Tensorial_Architect

I can't recall but I believe MBucchia does not recommend using Oculus Tray Tools with his stuff. OTT is badly outdated and most of its functions can be handled by the Oculus Debug Tool or calibrations within Meta Link or Quadviews.

You could rent out a small park in your hometown and hold a "DCS Appreciation Festival." You'd be the keynote speaker commenting upon the wonderful state that DCS has achieved so far. Might be fun to attend.

Woah, .... Nellie, Nellie, Nellie, .... let's lead that high horse over to the barn. Pontificatus alibis. DCS employs or has employed in the past aerospace engineers and mathematicians with doctorates to model all manner of correct flight and combat physics. No reasonable person, ... certainly not me, ... would deny they have achieved a premier flight experience. Leading up to that flight experience though, .... (you must never have tried DCS with a VR headset on while you stare into darkness for anywhere from 20 seconds to two plus minutes wondering if a mission will load (which it sometimes does not)), ... leaves a distinct disconnect between the two. DCS is not a holy temple on Xanadu above reproach. A few small changes to how it loads would lead to a major impact in perceived polish. That's simply good business that makes for increased sales. Ultimately, ... at the end of the day, ... DCS is a business, trying to sell a product.

Do you have to keep your chaperone/guardian system on to set that? (Been a few months since I used my Crystal.) Using a Quest Pro atm and I turned off the silly boundary system because a) I'm not four, and b) It kept popping up continual warnings about my desk and flight controls sitting right in front of me. Interestingly, with VR Neck Safer, I never had any issues.

And we shouldn't forget the role of good humor with an occasional Easter egg loading screen thrown in:

The main points are two: 1 - When you click on the DCS.exe, often nothing happens for the first 10 to 40 seconds. Sometimes after 20 seconds, you get a still image, ... sometimes you don't. My main point is that considering the cost to exactly model the F-18, fixing the initial loading screen is child's play. The sim starts up with the appearance of instability and with a very amateur appearance. 2 - For VR users, any time a mission is loading, ... there may or may not be a tiny hour glass loading off in the corner. That's it. Many times, the VR user is left staring into darkness wondering if anything is happening. Again, ... very amateur. Simple professional loading screens (or even better, HD videos) with progress bars would greatly add to the polish and professionalism of the sim as a premier product. (And in comparison to the cost of developing even one airframe, ... say the F4U Corsair, .... extremely cheap to implement correctly.)

Thank you Panzerlang, ... that did restore the gui! The problem now is that while the Pitch axis works fairly well, the Yaw axis has me rotating to the left outside my aircraft and to the right inside my tail looking at the back. It is badly messed up. One would think that after all this time, ... an app this central to VR flying, especially for ACM would be bug free.

It has been a few years since I last used Neck Safer (... back then I used a version called VR Neck Safer). Circa 2025 and I am trying to install OpenXR Neck Safer (XRNS). I already have Quad Views up and running correctly and that is currently my only API layer. I then run the XRNS.exe but I get this: What I have is a tiny XRNS window that I cannot expand. I have used the separate OpenXR API Layers tool to move XRNS to the top layer (which I believe is correct). Sadly, the main calibration window for XRNS remains tiny and cannot be adjusted (there is also no config file for me to adjust graphics parameters). I DID NOT download and use OpenComposite yet bc I am unsure if this is a hard requirement. Of course, when I open DCS, I see no visual confirmation that XRNS is installed and it certainly is not working. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I have owned or used roughly ten Pimax headsets over the past five years. Only one, a 5K worked reliably out of the box with no snafus. The Crystal and Crystal Light I own now are not unusable but they do host several annoying problems, with some being mentioned above. Because of this long-term experience, I usually regard their headsets as late beta-release models. It becomes a major time suck to try and fix all their problems, ... and for those who are not tech savvy or just want to get straight into VR flying, they are an experience I do not recommend.

Does it matter if there is an equivalence?

You are correct Darcaem, ... the three revolving "deadlights" are actually part of Windows Mixed Reality. That said, when firing up DCS from the desktop icon or from Steam, the experience is amateur as hell. The same is true with the black screens staring off into space while waiting for missions or airframes to load in VR. Something as simple as this: ... would bring a nice polish to the sim. Even better would be HD vids like those you see in the Steam store for DCS to advertise the various aircraft.

Aapje, I got my Crystal Light back in December. It has both software and hardware issues. I am not trying to be mean, it is just not a mature product ready for release. My Crystal also has both hardware and software issues but less on the hardware side than the Crystal Light.

Utilizing a nice still image which pops up one second after a user clicks on the DCS.exe icon, ... and that five seconds later shows a loading bar, ... is not a resource intense investment for any modern desktop cpu. Especially considering a sim that often carries a hard drive space of 300 GB or more. While I am not a developer for games, I do write a great deal of code each week. The features I mention above, provided the still images or videos were already finished, would be something that any single, reasonably seasoned, developer could implement in under a week. The three floating lights visual as you wait with your VR headset for a mission to load is something that DCS has used for at least six or seven years now iirc. (In fact, DCS used to use exactly what I am proposing, ... a still image of the aircraft in question with a progress bar at the bottom. The only problem is that these loading screens often warped or worked poorly.) That was, ... ehh, ... acceptable back in 2018 with the Rift, ... but it is 2025 and DCS is a major AAA title.

Yes, of course. For my own trained hands, if I flick my finger up or down, it is recognized as a mouse click. If I move my index finger and thumb together, then I can "grab" any dial and turn it. There are several parameters one can set and it works pretty well. If I get my hand turned at odd angles from my headset, then of course it becomes less sensitive or does not work as easily, ... but it is still head and shoulders above using the regular hand-tracking of the Quest 3 or Quest Pro.

BigNewy, NineLives, and the rest of the Grand Powers That Be - This is not so much a wish list item as a simple user experience improvement: 1 - Whenever I start up DCS, it takes anywhere from 45 seconds (if not in VR mode) to over 2 minutes (in VR mode) to load (this is with two Samsung 990 Pro SSDs for what it is worth). You guys at ED have spent tens of millions of dollars to turn DCS into the premier military flight sim product on the market and yet it feels in that first few minutes like a cheesy Beta product made in someone's attic. I propose a better startup screen like this: .... but with the addition of a nice progress bar at the bottom. Even better, a HD video clip that loads with a progress bar. Something that far better indicates the AAA nature of DCS. What is critically important though is that you get the loading screen or loading video off and running within 1 to 2 seconds of clicking on the DCS.exe icon. Waiting around for 10 to 30 seconds before DCS even loads a still image, ... looks like some amateur $%#@ made in someone's garage. 2 - After the sim does start up, say you select a rapid action mission or a training mission. Often in VR mode, a set of three or four weird rotating lights that resemble Pennywise's deadlights (from the 2017 IT movie (and novel) by Stephen King) appears, .... Instead, I propose a nice still image of the aircraft for the mission being loaded (say, a Harrier mission in this case) that contains a progress bar. Something along the lines of .... ... along with a nice progress loading bar (that actually indicates, ... uhh, ... loading progress). Even better would be a short, live-action, HD video of the airframe in question while the mission loads. Some simple touches like these, ... which you guys can implement in less than a week, will take the overall polish of DCS up by a noticeable notch. It also will make it far easier for us dudes who fly in VR primarily to see our mission and/or airframe load while we sit staring into our VR headset. Something to think over (and fairly easy (and cheap) for developers to implement).

(Own or have owned, G2, Aero, Crystal, Crystal Light, Quest 3, and Quest Pro) You will get more bang for your buck Youtch by upgrading to a Quest 3 and enabling the Fixed Foveated mode from MBucchia's Quad Views code. I think I read somewhere that you hate Meta, ... well, ... so do I. But, unless you want to risk the beta project that is the Crystal Light or Crystal from Pimax, ... the Quest is your best answer. You will get better results than upgrading to a very high-end GPU. (To drive an Aero or Quest Pro to very high visuals, you will need both the expensive headset and a high-end GPU). I really enjoy my Quest Pro but I use a 4090 to drive it (and the Quad Views code).

I believe it was by this developer (along with another guy if I recall), Aapje/Slughead: https://github.com/handzlikchris/Unity.QuestRemoteHandTracking (He does not seem to have it listed at the moment though. Contact him and see.) The package took my hand tracking from not very responsive to almost 99% as good as real life. The only problem is that the model works like speech recognition, ... you have to train it. It took me roughly 20 hours before it recognized my particular hands with almost no error. Now that it has though, ... wow! I can turn all the dials and activate every cockpit function in say, the F-18 with almost lifelike precision. (For reference, this is with the Quest Pro)

When I first tried hand tracking with the Pro, .... it was very, ... mehh. After a bit of research, there was a project up by Chris Handzlik and another developer for AI hand tracking and integration with Unity. If you try to go this route, you will have to enable developer mode for your Quest Pro (pain in the a##) and then understand a bit about how Oculus handles things under the hood. I don't see his exact AI project at the moment but he has the Unity integration for hand tracking here: https://github.com/handzlikchris/Unity.QuestRemoteHandTracking It was a bit of a pain to add the AI package and get everything working (not for the non-developer or those not familiar with coding) but once I did, it was wonderful. It took about 20 hours for the AI to better capture my exact hand motions (it works similar to speech recognition code). Now that I have it fully trained, ... I can turn all the dials and switches within any cockpit in DCS almost as well as if I was sitting in the aircraft in real life. (He may have just taken the AI package down to rework it a bit. Contact him and see what he says.)

Sorry, Aero, ... this one time I had to troll (I am very much enjoying my STECS, ... but am also very much praying for the high-end sliding version before I pass.)

.... still waiting ....

I can understand why you are doing this AeroGator (.... carrying all the old-timers over from the Warthog and the hardcore who exactly want to model the F-18, etc...). That said, the thumb maps about 1.3 million more neurons (and roughly 11 more connectomes) in the cortex than the index finger does:

@Snowtiger Folks who are using the Quest 3 for pcvr flight simming with DCS (IL2, MSFS, etc ... ) are doing so with a separate datalink cable (USB 3.0 Gen 2 to C is the best). Without some special mods and a Wifi 6E router, you can't even begin to get good wireless DCS simming with the Quest 3. You also don't need the vastly overpriced $78 official Meta Link cable. You can buy one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Syntech-Compatible-Transfer-Charging-Headset/dp/B098399X91/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2LAG472QHDTMZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uSQwi9iYQJfMo-m2o-VKHY8NOIFnlrDFodmvgCZ5Tt69lxXMsqZjO61hZVxDqgUl27AtmAjc9Yx4KIMpFQgXirjcRl4OkTYPenoc1t8xyLNQ9aTC1rv_QMAA3JTYwzeOOuPCnY622C8i3y91-BilQCoeHZfpvV_K7UWW8ZiODbgnrrke5g8QhUVHWWBIrmw05i9R_qtdUY2KqHh0Od_1wcfxc5UtyRbTbsfdvlRboHg.QiGHXMYNiemHOFf8W_XXZzNef1amEksXIsiedRwM7V8&dib_tag=se&keywords=meta%2Bquest%2B3%2Blink%2Bcable&qid=1736785119&sprefix=meta%2Bquest%2B3%2Blink%2Bcable%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

In order to get next-gen hand-tracking, you need to enable "Developer Mode" on your Quest 3 or Quest Pro (and Meta does not make it easy to enable developer mode), then you need to look for the AI hand-tracking package. It has been awhile since I installed mine but it took the hand-tracking feature from, ... mehh, ... to about 99% accurate. It works in the same manner as speech recognition software. You need to train it and it will get significantly better by the time you have 20 to 30 hours into it. I own the Crystal Light. Generally speaking, the pancake lenses of the Quest 3 and Pro beat the aspheric lenses of the Crystal Light. Particularly with the Quest Pro and its QLED screens, I was very much surprised how much better I was spotting enemy aircraft in dogfights (always a weakness of DCS imo). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @Roosterfeet Yes, you want the Quest 3. After almost five years with Pimax stuff, .... when it works, ... it can be amazing. Sadly, ... there are so many snafus and software issues and build quality problems that I only retain their models for comparison purposes, ... not for daily use. I often think of most of their products as being late Beta builds. Hand-tracking does not by itself work well enough with the Quest 3 to be really useful. That said, if you enable developer mode and locate the AI hand-tracking package on Github, it can become incredibly accurate. (The author or co-author (unsure) seems to have the AI part of the package down at the moment though.) For a daily, go-to product, the Quest 3 will be far less frustrating and the build quality is higher than the Crystal or Crystal Light (and I DO NOT like Meta or Zuckerberg or their policies). If you fall into the terminally unemployed, living-off-the-wife, or retired categories, ... by all means, ... have a go at the Crystal or Crystal Light (en cuyo caso, ... Dios este contigo).

(Previous or current owner of the Rift, Index, Rift S, G1, G2, Aero, Crystal, Crystal Light, Quest 3, Quest Pro) For your average G2 owner, .... and I really, ... really, ... hate to say this (no fan of Zuckerberg or any of his ventures), ... your best bet will be with the Quest 3. With the Link cable and Mbucchia's Quad Views but in Fixed Foveated mode (the Quest 3 has no eye tracking), you will receive a visual upgrade. Generally speaking, .... s#@! will just work. As a daily driver for the average to above average simmer with all the constant changes to the VR realm, you will receive the best overall experience (especially if you have a job, a family, children, etc (meaning you don't have ten hours to get six different client programs (Oculus Tray Tools, OpenXR Toolkit, Companion, etc ...) to work together) .... and fly 30 hours or less per month in DCS). After a great deal of experience with Pimax over almost five years now, ... their products simply have too many issues. If the planets are in alignment and you have sacrificed two goats at your local Temple of Zeus, ... the views are awesome. ... For three days, ... until a new update suddenly induces stuttering again or some other snafu appears. The Crystal is even better than the Aero when everything is a go, ... but it is only a go 3.4 hours out of each month. The Crystal is also the only headset that is actually heavy enough imo to induce strain and pain after a few hours. At the very high end, ... day in and day out, ... the outdated Aero and now, the Quest Pro are my go tos. The pancake lenses of the Pro really do make a difference spotting enemy aircraft for A2A even over the much higher PD of the Aero. I also like that I do not need base stations with the Quest Pro and that it is only headset with controllers that actually beat out the Valve Index knuckles. If you train it correctly (you need to enable developer mode and add some custom AI software), the Pro can recognize hand gestures so well that those VR finger devices and gloves which are advertised here in the DCS VR subforum are no longer needed. You can click everything in the cockpit and turn every dial on the F-18 with zero problems with almost 100% accuracy.