ZedAtoZ

Hi Melchionda. I built a 2 DOF system based on the Next Level Racing Motion Platform V3 using it move the entire cockpit. I use Oculus CV1 for VR with motion compensation enabled and it is excellent fun, but...... I have flown rotary wing aircraft in real life and in commercial simulators, including fixed as well as full 6DOF with collimated displays. I found that my budget 2DOF system motion cues were actually detracting from the immersion of flight experience. I also found that bass shakers have increased my immersion particularly when taking off and landing, firing guns and releasing weapons as well as manoeuvring. Next Level Racing software offers a great VR compensation for any moving platform. However, I found that the fidelity of motion cues, (initiation, rate and duration) was lacking in my build. To the point that I have decided to revert back to a fixed cockpit which I find to be better. I did a fair bit of research into motion cueing to better understand what my issue was. I found that whilst there was some accurate motion cueing in my platform, the absence of some of the cues that I experienced in real life detracted from the overall experience. Essentially, what was being delivered through a 2DOF platform was outweighed by what was missing. If i ever go back to motion platform for my sim, I will aim to build a 3DOF system incorporating pitch, roll and up/down axis. I think the up/down axis was what I was missing the most (particularly given I only fly rotary wing aircraft with an occasional sortie in the a10-c. Another consideration for a motion platform is the rate control of movement (speed) of your actuators. There are speed thresholds which are detectable by the brain (particular applicable when using VR) and these can be used to induce a motion cue and return to a neutral seat position without being registered by the brain in the absence of any visual cues of movement in relation to the external environment. For example: you enter a 15 degree turn and hold it through a full 360 degrees. Your platform will roll and remain in the roll applying pressure to one side of your body (through the seat). At this point, ideally, you want your seat to return to a neutral position to spread the pressure through the seat to equal on both sides of your body and effectively simulate a 1G force directly down through the seat and not through one side of your body. This is possible to program if your return rate is below a certain speed and not registered by your brain. I also found that whilst using the VR, I have reduced the "stroke" of the movements of my platform. I found that 10 degree roll and pitch were simply too great and in the end I was only using around 2 degree deflection in each of the directions. What I did focus on setting up was the rate of movement. A crisp and immediate response over a shorter distance was excellent in the VR and this was achieved by reduction of actuator travel and increase of sensitiveness and speed. I also do simracing using Automobilista 2 and I found that for racing it is opposite. I need a larger movement setup with a smoother directional change as there is more lateral motion cueing rather than vertical. So for simracing I found the setup to be the inverse of the flight sim setup. I think traction loss simulation is a must for simracing so my next project is to build a 3DOF platform to incorporate a combination of pitch (accelerate/brake), roll (turn left/right) and yaw (traction loss/slide/spin). Anyways, that's just a few thoughts on what I found in terms of motion platform (2DOF) for both flight and sim racing. I am a fan of bass shakers though, I think that they provide a lot of immersion into both flying and racing sims. I use two AURA bass shakers on my flight sim and three on my racing sim (for a chassis and engine setup), I hope this gives you some ideas.

I've modified Logitech G920 as per the photos below. I find the FFB on the 920 to be excellent and is very realistic when using trim.

Mate, that is awesome! I have a build based on NLR motion platform V3 for a 2 DOF cockpit motion (not a seat mover). I've built the entire platform so that it all moves. TBH, initially, it was a lot of fun at first, but I have decided to go back to a fixed setup (no motion) because as I got over the novelty of that setup, I actually found the motion cues a bit off. Nevertheless, any motion is great fun. Here is my setup. I also use bass shakers and found them to be more immersive than the 2 DOF. Anyway, I'm sure you're gonna have fun with the traction plus.

That is an awesome build. I like your solution for the hand throttle/collective. I built a rig based on L G920 where I connect hand throttle to the collective via a B&M shifter cable. That means as I move the collective, the hand throttle also moves. I am looking for ideas on how to split that. And I like the look of that chair too. Very Kiowa like with simple straight lines rather than a bucket seat like in a BlackHawk.

I adapted Logitech G920, my setup is at: I'm also chasing ideas to improve, build better Huey controls, trying to encourage others to post their builds...

Awesome, thanks for the links

Hey Sim Pilots I'd like to kick off a forum dedicated to DIY cockpits, to share ideas and get motivated to evolve my old build. I'd welcome anyone who wants to post an image of their DIY rig and any tips or hints on what they've done. My rig is below, built specifically for DCS Huey, with collective and cyclic controls (modified G920). I'm using two AURA bass shakers and a NLR V3 motion platform (providing 2DOF motion). MY TIPS: Motion: I am going back to a no-motion setup as I found it to be disruptive more so than immersive. Would really like some comments from others on the G-Seat or other "motion/G Forces" seat setups. VR: This used to be a 4 monitor setup in a "T" layout but despite the lower resolution of the CV1, I won't be going back to monitors mainly due to the depth perception/3D that VR offers. Shakers: Bass shakers are an excellent method of getting more immersion. I'm using Andre's Sim Shaker software and it's awesome. I'd really like to see other people's setups and TIPS for builds, to get some inspiration to re-invigorate/update/improve my build.

PC reset using the Win10 reset option in 'Safe Mode'. "Reset your PC, delete all files and apps". (must be connected to the internet). Copying the Drivers folder, just in case, is also advised before PC reset. Once reset completes, downloaded Oculus software, configured one sensor and xbox controller set up, followed up by DCS World 2.5 download and install. I think it is a settings issue. One of the files must get conflicting settings between DCS and Oculus. No "twitching" on the windows apps or menus but when in Oculus Home with internet connected, all Oculus apps "twitched". Once disconnected from the internet, no "twitching". Since the PC reset done and clean install of Oculus and DCS World, no "twitching" even when connected to the internet. By doing the reset and deleting all files and apps, ALL files have been deleted. It's a solid 45 fps of clear skies ahead.....

Just a quick update..... I resolved this issue by resetting my PC and deleting all files and programs (to be honest it was quite straight forward). Installed Oculus software, followed by fresh download of DCS and modules. Runs like a dream...... for now. One thing I did notice though, before this PC reset, Oculus home would "twitch or skip" every second or so when connected to the internet. After the reset, it works perfectly. Not sure which part, but I attribute my woes to Oculus software rather than DCS. Bottom line: If anyone has similar issue to this, i'd recommend full PC reset with deletion of all files and apps (backup first, of course) and install fresh Oculus and DCS. GOTTA FLY!

No changes to neither, but will investigate. Never used the Oculus Tray Tool, in fact not sure what it is but I'll give it a crack. I'd rather build a new system rather than go through nuking this one again Once again, thanks fitness88

Hi fitness88 Thanks for the response, again. Yes, I have. it seems like this should be something very simple like a setting to sort out, i just don't know what fixed it last time as I nuked my system and built everything from scratch. I did notice a couple of things that are different: Normally, with Oculus Home running and DCS open, Oculus HMD will not track or display the image unless it is worn on one's head, the DCS image remains still on the monitor. At the same time the light inside the HMD is yellow, (STBY?). When put on, the light turns white and tracking and display inside the HMD and on the monitor are on and tracking. Currently, with Oculus Home running and DCS open, Oculus HMD is tracking correctly and the display inside the HMD is constantly on, with "DCS Loading..." logo, the light inside the HMD is white (not yellow). All this while not being worn on one's head. It's as if the Oculus HMD was re-tasked to deliver tracking only kind of like TrackIR.... I did a System Restore all the way to a manual Restore Point I created immediately after a full test in Jan last year. Still the same and it's driving me insane. Could be a good excuse to switch to reverb G2 or another higher spec VR system.

Well, here we are almost a year later to the day and it happened again. I decided to update my Win10 OS to ver 20H2. As a result, I am back to having no use of my Oculus Rift CV1. DCS is loading and tracking works perfectly on the monitor but the Oculus HMD shows "DCS Loading..." logo screen on the standard white checkered background. I am uncertain what fixed it last time, nor how DCS "pushes" the view into the Oculus HMD but for some reason it's not displaying the image that is on the monitor. DCS is fully functional and I can load and fly missions, just can't see it through the Oculus HMD. If anyone has a fix for that, other than what I had to do last year, please let me know. I checked all the standard recommendations like power management for all USB ports, re-installed the Oculus software, repaired DCS, all drivers are up to date, etc....

I'VE FIXED IT! Don't know what the issue was. I've got the shits with it so I drunk some (read; a lot of) scotch and formatted my C:drive!!! From there: 1. Made sure the SSD was wiped clean 2. Installed MOBO drivers and utilities 3. Installed clean win 7 Home Ultimate 64b OS 4. Installed Network card driver 5. Upgraded win 7 to win 10 64b 1909 (with still available free upgrade online) 6. Updated win 10 7. Installed DCS 2.5 8. Installed all DCS Modules 9. Installed and configured my G940 Flight System 10. Installed Oculus and configured for 1 sensor and Xbox wireless controller setup (no touch controllers or second sensor installed) 11. Installed and configured Next Level Racing V3 motion platform software. DONE and DONE!!! Sometimes, you get far better outcomes if you just nuke the s#!t out of everything!!!

DCS Stable

Thanks, mate. I still think that there may be an issue with the frame rate and refresh rate of Oculus. I've ticked Vsync in DCS menu and the FPS dropped to 60 FPS which is consistent with the refresh rate of my monitor. I'm going to do a bit more research into CV1 refresh rate and Nvidia. to find if there is a way of setting this to 45 FPS. AMD do it so well in their UIs but Nvidia is not so user friendly. Another thing I just thought of was that my GPU driver updated around the same time as this occurred. I'll try rolling it back to previous versions and see if one of them brings life back into my rift.