Improving visuals under VR for boat recoveries

[nessuno0505]

I'd love to move to VR, the thought of it seems great. I'm just cautious with spending that much money until I'm sure it's where I personally would want it to be visually.

 

Well, so maybe I suggest you NOT to buy an HMD. You will not know how to choose if it's better resolution or immersion, and I suspect at the end you will be forced - in spite of yourself - to give up to resolution. So keep your monitor and wait.

[nessuno0505]

VR is *THE FUTURE* for DCS. In a few years, we'll all be laughing about using TrackIR's and multi monitors. Why am I so sure? Because we don't talk about lack of depth perception, 3D spatial awareness, situational awareness, ability terrain associate, sense of speed, etc. when talking about 2D monitors (4K or not). Because we know it's not possible to represent 3D with a 2D monitor - no matter the clarity/resolution. Terrain association is one of those things that you simply CANNOT do well because of the 2D limitation.

 

I was writing my post without having read your. I quote 99%. The only part I do not agree is when you say VR is the future of DCS. IMHO VR is already the present of DCS and of any other flight simulation worthy of its name.

When you start from cold and dark your ka-50, and you see those huge blades slowly start swirling over your head… you say in VR it is fun just to fly, well I say even just to start up! Now try it with a monitor!

Edited June 21, 2018 by nessuno0505

[swimbody]

And just as expected here comes the same useless debate again. That particular horse has been dead for quite a while now.

 

The OP only wanted to know what he could do to see the ball more easily, some settings tweaks and/or using the VR zoom should do the trick, the end.

 

Good lord and AMEN MajorBug, thankyou. Was ONLY looking for techniques or settings used. Sheesh people. Thanks for the GD debate. I have thousands of hours of REAL FLIGHT TIME flying mf'ing airliners. I just wanted a more realistic view point and wanted suggestions, not an argument.

 

Guess I will look elsewhere.

[Repth]

No need to look elsewhere. I keep my PD to 1.6 and msaa off and I can see the ball just fine about a mile from the Stennis. It's not super crisp but enough so that I can tell it apart from the datum lights. Most of my other settings are maxed. View distance is set to High.

[Shack]

No need to look elsewhere. I keep my PD to 1.6 and msaa off and I can see the ball just fine about a mile from the Stennis. It's not super crisp but enough so that I can tell it apart from the datum lights. Most of my other settings are maxed. View distance is set to High.

 

I only fly VR (RIFT). The immersion factor is worth the screen door effect. Pimax 8K will be an amazing addition to the flight sim community. Looking forward to that. !

[dburne]

I run 1.5 PD and 2XAA.

Most settings on high, visibility range on medium.

No shadows at all.

 

Don't know what headset the OP is using as he did not state, for my Rift I run ASW off via a profile for DCS in the Oculus Tray Tool. I don't much like ASW in a combat flight sim.

 

Frame rates hover around 45 fps min over the Persian Gulf flying the F/A 18-C, but it is very smooth and enjoyable. I have no issue seeing well enough for my carrier landings.

[BigDuke6ixx]

Good lord and AMEN MajorBug, thankyou. Was ONLY looking for techniques or settings used. Sheesh people. Thanks for the GD debate. I have thousands of hours of REAL FLIGHT TIME flying mf'ing airliners. I just wanted a more realistic view point and wanted suggestions, not an argument.

 

Guess I will look elsewhere.

 

Yeah, you look elsewhere and try telling people what VR you are actually using next time!

[nicka117]

Not wanting to start a useless debate but 2160x1200 isn't "so bad" compared to my 2560x1440 monitor. And the entry price tag is closer to $400 than $600 right now. But people complaining about VR being so bad are usually those who didn't try it. I know many simmers who tried both options, and only one of them actually went back to their monitor setup.

 

Surprised you found one. In VR it is a different game completely.

 

Most of the people that complain about the cons of VR would crap their drawers if they actually put the headset on.

[rrohde]

Most of the people that complain about the cons of VR would crap their drawers if they actually put the headset on.

 

That reminds me of my very first day in DCS with the Rift. I just couldn't believe how amazing it was and caught myself yelling out expletives for some time while looking around on the ground, during take-off and in-flight. Luckily I was the only one home at the time. ... still so very fond of the VR experience in DCS, but that first day with it was very, very special (including the motion sickness). :thumbup:

[dburne]

That reminds me of my very first day in DCS with the Rift. I just couldn't believe how amazing it was and caught myself yelling out expletives for some time while looking around on the ground, during take-off and in-flight. Luckily I was the only one home at the time. ... still so very fond of the VR experience in DCS, but that first day with it was very, very special (including the motion sickness). :thumbup:

 

LOL I can relate, my first time with DCS in VR I think I hollered out " are you effin kidding me" several times...

Sometimes still do on occasion, like when I first climbed into the Hornet for the first time...

:thumbup:

[Pikey]

VR user. 1.6 pd, no AA, glasses inserts on current prescription.

Ball is misty at a mile but clearer getting in the middle. The only Hornet instrument I have to lean in is the altitude on the TDC's captains bars. The Mirage is also pretty rough in places. I stopped pvping after the rift because of the competitive disadvantage but i'm OK with the weighting of the advantage I gain for the loss of public pvp, I can dogfight with my friends anyway.

 

 

Would never go back to a monitor. Would be like losing an eye. stuff like AA refuelling becomes a lot easier. Its not for everyone. I wouldn't hold out for any big improvements and wait for it to dramatically increase in quality.

[swimbody]

Yeah, you look elsewhere and try telling people what VR you are actually using next time!

 

Oculus Rift

[hansangb]

Good lord and AMEN MajorBug, thankyou. Was ONLY looking for techniques or settings used. Sheesh people. Thanks for the GD debate. I have thousands of hours of REAL FLIGHT TIME flying mf'ing airliners. I just wanted a more realistic view point and wanted suggestions, not an argument.

 

Guess I will look elsewhere.

 

 

Did you not see the recommendations? They are all over this thread. Sure, there "my team is better than your team" debates and arguments, but there were plenty of good advice. PD settings, MSAA settings, need to wear glasses, using zoom, using purpose made glasses, small sweet spot and the need to move HMDs around etc. But feel free to look elsewhere.

[Jack McCoy]

I had an opportunity to sit in a full motion Huey

I flew a "million-dollar", full-motion, 180-degrees curved screen Bell 406 simulator for 20 minutes. Having real instruments and force trim was amazing BUT I could not estimate altitude while landing. Rift is MUCH better for this and offers full-sphere visuals, which is the nuts for combat sims. People with neck and back problems might not like it thought. The scenery detail and clarity in DCS/VR is on-par or better than the commercial counterpart.

 

Did I mention I LOVE my Rift? If it breaks today, I'm buying one tomorrow!

[swimbody]

Yes I noticed some of the suggestions; it's just super frustrating to see the silly VR debate come up over and over, it's tiresome. 1.6 pixel density noted, is 2.2 causing blurriness? What is 2XAA? No clue. There is MPAA and SXAA so I don't know the difference. Anyone make a profile that works great under their Nvidia settings that might promote performance?

[STe79ITA]

Hello, i think i would not be able to play anymore without my rift.

 

You need to accept compromises but, it is amazing.

 

I use ipd 1.5 and no msaa, this way at night i dont see funny screendoor effects.

 

Patch after patch is getting even better. Yes you need to find the perfect positioning of visor and interocular distance.

 

Deck on the stennis in vr is awesone. Then once you look at the game without vr you realize how distort and flat is the perspective.

 

I will for sure look into next gen vr but for now, the present one is enough.

[dburne]

Yes I noticed some of the suggestions; it's just super frustrating to see the silly VR debate come up over and over, it's tiresome. 1.6 pixel density noted, is 2.2 causing blurriness? What is 2XAA? No clue. There is MPAA and SXAA so I don't know the difference. Anyone make a profile that works great under their Nvidia settings that might promote performance?

 

Use the in game settings, Nvidia control panel will not apply with VR ( except prefer maximum performance and maybe some fxaa if desired).

 

MSAA in the game graphics gui. I run 2x.

 

You will also want to disable power management for your Rift and sensors in device manager.

[drack]

Hi,

 

A good tip I picked up from one of the VFA-113 Guys was to up my Anisotropic filtering from X2 to X8.

 

With X2 I could not see the deck but I can with X8.

[NeilWillis]

I am afraid I don't agree with the majority of people regarding visibility in VR.

 

You can easily see the ball, and it needs nothing changing. I can also easily see aircraft at around 15 miles.

 

It has been stated elsewhere that a hi res monitor's single pixel is harder to spot than a low res equivalent. Those aircraft all start out 1 pixel in size, so a lower res view will be more visible, and sooner.

 

Frankly I think the hang up regarding visuals in VR are simply "herd instinct" - you hear people say it's bad, so you're pre-disposed to assume the same. The truth is far from the case.

[BigDuke6ixx]

I am afraid I don't agree with the majority of people regarding visibility in VR.

 

You can easily see the ball, and it needs nothing changing. I can also easily see aircraft at around 15 miles.

 

It has been stated elsewhere that a hi res monitor's single pixel is harder to spot than a low res equivalent. Those aircraft all start out 1 pixel in size, so a lower res view will be more visible, and sooner.

 

Frankly I think the hang up regarding visuals in VR are simply "herd instinct" - you hear people say it's bad, so you're pre-disposed to assume the same. The truth is far from the case.

 

Yep, lazy group think really does sum up the anti-VR clowns on here.

[hansangb]

Yes I noticed some of the suggestions; it's just super frustrating to see the silly VR debate come up over and over, it's tiresome. 1.6 pixel density noted, is 2.2 causing blurriness? What is 2XAA? No clue. There is MPAA and SXAA so I don't know the difference. Anyone make a profile that works great under their Nvidia settings that might promote performance?

 

 

Also, start here:

 

 

Jabbers goes through his VR setting. It's a good place to start. MSAA etc., Dburne already went over. Key point is, lot of this is subjective. Some like PD lower to make spotting targets easier, and using MSAA. It's very subjective. Just do make sure you move the HMD around for that sweet spot.

 

 

Finally, while it's not VR specific, if you want to know about MSAA and other settings, look at this excellent post:

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=201196

 

 

BTW, if you want to throw off the VR is great (which it clearly is! :lol:)/No VR is not debates, just start why A10 is better than FA18, or why XPlane is better, or why DCS should make F16, or why AMD is better than Intel, or why NVidia is better than AMD,. LOL

Edited June 22, 2018 by hansangb

[Doum76]

This is what I'm doing. Although I sometimes hear people saying they can see, I don't really trust it knowing that the resolution is so bad compared to a monitor. I hope I'm wrong. I'd love to do VR but I'd rather not spend $600 or more to find out I can't see my instruments and/or targets.

 

 

 

 

To be honest man, the tiny times and small items i can'T read, would never beat the immersion and feeling i get in VR even wit it's limited resolution, no way i'd return with my Track IR, and trying to fly while seing my room's window up my screen and my cat laying around on my desk on my right and my old AM/FM radio on my other desk. :) As for instrument most of them you can read not bad, but most of improtant stuff are on the HUD, for the planes i fly, ok some instruments are hard, but after a while you get used to after using VR Zoom to know where stuff needs to be, IE, altimeter on the Hornet, i know where the needles needs to be to be set on either 450 ft or 370 ft, i don't need to see the numbers sharp anymore cuz i know the scale, most DDI's are not that bad, got to say that in the Gazelle it's a different story, hard but, will never beat the feeling of flying it in VR.

 

 

I rather spent a $529 and experience it, than wait another 2-3 years and have to spend $1,000 on a new VR and absolutely need to replace my computer for it for another $2,000.

 

 

As for the ball as others says, after doing lots of landings, you get to understand where the ball is, as when you get closer, the ball gets sharpen, so after a while you brain get used to understand at a certain spot the glow light represents being too high or too low, i now have no issue to understand where the ball is before i even get in the groove. The balls is pretty clear at the distance you need to fly it, before that when not used to, numbers are a cue, if you're 300 ft at the 90 which should be around 450, you don't need a ball to tell you you'Re too low, if you cross the wake at 450, don't need a bal to tell you you'Re too high as you ned to be about 370 ft. TO be honest after quite many and many landings, your brain can anticipate anyways where you need to be, as you get used to know where your FP marker needs to be on the deck to be on ball, as you turn your 180 or most your 90, you know where about your FP marker needs to be on roll out.

 

 

As for targets, i do agree, it's of course more tricky, but most of the time a second of VR zoom fix it, only issue with the Hornet is the fact the default HUD is way too dark, specialy on darker moments of the day when sun is not shinning, but after turning down the effect a bit int he files it fixes it a lot and helps. I'm wearing glasses, so for me not having a perfect sight in DCS is adding more realism :) I would have freaking hard time to spot a tank on the ground from 10 000 ft away, i guess. :)

 

 

 

Dunno if you ever tried it, but if not, once you try it, it'll haunt you until you get one, i tried at a friend 2 years or so ago, and wanted to wai a better one, but a few months ago, i couldn'T wait any longer, specialy when the Hornet is my favorite bird ever, no way i would ever fly it in non VR, and i don'T regret the $529, but again if your only interest in VR is DCS, it's a different story maybe.

Edited June 24, 2018 by Doum76

[S-GERAT]

I am afraid I don't agree with the majority of people regarding visibility in VR.

 

You can easily see the ball, and it needs nothing changing. I can also easily see aircraft at around 15 miles.

 

It has been stated elsewhere that a hi res monitor's single pixel is harder to spot than a low res equivalent. Those aircraft all start out 1 pixel in size, so a lower res view will be more visible, and sooner.

 

Frankly I think the hang up regarding visuals in VR are simply "herd instinct" - you hear people say it's bad, so you're pre-disposed to assume the same. The truth is far from the case.

 

That's true if you let the pixel density at 1 as you say, by default you can spot contacts very well, even you can see the missiles. But when I put the pixel density at 1.5 everything changes and spotting contacts turns very hard. The same happens with the 4k monitors.. is a problem of the Sim, it should scale that pixel in relation with the resolution of the display.

 

Regarding the ball, I have no problems seeing it.

[oldcrusty]

I was always skeptical of VR. I've read all the reviews (screen door this, hazy that...) then I just said %$@& it. The first time I donned the visor was in DCS (Harrier). The biggest issue I had during this first session was trying to grab on to things like canopy bow, switches, levers. For me the biggest change was not the field of view or head movement but the 3D effect and the perception of true size/proportions. Things like formation flying, ACM, etc. become more intuitive.

 

The field of view is actually not that bad. Yes, I know the numbers... R/L vs. current headset. It just feels like wearing some sort of... limited HMD :)

When you do ACM you find yourself doing stuff that real pilots do like leaning and pushing against something to get a better view (w/o G's of course).

I can feel occasional and very mild onset of vertigo, very briefly, for instance: when turning and looking to the outside of the turn. No more then half a second.

Now, the performance was always good on my rig. I did have lots of stuttering and crashes initially but it all went away. I tried a number of things at the same time so I don't really know for sure what the fix was. This was not related to VR though.

[muehlema]

VR is the best thing. At night, I have done my first trap yesterday. It went easier than at daylight ;)