streakeagle

So, with VRK up and running you can use Leap Motion to operate buttons, knobs, and switches with hand gestures?

I have a separate ptt for discord, too. It is amazing how well SRS and VAICOM Pro integrate into the game communication system. I am an native American English speaker with a very neutral accent aside from a few southern words/phrases. My problems with recognition often relate to words with the same exact sound that require context to differentiate, so no amount of training will ever fix that. For example, if I say "two" <pause> "engage bandits" the command is recognized every time, but if I don't pause long enough it become "to engage bandits", which is unrecognized. Computers would have a much easier time understanding English speech if there weren't words with different spellings but exactly the same sound, "two, "too", "to". I also tend to speak fast, so I have to concentrate on not only the pause between the identifier and the command, but the speed at which I pronounce single words as well as the short pause between words in a phrase. Most of the time, I don't have to think too hard about it, but sometimes I hit a phrase or word that forces me to focus on what I am saying and how I am saying it.

From the time I got my original MCG Pro with the GF2 base and 20 cm extension, I found the functionality out of the box to be very good and never messed with programming the stick. But since I started playing with the Axes2Buttons function to convert the DLC switch axis on the F-14 grip into buttons for aircraft that can't use the axis, I have gone hog wild maximizing the capability of VKB grips with extra axis features I haven't been using. 1) Out of the box, the MCG Pro has the ability to check off some options on the existing flip safety trigger. The key option is to see a button go hot when the switch is in the down position compared to the default behavior of seeing buttons go hot only when up, or when pulled all the way back. Some DCS modules need to see two inputs to synchronize a flip safety in-game with a physical lever, otherwise you need a toggle function and have to flip the switch up to toggle the safety back and forth. There is additional built-in capability to make the trigger pull 3 stages instead of 1. So, if you enable every single option, you end up having 5 buttons: lever up, lever down, trigger stage 1, trigger stage 2, and trigger stage 3. I don't very often have use for two-stage triggers, much less 3-stage triggers, so I decided to leave the flip up switch with just three buttons: lever up, lever down, and trigger pulled all the way back. 2) Out of the box, the MCG Pro has the ability to check off some options on the existing analog brake lever. You can have a staged trigger button turn on at an adjustable mid-range position as well as enable buttons to turn on at the full open and full close limits. I only need the limits, but you can't enable them without enabling the mid-range stage, so I now have all three positions: default full open, mid-range (stage 1), full closed (stage 2). This opens up a plethora of options for aircraft without analog brake levers and even opens of some possibilities for ones that use it, like the MiG-29 with its bonus take-off brake lever that is part of its regular brake lever. 3) Out of the box, the trim hat switch toggles between being a 2-axis analog trim switch and an 8-way pov hat using the trim hat center press to toggle modes and recenter the trim axes. I seldom use the analog function as real grips don't have analog trim hats, they are simple switches identical to 4-way pov hats. So, I changed the center press to a normal DX button that is far more useful to me. This leaves me with an always-on POV function that works in parallel with the analog trim axes. So I can still use both functions, but I can't turn either one off, which is not really a problem since I tend to only use one or the other with any aircraft rather than both. 4) Out of the box, the cursor control stick is purely 2-axis analog with a center press. This is perfect for controlling the radar cursor in many DCS modules and works much better than the mini-stick on the Warthog throttle. But I upgraded my Warthog throttle with the "yet another slew upgrade" from the TM forum, so for most aircraft that have cursor control on the throttle, I am using the upgraded Warthog mini-stick for that function. So, just like the trim hat above, I now have a parallel 8-way POV hat 2 and 2 axis analog stick with a center depress button. 5) I retrofitted my MCG Pro with a rudder twist axis and the same capability came on the F-14 grip and the SCG Pro grip. The only time I would need that axis in a flight sim is if my rudder pedals were broken, so I added buttons... but not just full left/full right/ and or center buttons. I mapped it into 5 zones which is 5 buttons: full left, partial left, center, partial right, full right. This is now my knee pad next page/previous page control. The full left and full right buttons are programed to pulse repeatedly while on, which means I can flip thorough the knee pad very quickly to get close to the page I want, then bump one page at a time with the partial left and partial right buttons. Sweet! An unexpected, extremely useful return on my investment. I have always been very happy with all the VKB products I bought, but I am even happier now that I have learned to fully utilize the programming tool to get the maximum capability out of all of the controls available on these grips.

Well, for the time being, the Rift S remains my VR headset. Hopefully, at some point, the Rift S will get hand tracking enabled. But Oculus has found the money in standalone VR, so they seem to be treating PC hardware and application support as secondary considerations. I will get a new VR headset and build a new PC to support it whenever the tech for both makes a big enough jump to justify the cost. In the mean time, it would be nice if Leap Motion worked with the Rift S, but such is my luck that it doesn't.

I have been using an LCD TV for years. I recently went from an really old Mitsubishi 46-inch 1080p LCD to a TCL 49S515 49-inch 4K that supports 60 Hz via HDMI. I had planned on getting the top 65-inch TCL 6-series, but I have my PC behind the monitor so I preferred the much lower weight of the 49-inch to ease access for repairs/upgrades. I could also carry the 49-inch home in the backseat of my car, whereas the 65-inch had to be delivered. I have never had a 120 Hz or 144 Hz LCD. My 20-inch Samsung 1600x1200 LCD monitors that preceded the first TV were only 60 Hz. The 19-inch 1600x1200 CRT I had before that could do 85 Hz. I am one of those people that can easily see the difference between 30, 45, 60, and 90 fps. I have always been pretty happy with 45, so my Rift S settling out at 40 fps while playing DCS World doesn't kill me. But I greatly appreciate when I get a steady 60 fps on my 4K TV or better yet 80 fps on the Rift S. So, I would really like a large gaming quality monitor. TV sized gaming monitors exist that have 120 to 144 Hz refresh at 4K with display port inputs and FreeSync or G-Sync. But the prices they are asking are insane compared to TVs. I got my TCL 49-inch displays for about $300 each and the 65-inch for $600. Whereas the ASUS ROG Strix XG438Q 43" 4K 120Hz monitor is $1,100 and the ASUS Republic of Gamers Swift PG65UQ 64.5" 4K 144 Hz monitor is $4,500. I would love to have the PG65, but the extra $4,200 it costs compared to the 49S515 I am using now is not worth it to me. It simply would not be that much better, DCS World isn't going to run at 144 fps, and I fly VR more than half of the time now. If TVs ever add DisplayPorts and truly support 120+ Hz refresh rates rather than using technology tricks to fill in the frames between the 60 Hz, there won't be a need to choose. I suspect that the actual production cost differences between the TVs and PC monitors are negligible, it is just the market exploiting people's willingness to pony up the money for good gaming hardware.

Spotting in DCS World is already hard enough and the mix of VR's low resolution with PD and MSAA, makes it even harder. But once you are close enough to see someone in VR, it is amazingly easier to maintain situational awareness while aggressively maneuvering and moving you head all over the place to track one target while watching other threats. It is both way easier and way more fun. I absolutely love the 1:1 tracking which means I have to really move around to see everything.

I don't care for the cold feeling of metal, but I do like the weight. My real B-8's have some sort of high grade industrial plastic or resin outer shape, but have a metal core. So I get the feeling of weight/sturdiness I like without the cold metal feeling I don't like. The MCG Pro is huge compared to my B-8s, but feels like it is about half the weight. B-8s are by far my favorite grip in terms of feel and ergonomics. Of the VKB/TM grips I am currently using the TM F/A-18 grip is tied with the VKB F-14 grip for being my next most favorite. The F-14 grip has almost exactly the same ergonomics as the B-8 and the little rubber textures on the spine and side remind me of pistols with partial rubber grips for comfort and muscle memory. The Hornet grip has almost the same ergonomics as well, has far more buttons/switches, and feels heavy/sturdy. But the Hornet grip also has the cold metal feel. So my grip usage usually follows what I am doing: 1) Lots of different aircraft, MCG Pro for all the different inputs I might need so I don't have to keep changing grips. 2) Older airplanes with B-8 or similar grips with limited buttons: F-14 grip for comfort and similarity. 3) F-15C and F/A-18C with ability to fly the same airplanes available in option 2: TM Hornet grip. 4) A-10C and F-16C: Warthog grip. Because DCS sees the Warthog grip and the Hornet grip as the same stick, I don't use the Hornet grip with the A-10C or the F-16C and don't use the Warthog grip with any other aircraft besides the A-10C and F-16C. It is my least favorite grip and I don't fly the A-10C or F-16C very often, so this grip doesn't get used nearly as much as the others listed above. 5) SCG Pro grip: this is my alternative option to the MCG Pro. It doesn't have the brake lever, so I tend to avoid aircraft that need that, but it otherwise can cover just about any DCS aircraft. The ergonomics aren't too different from the TM Hornet grip I like so much. But I still don't use it that much because I either want the brake lever, or I am using the F-14 or Hornet grips. 6) I don't fly the WW2 aircraft as often as the jets, but when I fly Luftwaffe, I use the KG-12. It doesn't have a whole lot of buttons, but neither did the real aircraft's KG series grips. The ergonomics are similar to the MCG Pro, but maybe a little skinnier? So, it is not my favorite, but I love matching the grip shape/type as much as possible to the aircraft I am flying, especially in VR where it feels more immersive to be holding the same shape and pressing the same trigger/buttons as you see on-screen. I can already use the TM Hornet and Warthog grips on my VKB base. So, I am pretty sure I am staying with their stick.

At this point, I have plenty to spare because one or more came with each of my purchases and I only use at most one base, one grip, and one extension at a time. But I can see where if you only had the base and a grip and only had one of these, you could either lose it or possibly cross thread it or damage it in some other way common to threaded devices. So, it is not a bad thing for spares to be readily available to those who might need them.

I have used mine almost daily since I got it. Periodically, I do switch back to TrackIR/flat panel, such as the past two or three weeks that I have been trying to get into multiplayer. Once I get used to TrackIR again (about 2 to 4 days), it is hard for me to go back to VR. I find the large display with 4K graphics and fps almost steady at 60 with nearly maxed out in-game graphics settings just as immersive as VR. I wear glasses and wearing just an audio headset with a mic is a lot more comfortable for long hours than a VR headset. To be fair, the Rift S is way more comfortable than the original Rift: it doesn't push my glasses into the bridge of my nose causing pain after 30 to 60 minutes. But it is far easier to kick back with a rum and coke and be able without a bulky headset in the way. But once I go back to VR, I immediately remember the advantages: 1) The 1:1 head tracking means I don't have to get "used to it", it is far more immersive and works extremely well. 2) The vertical field of view is as wide as the horizontal field of view. You can track someone above your nose and still see some of your control panel and/or gunsight as well as fly a helicopter and see the instruments while looking forward. 3) More important to me than "depth", the stereo effect lets me easily see around canopy frames without moving my head much at all. In TrackIR, it amazes me how often I lose visual contact with a contact crossing the canopy frame. 4) The sense of movement and the sense of the direction your are looking enhances situational awareness. I can dogfight much better in jets as well as fly nap of earth and hover much better in helos. TrackIR takes practice to get used to it and use it effectively. VR not only makes you feel like you really are in the cockpit, but allows me to fly better in almost every way with zero effort beyond using it instead of TrackIR!

The only problem my Rift S has given me besides a bad Oculus patch every now and then has been the mic randomly dying and only coming back if I unplug the USB cable. If I don't use it, it may stay on indefinitely, but if I use the mic in an application, it eventually goes dead, usually in the middle of use and almost certainly after exiting the application. After one firmware update, the mic worked non-stop for weeks, until the next firmware update. I gave up and use a headset most of the time, which solves the real problem with the Rift S: the horrible open ear audio. I Liked having open ears because it is more comfortable and allows me to hear other things, but it loses a lot of volume and clarity. The Corsair HS60 headset I am using adds a lot of bulk, but it sounds so much better at both low and high volume settings as well as having a decent mic. It is a shame that Oculus has appeared to abandon the PC platform. My only real use for VR is PC flight sims. What they are telling me is to seek a better product elsewhere. When the cpu and gpu performance ramps up enough to drive VR at 90+ fps steady in something like DCS World with image quality that rivals using a large 4K display and an FOV that pretty much matches or exceeds your natural field of view, I may be going into major debt to buy whatever it takes to have all that. But for the moment, anything that is significantly better than the Rift S won't run much better because of PC limitations. Whereas for me, the Rift S was a huge improvement the original Oculus Rift.

The winwing stick will not allow me to use the F-14 grip, MCG Pro grip, Warthog grip, or KG-12 grip. So, unless this thing gives me massages with a happy ending, it has about a zero chance of replacing the VKB stick. The mechanical feel of the Winwing stick might be better in some way, but I can't imagine how since the only way I would like the VKB stick more is if it had force feedback. But, I did reserve judgement with the word "probably". I am prepared for the possiblity that I may actually like the Winwing stick more, otherwise I would not have spent an extra $150 to get the the desk mounts and stick extension. All I can do is wait for the HOTAS to arrive and then see for myself.

The above linked Jabbers review specifically covers this. It is not able to do that. But he mentions the bonus center depress on the 4-way hat that could be substituted for that function if needed. I forgot about the center press on the trim hat, I could use that extra button for some aircraft. Because of the twist rudder design, the stick has a hole that fits on the pin that locks the stick straight ahead rather than a slot that permits canting the stick. The 200mm extension is curved, but there is a 100mm extension that can be canted and if you wanted, you could use two 100mm extensions together and double the amount of canting angle range available. If you have the 200 mm extension, you can buy aluminum pipe with the correct inside and outside diameters and use the ends and wire from the 200mm extension to create a custom extension of any length up to 200 mm that would permit canting without the offset caused by the curved extension. Jabbers mentions his only real complaint is the feel of the two-stage trigger because it feels way too light and quiet at the first detent and still somewhat too light at the second detent. Like all the other buttons, it is much lighter and quieter than my milspec B-8. On the B-8, the first stage is not only loud, but you can actually feel the switch as you hear it clicking. The second stage has just as much sound and increased pressure as it clicks. With the VKB stick, the first stage is incredibly light, but I can clearly hear the switch despite how quiet it is. If you are flying with even a modest volume setting or you are using a headset, you cannot hear or feel the first stage at all. But as you hit the 2nd stage, you can feel and hear it before depressing that switch, and such feedback indicates you have definitely activated the first stage. Then, when you squeeze just a little hard, you can feel and hear the 2nd stage switch clicking. I personally don't mind the feel of the VKB F-14 trigger as a light pull can increase your stability and accuracy while firing guns. But I would prefer that replica sticks not only replicate the looks of a grip, but also have sound and feel identical.

8 years in the Navy, 6-1/2 at sea on submarines. Voice communications had rules. The word fire was reserved for flames, you either shoot or launch weapons. You open and shut valves not open and close valves. I was a horrible phone talker for drills. I could never understand what they were saying over the sound powered phones and even when I did it was too long and convoluted for me to repeat back what they said. I was able to talk just fine as a sonar supervisor since I understood everything that was being said to me and could easily communicate what they wanted to know in the correct format... "Conn, sonar. New contact, designate sierra two-four, bearing 137 on broadband. Initial classification is a merchant doing one hundred turns on four." The phrase that pays when you are a submarine sonar supervisor on watch and call out, "Conn, sonar. Torpedo in the water!" Big things start happening automatically before the Officer of the Deck can even issue the order for torpedo evasion.

I haven't had any problems to date. Whether I look on the in-game rudder controls or use the Windows game controller function, I see smooth precise control. I observe the same when I am using them in game including helicopters and tail draggers that need good rudder control.

Great! I hope you enjoy it. My original Warthog has served me well. Over the years, I have performed two repairs which required parts from Thrustmaster: replacing a board in the stick grip to fix a failed first trigger detent input and a board in the throttle, which completely "bricked" one day when I unplugged it from the USB and later plugged it back in. Presently, it works 100% as it did when I bought it. There are two things I would do the next time you have some cash available: 1) Get an extension for the stick. I chose 15 cm to match the range of pitch axis movement at the top of the stick to the same for a real F-4 stick that it eventually replaced in my home cockpit, which also conveniently created the correct height from the floor plate when mounted on top of the box that covered the F-4 stick. This was perfect for me But a lot of people on use 10 cm and some use 20 cm or more. 2) Get the thumbstick cursor control mod always floating to the top of this forum: "Yet another warthog slew upgrade". It is ten times better than the little analog stick Thrustmaster provides. But it does involve minor disassembly of the throttle grip to install, so you may want to wait until your warranty period is expired.

There are more important things I should spend the money on, but I have been earning tons of overtime in the past month or two as well as getting an income tax refund and the covid 19 bonus check... So, I looked at the options and picked the 2nd most expensive one. I couldn't see paying $80 more for a twist axis that I won't ever use. Though I did spend the extra $150 to get the desk mounts and joystick extension when I will probably never use the joystick or its desk mount, but if I do ever use the stick, it would be with an extension. If the throttle desk mount fits/works on my current desk, I will be using it until I can build a generic console that can easily swap between the Warthog and the Hornet throttles and in not so distant future, the VKB TECS. I have tons of ideas floating around in my head, I just need time and money to finalize and implement my cockpit ideas/designs.

That is perfect. A software solution that works correctly is the cheapest and easiest.

What you need is a virtual dx button that triggers at the same time as the generator on switch so that you can map it to the cover as a separate switch. Ideally, you would use real switch to trigger the cover, then use the virtual dx button with a small delay to actually flip the generator switch on. But if you have a spare input on a 3rd party USB controller, you could always throw a real limit switch or button on the cover. Alternatively, if you keyboard is within easy reach, you need to map a readily accessible key to the gen cover.

I don't NEED this throttle, but I didn't NEED any of the VKB sticks, grips, and adapter I have now, yet I bought all of it. My thought is that I will have two home pits: 1. US aircraft built around a Warthog/Hornet grip on a VKB GF3 base and TM Warthog throttle, but maybe the Winwing Hornet throttle. 2. Soviet/Russian aircraft built around MCG Pro grip on a VKB GF3 base and this throttle. I would want both to have the option to fly on a 2d monitor with TrackIR or VR as the situation requires. Now if only I knew someone locally who would enjoy flying with me instead of maintaining two systems for only one person. I will also end up with another home pit using all of my real F-4 hardware. Instead, I should make on pit where it is easy to swap out the left console with different throttles: Warthog, WinWing, and this one. The setup for the real F-4 throttle and stick is too heavy/bulky to be easily changed, so it requires a dedicated stick/seat/console setup. Decisions would be easier to make without time and money limitations. Of course, VKB helps make the decision by not releasing this throttle any time soon. No VKB throttle, no possibility of building a dedicated Soviet pit or a 2nd generic interchangeable pit to complement my current F-4 styled arrangement.

I have a Rift S and I solved a lot of my problems by reverting back to an older driver for my regular 1080 and was inspired to do so by another DCS player's post about how it helped him with his 1080Ti. I chose the same driver revision he did and it got rid of some problems I was having with Microsoft Edge and Aerofly FS2. I am running 436.30. I did have trouble reverting back. Something went wrong with my uninstall of the newer driver that made the 436.30 driver report something missing and refusing to install. I had to use a driver cleaner in safe mode to get rid of the problem. Then I was able to install 436.30 and live the good life with increases in fps and stability.

Edges 1 and Edges 2 options didn't produce good outputs for me. For instance, if I went from center to forward positions, I would get the on signal I expected. But after I returned to center, the forward position would not trigger again until after I had trigger the aft position. Whereas the zones option consumed one more virtual button for the center position, but would trigger the forward position every single time rather than requiring me to go aft first. Correction: I used your exact settings and it worked the way I wanted. I must have had the number of zones incorrect with either zero or 2 when I did my test, so Edges 2 is the way I am going since I don't need to detect the center position.

When you have a lot of three position toggle switches but not a lot of three position functions in an aircraft, it does make sense to use momentary switches with toggle functions to double your control options. T5, T6, and T7 can provide 6 two-position functions when mapped to in-game toggles. If you never use maintained position switches, it would be beneficial for you to replace the physical maintained position switches wtih momentary toggle switches. Then you wouldn't need any custom programming to try to make them behave like momentaries and you wouldn't have to manually re-center them after every "press". This is especially beneficial in most other fllight sims that design their controls conventionally for keyboard mapping and cheaper grade HOTAS and sticks that only have momentary buttons.

My preferred solution for using maintained switches in DCS World is to edit the input LUAs to the aircraft in question. In the case of a two-position switch, like landing gear, refueling probe, etc. I duplicate one of the existing commands intended for two inputs, i.e. one button for lower gear and one button for raise gear, and modify that command to also provide the opposite function when the switch is off. This setup accomplishes three things: 1) I get the ideal case of the switch position matching the in-game switch/lever position. 2) Before starting a mission, the in-game switches do not flip to undesired states. Note: I have the DCS Synchronize cockpit controls with HOTAS controls option unchecked for just this purpose. So, in the case of a landing gear lever, if I start the sim on a ramp/runway with the mapped toggle switch in the gear up position, the in-game lever does not jump up when I start the mission. I do have to toggle the switch down before I can raise the lever, but once this is done, the real switch and the virtual lever remain in sync. Most of the time I flip all of my throttle switches to their "off" states before starting a mission, which means they will either work first try like the landing gear lever from a ramp start or will get synced first try like the landing gear lever during an air start. I never have problems caused by inadvertent switch positions, especially when I have done a quick "off" state preflight check. 3) LUA edits mean I don't have to mess with custom joystick/throttle configuration software like Target profiles. Whenever I get a new module, I have to decide what controls are going to use maintained switches and if the developer doesn't provide the command I need, then I have to customize that aircraft's LUA. But these days, a lot of the third party mods include the type of mapping needed to support maintained toggle switches for in-game two position switches and some even support three positions with the center state being off, such as flap levers. There is one annoying disadvantge to my approach. Every DCS patch resets all of the LUA files back to defaults. It is easy enough to find my latest custom LUA versions in the backup folder, but it is dangerous to just past them back over the new ones. ED and the third parties provide new mappings and/or fix bugs in old ones, so I open each LUA and do a file compare before pasting in my custom lines. On a good day, the developer has provided a new command that makes my custom script unnecessary, but there are not many good days. So, I get tired of constantly having to update the LUAs after patches, but I love monitoring the control mappings for changes. Many times, something I wanted was fixed/added and I would not have even known about it if I had not kept doing file compares with the joystick input LUAs between the current patch and the last one. Here are some of my edits for the DCS F/A-18C Hornet joystick input default.LUA, including the Battery Switch, which has three positions and therefore uses two of the custom commands to cover the center state as the off position for the other two commands: --------------------------------------------- -- Alt Commands for Warthog Throttle -------- --------------------------------------------- { down = iCommandPlaneGearUp, up = iCommandPlaneGearDown, name = _('Alt Landing Gear Control Handle - UP/DOWN'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, { down = extlights_commands.LdgTaxi, up = extlights_commands.LdgTaxi, cockpit_device_id = devices.EXT_LIGHTS, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt LDG/TAXI LIGHT Switch - ON/OFF'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, { down = gear_commands.AntiSkidSw, up = gear_commands.AntiSkidSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.GEAR_INTERFACE, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt Anti Skid Switch - ON'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, { down = elec_commands.BattSw, up = elec_commands.BattSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.ELEC_INTERFACE, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt Battery Switch - ON/OFF'), category = {_('Right Console'), _('Electrical Power Panel')}}, { down = elec_commands.BattSw, up = elec_commands.BattSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.ELEC_INTERFACE, value_down = -1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt Battery Switch - ORIDE/OFF'), category = {_('Right Console'), _('Electrical Power Panel')}}, { down = gear_commands.LaunchBarSw, up = gear_commands.LaunchBarSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.GEAR_INTERFACE, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 1.0, name = _('Alt Launch Bar Control Switch - EXTEND/RETRACT'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}},

If you fly the F-14 frequently enough, the AIRIO commands become 2nd nature. I keep a printout of them next to me in case I need to review some old commands or learn some new ones prior to entering VR. But after flying the F-14 almost every day for two weeks, I haven't looked at the print out for a while. The only problems I have are when Voice Attack doesn't recognize my speech correctly or the odd times when it crashes or gets hung "waiting for further input". As for the original topic, put me in the camp of not wanting to fly without VAICOM. I was already using an old, free speech recognition tool called Shoot 1.6. I had Shoot programmed really well. But VAICOM integrates and updates with DCS World in ways Shoot never could. VAICOM keeps up with new commands and new modules, such as adding AIRIO. VAICOM also has lots of extremely useful/powerful options such as integration with SRS/VoiceChat, hiding text/muting own pilot speech, etc. If you value immersion, using realistically mapped push-to-talk buttons with speech recognition that accounts for radio types and capabilities is as much of a game-changer as VR. When integrated with something like SRS that does the same for voice chat as VAICOM does for talking to AI, the experience becomes super-immersive as there is little difference between talking to people and AI other than needing to speak in a distinct pattern with particular phrasing for the speech recognition to work well. Human or AI, you have to choose the correct radio and have it tuned to the correct frequency. Though you may find practicing the same patterns and consistent phrasing improves communication with real people, too.

$350 is a really good price. It is the price I paid for my original Warthog HOTAS quite a few years ago. I might not have ever gotten one for the original $500-$600 pricing I frequently saw back then and would still be flying with my old, but still fully functional X-52 Pro. Of course, now I have two Warthogs because I couldn't wait a few months for a replacement board for my throttle to return to stock. I paid about $400 including shipping to get my 2nd one from Germany because the supply and prices were otherwise back up to $500 at that time. The real deal is when they go on sale for $300. Dell has done that more than once, usually around Christmas time. Given that for the time being, I rely on the throttle so much, I should have stocked up when the price was so low rather than waiting for a critical failure with no spares available to force me to do so. Now, I have repaired the original and have two complete fully functional Warthogs, so unless one fails beyond repair or the price goes ridiculously low, I won't be buying any more. I just clicked the Amazon link and that price does not include shipping. So the real price is $429. Not bad, but I paid less to get my 2nd one from Germany in 2017. Looking at the current market, there is a shortage, so the prices are in the $600+ range right now. $429 from Amazon looks really good compared to present alternatives.