this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2024
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DIY Simulators. Simracing, Flight simulators and more
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Discussion about diy simulator related projects.
Examples are simrigs, OpenFFBoard, OSW, motion systems, button plates, cockpits...
Show and discuss your simulators and peripherals here
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Because there are so many limitations to VR. I have a nice vr headset and a multi monitor configuration like this for flight Sims and racing. 9/10 times unless I'm showing MSFS to someone new, it's always in a cockpit like this not VR. Vr is cool, but that's about it. If I want to do any serious technical flying or combat working the systems , it cannot be in VR simple as that (part of this is also me since I get headache after an hour of playing no matter my config or headset)
Does the 3D depth not add much for you? It always bothered me that most people don't seem to care about 3D... every time it started to come back again, it always fizzled out and got harder and harder to find. With VR, I'm so happy that it should finally be here to stay.
But honestly, even when just recreating multiple flat screens in VR, being able to place them at 20 feet away for the comfort of my eyes, and then size them up until they still look like a desktop mounted triple monitor solution at first glance, until you realize how far away they are. All that for about 500$ on quest 3, or 1000$ if you want to go with Quest pro and still use all your physical setup with it. Quest pro is not a fully immersive headset, it's designed for people who still want to see their keyboard or whatever is in that same general location. The perfect headset to blend with already having a physical cab recreation.
I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Quest 3 or Quest pro. Having used everything before that, pancake lenses are the number 1 most important breakthrough in VR so far. Yes, even counting that one you just thought of that seems like it should be more important. Lol. Ok fine, maybe some other parts were a bit more important, like accurate head tracking and all the low-latency work... but pancake lenses are right up there, just behind the fundamental, foundational breakthroughs.
Oh it does add a lot for me , but stacked up against my needs playing 80% of the time flat screen wins but I think it's mostly because of how I fly.
I usually fly dcs with full fidelity f18 cockpit but I use external screens and button boxes, so having head tracking + 3 surround screens + external peripherals is my ideal scenario, adding VR to that mix doesn't work well for me.
Now, if I'm just doing some simple free flights in MSFS , I am much more inclined to use the headset since besides a few cockpit controls it's mostly looking around and doing acrobatics. On dcs I am constantly checking and fiddling with radar, weapons systems, comms etc , reading numbers and focusing on far out enemies on a whim is easier for me on flat 4k screens
I personally often use multiple flat 4k screens in VR too. But it's only one of the options I have there. Can also just be there in 3D. Modern headsets with pancake lenses resolve 4k just as clearly as flatscreens now, so distant objects or small objects are equally visible as a physical 4k screen.
You can still use all the physical cockpit stuff with some VR headsets. Most ideally, the Quest pro, as it also has pancake lenses. Quest pro only covers the top 2/3rds of your field of view, leaving anything on your desk still perfectly visible/interactible. It's also designed to be worn with glasses on, rather than getting prescription lenses for it. I do recommend a third party forehead pad, the default one doesn't fit all foreheads well. I could only wear it for about 2 hours out of the box, with a 30 dollar pad replacement I can wear it infinitely, 16 hours plus.
For people that don't have real-life stuff they want to see while in VR, Quest 3 is the better option. For non-meta headsets, pico has one with pancake lenses, and I think varjo has a couple. Bigscreen beyond is popular with some people. But yeah, it's hard to find a good headset worth recommending for people who won't touch meta stuff. Other headsets drawbacks are pretty prominent. And while I'm no fan of meta, them being the maker of my headsets hasn't actually come with any downside. Where as the money they have put into VR has brought huge upsides.