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Oculus Rift Experience

Posted By: Frogyy2

Oculus Rift Experience - 12/18/17 04:35 PM

Some of us may be receiving Rifts this Xmas. Would be helpful to get updates from earlier adopters as to what to expect from the Rift on initial use and also after the new wears off. Any thoughts on the Rift re the BoX vr implementation would be appreciated. Thx.
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/19/17 12:18 PM

Well first, you can expect to be blown away the first time you climb into a cockpit in VR!
They did an incredible job in their VR implementation for this sim.

Perhaps some useful info in here for ya, I copied this from a post I made over on the 1CGS forums earlier this year.
Hope it helps...


Hey gang,

With the current sale obviously we are going to have some new Rift users in here, maybe even some new IL-2 users as well.

Just thought I would take a moment to highlite some things that may help one get set up and running IL-2 in VR for the Rift.

-- First, take your time and get everything set up properly. Do not rush this part, it is essential for helping to insure you have a trouble free experience with your new Rift.
If you got it on this sale, you got the bundle deal with the Touch Controllers. Now here's the thing, you may be thinking well BoS or flight sims in general do not support Touch, so no need for me to set it up or the sensor that came with the Touch package. Do not take that approach!
First off, the second sensor is not just for the Touch controllers, the controllers will use actually both sensors, same as the headset. Even if you think you will never use Touch, still install the second sensor and go ahead and set them up whilst setting up your Rift. Trust me on this, you will be thankful later. While for sitting applications one sensor is plenty, two is even better. And you will try those Touch controllers later, and love them. There are several great free games that come with them. During setup you will also set up your Oculus Remote and the X-Box controller. I would not skip any of this, get them all set up at one time so everything is there.

Take your time, go through the entire setup process, and through the entire tutorial at the end. Allow approximate an hour to get through all this. The tutorial with the robots is pretty neat anyway and worth going through it.

-- Once you have your Rift successfully set up and gotten through the tutorial, and all appears to be working fine, download and install Steam VR. BoS currently only supports SteamVR in it's VR implementation.
Now, one common misconception is oh great, I have to sign into Steam, and then run Steam VR from there. Not true, unless of course you have the Steam Version of BoS. I never launch Steam for flying BoS, only Steam VR. And it launches automatically for me whenever I launch BoS ( after the VR tick box is checked in the BoS GUI).
Important - Do not install Steam VR Beta! It is problematic for running BoS. Just the standard regular version of Steam VR is all you will want.

Also after having the Rift setup, you have to go into the Oculus Home interface on your monitor, ​go to the settings tab and put a tick mark in the " allow unknown applications" . Any game you have installed that is not within the Oculus Home environment, requires this in order to run in the Rift.

-- If you are using Re-Shade, get rid of it. Especially if you do not have a lot of hair. It does not play nice with BoS in VR. Can cause hair pulling out moments.

-- Nvidia settings. Forgot about them, many will not work for VR. Use the in-game graphics settings for AA, AF, etc. I use Nvidia settings only to set prefer maximum performance, everything else pretty much at default.

-- Once Rift and Steam VR is set up, and you have gone into BoS on your monitor and put a tick mark into VR, exit out.
If you have not, put the headset on - Oculus Home will start up automatically shortly after. Then launch BoS. Steam VR will immediately start up, and BoS should launch and then you will find yourself shortly after in a life sized hangar with the menu screen showing nicely on your right. This is where the jaw first starts to drop to the floor - it will finish dropping when you are in the cockpit. Obviously if you are running the Steam version of BoS, you will need to log into Steam first as well.

-- Audio - to get sound in your Rift headphones, which are actually pretty darn good, you will need to either set the Rift headphones as your default audio device, or change the audio prior to launching BoS to Rift Headhpones. You can also set it to automatically switch with the Oculus Tray Tool, which is mentioned at the end of this post.

- Before getting into the cockpit though, go into the key mapping, and go to the Pilot Head Control category. There you will find two essential features for VR that can be assigned to buttons. VR Zoom ( Press and Hold), and Default VR View ( this resets the view). You will definitely want to assign those two features to buttons on your stick or throttle. Very handy to have. I have both of these features assigned to buttons on my Warthog throttle.

-- Now load up a quick mission in your favorite ride, and prepare to be in total awe! Yep, that is actually a life sized plane you have just found yourself sitting in.

- Lastly, once everything running great and you are a happy camper, than you can start playing with running without ASW , and increasing the Pixel Density. The Oculus Tray Tool which can be found here, is a great tool for setting these things.
https://forums.oculu...es-hopefully/p1
But do get the Rift set up and running properly first.

I hope some info in here might be helpful to new Rift users, you are truly in for a treat!
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/19/17 04:53 PM

Great info. I have a third sensor that I have already checked to be recognized by Rift software. Have that one mounted on a Matthews Microgrip extension rod. Planning BoK as a starting point. Several issues seem to need comment as they recur in Amazon and YouTube reviews. First is how to avoid disconnect or deal with disconnect issues. The other is how to keep faceplate clean. I have acquired 2 pack of the VR cloth covers and a 50pk of disposable covers. Am wondering how best to deal with this aspect of Rift ownership. I of course hope to be lucky and not have any electronic malfunctions related to manufacturing process but it seems these devices are always something of a gamble. Thx for excellent VR BoX primer.
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/19/17 05:11 PM

I installed my Rift on Jan 15th of this year.
I have yet to have a disconnect issue.
You really don't need a third sensor at least for flight simming ( seated ) games. It will come in handy if you get into some large room scale games.
Mine with two sensors seems to be adequate for me, I have a moderate size play area so not too large, about 9ft x 12 ft or so.

I have never had a need to clean my faceplate, but I do have a Mitsubishi air unit in front of me up on the wall blowing cool air down on me so I don't really get sweaty. It was a necessity for me as my game area is in the garage and I live in a warm climate. But depending on room temp it certainly can get sweaty easily enough.

The only thing I do is to wipe the lenses occasionally with the included micro fibre cloth ( no cleaning solution just fog from my breath).
My Rift is as good and solid today as the day I bought it.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/19/17 05:27 PM

Thx for words of encouragement. I have desk mounted oscillating fan I used to use at work. Really looking forward to Xmas!
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/19/17 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by Frogyy2
Thx for words of encouragement. I have desk mounted oscillating fan I used to use at work. Really looking forward to Xmas!


Have fun! Be sure and let us know how you make out with it.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/27/17 05:21 PM

Rift Experience
Setup per dburne’s recommendations except did 3-sensor setup with son’s help. Oculus still says play area too small (~1x2m), but setup works without issues anyway. Using blue cloth VR cover that fits fine after a little fiddling. All Oculus demos run without issue. Il-2 BoK Spitfire is all I’ve flown in VR mode to date. Agree it’s impossible to appreciate a great VR implementation without experiencing it. I had been landing the Vb without incident in 2d for quite some time without much drama. In VR I suddenly found myself needing to do multiple aborts before a successful landing. Finally understood that I needed some slow flight time and realized that Vb stall speed in landing config is 80...83mph. In VR with open canopy I can focus on relationship of exhaust stack to landing strip while also viewing airspeed indicator and throttle lever position effortlessly to achieve soft touchdown. The illusion of being in cockpit is pretty much flawless for me. Once Spit comes to stop and engine is off I will sometimes just sit there for a while looking around. The illusion of a 1 to 1 size relationship between player and sim world seems key. Ymmv for the VR experience. Given 1070 class gpu, i7 6800k cpu and 16gig ram smooth performance for my flights is typical. How large object count will impact frame rate idk yet. I am happy just flying around in VR. Few 1v1 QM’s show difference between TiR and VR. Lot of work in VR, but much prefer VR tracking. Blue guardian ring I ignore, does not detract from VR experience for me. Screen door effect seems much over rated. Nausea: none to date. I am hoping the Oculus will prove durable. It is essential flight sim hardware for me now. Admittedly the excellent BoX VR implementation is having positive impact on my VR assessment.
Posted By: Nimits

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/27/17 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Frogyy2
Rift Experience
Setup per dburne’s recommendations except did 3-sensor setup with son’s help. Oculus still says play area too small (~1x2m), but setup works without issues anyway. Using blue cloth VR cover that fits fine after a little fiddling. All Oculus demos run without issue. Il-2 BoK Spitfire is all I’ve flown in VR mode to date. Agree it’s impossible to appreciate a great VR implementation without experiencing it. I had been landing the Vb without incident in 2d for quite some time without much drama. In VR I suddenly found myself needing to do multiple aborts before a successful landing. Finally understood that I needed some slow flight time and realized that Vb stall speed in landing config is 80...83mph. In VR with open canopy I can focus on relationship of exhaust stack to landing strip while also viewing airspeed indicator and throttle lever position effortlessly to achieve soft touchdown. The illusion of being in cockpit is pretty much flawless for me. Once Spit comes to stop and engine is off I will sometimes just sit there for a while looking around. The illusion of a 1 to 1 size relationship between player and sim world seems key. Ymmv for the VR experience. Given 1070 class gpu, i7 6800k cpu and 16gig ram smooth performance for my flights is typical. How large object count will impact frame rate idk yet. I am happy just flying around in VR. Few 1v1 QM’s show difference between TiR and VR. Lot of work in VR, but much prefer VR tracking. Blue guardian ring I ignore, does not detract from VR experience for me. Screen door effect seems much over rated. Nausea: none to date. I am hoping the Oculus will prove durable. It is essential flight sim hardware for me now. Admittedly the excellent BoX VR implementation is having positive impact on my VR assessment.


How do you handle not being able to see HOTAS buttons/keyboard keys/cockpit controls (assuming you have them)?

This has been my main reason (beyond the infancy of the technology) for not investing in this to date. Sometimes, I need to be able to see where my gear handle is, or which switch on my GF panel controls engine 1 vs 2.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/28/17 12:06 AM

For years i’ve had x45 throttle & stick mounted to a wood block so i can set it on my lap so as not to require desk space and store easily when not in use. I do not need to”see” the X45. I know where the buttons are. Even with Rift on I can reach trackball and keyboard. For keyboard I can easily identify Control, F1 and F2 keys. Early adopters buy development kits. The CV1 and Vive have been around for quite some time now so I do not consider myself an early adopter in any sense. There are many good reasons to refrain from buying VR, susceptibility to motion sickness being a case in point. The sensivity would certainly be exacerbated if using a marginally capable pc. The technology has already been developed to a point where I now see TrackIR and multiple monitor setups as becoming obsolete. Price for a 3-sensor Rift setup is comparable to what I paid for a fancy fast refresh 2d monitor. There is nothing like the sensation of sitting in the cockpit once you have had time to experience it. If possible, I will buy a “high res” VR system when it becomes available, but I see no reason to not purchase a VR system today as opposed to at some unknown time when such upgraded units may come onto the market at a reasonable price.
Posted By: Nimits

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/28/17 01:27 AM

So for me, I have a lot of control mapped to Go Flight controllers, (engine switches and the like). I assume (as would be the point) there is no ability to see what physical control/button you are touching, correct?
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/28/17 02:25 AM

Sounds likely no iteration of VR hardware might ever meet your needs if you are unable to adopt a VR-compatible control setup. I may look into a voice command app to augment my control setup for some items less essential to flight basics.
Posted By: Nimits

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/29/17 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by Frogyy2
Sounds likely no iteration of VR hardware might ever meet your needs if you are unable to adopt a VR-compatible control setup.


Maybe, maybe not. That is what I am trying to figure out. Obviously, if the sim had completely clickable cockpits, that would make things easier, but since that is not a consistent feature across flight sims/games, the ability to interact with controls (beyond a basic stick or mouse) that are outside the VR experience is something that has to be considered.

I am looking at a major sim cockpit upgrade sometime in the next year or so, and trying to make the decision for visuals whether I go the VR or the 3x32" Monitor route.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/29/17 01:53 PM

I would not suggest anyone forego a complex/comprehensive 2d setup if that is what “floats their boat”. I am only bearing witness to what others have said before: there is nothing like being in the cockpit watching gauges and levers move from the “center” of a make believe world. That sensation is just not available in 2d. I do not accept that 2d and VR setups are mutually exclusive. Further, I do not accept any suggestion that VR needs more development before it is able to produce a believable “in cockpit” experience. Difference in tracking between TiR and VR is striking. With VR I can work up a sweat during multi aircraft dogfights because of the 1 to 1 relationship to my VR environment but there is no point where the tracking simply gives up as with TiR. I also note that I do not experience the “double gunsight” problem that has been reported by some. I can clearly see the sight and can use with both eyes open (3 kills in a single df). I acknowledge that ymmv. I seem to be immune to motion sickness to date. I tested myself on a “free” roller coaster app from Oculus store to no effect. As to keyboard I am finding some keys more easily accessed. Cockpit lights and engine start for BoX VR are now on keypad. I now cannot switch engine off by accident. Other adaptations will likely follow. I have thought about DCS for clickable cockpits but then I read the forum posts. So for now I am sticking with BoX for the VR experience. One important issue I have not raised before is that there is more to VR experiences than flight sims, Google Earth VR being an example.
Posted By: VMIalpha454

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/29/17 11:54 PM

I got an Oculus CV-1 for Christmas and just wanted to pipe in my $.02. I was excited to use it but I had no idea just how incredible VR in a flight sim would be. I fired up a quick mission and, when it loaded in, I was instantly in the cockpit of a Bf-109. I mean it seems like you're really there! It has to be one of the coolest gaming experiences I have ever had. I have tried several games or demos in VR but keep coming back to BoS because it is just jaw dropping and unbelievably fun.

I don't really have a problem with accessing the keyboard and stuff because I just look out through the little area where my nose goes...I am able to see well enough to still access the keys as I would have before. It would be awesome if cockpits were fully clickable, because you will want to just move the controls with your hands once you are there in VR.

Being in VR ups the intensity a ton over 2d and Track IR. And the immersion of the total experience is really no comparison.

The only problem I have run into so far is the screen graying out when frame rates drop due to a lot of activity. I don't know just yet how to work around that. I can't wait, now, for them to do some planes I am more fascinated with...like the Pacific theater. I know that has been pushed off the table for now. I can't wait for Flying Circus in VR though. That is going to be incredible.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 02:31 AM

Thx for your input. I am still working thru key mapping adjustments for BoX VR. I have not experienced “graying out” yet but that may be because I have limited my missions to 2v3 QM dogfights. One item I don’t recall seeing addressed before is how VR applies to flight record playback. Typically I will call up a flight record and press Control/F2 to bring my enemy target into external camera view. That done I am able to stand and view the entire battle area in a 360 degree field of view. Of course if df takes place over water there will be waves moving somewhere below my feet. Some might find that disconcerting, but the idea is that I am able to view the entire battle area without mouse or trackball and can return my view to the enemy aircraft and/or its pursuers effortlessly. It is a feature unique to VR.
Posted By: Nimits

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 12:39 PM

A report about how well VR works in campaign or well populated single missions would be very helpful.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 01:16 PM

I have no interest in campaign. I have no interest in bringing my FPS down to a point where it creates an unsatisfying VR experience. I have no current interest in buying a gtx 1080ti since my 1070 is providing adequate VR performance for my current needs. If VR could only be used for practicing shooting landings I would probably still have bought in because, with some turbulence and wind speed thrown in it reminds me of the RL process wherein each landing is a bit different from another. In VR frame rate is King. I see frame rate as far more important than increased resolution because fluidity of motion is paramount in VR.






Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by Nimits
A report about how well VR works in campaign or well populated single missions would be very helpful.


It works very well, at least for me ( specs in sig).

I have flown both parts of the stock BoS campaign, Blazing Steppe, Ivan's War, and now am currently 202 missions into a PWCG campaign.
I am not having any performance issues, it is doing great for me. I fly with ASW off, at times during heavy combat my fps may dip into the 60's or little lower, but still it is a very smooth and fluid experience for me.

SP is all I fly, and I am having a blast flying BoS in VR.
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by Nimits


How do you handle not being able to see HOTAS buttons/keyboard keys/cockpit controls (assuming you have them)?

This has been my main reason (beyond the infancy of the technology) for not investing in this to date. Sometimes, I need to be able to see where my gear handle is, or which switch on my GF panel controls engine 1 vs 2.


As for me, I have a Virpil T-50 Stick, Warthog Throttle, and a CH Throttle Quadrant. All mounted in easy reach, and I have my button assignments committed to memory.
Now there is a small gap down below the nose, and one can peer down at the keyboard, but scanning it for certain keys is not so easy.

I also use Voice Attack for my wingmen commands. So I really have not trouble with the lack of sight on keyboard issue.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 08:20 PM

Thx for your input. Some comments on Voice Attack would be appreciated. I have seen mixed reviews. I have recently retrieved an old CH throttle quadrant from storage and have attached it to my pc desk. Would I need to expect Win 10 to reassign all my controller id’s if I plug it in? I just want to be prepared if I plug the TQ in and then have to redo all my previous game settings.
Posted By: F4UDash4

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/30/17 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by dburne
Originally Posted by Nimits


How do you handle not being able to see HOTAS buttons/keyboard keys/cockpit controls (assuming you have them)?

This has been my main reason (beyond the infancy of the technology) for not investing in this to date. Sometimes, I need to be able to see where my gear handle is, or which switch on my GF panel controls engine 1 vs 2.


As for me, I have a Virpil T-50 Stick, Warthog Throttle, and a CH Throttle Quadrant. All mounted in easy reach, and I have my button assignments committed to memory.


Some sort of HOTAS and memorization of keys is a must with OR flight simming. My issue is that since my chemo earlier in the year I've lost much of the sensitivity in my fingers and have a hard time telling what button I am pressing on my HOTAS!


Originally Posted by dburne

Now there is a small gap down below the nose, and one can peer down at the keyboard, but scanning it for certain keys is not so easy.


This is true, my issue is that I can't wear my reading glasses while using my OR so I can't really make out much about the keyboard when peering through that little nose gap.
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/31/17 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Frogyy2
Thx for your input. Some comments on Voice Attack would be appreciated. I have seen mixed reviews. I have recently retrieved an old CH throttle quadrant from storage and have attached it to my pc desk. Would I need to expect Win 10 to reassign all my controller id’s if I plug it in? I just want to be prepared if I plug the TQ in and then have to redo all my previous game settings.


Voice Attack is working great for me in BoS, however I only use it for wingmen commands at this time. The biggest thing with Voice Attack I think is going through the Windows Speech Recognition - I did this like several times. Also assign a button for push to talk, if it is always listening then it seems to get confused easily. I have it assigned to a button on my throttle, and only depress it when ready to give a command, and it works quite well.

Also keep in mind in BoS one must be the flight leader in order for the wingmen to obey the commands.

When I replaced my Warthog stick with the Virpil stick, I did not have any problem with controller id's, however I may have just got lucky there. I think it will be hit or miss on that one.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/31/17 01:30 PM

Thx dburne
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 12/31/17 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by Frogyy2
Thx dburne


You are most welcome, have fun!
Posted By: Wolfstriked

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/01/18 08:36 PM

Two days ago I received my rift.I did the roller coaster ride first and after videos of seeing people screaming and falling over and getting none of those sensations myself my first impression was not great.Standing at the edge of long drops caused no sensations whatsoever.Its like my brain can easily control my subconscious so that I have no fear when in VR.That was disappointing to me in so many ways.I thought VR would be like a whole new world but apparently I am one of the few who get no sense of presence from it.Then in Il2 and the low resolution graphics just wiped all happiness from me.For now I will wait for super high graphics and try again when that happens yet I am no hurry as I have stumbled upon something new.

On a side note I found out something weird right after boxing up the rift to be sent back.For longest time I have lost my enjoyment of flight sims and I never knew why.I thought that VR would reignite this but in current form it annoyed me more than bring me the immersion I crave.

So before I hooked up the ultrawide I thought a quick run with my old 16:10 monitor would be fun a for a few hours.Right from start I just felt more immersed again.Something about the 21:9 factor just throws my perception off that the 16:10 doesn't seem to suffer from.I cant stand putting fov back with 21:9 but in 16:10 it bothers me not a bit.Plus the super wide horizontal screen causes my mind to actually crave vertical space more.The 16:10 does have more screen on top and bottom but after watching videos of IL2 in 16:9 I am also not annoyed.21:9 and VR just don't feel great to me as weird as that sounds!?!?!
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/01/18 10:10 PM

To update: I have my CH throttle quadrant active and so far no Ill effects in either BoK or CloD. In BoK I am using only a single button, for elevator trim. VoiceAttack is another story. I downloaded the trial version yesterday. To do voice recognition training I used an old headset/mic that Win10 didn’t like. After hours of frustration I realized that I needed to use the Rift mic to train Windows. To do that I needed a virtual desktop. I installed Bigscreen and was then able to do all my speech recognition training while in the Rift. I also trained Windows on specific words and phrases I needed for BoK. I then loaded enough commands into VoiceAttack to completely fill the trial version’s profile. Seems to be working well in BoK so far. I am satisfied that the full version of VoiceAttack is worth a buy given availability of a virtual desktop. Thx.
Posted By: Georgio

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/02/18 12:56 PM

Used to use Voice Attack when I was in a virtual squad. Great program except when my girlfriend found out that she just had to stick her head in my gaming room and shout 'Bail out' and I would get ejected. So make sure you assign a button to make it active when needed.
Good to hear you're having a good experience with the Rift, I'm only dabbling with sims these days though I do intend to get a decent rift set up but probably Gen. 2 or 3. In the meantime we have a PS4 VR setup that the kids love so I can appreciate the fun of VR.
Posted By: Frogyy2

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/03/18 04:54 AM

Hi. I’ve got VoiceAttack working fairly dependably now. I have discovered that I can use the SteamVR virtual desktop for editing VA commands. I am using a button push to start VA listening for commands. I say “computer” to start commands if I am too lazy to push the button. For some of us time is not on our side so waiting for Mk2 or Mk3 of Oculus development might not be prudent. TBH I see CV1 resolution as adequate to my needs. I haven’t flown BoK on my monitor since getting the Rift. Watching shadows and sunlight play over canopy and instrument panel and looking up at scratches on a canopy that seems only an inch or two above my head is an amazing experience. As I mentioned in an earlier post flight record playback in VR is an under appreciated aspect of VR implementation in BoK. It can present a “God’s eye” 360 degree view of the battle area. I am just glad to have such a technology realized in my lifetime. I now view TrackiR as being obsolete and horribly expensive for what it does.
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/03/18 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Frogyy2
Hi. I’ve got VoiceAttack working fairly dependably now. I have discovered that I can use the SteamVR virtual desktop for editing VA commands. I am using a button push to start VA listening for commands. I say “computer” to start commands if I am too lazy to push the button. For some of us time is not on our side so waiting for Mk2 or Mk3 of Oculus development might not be prudent. TBH I see CV1 resolution as adequate to my needs. I haven’t flown BoK on my monitor since getting the Rift. Watching shadows and sunlight play over canopy and instrument panel and looking up at scratches on a canopy that seems only an inch or two above my head is an amazing experience. As I mentioned in an earlier post flight record playback in VR is an under appreciated aspect of VR implementation in BoK. It can present a “God’s eye” 360 degree view of the battle area. I am just glad to have such a technology realized in my lifetime. I now view TrackiR as being obsolete and horribly expensive for what it does.



Awesome, have fun!!
Posted By: Flappy613

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/07/18 07:54 AM

Just wanted to chip in here how informative I found that first post of yours dburne.

It took me 3 THREE days to get my OR set up a couple of weeks before Christmas when I got it but everyone had a BLAST when I drug my gaming rig out for everyone to play in my other living room on the actual day. I have both of my constellations set up at eye level on my primary gaming desk normally but out there we went for room scale.

It being absolutely essential to have a good HOTAS I have a Warthog so I expect I'll be scouring around for TARGET profiles over in that section directly. I paid for Flyinside for my FSX so I'm already a convert to VR flying, FTX/ORBX got some money out of me earlier due to my love of their products and I can cheerfully say that KLAX with Ultimate Traffic 2 and VR actually puts a strain on the new ASW routines for Rift even with a 1080 pushing it although still definitely playable and fluid.

But I just recently re-formatted and installed due to too many patches and since I am REALLY intimidated by DCS in VR right now I figured I'd go for something with a few less systems to model. Don't get me wrong I can play the piccolo well enough to where Elite was a walk in the park in VR, just like I imagined it would be from playing it with Track IR. To the point to where it was almost a let down as I WAS so proficient right away and it wasn't quite the "whoa" factor that the driving or flight games had been. The few brief moments I was in game in BOS looked beautiful but as I hadn't even flown before formatting I have no knowledge of how it "feels" so everything will be new to me tonight. I'm assuming it likes SSDs as FSX does so I'm installing it to a RAID0 array that I've made out of a couple of 256Gb Samsungs.

But since I've got a2a's Kittyhawk for FSX it'll be interesting to compare it to the one in this. A lot of our assumptions from playing flat screen turn out to be WAY different in VR and a LOT of the freeware (and Payware too) that I formerly thought well of didn't make it back into this install of FSX as they either flew questionably or were downright UGLY in VR. But since I do value developer's work and I didn't have the plane I figured I'd buy the thing as it is one of my favorite old warbirds and I've flown it in everything from CFS2 to the present day.
Posted By: SC/JG_Oesau

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/07/18 09:30 PM

Just got back into BOS over the holiday period and finally got the Rirft setup how I wanted it (had been using it in DCS till this point).

Really enjoying it and especially getting online - love the way you can see the offset gunsight (I fly German a/c) without moving your head to the right, it just works as it should as you are viewing it from your right eye.

Online of course posses some challenges in the chat department, not sure what I am going to do in that respect (perhaps a macro for S!) for those not on TS.

The one area I really struggle is a/c id even at fairly close range - the resolution on the monitor makes it a little easier to pick out the small things (such as radiator positions) to id an a/c which I find in VR very difficult.

As noted in this thread, HOTAS memory is the way to go - I've got the Warthog setup along with Saitek Quadrant & control panel and pretty much move my hands via memory to the right places... admittedly it's not idea when learning so the best way I find it is to setup and fly within VR for a little while and then go back to VR.
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 01/08/18 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Flappy613
Just wanted to chip in here how informative I found that first post of yours dburne.

It took me 3 THREE days to get my OR set up a couple of weeks before Christmas when I got it but everyone had a BLAST when I drug my gaming rig out for everyone to play in my other living room on the actual day. I have both of my constellations set up at eye level on my primary gaming desk normally but out there we went for room scale.


Congrats! Glad it was helpful.
Posted By: JagerNeun

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 02/05/18 09:34 PM

Having just recently purchased this I can say that it is well worth the money for the immersion that it offers the player. The only drawback is the resolution and difficulty identifying aircraft but the pros far outweigh the cons in this area.

There are just so many cool things to experience when climbing into the seat of your aircraft. I've always been a 109 junkie and I've played sims for years, but there's nothing like the 3D immersion of actually sitting in the cockpit of this plane. You actually feel like you are surrounded by this historical plane and experiencing so many realism factors that the real pilots experienced.

Imagine with cockpit open leaning out over the side of your aircraft and being able to steer your aircraft flawlessly to takeoff position. Takeoffs are really neat sitting in the cockpit and looking out over the cowling. The aircraft seems to have size and weight all of a sudden and flying glancing down at your gauges are second nature now. You have to get used to the feeling of being up high over your wheels and mentally allow for this especially on landings. Those wheels just touch down a lot sooner than you're used to.

Gunnery is also extremely accurate in comparison to the non VR flying, at least for me. Your face is right there in front of the revi site and it's second nature to lean in for a better shot. Deflection shooting is much more accurate as well. If you have a habit of manhandling your aircraft with jerky stick movements VR seems to smooth out your flying because you pilot the plane with a feeling of more mass (your virtual plane) within your control and for me, it just warrants being a bit more gentle with my control input.

Ground attack is very accurate in that you do not have the jerky jumpy site picture of the non VR approach. Leaning into the site and lining up as you close on the target is smooth and deadly. The aircraft feels more like the gun platform it should feel like. AS you score your ground hit you fly past at high speed and find yourself turning to your left in the cockpit looking back over your 3D wings at the damage you have just inflicted.

Checking your six is more demanding and realistic especially trying to look back over your right shoulder. Doing a split S in VR is a stomach moving experience and flying at tree top level a bit tricky having to remember that extra plane that's down under your seat. Ground rush is one of the neater things I've experienced. I was ditching my plane the other day and going very slow just ready to set it down....yet the ground was rushing past my aircraft giving me a more realistic feel for speed.

With VR offline flying is fun and exciting as well as online, for me anyway. I've got a lot of practice to undergo before I feel really confident in a DID environment, but I'd say that for ground attack in the 110 I'm ready or close to it.

Im noticing that my offline experience with the VR is so much more enjoyable. In fact, my online time is taking a hit after having purchased OR.

In summation.....I like it alot and the device is very well made and for the current price of 399 well worth the money. I know, we all hate to spend that stuff, but if you can swing it, I think you'll like it......
Posted By: JagerNeun

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 02/05/18 09:40 PM

Also, Fenris_Wolf from our unit has posted some helpful information as well on the official BOS FORUM.

Here is some of it...It might help you tweak things up some...

You will run into troubles if you do not stick to a few rules we have found out about. Crashes and jittery ahve different causalities, which we will treat here as well.


Your i7 7700K should run with at least 4.6GHz during IL-2 VR gameplay. Make sure to disable any AVX offset in your BIOS, very important. CPU Load-Line-Calibration must be set to 1 or 2 (fixated!) if you use water-cooling to avoid VRM temp spikes.
Make sure your DDR4 RAM runs at its proper XMP, a speed of at least ~3000 MHz is recommended to not throttle the system.
Before playing, enable "Maximum Performance" in Window's energy settings. Go into advanced settings, disable "Allow selective USB suspend".
After this, go into your "Device Manager", select "USB-Controller", and check out properties of all Generic USB hubs. Some will have a tab on "energy setting". Make sure they all have no check at "allow to suspend device to save energy".
This will treat the camera jittery. If tracking problems persist, consider buying a powered Inateck USB Controller/Card - google for models that fit to the Rift.

Use latest Video drivers for 1080ti.

Now to your IL-2 settings for your 1080ti:
Preset High. The CPU cannot handle Ultra within 10km of furballs, the fps would hit rock bottom. HDR off. SSAO off. Sharpen off. AA to 0x. Mirror to simple or one step higher. Shadows High. Terrain Detail 4x. Terrain Sharpen on. Target FPS off. Render target 1. Gamma 1.0 to 0.9. Fullscreen off (VR mirror should show as windowed), resolution 1024x768.

Find the Oculus Home executable, go to properties, its compatibility tab, enable "always start as administrator". This means you can start IL-2 through Steam without Oculus Home being loaded automatically as well.

Now to your SteamVR settings:
Steam SS to 3.2 (this replaces ingame AA and Sharpen!)
Advanced SuperSample Filtering off (removes blur and allows better IDing)
Tracking space: Sit/standing place (smallest).

Oculus Tray Tool, in case you use it: Don't, and keep its SS off. Don't use its features like "cpu priority", they reduce fps in IL-2.

Ingame, you load into the cockpit, and before or after starting the engine (not during the procedure) you hold CTRL+1(numpad) for a second, or press it multiple times, this disables ASW.

Check your fps by pressing backspace during flight. This costs you 1 or 2 fps while the counter is shown. Always fly without HUD, it is a crazy performance eater (speaking 15-25fps). You can set "Objectives/Map" each to a button on your joystick, to turn it on and off during flight.

Avoid any shaders like reshade or 3dmigoto vr shader, they cost a lot of fps and make the translational movements of your head jittery.

If your movement jitters, go into Oculus Home and redo the sensors setup. Deviating the sensors positions just once will lead to these issues. Bolt them into the wall, or fixate them with velcro.

Try this - don't forget anything - there are many reasons for each setting, we have found out over days and weeks of fiddling around in the background. Have fun !
Posted By: dburne

Re: Oculus Rift Experience - 02/12/18 12:15 PM

I prefer to run with both AA and Sharpen, to me it just looks a lot better and I have a very good and smooth experience.

I also prefer to use the Oculus Tray Tool, for setting both my SS and ASW to off with a profile for BoS.
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