not for me about 5 years ago when I tried the Oculus Rift (CV1). Back then, while I was initially very impressed by the 3d presence that VR makes possible, I was turned down by the low resolution. I couldn't read the gauges or recognize a runway in the distance, so things like that made me return the Rift and decided to wait for the next generation. Even though the resolution was low the VR experience convinced me that this is where I need to be in the future when hardware allows. Flying on a 2D screen can be easier especially for IFR flying where I need to check maps, dial frequencies fast etc, but with all these conveniences its not as immersive as VR by any means.

So, yesterday I placed an order on Amazon for the Reverb G2 + Controllers. I can't hide you that I still have reservations about if I will be satisfied this time. especially after I read many posts here of people returning their G2 and complaining that the resolution is still not good enough. I am a bit confused to be honest. Nearly all people on YouTube say that the resolution is stunning and the image is very sharp and I am aware of the sweet spot issue.

I am aware that it won't be 4K quality, but am I also aware that VR is the best way to simulate the flight experience from the convenience of your desk. What is your view after you have used the G2? Would you recommend that the resolution is still not good enough for IFR flight simming? I use all simulators (P3D, XP, MSFS, DCS).

Edited July 3, 20214 yr by ComSimPilot

Simulator flying is still (and will probably be for several more years) a compromise between screen resolution and immersion. I decoded to give VR a go almost two years ago. Based on my RW flying (I hold a PPL and fly low-performance piston engine airplanes) I wanted something as close to the real cockpit feel as possible. I bought the Oculus Rift S along with an RTX2070 Super. The result exceeded my expectations by far and there is definitely no way back. Virtual flying on a flat screen is so far from the reality, that I did not do a single flight without VR since.

As I said, it is still a compromise. The resolution is limited (not so much with your Reverb G2), but the immersion gain is by far bigger than the loss through the limited resolution. I use my VR setup with P3DV4 and with MSFS and I improve the visuals of my Rift S by using a super sampling rate of 1.5 to 1.6.

I love the Reverb, even my G1.Whether it’s DCS, MSFS or P3D 5.2. I can get pretty good performance out of them all with a bit of filling around. MSFS is probably the least smooth of them all because the visuals are the most outstanding but come the end of the month you can now expect that to come up to spec too if you have a half decent rig. 

I fly professionally and I don’t see how people can do the pancake thing these days. Sure, I’ll look forward to the Pimax like FOV when the pixel density on that comes up to that of something liege the Reverb. In the meantime I am constantly amazed at the excellent SA that VR gives you.

I did a dual flameout landing in the 320 the other day and landed back in NZQN after takeoff. The ability to get a completely realistic perspective of your time and space is unmatched. 

Thank you very much guys. It means a lot when it comes from professionals/real-world pilots. My Reverb G2 comes at the end of this week and I can't wait to try it out and find the sweet-spot for settings for my hardware. When I returned my Oculus Rift it was a mixed feeling. I knew I'd be losing the unique 3D feeling that no screen can replicate but due to the low resolution I couldn't use it in flight sim. With what I'm reading about the G2, this seems to have been solved. Also this headset hardware is in front of the current computer hardware. When we'll be able to run the G2 at 90 fps in flight sim then I will start looking at better higher resolution headsets and I bet this will take a good number of years to have justified the cost for the G2. 

I'll post my impressions a few days after I have tested it enough in all my sims. 

Edited July 4, 20214 yr by ComSimPilot

On 7/4/2021 at 7:47 PM, ComSimPilot said:

Thank you very much guys. It means a lot when it comes from professionals/real-world pilots. My Reverb G2 comes at the end of this week and I can't wait to try it out and find the sweet-spot for settings for my hardware. When I returned my Oculus Rift it was a mixed feeling. I knew I'd be losing the unique 3D feeling that no screen can replicate but due to the low resolution I couldn't use it in flight sim. With what I'm reading about the G2, this seems to have been solved. Also this headset hardware is in front of the current computer hardware. When we'll be able to run the G2 at 90 fps in flight sim then I will start looking at better higher resolution headsets and I bet this will take a good number of years to have justified the cost for the G2. 

I'll post my impressions a few days after I have tested it enough in all my sims. 

No problem, I didn’t have any particular problem setting up my Gen 1 but it seems that plenty of people have. You’ve probably seen websites such as vr4dcs.com for example which can be a great resource for optimisation if not troubleshooting. 
 

I believe you’ll love it. Have fun. 

Unfortunately I had to also return to G2 in my case. But this time it was a much harder decision. It seems to me it boils down to three things:

• What monitor resolution you was used in using before VR
• What type of flying you do in VR
• How much limitations of current VR bother you

For me, it was like this:

• I was using a 2K ultrawide display before VR. Even at 2K, the clarity of everything is a huge jump from the Reverb G2. Even though some people referred to the G2 as "4K clarity" for me it was more like 720p. I could certainly read everything in the cockpit in the sweet-spot, and it was indeed a big jump from the original Rift I had tried before. So clarity wise in the cockpit, was not a problem although not even close to a screen level pixel density. 
• The type of flying is an important one. For someone flying GA or light aircraft in MSFS for example, the G2 is perfect. The instruments are usually very close to the pilot view so even outside of the sweet-spot you can read everything. However for me who is flying mostly airliners that include several displays, these are located more far away from the pilot's eye. So, you have to constantly move your head to read numbers and indications that in a monitor you read those instantaneously by moving your eyeball while keeping your eye in the runway for example. 
• By limitations of current VR I refer to the sweet-spot which I already explained but not only. So, another feature that bothered me a lot was the colors. The colors are not as vibrant and alive as in my monitor. Instead they are more washed out and in combination with the lower pixel density, it didn't seemed as alive to be in the VR environment. The lower resolution became more bothering for me outside the cockpit as there are even less pixels. Certainly enough to fly realistically but not as immersive as if you could have more pixel density.

Besides all that, I can certainly say that the G2 is perfectly usable for VR in flight sim. It's just me that I rather wait for the next gen. The feeling of taking off and climbing and feeling the pitch up attitude of the plane out of the windows, or taking turns is just amazing. I didn't returned it with no hesitation. I just know that the limitations will make me regret it in the long term. But if you don't mind spending 700EUR then its certainly worth it. In my case, I chose to wait for the next generation. What I think will make me stay next time is OLED displays and at least double the resolution of the Reverb. I know I may need to wait for both VR and PC hardware to catch up to this requirement, but I know what awaits me. Until then I choose to enjoy the high-res visuals from my 2K display. To me 2D vs VR is something like this. In current VR, it feels like you are in the pilot's seat, with a mesh grid in front of your eyes so you see but not as clear. In 2D it's like you have put a robot  with an 8K super clear camera and you use the robot's hand to push buttons (but faster). You see everything crystal clear but its a camera view. The future is for sure VR, just for me I need to wait for one more generation. 

Edited July 12, 20214 yr by ComSimPilot

I'm using a Reverb Gen 1 in (primarily) DCS but also P3D5.2 and MSFS2020 and it is awesome! That is all. 

Some notes: I tried a G2, I could not get anything to display on it, it did not work, did not turn on. HP so called tech help was worthless. I returned for full refund.

There is new VR set (Pimax 8KPlus) with much better colors than the G2. Some may think it the best VR headset for MSFS. Others may not. It is more expensive than the G2.

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He says even the 5KS (below) has better colors than G2, so there's that. But the view resolution is only roughly like the old Rift S (only much wider). So, it's overpriced. VR Flight Sim Guy occasionally runs various VR headsets in Aerofly FS which has way better performance than MSFS in VR, and it has good scenery. But it is not anywhere near the sim overall as MSFS. Mainly he sticks to MSFS however.

 

 

Edited July 21, 20214 yr by Fielder

I would say with my 6 weeks with the G2 coming from the CV1 which I had since 2016 the G2 is at the half way mark, still not quite there but a big step forward, I think in 5 years time we will see true quality and resolution for flight sims.