Wicked.-

Actually, I have everything but chimney smoke maxed with DS on and MSAA off. 16X AF and PD at 1.8. Heat blur is off and depth of field is off also no global cockpit lighting. This is all while running 2.5.1 on MP servers. I couldn't do this on 2.5 stable or open beta. It runs smooth as silk but I've notice more blurring in the cockpit and I have to lean forward to see some gauges now where I didn't before. That being said. I can now make out planes and things like antennae towers at greater distances which shouldn't be possible with a PD of 1.8. Most of the MP Rift wearers I talk too run the Rift at low PD to be able to spot targets at greater distances. I don't because I love the immersion of higher graphics in the pit and within a mile or two of the AC. To sum up my experience the last few evenings, visual clarity is better at greater distances and slightly worse up close. Oh well, that's why it's a beta.

From what I've seen in the forums it's top priority for them... After 2.5 Stable, F/A-18 and so on. Hopefully they fix it soon. For the Rift it affects every module. However, turn off DS, use HDR, MSAA and the lighting should be better.

Considering that night missions are too nasty looking to even attempt, I can't say I've seen that happen. Lol. The lighting at night is jacked up with DS. DCS is working on it.

Somehow or another it fixed itself..

I was on 107th TTI server earlier today and crashed out which happens occasionally and is normally not a big deal. However, since this last time, every time I try to reconnect it tells me Server Unavailable. The server is up and running just fine and I can connect to any other server without issue but TTI. I have run a DCS repair, rebooted my computed and rebooted my router but no joy. It seems I've seen others have this issue occasionally but I'm not sure where to look to find a fix. I'm running stable 2.5. Do I need to delete my options.lua? Thanks for any help.

I've flown Falcon since 2000. I flew LOMAC when it came out in 2005. Back then all views were managed with the trim hat as I didn't have a TIR at the time. (can't remember if they were even out) Guess what, I was totally cool with it and enjoyed flying that way as it was all that was available. Fast forward a few years later and I was using TIR and totally happy with it for the time. Fast forward to now and I am completely blown away by the difference in how I fly and see the sim compared to the TIR and switching with trim hat. As I've stated, I AM IN THE ****ING JET. Everything around me is the jet and wherever I happen to be in the Balkans at the time. I do NOT SEE MY MAN CAVE IN KEMAH TX. I AM IN THE BALKANS. I have visual cues that tell my brain to tell my stomach and sometimes the ole sphincter that I'm heading towards the ground at .85 Mach and I better pull up before I lawn dart! Looking at a monitor DOES NOT GIVE YOU THAT. I don't care how high you run your settings on the the highest end monitor, YOU ARE STILL LOOKING AT A MONITOR. My system specs allow me to run DCS at 1.8PD which is pretty much as high as you can go and still see a little improvement from 1.7PD. I fly exclusively online on CO-OP servers because I'm not into AIR QUAKE. The only visual issues I sometimes run into is reading some gauges or seeing ground targets though TGP or Mav's and that is due to the cockpit module and NOT THE RIFT. This is true with the Marage2000C and Harrier but it's in no way bad enough to kill my immersion. I just have to lean forward most of the time which is EXACTLY WHAT REAL PILOTS DO. As to spotting. How far are we talking about? 10 miles? 5 miles? 3, 2 or 1? As I've not flown DCS more than maybe 20 times on a monitor at 3840 x 2160 or 1920 x 1080 (to learn the modules)so I don't know what distances people are usually able to spot targets using zoom. I do know I can pick out a target at 3 miles if I catch a flash or look where my RWR says it is. Beyond that not really. But anything beyond that isn't super realistic either. What it does, is make you use your instruments such as RWR, RADAR and AWACS to get clearer idea of where to look. EXACTLY WHAT REAL PILOTS DO. As the previous poster said, in not exactly the same way, I believe you're giving extremely short shrift to at least the Rift. The OP was asking if the Rift would make a good portable rig to travel with as opposed to a monitor and TIR. The simple answer is yes, if he has the power to run it on his laptop. The Rift basically comes with its own travel case lol. I am curious though..... Do you work for Natural Point? Inquiring minds want to know! ;)

While I can still pitch and roll that other guy's going outa control! Nice!

I have both but only use the Track IR anymore for BMS as there is no support for VR. That being said, I haven't flown BMS more than 5 times since I got the Rift 3 months ago. There simply is no comparison. Do you want to see your room around you when flying or the cockpit and the virtual world only? Apart from motion the immersion is complete. The visual cues are true to life when flying formation, overhead breaks, turning on final, dogfighting and everything else. You're in the damn jet! It's freaking amazing. I'm fortunate to have a system that is able to max out the quality settings on the Rift and the only visual issues I have are with TGP and Mav displays on occasion. On a laptop you will have to lower the settings but I'm guessing that if you're using it while on TDY, you can't take a large monitor with you conveniently. Therefore, you're probably flying so, so quality anyway. If your laptop can push medium quality on the Rift and it doesn't break the bank, you're doing yourself a disservice by not getting one. To sum up, would you rather be in the real world looking into the virtual world? Or leave the real world completely and hop into the DCS World for a few hours at a time?

Are you sure on that one? The resolution is for the monitor only when not using the Rift. What you see on the screen when using the Rift is the left eye view being mirrored. In other words it's really not taking any resources. I originally thought having three screens selected made it look better but I'm pretty sure it was a placebo effect but you got me interested in checking it out again.

I'll try the mission tomorrow. However, I use the Rift and fly online pretty much exclusively and my frame rates will stay at 45 because of ASW. But my settings are DS on, MSAA off, all shadows flat, PD 1.8, trees 80%, preload 100,000, all other settings high except civilian traffic which is off, chimney smoke off, cockpit res 1024, cockpit global lighting off, full screen on and grass clutter off. It's absolutely gorgeous and I don't get frame rates below 45 and it's smooth as silk. Two of my friends have plain 1080's and they run the same settings with no issues and one is running your processor. If you ask me it has to be something in the mission. Flying on the 107th there is a shit ton of objects to be processed. Processor speed is the one PC component that DCS doesn't seem to hog but you want the most amount of memory you can get and the fastest SSD. Also, if you have an SSD change your windows page file to the amount of memory you have on board.

What specs does the laptop have? That's the real question. The safest option is TIR as you wont need as much horsepower to run. VR on the other hand is like being there but will need a top of the line laptop to get a good mix of quality/performance ratio.

I have the same seat and was wondering how you mounted the stick to the seat. It looks like the base you used is recessed underneath the clamp for the mounting arm. That is exactly what I want to do with mine. If anyone else has this setup I appreciate knowing how you did it. Thanks, Wicked

I have both and love both. They're killer modules but I find myself flying the AV8B most lately. I'm more of an air to air guy but the lack of a long range A/A missile in the Mirage makes it a challenge to stay alive in multiplayer which I do most. For A/G the Harrier does most of what it's supposed to and looks the best in VR. Oh and it hauls ass! I have the A10C as well and like what was said, you need to pack a lunch if your flying any distance because it's slow as hell. But I wouldn't give up either. If I had to pick one to start it would be the Harrier. There's much more to master with it being VSTOL and it puts bombs where they need to go. Then again, joyriding through the mountains at Mach 1 in VR is pretty sweet as well lol.

I agree you have to lean forward in the real jet but the whole cockpit does not line up like the new modules (M2KC, AV8B) or even the FC3 modules. No matter what I set IPD to the seat back always looks like it's 8" behind me. If I move cockpit view back to be against the backrest, I then have to move the cockpit view up or the seat to see the bottom of the HUD but the UFC looks three feet away. For whatever reason the scaling is off. I'm not bitching it's just a fact I have to deal with emmersion wise but hopefully it will be fixed soon. Till then I'll enjoy the Harrier up to the early release of the F18 ;).

Damn!! Almost makes me wanna trade in the Warthog! Almost. Lol. Seriously though, great setup, I'm envious.

Silly? Probably, but I'd rather not have to run a program so I can run another program if I don't have to. As it stands, I only need fire up SRS then DCS and I'm off! After 18 years of dancing with Falcon and BMS it's rather refreshing lol. If the Vive was $399 then I would say get it. However another thing about the Rift that Vive is missing is integrated speakers and Mic. Normally I would be skeptical of these being built in but I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of both.

Vive or Rift? Rift... Spend the $200 savings on something else. DCS has native support for Rift only. All others I believe require using Steam which is another process running in the background that could be freed up.

Looking at the above setup I have to ask.. Have you smacked your forehead into the wall yest??? Lol! I have a Playseat Flight seat and if I was that close to a wall I would have knocked myself out from cranking my body around to check six lol!! Can't say enough about VR!

As long as DF'ing isn't your main purpose for DCS then VR is absolutely the only way to go!

For DCS I prefer the Rift all day and I have a 50" with a 27" touch screen. The 50" is still difficult because of how far I have to put it away from the touchscreen. But the main reason is, track ir sucks compared to being in the jet with the Rift. I still use the 50" setup with BMS but it's much easier to see things in BMS for me anyway. Get the Rift from Best buy if you can, try it and if you don't like it take it back.

I haven't tried night flying with DS Off but will now. DS Off during during the day? No can do. It looks like a donkeykong game from the 80's! Lol.

As has been stated there are downsides with regard to visual quality and FPS. Before you decide, you need to make sure your system can run it. My specs are in my sig but I've upgraded my vid card to a 1080ti. I started with a 1060 Asus Strix and could run on above medium settings just fine through all missions and MP. That being said though, as has been stated previously, once you've flown in VR it is VERY DIFFICULT to go back to 2D. I still fly BMS and have for 18 years but after the 1080ti upgrade I just don't have the interest in it now and I have a KILLER BMS setup with 50 4KUHD, 27" touch panel with maxed settings. It's just not the same. The vertigo l got when I first flew with VR had me yelling HELL YES!! I'm not a patient person and I have other hobby items I can sell to upgrade where needed so it was a no brainer for me. If you're a flight sim freak and have the system or money to upgrade, why wait?

Yes

I picked up a Zotac 1080ti Amp Edition the day before yesterday and I believe I've settled on the following. Terrain High Textures High CIvTraffic Low Water High Visibility High Heat Blur Off Shadows Flat Cockpit Res 1024 MSAA Off DS On Clutter 200 Trees 80% Preload 80% Chimney 0 Gama 2.2 AF 16x Terrain Shadows Flat Cockpit Global Ilumination Off PD 1.6 I don't go below 45 and can hit 90. I'm happy. I've had MSAA as high as 4x with 1.2 PD but it was blurry at distance whereas a PD of 1.6 is clearer. The cockpit global illumination just looks shimmery to me no matter what other settings I use so it's off all the time now. Specs in signature of system have changed to 6700k @ 4.6 and added the 1080Ti. While the 1060 did a really good job for what it is, the 1080ti is spectacular. Damn fine job ED! It's unreal that they've taken advantage so quickly of almost bleeding edge technology.

Figured it out.