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My Introduction to VR


MAThrasher

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I started flight simming many years ago.  I think my first flight sim was US Navy Fighters (back in the 90's).  Based on current today standards, that would be considered arcadish.   I started out with a basic joystick that had two buttons.  I progressed through many flight sims and joysticks until I landed upon Falcon 4 and the Thrustmaster F22 hotas.  I thought this was pure nirvana!  

Through the progression of many sims and joysticks, I eventually landed upon Lomac and the CH Products gear.  I also used the Thrustmaster Cougar hotas.  I walked away from flight simming thinking I would revisit it if there were substantial changes that would draw me back in.  I was currently using TrackIR and multiple monitors.  

Many years later, I saw a post on DCS forums by dburne.  I don't know who dburne is, but  it really resonated within my being.  In the dburne post, it really praised VR and said you have to see it to believe it.  For some reason, I had 100% belief in his post.  That is when my turmoil began on when to try flight simming again.  

I do software development, and I tend to favor Mac OS since it makes it easy to do testing on iOS as well as Android.  With the MacOS, I can run the iOS simulator as well as Android.  I wanted to try VR so badly, but my Windows machine (1070 graphics card) was marginal at best for running  VR.   For a long period of time, I wanted to upgrade my Windows computer to a better machine so that I could try flight simming again.   

I finally went for the upgrade to a Windows machine that could run VR (3070 Ti graphics card).  The first time I ran DCS on the new machine blew my mind!  I sat in the cockpit of an A-10C for 10 minutes enjoying the view.  It completely BLEW my mind.  I knew at that instant in time, VR was the future.  

Thanks to dburne for your posts!  VR is the single best improvement to flight simming!!

 

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Windows 11, GPU: RTX-4090, Ram: 32gb, CPU: 12700k, Headset: Varjo Aero

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yes VR is absolutely the coolest thing..

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ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming 4/AC / Intel i7 10700K @ 5.1Ghz / Noctua DHS-14 Heatsinkw/Fan /  Samsung 970plus m.2 1TB  /  eVGA FTW3 2080Ti /  RipJaws - 64GB RAM @3200  /  SoundBlaster Z  / Reverb G2 VR /  ThrustMaster HOTAS Cougar & MFD's / Buttkicker Gamer 2

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Absolutely 100%.  The jump from single monitor to multi monitor, None of these things are even close to the jump going to  VR.  VR is a complete game changer.   

 

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Windows 11, GPU: RTX-4090, Ram: 32gb, CPU: 12700k, Headset: Varjo Aero

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Several years ago my friend told me VR in DCS was just like sitting the in cockpit.

After I tried it myself I realized what he actually meant was, “Holy Crap! Flying DCS in VR is just like being in the freaking cockpit! No kidding!”

Or something like that.  And it’s only gotten better. 
 


 

 

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:thumbup:

Welcome aboard this wonderful world of VR simming! And you are most welcome! I have been doing it practically daily since getting VR in Jan 2017 and it still blows my mind.

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Don B

EVGA Z390 Dark MB | i9 9900k CPU @ 5.1 GHz | Gigabyte 4090 OC | 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16 | Corsair H150i Pro Cooler |Virpil CM3 Stick w/ Alpha Prime Grip 200mm ext| Virpil CM3 Throttle | VPC Rotor TCS Base w/ Alpha-L Grip| Point Control V2|Varjo Aero|

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Only trouble is, I get about 60-90 minutes before it becomes uncomfortable and I have to take it off and have a break.  Currently using the OC2 and Elite strap with custom padding on the back head strap.  Mainly starts to hurt my forehead.


Edited by Steel Jaw

"You see, IronHand is my thing"

My specs:  W10 Pro, I5/11600K o/c to 4800 @1.32v, 64 GB 3200 XML RAM, ASUS RTX3060ti/8GB.

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Sit and brain adaptation time ... its all good from there. 

ALIENWARE R11 - I9 10900KF @ 5.1 GHz - M.2 NVMe 2TB - RTX3090  - XFURY 64GB -3400 MHz RAM

Monitor AW3420DW @ 120Hz - Virpil CM3 Throttle - TM TPR Rudder pedals - Virpil CM2 w/TM Hornet Stick Center - Monstertech Deck Mounts 

RealSimulator FSSB-R3 Lightning Base w/ F16SRGRH SideStick - VR user / Varjo Aero - Big Thx to mbucchia

Start Date April 2020 

 

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On 5/7/2022 at 7:59 AM, Steel Jaw said:

Only trouble is, I get about 60-90 minutes before it becomes uncomfortable and I have to take it off and have a break.  Currently using the OC2 and Elite strap with custom padding on the back head strap.  Mainly starts to hurt my forehead.

 

Check out VRCover, they have custom face gaskets that allow more air flow and their pads are better material than stock facial "interface".  It comes with a normal padding pad and an extra padded pad that I use.  Also helps improve FOV over stock.

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On 5/7/2022 at 4:59 AM, Steel Jaw said:

Only trouble is, I get about 60-90 minutes before it becomes uncomfortable and I have to take it off and have a break.  Currently using the OC2 and Elite strap with custom padding on the back head strap.  Mainly starts to hurt my forehead.

 

130909144_10214692645829738_4745755252729644137_n.jpg

I have posted this before (not with the STL file). It's just a simple 3D printed PLA adapter for the Wilcox NVG adapter (the lip of the helmet on the front does need to be cut a little for the Q2 to slid closer to your eyes (just cut it as high as you could without cutting into the NVG adapter on the helmet; you do have to take out the padding right inside before cutting), but nothing a scroll saw couldn't handle, if you just buy the el'cheapo plastic helmet for Airsoft, instead the very expensive combat version made with Kevlar. I can use this for hours. Sure, there is some light leaks... not that I mind much... you can always put some black cloth bag over it; problem solved.

 

Currently, a clone aluminum Wilcox adapter sells for about USD $100, and a cheap helmet about $30 on Amazon. So, it's $130 plus a little elbow grease vs Elite strap's $49 which kind of works but not really well.

 

Attached is the zip file with the adapter's STL file. I hereby put it in the public domain. Do whatever you want with it. I don't give a rat's mule.

 

Please note that you should print it with a 0.4mm nozzle. PLA will do just fine... no need for tough PLA, or Nylon, or ABS, or any exotic carbon fiber filament. Also, I would recommend that you print it with the flat side of the spine down on the print bed so to avoid delamination of the dovetail where the concentration of force is, and less support material needed. It's designed to be printed this way. Print it in any other orientation, and it might fail. In this version, I had gotten rid of the holes on the body. They don't save much material, nor save much print time, and waste a lot of breakaway support material and a lot more post processing works to get rid of them. A 40% infill with no holes will do just as well.

I also put a tennis racket grip tape on the Q2 to protect it from scratches from the printed adapter. In addition, I have replaced the rubber band with a flexible cord similar to the ones on the helmet in the picture. A shoe lace would do just great too.

Let me know if you want the original Solidworks file for modifications (exceeds the 5MB attachment size limit of the forum).

 

NVGWilcoxLock2.STL.zip

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It is always a happy moment to read comments like that of the opening post. It reminds of my first experience.
VR is revolutionary in flightsim, the only way to do any Simulator game in my opinion.

The only issue for me now is that having taken the pill of VR, I am constantly chasing the hardware or anything for that matter to make the experience better.
News of new headsets, software mod, in-game settings, and news of Ed's Vulkan and multicore etc that would take the experience to another level up easily grabs my attention.


Looking back from the early days of flight Sims, the era we are now is a great time with all the peripherals that is now available to us enjoy close-to-real simulation.

VR is just phenomenal

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Windows 10 Pro 64bit|Ryzen 5600 @3.8Ghz|EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra|Corair vengence 32G DDR4 @3200mhz|MSI B550|Thrustmaster Flightstick| Virpil CM3 Throttle| Thrustmaster TFRP Rudder Pedal /Samsung Odyssey Plus Headset

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The only issue for me now is that having taken the pill of VR, I am constantly chasing the hardware or anything for that matter to make the experience better.
News of new headsets, software mod, in-game settings, and news of Ed's Vulkan and multicore etc that would take the experience to another level up easily grabs my attention.


Yeah, since I started with an old cv1... Me? Super happy. My bank account and savings? Meh, not so much :(

Enviado desde mi POCOPHONE F1 mediante Tapatalk

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1 hour ago, Eaglewings said:

It is always a happy moment to read comments like that of the opening post. It reminds of my first experience.
VR is revolutionary in flightsim, the only way to do any Simulator game in my opinion.

The only issue for me now is that having taken the pill of VR, I am constantly chasing the hardware or anything for that matter to make the experience better.
News of new headsets, software mod, in-game settings, and news of Ed's Vulkan and multicore etc that would take the experience to another level up easily grabs my attention.


Looking back from the early days of flight Sims, the era we are now is a great time with all the peripherals that is now available to us enjoy close-to-real simulation.

VR is just phenomenal
 

 

Yeah I remember those days prior to VR. Never had to have the top GPU, generally stayed a generation behind. Nor to top end hardware. My how things changed with VR. I love it though!

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Don B

EVGA Z390 Dark MB | i9 9900k CPU @ 5.1 GHz | Gigabyte 4090 OC | 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16 | Corsair H150i Pro Cooler |Virpil CM3 Stick w/ Alpha Prime Grip 200mm ext| Virpil CM3 Throttle | VPC Rotor TCS Base w/ Alpha-L Grip| Point Control V2|Varjo Aero|

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Yeah, since I started with an old cv1... Me? Super happy. My bank account and savings? Meh, not so much :(

Enviado desde mi POCOPHONE F1 mediante Tapatalk

Difficult not to make the bank account suffer for VR in flightsim.
I would have cared less about upgrading my present pc specs for dcs had I remained with 2d monitor play.

Let hope the VR headset industry economic of scale thrives to make them affordable.

It would really be great to have something like DLSS and FSR for VR so that we do not have to look for the top end hardware to really enjoy VR in flight Sims.

Windows 10 Pro 64bit|Ryzen 5600 @3.8Ghz|EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra|Corair vengence 32G DDR4 @3200mhz|MSI B550|Thrustmaster Flightstick| Virpil CM3 Throttle| Thrustmaster TFRP Rudder Pedal /Samsung Odyssey Plus Headset

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