Gman109

I bought a bunch of DCS stuff off of Steam during the summer sale to burn up credit I had there, and 6 of the 7 modules had their CD keys show up in the DCS page on the Steam app so I could add them to my DCS non Steam 1.5 and 2.0 app in Windows, but Mirage 2000's key never showed up. I've tried emailing Steam support and gotten no answer. Any ideas what I should do, other than return it? I'd really rather not do that, as I don't want to a: not use the huge amount of Steam credit I have built up, and b: pay another 30$ to buy it from the DCS page now that the sale is over.

Just wondering about the new 1.3 update for Oculus and the new SDK developer tool for it - should you be setting up the pixel density in the SDK AND the in game settings for DCS, or just one or the other? If both, should they match? Do they cancel each other out, or negatively affect one another? Also, question about settings in game - the resolution setting specifically, in VR, should it be set to your desktop res, or to that 2160x1200 resolution that the Rift/Vive is at combined? I've always wondered, as I see so many people with 1280x1024 or 1920x1080 as their settings, WHILE using VR - since the desktop is on too, does this setting need to match the native desktop res or something as well? Just want to make sure I'm getting optimal performance and I'm not having any settings messed up.

I can relate to this - HTC for me as well had THE worst customer service. They can barely speak English, have constantly lied to me (I have every single call recorded). When they promised me an RMA the next day, I made one tech very angry by bursting out laughing, having been promised the same thing several times. This tech swore up and down it would be in my email box the next day, unlike past failures.. It arrived 3 months later after I had forgotten about it. I sent back an appropriate email answer to that. They somehow misinterpreted me making light of the fact that it was only 3 months late, and assumed I had sent one of my 2 Vive's in without the RMA, and they had lost it (I made NO such accusation, and never once claimed to have sent it in, in fact the reverse, I said there was no WAY I would trust them enough to send them something I paid over 1100 CDN for, even WITH an RMA back when this all started, I had lost such faith in them...). They credited my credit card back for the full amount of 1 of the 2 Vives I bought. I'm still trying to explain to them that I owe THEM money, not the reverse, as the issue I was having (the screen just not coming on in Vive #2) resolved itself one day and hasn't come back. That's how insane they are to deal with. I have no idea how they've stayed in business with such complete incompetence, and I'm far from the only one. I'm trying hard to rectify the situation so as not to be later accused of some sort of fraud by them, but they have ignored my emails, and the phone calls have been like beating my head against the wall - all to give them BACK $1110+ for a Vive that was broken which decided to start working again. I can provide emails/Mp4s for anyone that cares for some laughs/proof.

I have a 1080 SLI system and a Titan XP system, both 6850 Broadwell E platforms. Since SLI + VR/Rift doesn't really work, it's essentially 1080 vs Titan XP. I notice quite a bit better performance over the 1080 with the Titan in VR, and since the 1080ti will likely perform very similarly to the Titan XP in games, I think it's worth it to upgrade if VR/DCS is your thing.

Ok thanks, I just thought all the FC3 modules type F4 "rear view" would be the same throughout all the modules.

Okay, so just got the F5, I'm using the Rift, and when I hit F4, instead of getting a rear view inside the cockpit in every other module, I get an outside/side view of the plane. Any idea how to fix this? Also, is there a way to disable the large grey "tips" box when cursoring over clickable cockpit features in this model? Tried searching but couldn't find anything.

Okay, so just got the F5, I'm using the Rift, and when I hit F4, instead of getting a rear view inside the cockpit in every other module, I get an outside/side view of the plane. Any idea how to fix this? Also, is there a way to disable the large grey "tips" box when cursoring over clickable cockpit features in this model? Tried searching but couldn't find anything.

If you haven't found the answer yet, it's under "UI Layer" in the control settings screen for your KB/Stick settings. You can map a button/key to zoom there, and it works really well in game.

I was going to say, how the eff do you plan on getting a Mamba in the first place? I collect Hotas, have an example of nearly every one since back in the 286 gaming days and my first basic throttle and CH Flightstick, and have a pair of VKB peds, (and Slaws, and CrossWinds, and and and), but have had NO luck, ZERO, trying to find a source, used or new, for any of the higher end VKB sticks. You'll likely, as in in 99 percent likely, have to wait for the new Gunfighter stick to be released, and hope you get one out of whatever limited run THAT vkb stick gets. That's the only issue I have with VKB, is that they only do very limited runs of the "good" higher end sticks. I have a friend in another game from Japan that has bought pretty much every VKB stick that they've made now, and he's the only guy I know that has them. I think you're stuck with going WH again as there hasn't been any news as to when the Gunfighter is coming. The Gladiator 2 might have some promise, but it's still a lower-ish end solution IMO, and I would want to wait for the G-fighter if I was going to replace a Warthog hotas. You could try and find deals, I constantly hunt the used sections here in Canada, ebay/amazon as well, just picked up my 3rd Warthog, stick only this time, for 120$ USD, it was brand new, but had a tiny sliver of paint flaw on the front which is already fixed. I've found Cougars that are like 99 percent for 40 or 50 bucks too, and you could pop in a Hall kit from the guy here that sells them to hold you over until VKB comes out.

Are you JUST using your system for DCS with VR? If not, 1080 isn't a bad card, nor the 1070. At all. We maintain 3 or 4 gaming PCs plus a gaming laptop or 2 constantly, and I just went through an upgrade cycle (yearly pretty much) and switched out 980ti SLI for 1080s in 2 systems. In no way shape or form are the 1080s a disappointment or poor cost/performance cards. I think in fact that DCS using VR or SLI with a 1440p/4k Gsync panel is the only place where a 980ti is still reasonably close to the performance of the 1080 cards. I would buy a 1070 over a 980ti right now, you would be crazy not to IMO - lower cost, as good if not better performance in virtually ever game I've tried.

Hey Kirin (Aces High Kirin I assume). I bought the Vive and Rift, and got the Vive a couple days before the Rift. I have a similar experience and opinion to yours with the Vive - the Rift is far superior for DCS right now IMO I'm afraid, for various reasons as many have stated in the forums already. I think it's a case of just having to wait until the DCS/ED team catches up with the Vive. I think the Vive for everything OTHER than cockpit games is much superior to the Rift right now, but for DCS, Elite, Aces High, WT even, and others - the Rift is just a better more mature system drivers/function wise for these types of games.

I've had both for a while now, and it's user pref I've found. I think the Rift is far superior for DCS and other cockpit games, and also find that godrays, regardless of headfoam removal/fixes/aftermarket crap/etc are far, FAR worse with the Vive. It's a very personal experience, I've had others use MY setups, and find that they don't see godrays at all with the Vive, yet no matter what I do, I get them horribly with it. Everyone's eyes are different, I had very, very sharp vision, 20/10, until I hit 36, now at 42 I have around a 2.2 correction in both eyes (average), and with contacts in, or out, or with glasses, or without, godrays are effing awful for me with the HTC, yet not the Rift. So, again, it's a very subjective issue. I do think that the Vive is a slightly better made unit, in terms of adjustments, quality/amount of materials, but not by much. The games - heh, Vive surpasses the Rift big time here IMO, IF, IF you aren't into flight sims or cockpit/driving games. The standing/room scale games that are coming, like "Onward", are just far beyond what's currently out there for the Rift. That said, Rift will soon have room scale with extra cameras hooked up through long USB cables, and if aftermarket controllers become available for the Rift like the Vive has...all bets are off then. As CHivas said, I know several sim developers that MUCH prefer working with the Rift and its drivers/etc. Aces High for example, HiTechCreations has said that developing their product with the Rift so far has been easier/better. So far. The OSVR from Razer could be the ticket, far cheaper, open source, and allows you to focus each eye independently and more accurately than Rift/Vive, allowing pretty much anyone to use it without glasses or corrections to their vision. Pretty big deal IMO.

Same here, but after the PITA it was trying to return the Vive, and with seeing the new "Onward" FPS available only on Vive, I kept it as well.

It's staffing with HTC as well - a co worker is a former employee there. They have exactly 3 reps in North America which you can NOT get through to, and whom have NO ability to over rule or make any decisions about anything the center in Columbia does, where they've outsourced ALL PR and Customer Service related business. Again, just a couple weeks ago it took me 10 days just to get the software included with the Vive, after several emails per day, various failed attempts at chats, etc. Plus their website doesn't work, if you try and fill out the cancel/return form, it just hangs when you try to complete it, and does nothing, something the rep in Columbia admitted they had been having huge problems with. HansangB, are you in North America, or somewhere else? I wonder why you couch it as a "great product", when you returned it for reasons other than it being broken. Great for everyone else, but not you? Do you mean other than the issues you had with it, it's great in terms of build quality, software, etc? If so, I agree as well. I only ask if you're in N.A. or not as they have different Customer Service locations IIRC outside of Canada/US.

If you think Oculus is bad, HTC/Vive is 10x worse. They outsourced their tech support/service obviously, guys barely speak English, and it's a complete and total gong show trying to deal with them, either for returns, or repairs. A friend of mine had to go the charge reversal/credit card protection route as well. In my case, I never received ANY email regarding it shipping, it arrived out of the blue, and still said "in process" on the website order page, and no codes came for any of the software, and it took 10 days of constant emails/phone calls to get them, and they only came when I too started the charge reversal process since they ignored my threats of returning it if the software wasn't included soon. Both of these companies are awful to deal with, so keep careful care of your units, and pray nothing breaks.

That's how many feel knockKnock, however anyone who is or wants to be competitive in online combat vs real opponents, this is an issue - I know if I was playing for $ or a tournament like ED had for the F86 or whatever recently, there is NO way I would be in VR, I'd be back to the trackIR/thumbhat and better res monitor in a flash. For general playing, I'm with you, after the immersion mostly.

I found it interesting that HTC's instructions for cleaning the Vive include using liquid/alcohol based cleaning fluids used for glasses/TVs, yet Oculus' instructions are VERY clear about using absolutely NO liquids, and only microfiber cloths. I'm sure I've read that the lenses for both are made out of much the same materials, so what's the deal here? I've erred on the side of caution with both, however would like to know why there is such a difference in the manuals of both units regarding lens cleaning.

Hey, I watch your YT videos all the time. Good idea too.

Heh, I just discovered lalt+enter from another thread today - I too was opening programs all the time, anything on my taskbar seemed to be the most likely, so I moved everything off it. Now, I can move everything back.

Agree Jar, 100%, I have the same experience precisely on my end.

I posted a bit about this in another thread. Good points here, about the reality part, but the reality of gaming is that online if you're using VR you're at a massive disadvantage fighting vs trackIR or thumbhat pilots. I was getting beat by guys I normally demolish online using VR, mainly because they can a: see me further away, b: determine my aspect more clearly, quickly, and further away, and c: are able to rapidly check 360 around their environment when on the defensive or just flying about, meaning less surprise attacks/ambushes, or at least spotting them far enough off to incorporate a defensive maneuver. It is a fair point though, that VR is more realistic, it's hard in a cockpit to turn around and look behind you, try it if you ever sit in a plane at an airshow or at a museum, but again, the reality is for online competitors, you're going to get smoked by equally skilled pilots, and less skilled ones, if they are competent with trackIR and you're using VR. I think one simple solution to this issue for online pilots is for servers to eventually, once enough players have VR, create VR only environments where VR pilots can join and know they are only fighting against those with VR sets as well, levelling the playing field. Regarding nausea and motion sickness - I don't know if it's the years I spent looking through IR and NVGs, but I don't feel a lick of this at all, I can hit look back/rear in DCS in VR and switch back and forth between forward/rear view and look around in VR and not get the slightest bit of nausea/motion sickness. Nor have I experiences it yet, ever, in any other game.

It depends on what you mean by performance I guess - do you mean how taxing is the performance on the system, or how is the "performance" of the overall video game/sim experience in comparison between VR and triple screen? I had 3 Asus 24" 144hz monitors in triple/surround for a long time, went to a 34" Asus ROG 100hz 1440p monitor with that system, and now use both VR headsets in DCS. In terms of the system - as the previous poster said, huge increase in requirements, your system is going to be working hard in VR, and that video card fan(s) with any kind of profile at all is going to be going wooosh the majority of the time, compared to either 3 or a single large 27 to 34" monitor. Especially the higher you have your settings in VR, I have pretty fast systems, and in 3 screen I could with my 980ti SLI setup usually run DCS and anything else at very high FPS, at least satisfactory for me. VR, with 2 1080s (I realize SLI isn't optimal for DCS or VR), you have to turn things down, not that they make much difference when maxed due to the poorer resolution and general...look I guess of VR vs a good LCD. I still like VR, there are issues with it, IMO anyone with VR going into a multiplayer fight vs equal pilot is at a HUGE disadvantage in terms of spotting enemies, and keeping them in sight, or generally looking around, compared to head scalable trackIR or just a thumb hat. If DCS can do like what Aces High is doing and incorporate head views WITH VR, so that you can thumb your head to a direction, and that will be the new VR point of view, instantly, it'll maybe level the playing field, otherwise - ya, things will look cool in VR, but you're going to get mowed IMO playing against equal pilots head to head. They can just see you further away, more accurately, and keep track of their environment/Situational awareness better in an LCD/trackIR/etc environment. Determining your opponents aspect visually is critical in any fight, and you have to be much closer in VR in order to do this, IMO. I find in either VR headset, within guns range, say in the F15 intercept basic instant mission, the enemy Mig23s look like blobs until you get VERY, VERY close, it's a far cry from what an LCD monitor looks like. It's a trade off for the immersion factor I guess.

Regarding settings, below is what I recommend starting off with. You can play with the settings a bit, activate your FPS counter (it works in VR) and do some trial and error, but based on my experience, below is what will likely work best for you. The choices regarding shadows saves the most FPS/performance without really having that much of a negative effect on the visuals. This is the case for most choices, AA/AS as well, as it makes little difference with the VR capability having these cranked, and so on. Textures: Medium Terrain Textures: Low Civ. Traffic: Low Water: Low Visibility Range: Low or Medium Heat Blur: Low Shadows: Flat Res. of Cockpit Displays: 1024 Every Frame MSAA: 4X HDR: Off Depth of Field: Off Lens Flare Clutter: 0 Trees: 6000 Preload Radius: 100000 Anistropic Filtering: Off Flat Terrain Shadows: Off You'll also want to download and install the Oculus developer/debug tool. There you can set your pixel density outside of DCS (there is a tab in game as well). I've seen conflicting reports on using this as WELL as the DCS tab, IMO you should use this tool and set it to the same setting you have in game. 1.5 is probably the highest your GPU will handle, and IMO it'll still give you decent performance, but you'll want to experiment with this too. You can tell if its working by turning on labels and going to an exterior view, the higher the setting, the smaller the labels letters/numbers are. IE at 2.5 they will be almost unreadable, and 1.0 they'll look pretty normal. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/pcsdk/latest/concepts/dg-debug-tool/ Once you get your Rift, post back after trying the above, as well as what your nVidia control panel settings are.

I have several fast machines, but when I first tested out a Rift, I had a 3820 with a 980SLI setup - since VR only really uses one card, and gets no major advantage from SLI right now, it's essentially the same system the OP is asking about. For the Vive the Steam VR test ranked it very high, I forget exactly what, but very high, and for the Rift, it worked fantastic in DCS. Regarding Steam, I shut it down as well when running Oculus, as I have both VR sets, but don't need Steam obviously for the Oculus - and JAR is right, the Oculus setup is fantastic, simple to use, effective, etc. For DCS, it's a no brainer, get the Rift. I've had both for a couple weeks+ now, the Vive and the Rift, and by far the Rift is superior for DCS and every other "cockpit" type game like Elite, Aces High, and others that I play (Project Cars too). So, 980 w/ok CPU should be fine, and get the Rift, to answer both questions. I'll post a link to the settings I used in VR, which were recommended by a player here - turning down/off many things doesn't affect the VR image one bit IMO, but sure ups the performance, which will be important with any non-1080/future Titan card. Pixel Density combined with settings will be important for you to experiment a bit with, to meet your personal goals regarding performance, but you should be able to run a PD of 1.5 with the settings I'm using for VR, without any trouble - others use 2 even 2.5, some prefer 1, or less, again, it's variable based on conditions and preference, but we'll get you there. After finding what I want to post, I'll return, with the settings for the Rift in DCS and in the Oculus editor (important tool), as well as a few tips/tricks I learned from others and my own experience. One thing - you may want to try getting some of the various after market foam replacements, as they can alter the distance your eyes are from the lenses, which for some, some, players, has a great effect on how the Rift looks to them. There is a "sweet spot" you need to find, and I and others will help you do so, no problem. Anyhow, good luck, and keep the thread going if you have any other questions and concerns, and I'll tty tomorrow with a few more details as I said.

That's what I meant, I just put it poorly - you ARE technically zooming your view by moving your head forward, and unzooming by moving it back "within the cockpit", which is what I said. The numbers on gauges get larger/smaller as you move your head back and forth, I guess that's why I think of it as zomming within the cockpit - I don't really move laterally, and don't see why you would want to be anywhere but in the center.