Complete VR and DCS newbie

[blanco77]

Hi,

 

As this is a rather general topic please excuse if this has been discussed or boring, or both. During the recent sales I opted for the Oculus  Rift S over the Quest 2. A decision not undertaken lightly but from I gather, seeing I bought it solely for DCS use and other than lack of cables, can see no quick benefit over the Quest 2, especially as Q2 uses report using cables anyway. So here we go:

 

1. Cable free VR appears still in its infancy, given that wireless keyboards and mouses were terrible, unusable on first release, am I going to regret the Rift S over the Quest 2. My processor and graphics are respectable but by no means high end. My GeForce is 1660 and processor i7. I’ve got 16gb ram and 2 ssd drives.

 

2. Will the Rift S require Facebook and if so is this realistically a problem? I like to maintain a low Facebook presence and use it to contact old friends. I don’t really need to publish my failure to cold start my Yak 52, yet!

 

3. Rather than memorise the entire cockpit layout of an F18 (kudos to those who can) or any fast jet for that matter (the 52 will keep me plenty busy.) As a student what are the best control options, while I learn the finer points of a UHF radio and what the hell is Squark is for that matter? I’m more excited  to start with take off and landing, circuits, navigation and aerobatics.

 

I was thinking cable USB Microsoft Mouse, Microsoft Keyboard, Thrust master Stick and Peddles and Logitech Quadrant. I have on standby a Saitek stick and a MS Sidewinder 2, I was going to sell these if not needed. 
 

Potentially the keyboard is the problem as I don’t think I’ll be able to see the keys? In other flight sims I've kept A4 paper with various keys/functions written down, and bonded the rest to the flight stick and quad. Suggestions or anyone got a recent link to a set up diagram involving some of the kit I’ve got? 
 

Help really appreciated, thanks.

[Gruman]

Hi mate.

 

1) Wireless is the wrong term here. Its rather standalone. When you are not wired up to your computer, the quest would run as a "game console" and play the VR game on the Quest itself. This will "never" be possible with DCS. Then you could connect the USB-Type C cable and use the Quest as an upgraded Rift S.

The Quest 2 has a higher resolution display than the Rift-S. And I heard the Rift-S will be discontinued in the next couple months.

 

2) Facebook account is not a "Problem". You either like Facebook or you dont. I dont and I'm looking forward for when I can finally ged rid of my Rift S and switch to the Reverb G2 on the 17th Dec 2020.

 

3) Simply use your mouse in 3d. Those couple buttons are memorized really quickly. Keyboard controls will be harder to memorize, especially if you dont see the keyboard.

But on the Rift-S you can remove the nose piece to have a small opening for seeing your keyboard.

 

TBH, your GTX 1660 could be a bit slow. And I7 doesnt really mean a lot when you describe your processor. You could have an 4Core  I7 from 8 years ago. 

[blanco77]

Hi there,

 

Ouch, don’t hold back lol. Appreciate your candid response, thanks it’s exactly what I wanted.
 

1. It’s exactly what I didn’t want.

 

2. I expletive expletive Facebook and it’s existence, it has actually ruined certain parts of my life experience so far. Good thing is I can still return the Rift, if need be. Questers needn’t hold the the party just yet tho either? At least Rift S has to have some sort of support community, maybe some sort of candle light vigil?

 

3. I love what I’ve seen of DCS so far on 2D and the slightly eccentric people who can fly such complex aeroplanes, presumably in their lunch break? My long term goal is to co own and fly a Nanchang CJ6 in realtime. I was fortunate to fly a CJ6 last year and loved that, I think the Yak 52 a fair training aid. DCS with VR is heaven sent, quite realistic and since playing on my son’s PS VR last Christmas, I thought it’s only a matter of time until VR for DCS. Very exciting! Just wondered what peripherals to use?

 

My system is to be precise is a Intel i7-8700 3.2 (Coffee Lake what ever that is, from 3 years ago) Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660, 6144 MB, DDR 4 16 GB Ram (could up to 32?) I was planning to install DCS 2.1 or what ever is stable as I’m still learning the basics. Really the main thing is realism, flight with dials, switches etc.

 

Thanks again for your prompt reply and any fixes you can suggest? I heard you can get lessons so I can virtually terrify the instructor. 
 

Thanks again,

 

S
 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by blanco77

[Gruman]

Hi there. 

 

Rift-S: You still will have your warranty for your Rift-S, dont worry about that one. You shouldnt not loose anything when the Rift-S is discontinued. This VR Headset will have users for quiet some time. There are still guys running Rift CV1 etc. But with the pricepoint of a Quest 2, the improvements and even more support for wired connection will make many switch to the quest. If you want to get rid of Facebook -> Valve Index or HP Reverb G1/G2. But you will need a lot stronger GPU.

 

The 8700 is a good 6 core cpu. Would be better if it was a 8700k, but that should give you plenty of compute power to run the Rift-S (CPU wise). I assume its a prebuild system from HP/Dell or similiar? Upgrade from 16GB to 32GB is not required. I simply like 32GB since you will never have issues running out of memory (Memory Leaks as an example).

If you can add another 16GB depends on your Mainboard and the size of your memory modules. If you have 2* 8GB Modules installed and still two open slots, upgrading is easy and fairly cheap. If you have 4*4GB Modules, you are at your max capacity and need to get a complete new Memory Kit (Expansive).

 

The 1660 is probably the weakest link in your system. If you have issues with DCS in VR, this would be the point to tackle. With the release of AMD and NVIDIA Cards there should be plenty to choose from, as soon as they all have cards in stock (probably January).

 

The YAK is a simple plane, but is often used for acrobatics. So IMHO rudders are a must. Less expensive way would be a Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS Hotas and pair that one with a Thrustmaster TFRP T. Flight Rudder Pedals. If Money is not a big issue, Virpil, VKB, Thrustmaster have plenty of expensive gear which are high quality.

 

What do you mean with lessons? Flight lessons? There are plenty of s quadrons (Combat or Acrobatics) which offer free training if you contribute. And there are plenty of training missions within DCS.

 

Hope this helps

[blanco77]

Hi there.

 

I've been fortunate enough to be given intelligent and concise advice! Thanks ever so much for you advice, and glad I managed to get this thread back! 

Lessons I was referring to, a YouTube video I watched featuring low level flight training from a RAF T1/T2 pilot, whilst flying in real time, online. Astonishing really, the potential of this fantastic sim.
 

Have got the Thustmaster peddles so glad you like those! 
 

Again very grateful to you and thanks for your time, hope this thread will help other beginners as well.

 

S

 

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by blanco77

[blanco77]

Thread now fixed