How impressive is DCS World 2 using VR (Oculus/Vive)

hansangb · July 31, 2017

But many doesn't want a 1:1 tracking, they are happy for a TrackIR tracking where they don't need to be a chicken to see a rear, instead that they can just rotate head 45 degree and get a relaxed nice view (and with excellent realistic clarity and spotting compared to VR).

--snippage: many valid points --

For me, it's like going to the Niagara falls (from Canada side) to look at the grandeur of it all or looking at a HD video of it on TV. I know what people say, but in VR, it's not like you're getting the human vision clarity. All true. But you get the grandeur part of it despite the lack of 4K clarity.

So it comes down to, do you want to be in the plane, or do you want to fly a game? Both are good choices. You just have to decide what's more important to you.

I do know that we're in a good place if we're debating this, don't you think? Unimaginable three years ago. I thought I was rocking it with 3 monitors and 2 USB monitors for MFDs. LOL :) :joystick::D:pilotfly:

dburne · July 31, 2017

But many doesn't want a 1:1 tracking, they are happy for a TrackIR tracking where they don't need to be a chicken to see a rear, instead that they can just rotate head 45 degree and get a relaxed nice view (and with excellent realistic clarity and spotting compared to VR).

How is the world is that realistic?

My Track IR is shelved permanently, I will take the realism of 1:1 positional tracking in VR any day!! You know, actually simulating what the real pilots had to endure to look around - pretty sure they did not have Track IR's.

:pilotfly:

If a flight sim, or any game for that matter does not support this for me, they are a no go for me now.

But as they say, to each their own.

VampireNZ · July 31, 2017

How is the world is that realistic?

My Track IR is shelved permanently, I will take the realism of 1:1 positional tracking in VR any day!! You know, actually simulating what the real pilots had to endure to look around - pretty sure they did not have Track IR's.
:pilotfly:

If a flight sim, or any game for that matter does not support this for me, they are a no go for me now.

But as they say, to each their own.

Fri13 does have a point - My 70 yr old father had a go with my Rift a while back in the F-15. I remember my first wow moment was when I looked back and saw the wings/body of the whole aircraft behind me so suggested he do the same, but he couldn't actually turn his head/body far enough to even see the wingtip while sitting in my driving/flying rig. You get less flexible as you get older. In his case VR in a flightsim would not be a viable option.

But I am with you dburne, I will take the realism of 1:1 positional tracking in VR any day!!

I love the fact you have to really work during air combat now with VR, and finding the best way to keep track of your opponent. I have found that I prefer skooching down in the seat and looking straight up over my head as opposed to trying to turn to look behind me. Actually got the idea watching some RL fighter onboard vids. Easier to just glance down at the HUD too, and much better for RL G-tolerance (not relevant obviously).

I gave my TrackIR to my old man to use :thumbup: Will never flightsim on a 2d screen again! Same deal for driving sims.

dburne · July 31, 2017

I gave my TrackIR to my old man to use :thumbup: Will never flightsim on a 2d screen again! Same deal for driving sims.

Yeah I have been meaning to pick up a racing sim again, would need a new wheel setup though. I used to race hard core online many years ago, was almost addicted to it at one time. Which is why I gave it up along with any multiplayer action.

Right now can't seem to tear myself away from combat flight simming though lol.

hansangb · August 1, 2017

I tried the racing sims that Derek Speare recommended. And in VR, it is SOOOOO much easier to drive. But I quickly uninstalled it as my wife would never go along with adding a wheel. I can sneak a Komodo cyclic vs mounted Warthog. To lay people, it's the same. But a steering wheel? That's a no-go for me! LOL.

VampireNZ · August 1, 2017

A Fanatec Clubsport Wheel Base in an Obutto Rig is great as you can just remove the wheel, slide the base forward out of the way and attach your control stick base using butterfly nuts.

Can map rudder pedals to the throttle and clutch pedals. Would only really work that way thou as I can't see how you could drive with rudder pedals installed.

Some pics of my setup on my VKB review post - https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=189345

Can mount your DSD button boxes to the wheel base to use in flight sim also. Got a RH one coming next.

So it takes me about 2 min to reconfigure between flightsims and race sims.

But yes, racing inches away from other life-size cars in VR is awesome!

Edited August 1, 2017 by VampireNZ

Quadg · August 1, 2017

having a HMD makes it way easier to swap between flying and driving rigs. than it was when i used monitors..

swap usb leads and change seats.. done...

before it was either move the rigs or the monitors..

Fri13 · August 1, 2017

having a HMD makes it way easier to swap between flying and driving rigs. than it was when i used monitors..

swap usb leads and change seats.. done...

before it was either move the rigs or the monitors..

VR allows far easier simulation move... A desktop PC with a handle and few cable ties on the case so you can just unplug power, ethernet, display and USB cables. Then roll power cable to side of case and carry it where you want. Place the few USB devices to a small bag and it is ready to go. No more the display to be with you as it is just a VR set nicely in small foamed case to go with you.

Now the current problem is really to find a small, light and tidy HOTAS.. :D And I think the CH system is the best when ditching the pedals. As the throttle and stick are ultra light and tiny compared to others on market.

This way it is super easy to move the simulation system in to bags/case while using everyones typical LCD displays just to start Windows etc.

I am just doing little research that can I get any of those "VR desktops" booted in launch so I could just use the HMD as display without ever needing a common display from anyone? A true "headless PC".... LOL

Fri13 · August 1, 2017

So it comes down to, do you want to be in the plane, or do you want to fly a game? Both are good choices. You just have to decide what's more important to you.

The VR is more like a feeling of playing game when it comes to combat as you can't spot or identify things like in reality or with 2D display. So training to do the correct procedures is still the 2D benefit.

But for the joy of the flight and to look around, VR wins hands down.

So it comes to like this. Take the DCS with display and set it to 800x600 (or even 640x480 actually) and start flying, it is the experience that it is with current VR. Difficult to do the accurate combat training when you can't even see the cockpit well.

But take DCS with VR and go to acrobatic or just sight seeing flight (a la helicopter flying around) and you don't want to come back as the feeling is just so nice.

I do know that we're in a good place if we're debating this, don't you think? Unimaginable three years ago. I thought I was rocking it with 3 monitors and 2 USB monitors for MFDs. LOL :) :joystick::D:pilotfly:

We are in amazing time really now. I have waited this since 1989-90 when I got a first experience of the true VR with tracking and all (just a wireframe game) and would so much wanted to see it in few of my favorite games like "Fighter Bomber", "Blue Angels" and Microsoft Flight Simulator, but it wasn't possible.

How long have I needed to be wait to get the acceptable experience since then? That is almost 30 years (required to get tech going) and it is that....

But sad thing is that DCS World or any driving simulator isn't enough to kick VR to raise (again). It needs the mainstream support and there ain't any game that really is a AAA title with VR support. Like lack of Call of Duty, Battlefield etc is the required thing. The current best VR games are ones like "Robo Recall" or "Raw Data" kind ones, or for traditional shooters the "Onward".

If the AAA title makers can't get their games out on this year or early next year (2018) then the thing might be that VR will suffer and a lot!

So no matter how much we love to see VR going... It can very well be that VR will hit the same fate as Microsoft Sidewinder controllers.... They just become niche "collector items" for some pilots.

The impression to get the VR to DCS alone is now worth the Oculus summer sale 449€ if someone wants. But I didn't feel it was worth the 900€ + touch controllers + 2 sensors it was before that or what it is now for about 1100€ if going for Vive.

But lack of the AAA games for VR.... It is the deciding factor for us virtual pilots.

At least if the VR fails again at the current generation and gets the 3D television fate... At least many of us can say they have the experience of the future in next 10-15 years when all hardware has got better and future generation can go through.

NeilWillis · August 1, 2017

It's all been said before, so why couldn't you have simply done a search?

Mango · August 1, 2017

having a HMD makes it way easier to swap between flying and driving rigs. than it was when i used monitors.

+1. That was an unexpected benefit of VR, and a very exciting one. Slide the chair over a few inches, adjust the height et voila! Permanent desk/pc setup that supports both flying and driving.

Even if the VR industry disappeared tomorrow, we'd still have our Rifts/Vives, and progressively powerful PC's would make the experience better even with the current fixed screen resolution.

dburne · August 1, 2017

Even if the VR industry disappeared tomorrow, we'd still have our Rifts/Vives, and progressively powerful PC's would make the experience better even with the current fixed screen resolution.

Imho, VR ain't going anywhere soon but up and onward. Oculus is really getting a lot of units out there with this summer sale they have had going on, and they are still shipping like crazy - they are struggling just to keep up with demand. And even after the sale the units are still going to be significantly cheaper than what they were just a few months ago.

And the more units that are out there, the better. There be power in numbers, and before too long some of these triple A game developers will be taking a larger notice.

In the meantime Oculus/FB is still funding some pretty big titles, Lone Echo being the latest that is very popular and appears to be doing very well.

I certainly have no magic eight ball, but I do believe VR is here to stay in a big way.

freehand · August 1, 2017

A real a10 pilot called Hoggit had this to say.

Overall, I'd say the sim is very accurate in that there is nothing else out there (except the actual A-10 sims we train on) that comes close. 4/10 with a keyboard, 6/10 with HOTAS, and 9/10 with Oculus CV1.

Which is good enough for me :thumbup:

rrohde · August 1, 2017

I certainly have no magic eight ball, but I do believe VR is here to stay in a big way.

That was my immediate thought only minutes after my first DCS experience in VR. :thumbup:

streakeagle · August 2, 2017

I had tried VR on my brother's PC, but I just got an Oculus Rift thanks to the summer sale. The 1:1 head tracking and the sense of really being in the cockpit are great, but the resolution and field of view are horrible. I tried DCS, Aces High, and FSX SE. Just looking around at other aircraft parked on the ramp you can see how bad the resolution really is. At normal gun combat ranges, the target is barely recognizable. It is fun to have the sense of depth, especially when looking around the cockpit or flying a helicopter. But for any kind of combat flying, I will be sticking with a large flat panel monitor. I currently use an old 46" 1080p LCD TV. For my purposes, the money I just spent on Rift would have been better spent on a 60" 4K TV.

Buckeye · August 2, 2017

Would the rig in my signature run DCS okay on a Rift? Thinking about picking this up today.

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cichlidfan · August 2, 2017

Would the rig in my signature run DCS okay on a Rift? Thinking about picking this up today.

It should run at an acceptable level though you might have to tone down some graphics options.

Buckeye · August 2, 2017

It should run at an acceptable level though you might have to tone down some graphics options.

Pretty crazy that SLI 970s can't drive DCS in VR in its current shit resolution.

I might just hold off until the next release and build a new rig for it then...rather than limp my way through it now.

cichlidfan · August 2, 2017

DCS does not make good use of SLI. You would probably get just a good results with a single 970.

DCS is VRAM hungry so only having 3.5 GB is a limiting factor. Textures in many games are becoming quite large which is one of the reasons that 1080ti's have 11GB.

Buckeye · August 2, 2017

DCS does not make good use of SLI.

Totally understood, that was the joke

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cichlidfan · August 2, 2017

Totally understood, that was the joke

Actually, the number of games, of any type, that support SLI, without jumping through flaming hoops, is not particularly large. The first problem with SLI, from a cost effectiveness standpoint, is that you are basically paying for twice the VRAM while only using half of it.

streakeagle · August 2, 2017

Oculus Rift doesn't support SLI either according to their startup/installation website I used last night to install/setup the Rift.

Buckeye · August 2, 2017

Actually, the number of games, of any type, that support SLI, without jumping through flaming hoops, is not particularly large. The first problem with SLI, from a cost effectiveness standpoint, is that you are basically paying for twice the VRAM while only using half of it.

Previously I tended to play the big title games, so never had an issue with SLI. Lesson has been learned since this build though, my next builds GPU will be the next gen equivalent of the 1080Ti for sure. Makes life much easier.

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sze5003 · August 2, 2017

Previously I tended to play the big title games, so never had an issue with SLI. Lesson has been learned since this build though, my next builds GPU will be the next gen equivalent of the 1080Ti for sure. Makes life much easier.

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Never was a fan of SLI. Things work better with one really powerful card.

bernp · August 2, 2017

Anyone running the Oculus Rift using a gtx 980 Ti, 6mb graphics card and getting good results? I've been struggling whether to purchase the Rift during the sale. My pc meets or exceeds all the other specs. I spent nearly $600.00 for my 980ti in 2016. I just can't force myself to spend another $$$ on a new graphic card so soon. Any experience with the 980ti??? Thanks in advance

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