List of paid aircraft modules that support visible Pilot Body for VR users

[draconus]

Nice, I didn't know that majority of modules already have the pilot body available ~65% (27 of 42)

[TORC]

On 1/24/2024 at 7:02 PM, samdan87 said:

Possible to add the following columns?
 

Those are some good suggestions! I will think about how best to add these notes.

From how I see it, on the quality of the pilot models, we could categorise them by tiers:

1) Animated, hi-poly first person pilot model (the F-15E for example, I’d need to check the harrier for animated hands)

2) High quality visual model, no animation on the hands for switches and perhaps some pieces of kit missing (like oxygen hoses). Examples might be the Heatblur F-14 and the new Hornet pilot model?

3) Lower visual quality model, like the WWII fighters and the FC3 Soviet planes

4) No pilot model (obviously)

 

Do we think this would add useful information to the sheet? Or would a text description of the pilot model quality for each module be better?

Or a combination of colours for the tiers and text descriptions as well?

[samdan87]

On 1/26/2024 at 4:58 PM, TORC said:

Those are some good suggestions! I will think about how best to add these notes.

From how I see it, on the quality of the pilot models, we could categorise them by tiers:

1) Animated, hi-poly first person pilot model (the F-15E for example, I’d need to check the harrier for animated hands)

2) High quality visual model, no animation on the hands for switches and perhaps some pieces of kit missing (like oxygen hoses). Examples might be the Heatblur F-14 and the new Hornet pilot model?

3) Lower visual quality model, like the WWII fighters and the FC3 Soviet planes

4) No pilot model (obviously)

 

Do we think this would add useful information to the sheet? Or would a text description of the pilot model quality for each module be better?

Or a combination of colours for the tiers and text descriptions as well?

That would be great, but the distinction between tiers 1 and 2 may a bit fine and subjective. The Hornet for example, is extremely high-quality visually, but I'm not sure if the animation is high-quality enough to put it in Tier 1. Comparatively, the Gazelle has quite a lot of animation (the co-pilot reaches for the grab strap) but the model quality is lower than that of the Hornet. 

I think a "high" and "low" quality band would be good enough, plus a text description. 

As an aside, I think by far the best so far are the F15 and Harrier; the legs move when the stick is deflected too far, and the torso moves when you turn your head. Even the oxygen hose is modelled (though that does not move). Every bit of help with immersion is appreciated!

Once again thanks for your list. I refer to it every time I am thinking of purchasing an existing module, because screenshots and sometimes even the dev's own descriptions of their product on ED's store page don't mention or feature the VR body at all. Which is a real shame 

 

[EDIT: I notice that you already added the green and gold tiers for the pilot models! Thanks! You can ignore my suggestion above; though I think no harm adding more detailed comments in the "Virtual pilot body" column]

Edited February 6, 2024 by samdan87

[samdan87]

Could I just say that the F18 is now in a tier of its own. There's full shoulder and upper torso animation when you move your head, and the parachute risers and shoulder harness tensioners move with you. The animation blows even the F15E pilot body out the water!  So you don't feel like a floating head over a dummy body anymore. The only thing that's lacking is the oxygen hose (which only Razbam has tried... I think their solution was quite elegant, blurring it off near the stump)

 

Edited March 1, 2024 by samdan87

[Fisherman82]

Always nice to have the pilot body as detailed as possible but I rather take a simple one than none at all any day of the week. In VR its just weird without one at all, I simply dont fly aircraft that dont have one.

[draconus]

I wonder if they could go a bit further with simulating the visible helmet limits and the nose mask blurred so we could actually feel we're wearing all of it on our head.

[TORC]

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've let this run fallow for a bit. I agree with Samdan's comments on the F-18 now we've got the full new pilot model, it's a new standard and I hope it's what we'll see going forward. But I also agree with Fisherman, and I've tried flying some other sims recently and would extend this to even if I don't have a pilot model for my body, if I can see other crew in the plane (for a multi-seat plane), it is more immersive than flying a heavy bomber (for example) completely on my own.

I need to go through and update the document, and unless anyone can suggest something better I plan to use the following rating scheme:

[RED]: No in-cockpit crew shown (Single seat aircraft without pilot models like the I-16, and multicrew planes with no modelled crew like the Mosquito will end up here)

[BLUE]: No first-person virtual pilot, but other crew members have in-cockpit models (F-14 was like this until we got the first person pilot model)

[GREEN]: Old-style first-person virtual pilot, with animated arms but fixed upper torso (the warbirds with first-person pilots are like this, and the F-14 would be in this category now)

[GOLD]: New-style first-person virtual pilot with upper-body movement modelled so you feel like your movement is connected to the virtual pilot model (like the F-18 with the new pilot model and the F-15E)

 

The only inconsistency I can see in the proposed rating scheme is that single-seaters never have the chance to go into the blue category, but I'd argue that is a feature: despite not having a first-person pilot model the F-14 was still pretty immersive because you could look forward and see your pilot looking around (or vice versa with your RIO).

 

Thanks everyone for your input!

Edited April 7, 2024 by TORC

[TORC]

Happy Phantom day everyone

I've updated the document for DCS 2.9.5.55300. The major updates to the document are:

• As discussed above, the document now shows a color distinction in the tables to differentiate modules with good first-person virtual pilots with arm movement (in green) and the best versions with arm movement and upper body movement (in gold). Currently, the gold category consists of the F/A-18C Hornet, the F-16C Viper and the F-15E Strike Eagle.
• The F-4E has been released and is now shown in the document. Another strong release by Heatblur, it features virtual pilots in both cockpits and promises great customisation (and you can right now choose to wear sunglasses rather than lower your visor ). Like the F-14A/B pilot it lacks the upper body movement in the first person view, though your pilot/WSO, when you're viewing them from the other seat, *does* feature this animation and, like the Tomcat and Strike Eagle, it's very immersive to work with another player in this jet. A solid recommendation from me!
• The F-16C Viper has been updated with the long-awaited first-person virtual pilot. It's another solid update, featuring all the latest upper body movement and showing a very readable kneeboard on the left leg. I actually don't think I'll be needing the big kneeboard in this module any more! It's also in a surprisingly convenient position, due to the reclined seating position in the F-16. If you were holding off getting the F-16 until the virtual pilot was included, I'd pull the trigger on it immediately.

There are still a couple of modules where the first-person virtual pilot is obviously taking a back seat to other work the module needs (the JF-17 and the Mirage F1, for example), and there are a few modules where I do wonder if they are abandoned or just such low priority that we won't see it included (the MiG-19, Yak-52 and Fw-190A-8 as a few examples).

As an aside, the Yak-52 and Mirage F1-BE are ideal candidates to get a backseater we can see from the front seat and vice versa with a pilot, to bump them up into the "Blue" category and get a recommendation from me (on the off chance any of the developers see this and care about my recommendations ).

 

Edited May 23, 2024 by TORC

[sirrah]

Only just found out about this thread.
As a day one pilot body fan boy (, ok that came out strange, don't read this the wrong way please), I very much like your initiative @TORC!

 

This list is quite useful for potential buyers that don't like empty cockpits. Perhaps though you could add a note or a colour, to indicate if a pilot body is planned for that module. For instance, for the A-10C-II I know the feature is planned, but for the JF-17 I don't know if a pilot body is planned at all (that's one of the reasons I haven't purchased that module).

[TORC]

Thanks for your kind words @sirrah!

I will do some research and see if it is practical to include an indication of whether a virtual/first-person pilot body has even been mentioned for the module. What I’ve been doing until now is updating the document and thread when a new pilot body is released with a patch… I am hesitant to say a pilot body is planned for a module when I have no actual way to guarantee such an update will ever happen (the Black Shark and Fw-190A-8 are perfect examples of this… and you already mentioned the A-10C II which I have higher hopes for). But I will look into it for you 

[TORC]

There will be a small update today to add the Kiowa Warrior - it will go into the [Green] category with both the pilot and copilot bodies visible from the first person view and very detailed!

[TORC]

Hi @sirrah,

I have looked into the information available on the forum and the sales pages about the first-person pilot bodies in those modules that are still missing them. There are a lot of promises, but given the timeframes I'm not totally comfortable including it in the document. I will give you my findings here:

• FC3 modules (the A-10A, F-15C and MiG-29): There was some commentary from 2016 about pilot legs in Lock On: Flaming Cliffs having been removed for the DCS version of Flaming Cliffs. BigNewy responded to a thread that "[...] ED are aware of the VR pilot body presence, hopefully it is something we will see with all aircraft eventually"
• A-10C II Tank Killer: As of 2020, ED Staff pinned a "planned for later" to a wishlist post requesting a first-person pilot body. BigNewy reported on 12/12/2022 that "A pilot body is planned, but I can give you not ETA currently [sic]". On 20 July 2023 Wags locked the topic so no further replies or requests were found.
• JF-17 Thunder: Developer doesn't ever seem to have responded to questions or requests about a pilot body
• MiG-19P Farmer: No information. A 2019 topic about it not being present was moved by mods from the bug reporting forum to the general forum.
• MiG-21Bis: This was originally promised, but the records are lost to me in the deep time of the web. It was mentioned in the forum in 2016 as being a "forgotten promise".
• Mirage F1: on 23 May 2023 Fausete (3rd party developer) responded to a request "[...] a pilot model is actively being developed."
• Fw 190 A-8 Anton: On 19 July 2021 Nineline responded "Its planed but the model has not been finished yet for the pilot unfortunately. It will come later, we understand this is important to VR users especially."
• I-16: This developer is a single person, and it seems that all mentions of the "pilot body" refer to the body seen in the external (F2, F4) view.
• Mosquito FB VI: A 2021 thread was active until mid 2023, but no official response was ever made.
• Yak-52: On 2 October 2019 BigNewy responded to a bug report about missing pilot bodies with "Apologies for the delay, this has now been reported [...] I don't have a timeline for a fix"
• Black Shark 3: as of December 2022 there is a post in the BS3 Wishlist forum titled "Pilot Body" requesting the pilot body, and it is pinned as "in progress"

As you can see, ED are promising pilot bodies in all their modules in the future... which we might see - e.g. the PBR textures for the F-15 cockpit in FC3 were unexpected and welcome. The Mirage F1 is under active development and the developers report the pilot model is under active development.

While I don't want to throw shade on the other devs, particularly not OctopusG who is one person doing all the work, I would bet against seeing pilots in the other modules where they are missing (JF-17, MiG-19P, MiG-21Bis, I-16). I'm also pessimistic about the Yak-52, though that is ED so there is some hope.

Hope this helps!

[TORC]

Hey all,

Huge DCS patch dropped today, no changes to the 1st person pilot visibility for any of the modules that don't have them.

On FC2024: I am not currently intending to purchase this update as I own the F-86, MiG-15 and F-5E as standalone modules. All of these modules feature the pilot body, so I'd be amazed if the FC2024 versions don't. If anyone does purchase and can let me know one way or the other, that'd be appreciated!

Edited July 12, 2024 by TORC
Confirmed no 1st person pilot bodies for the modules that are missing them in this patch

[samdan87]

On 3/1/2024 at 3:47 PM, draconus said:

I wonder if they could go a bit further with simulating the visible helmet limits and the nose mask blurred so we could actually feel we're wearing all of it on our head.

Haha yes, if only they would do that. VOTL VR does, and it really adds to the immersion. 

One more thing- In BMS, there is a helmet mask sound option. Which plays a sound effect simulating the regular cycling of the demand valve in the oxygen mask (like Darth Vader). This is realistic, and also adds to the immersion. In the vanilla DCS, you only get pilot breathing sounds when pulling G. But in reality, just like a SCUBA diver, you will hear the hiss of the demand valve with every normal breath you take, even when just flying straight and level. 

What I have done to simulate this is to simply play the sound file of the oxygen mask breathing in the background whenever I'm flying fast jets.

[samdan87]

Two other points:
1. The F16 pilot body floats and sinks in his seat by about 1 or 2 inches when pulling negative and positive G. Neat! 
2. The F16 external pilot model now comes with an animated body. So it's not just the head rotating on a swivel- the whole upper body moves when the player is looking around the cockpit. This is visible in multiplayer, when you're doing close formation flying with a friend. Very lifelike!
 

[TORC]

Quick update to include the CH-47F, the module is in a very early state with no pilot or crew bodies visible from inside the cockpit (hence being in the [RED] category) and a number of other "features to do" outstanding such as the cyclic force trim when using a force feedback joystick.

[TORC]

Quick update to the CH-47F with the new patch... we now have a pilot and copilot in the cockpit! Including first-person view, the upper body is animated - straight to the "Gold" Category

[TORC]

I've updated the document with the F-5E Tiger II remastered edition (which I believe is now the only full fidelity F-5E you can buy in the online store or on Steam). The module has an updated pilot which brings it in line with the F-16 and F-18 with upper body movement (which is hard to see in the cramped confines of the F-5E cockpit, but it is there!) and a kneeboard on the left leg.

Again, I do not own the Flaming Cliffs 2024 edition version of the F-5E so I can't speak to what is included in that module - if anyone does ownitI'd appreciate it if you could let me know

[TORC]

Quick update to remove the RAZBAM modules from the tables (you can't buy them any more ). I've also removed the Flaming Cliffs modules, as I only have Flaming Cliffs 3 and I'm not confident that is representative of Flaming Cliffs 2024 nor am I intending to buy that pack as I own the full-fidelity versions of those aircraft.

Finally there is some good news about the long (long long long!) awaited A-10C pilot, which is coming soon and appears to be a hi-fidelity model like in the F-5E, F-16 and F/A-18. Not sure that offsets the disappointment of the Razbam stuff, but something to look forward to at least.

[draconus]

On 4/13/2025 at 8:35 AM, TORC said:

Quick update to remove the RAZBAM modules from the tables (you can't buy them any more ). I've also removed the Flaming Cliffs modules, as I only have Flaming Cliffs 3 and I'm not confident that is representative of Flaming Cliffs 2024 nor am I intending to buy that pack as I own the full-fidelity versions of those aircraft.

It's your list but imho it's a mistake to remove the modules. These are still part of DCS and functional for plenty of users that still do own them, esp. FC3 aircraft are all available for sale as standalone and are part of the FC2024 pack.

[TORC]

I take your point @draconus, if it is useful to people I can add the FC3 aircraft back into the list - but my concern remains: if anyone can add to the discussion here about what is actually in FC2024 pilot-body wide I’d greatly appreciate it?

[draconus]

38 minutes ago, TORC said:

I take your point @draconus, if it is useful to people I can add the FC3 aircraft back into the list - but my concern remains: if anyone can add to the discussion here about what is actually in FC2024 pilot-body wide I’d greatly appreciate it?

I can only confirm FC3 pack aircraft (these are the same as in the FC2024) and piloty body is available for Su-25A, Su-27/J-11A and Su-33. I'll try to ask in the forum wrt FC2024.

RAZBAM aircraft may not be available for sale atm but they still are flyable for users that did bought them.

[Skuva]

The F-5 FC, F-86 FC and MiG-15 FC have pilot bodies. The F-5 FC kneedboard is functional.

Edited April 22 by Skuva

[TORC]

Thanks @Skuva and @draconus, I will update the document.

It's also probably time to go through and do a full audit to see if I've missed any updates since the last audit ... we'll see if I can get that done quickly

[samdan87]

Hi, just writing in to confirm that the F4U has a pilot body in VR (checked today, 30 June 2025). There's also torso movement.

On that note though, there's perhaps too much torso movement- when at full left stick, the right shoulder intrudes into the field of view and it's a bit jarring.