Euan Emblin

It is possible to use a Pimax without lighthouses but you will only get 3 DoF, for the full effect of wonderful 6 DoF you need at least one lighthouse either version 1 or 2. You may find an old version 1 on ebay as I did over a year ago. You don't need more than one if you're doing sedentary simming like flying or racing/driving. The Pimax does not have inside-out tracking so you need to use an external source.

Each system is different and each user is different. You find that lower frame rates feel absolutely terrible. I fly in only 2 sims, IL-2 and DCS. The latter currently has terrible performance issues in VR with the OpenBeta as it stands but the former for me is a butter smooth flying experience at the very highest of game settings and very high Pimax HMD software settings. You might not enjoy ASW/Smart Smoothing and clearly there is a great deal of subjectivity involved. I do not purport to provide a blanket panacea but merely report on findings within my own practical experience. With the Pimax 5K Plus on my system IL-2 is beautifully smooth at very high resolution running at 64 Hz, the sim frame rate being 32 fps.

In order to acquire smooth gameplay the Pimax does not need to drag 90 Hz out of your pc hardware. Smart Smoothing, which is equivalent to ASW from my CV1 days, works with as low as 32 fps to give an operating spec of 64 Hz in the headset and from my experience with Pimax 5K Plus, that is sufficient to provide for a very satisfactory flying environment. The 8KX and 8K are powered sufficiently well by an RTX 2080Ti. Pimax software is developing rapidly and does not require super high frequencies in order to provide for smooth framerates.

Yes, this behaviour is very much expected. I have learnt to raise the PiTool setting to 1.5 and then keep the DCS pixel density at no more than 1.2. Essentially they both do the same thing so with our current high-end hardware we are still asking too much to be able to ramp everything up exponentially. I have good performance in both IL-2 and DCS after lots of tweaking with PiTool to get the most advantageous parameters.

I don't use the Oculus Store, I don't use the HMD for anything but DCS and IL-2. I use Steam for SteamVR which works seamlessly most of the time. With regard to the 8KX it would be perfectly safe to go ahead and pre-order today as I am confident that they will ship them within the next few months but I will wait until shipping has commenced before I make that step. I will certainly be getting one though as it will be the best of class on release.

Hello I have owned the Pimax 5K+ for around a year now and have been more than satisfied with the product. I ordered it directly via the Pimax store so it was much cheaper that way than going through the more secure Amazon shopfront. My experience was somewhat disconcerting but only in the way that the Pimax customer service regime was very immature at that time. Pimax's own website did not show that they had shipped my HMD until after I had received it and that was a worry but it did in fact arrive around the date that had been advertised when I ordered. So the disappointment/anxiety was more a function of Western levels of expectation rather than any incompetence or bad practice on behalf of Pimax. Other users of Pimax products have different experiences and many are well documented. I saw it then as a heightened risk that I was prepared to take, this was at a time when there was no other way to get a Pimax but now I would order directly from China without a concern, knowing that I will simply have to be patient and the product will arrive. They do come very well packaged and shipped. Later this year hopefully I shall be ordering the Pimax 8KX after it releases and is freely available. Again I shall order direct from China. I do believe that we are somewhat spoilt in the West in terms of customer service and expect that everyone globally behaves the same or should behave the same. In some quarters there may also be a certain amount of xenophobic reaction, people preferring to shower the Chinese with suspicion. If this is of concern then it may be best to wait for the product to be available through Amazon. I certainly have no doubts about the quality of the headsets and the software PiTool is improving rapidly giving the user much greater flexibility and functionality.

Use this Discord - https://discord.gg/DpbspPC

Here in the UK with the upgrade path I am looking at around the grand which considering the massive quality improvement will be value for money.

Yeah, for some customers in certain parts of the world the upgrade path will be a real bonus.

Yes, I don't see it as a bust-up or anything. Seb Ang has built his channel on open and impartial reviews, it's a great model and he is just sharing the events and happenings as they appear. His form of speaking English does come across at times as overly dramatic and I recognise that is down to non-native language dissonance.

Yes, thank you for the link to this video which shows us a little more of the quality of the product. Comparison of product quality is very much what this section of the forum is about. Information in the hands of the consumer is where it belongs.

I have had such a good experience with Pimax, minus the lack of delivery information from a non-existent customer service department, that I will definitely be looking to purchase the 8KX later this year. My 5K Plus is giving me great service in both DCS and IL-2 Great Battles with very high graphical settings, almost maxed out in DCS and totally maxed out in IL-2. Both these sims run at good performance, I get 45 fps in both and with the smart smoothing the Pimax runs at its native 90 Hz consistently. The only other HMD I have used myself is the OR CV1. What I really love about the Pimax is the wide FOV, I always fly at the large setting which gives me about 170 degrees of horizontal view. For flying and situational awareness this is wonderful.

Depends on what sims you intend to fly. DCS does not require the extra software but IL-2 does and you need the recently released beta to take advantage of it. Check out Andre's page for further details.

Hello NickD89 If you would like to have a go using the free TF-51 then I would love to go flying formation and aerobatics. I have a little experience and the fun is in the taking part and learning as well. I am in the UK so the same time zone more or less, I also only fly VR but that is no hindrance especially when it comes to close formation flying. I also have the F/A-18c but have spent little time with her so far. Drop me a line if this takes your interest. Best regards Euan c/s MADOV_VR

The Gametrix Jetseat gets my hearty recommendation, works great with both DCS and IL-2 Great Battles, and combined with VR really helps to ramp up the immersion aspect.

You can pick up good quality used Vive Lighthouses at a very reasonable price. Got mine from ebay and one is all you need for a great 6 DoF experience. More than one lighthouse would be needed if you intend to be on your feet moving around.

It might well do the job but you will have to sacrifice some of the higher DCS settings for medium ones I think.

@f410 I know very well how busy you currently are and thank you for this great software, I recently purchased the Jetseat from Andre's Shop and am enjoying its added immersion greatly. Do you have plans to include the Ishak from OctopusG in your list of compatible aircraft?

The vertical offset slider is just one of the parameters you can change on the two pages of the Pitool software which contain settings, similarly you can change brightness and contrast which I also did. I put in a value of +2 on the vertical offset and this seems to move the sweetspot more into the area where you want it, ie around the cockpit guages.

Thanks for the above FoxDelta. I will use these as perhaps a base, I can see why you have accentuated certain actions. Of interest is the Experimental Piston Engine effect under Miscellaneous.

Message to OctoplusG - Your Ishak has been very well received by the community. Personally I love it, you have modeled so many glorious little details and quirks into this aircraft representation. For you it must have been a labour of love. Could you please release the texture template to the community so that the fantastic skin makers can produce the wonderful works of art that they always do? I am involved in a group that would love the KRASNAYA PYATERKA livery as we are attempting to emulate the formation and aerobatic exploits of those guys. Thank you in anticipation.

I also have just received my Jetseat. I remember seeing some profiles on the forum area of Andre's Shop where users had reduced to 25 or bumped up to 75 or 100 some of the settings, depending on personal taste. I am looking forward to experimenting.

I agree, the Pitool software is still pretty green but they are working on it and the move to open source can lead to good things in the future. After some considerable experimentation I find that I can run very smoothly with high settings and get a rock solid 36 fps, equating to the 72 Hz setting in Pitool, with large FOV. It's a very satisfying experience. I recently played around with the vertical offset and that improved clarity significantly for me, especially guages and instruments.

Someone's about to throw his teddy into the corner.

Don't let the little things bother you soooooo much. There are lots of false positives that come up with different anti-malware software programs. Pimax don't put so much energy into attending to customer communication, it's true it's their way, maybe it's a Chinese characteristic. Frankly I care less about that than the quality of their product which is world beating. Company could be better with it's customer facing but I am happy that they are concentrating on driving their technology.