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Dear DCS community, After almost 40 years of active flight simulation (my father had the first MS Flight Simulator back then), I have now fulfilled a big dream at almost 50. It started with the change to VR-glasses a few years ago. Anyone who uses VR knows what I'm talking about - there's no way back. VR has already brought the flying experience very close to reality. However, as an enthusiast and a big fan of DCS, I wanted more and started looking into motion platforms. My dream was to also be able to feel the movements of the plane in the VR immersion. I saw a lot of great DYI projects from motion platforms on YouTube, but I didn't see any chance of realising something like that myself. I just don't have the time or the technical background. I needed a plug-and-play solution - so I researched as best I could all the platforms that could be purchased and obtained the missing information from the manufacturers. After all, such platforms cost a fortune - others buy a great motorbike with that money... 1. Decision for Motionsystems After completing research, MotionSystems (MoSy) was at the top of my list. This had 3 reasons: A) Highly professional web presence with a variety of different platform solutions. Among other things, they are also the manufacturer of the V3 platforms distributed by NextLevelRacing, so they also offer a mass product with corresponding quality assurance and customer support. B) Provides VR Motion Compensation, more on this later. C) MoSy is headquartered in beautiful Wroclaw, Poland, which is only 7 hours away from my home and offered me the opportunity to test the product before purchase. After more than 2 years of email exchange (as you can see, it wasn't a quick decision), I got in the car and went to Wroclaw. I tested a 3-DOF and my current 6-DOF platform (PS-6TM-150) on site. It became clear to me then that their hardware was of outstanding quality, but that the software and adaptation to DCS would still mean (joint) work. I decided to go for the somewhat more complex and expensive variant of a 6 DOF system, in line with the motto "all or nothing". I simply wanted to have every movement of the aircraft / helicopter transmitted as realistically as possible. The software respectively the implementation of DCS on the platform was still in its infancy at that time, some movements were missing, others were simply wrong. However, given the trusting and sympathetic contact with the MoSy staff, I was confident that we would manage to get the maximum performance out of the platform in combination with DCS. So at the end of 2020, the platform was ordered and the adventure took its course... In February 2021 the platform was delivered, the biggest challenge was to get the more than 300 kg into my basement. But that's another story... We then worked permanently for about half a year on improving the software profile for DCS. The result is (at least from my humble point of view) quite well done. The support from MoSy is really fantastic, it is not a big company, you feel very well taken care of as a customer... 2. Motionsystems Software solution The basis is the ForceSeat PM software of MoSy, which you obtain by purchasing a platform. The software offers profiles for a variety of games (flight and mainly racing simulations). Within the profiles, the user can adjust an incredible number of settings for the behaviour of the axes, special effects and, of course, the strength of the movements. You have a very flexible set-up. The big advantage is the plug-and-play solution. Switch on the platform, start the software, select the profile of the game and off you go! A special plus, however, is the VR motion compensation called VR Head Way. For those who don't know what this is: when the plane accelerates, the platform pitches backwards to simulate the acceleration. However, the VR glasses interpret this movement as leaning back in the seat. Without compensation, I would sink into the pilot's seat during take-offs or turns, or hang out of the cockpit when the platform rolls left or right. The VR Motion Compensation calculates the movements of the head caused by the platform and transmits this to the software of the glasses (all common VR glasses are supported). As a result, I remain 1:1 stable in the cockpit, no matter what the platform does. If I move in the seat, i.e. if I lean forward or to the side, then this is of course also transmitted by the VR glasses, as it goes beyond the movements of the platform. In the meantime, MoSy has significantly improved the calibration of the seating position. In the past, you still had to set the approximate sitting position with millimetres. Now the software calibrates itself automatically by having the platform take up 3 different positions and measuring how much the head moves in the room. This works really well and without any mistakes and once again showed me, that MoSy never stops developing and improving their products / software. 3. Cockpit Setup Only the platform is delivered with a stable steel plate as a basis for a cockpit, which you have to build yourself. MoSy was happy to adjust the position of the screw holes for my cockpit for me. I used the MTX Flight Rig from Monstertech as a basis for my cockpit on top of the platform. I mounted it on 160mm profiles, because otherwise the movement profile of the platform would have led to collisions with the cockpit frame. By the way, the conversion to a racing cockpit with steering wheel takes less than 5 minutes, which is very comfortable. But we are flying here... 4. Implementation in DCS Now that the fine-tuning of the MoSy profile for DCS is completed, the performance of the platform is simply indescribable. The movements and also the strength of the accelerations are breathtaking. This leads to the point that you really start sweating in aerial combat for fear of being shot down. Because the rollercoaster ride during the spin towards the ground is sometimes so strong that I press the emergency stop button in panic. The bottom line is that the platform has led to the same result as the VR glasses - there is no way back. Flying without the platform now feels as wrong as flying on the monitor when the VR glasses are next to you. 5. Summary I hope I have given you a small overview of my big dream. Maybe there is someone out there who has the same thoughts and dreams as me... More than a year ago, I would have been more than happy if there had been anyone who had already tested all this and written such a review. So I took a bit of a risk, but it was more than worth it. Pictures speak more than a thousand words, so I have created a few videos to show you what the platform can do. Please forgive me - I'm neither a Youtuber nor a product tester, so everything doesn't look quite as shiny as it does from other testers, but it should give you a good impression of the platform. All the best, MadMonty Links: Motionsystems - https://motionsystems.eu/ Plattform - https://motionsystems.eu/product/motion-platforms/ps-6tm-150/ Cockpit Rig - https://www.monster.tech/ (My MTX has been revised, the actual version is MTS)
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