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#4275678 - 07/03/16 05:36 PM My Oculus Experience  
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
CAVCPT Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
CAVCPT  Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
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LOUISIANA, USA
Fellow Pilots,

It is rare that I find myself so impressed by something that I find I have an overwhelming need to share it with others. However, after a week of owning an Oculus Rift, I can't help but feel I need to encourage others in this hobby to experience what a game-changing experience this device brings specifically to DCS.

BLUF: Buy one. You will never regret it. Put the money aside, have a garage sale, sell a few things on eBay, use your children's college fund, mow some yards, or in my case, SERIOUSLY kiss up to your wife and then ask her when she's about a 5/8s through a bottle of overly-expensive Cabernet.

I have a Jetline Systems i7-4770 (OC'd a titch) with 12 megs of ram and single NVIDIA GTX 970(OC) and my Oculus runs flawlessly in DCS with high graphic settings and 2.2 pixels in the new VR settings.

Like Elite Dangerous, DCS has made use of the Rift as easy and seamless as it is to utilize the Track IR. The newly added features to 1.5 regarding Rift zoom, mouse button emulations via HOTAS, pixel clarity, and mouse use, have increased the Rift's utility and ease-of-use a 100 fold.

The Rift is clear, fluid, comfortable, and easy to forget your wearing it until you hear your wife and daughter laughing at you while your craning your neck over the back of your office chair and seemingly staring at the ceiling fan (they are clearly unaware the ceiling fan just happens to be where I last saw that Mig). While not as razor sharp in clarity as my high-end primary monitor, the difference in resolution is almost immediately overcome by the complete immersion of the 3D world and the situational awareness gained from the depth, field of view, and range of motion.

As an Army guy, I'm used to having checklist, maps, protractors, pens, etc. within arms reach and my biggest fear to purchasing the Rift was not being able to employ all of those devices while "in" the Rift. Thankfully this is not the case for two reasons;

1) The Knee-Board Builder is a God-send to DCS and Oculus. Open MS Word, insert mission details (just made a template for this), convert to PDF, and insert into your respective aircraft knee board. Knee board details and pages are brilliantly displayed in DCS with the Rift. I am presently converting my own custom checklists and component of Chucks excellent guides to be more easily read in the Rift with slightly larger text and spacing. Problem solved.

2) That nose-gap thing. If you so choose, the wear of the Rift can be adjusted to permit the user to look down and see beneath the goggles. In my case, this allows me to see my actual kneeboard (or when needed, my keyboard) and to accomplish such things as jotting down JTAC notes, or running your fuel numbers. Just tie your pen to your kneeboard like my old man did in the F-111 or you will find yourself flailing about like an idiot in your home office frantically looking for your pen while your eyes remain fixed in the Rift.

To compensate for the lack of easy access to physical controls (keyboard, MFDs, home cockpits, etc), spend a couple of bucks on the amazing VoiceAttack application and you're golden. Set this up along with your controls with Rift disabled to prevent you the frustration of going in and out of the Rift to configure VoiceAttack. The Rift has an excellent hidden microphone btw. That was news for me.

Crawl-Walk-Run. Flying in the Rift is an experience with a small learning curve. Just like real pilots, I would recommended initially learning a new aircraft outside of the Rift, (the training modules are easier this way) and once comfortable with the A/C and basic systems, transition to the Rift as you would the real aircraft. This is how I have been learning the L-39. Learn with my traditional TrackIR setup and then fly in the Rift. Furthermore, understand that it takes about three days to overcome some of the mind games that VR will impose on your body. Don't start with a marathon session. Regarding the A-10, I moved up from a cold-start session (20min), to a pattern flight (40min), to a custom made short mission (90min). By the time I flew the 90min mission, I was almost unaware I was flying with a headset on at all.

I say all of this above because the experience is second-to-none (with the exception of reality). Once inside the Rift, if I remove my hands from my actual Warthog HOTAS (and thus detach from reality), I will awkwardly reach for the virtual stick next because it is so real to me in the headset. I find while taxing that I am constantly fighting the overwhelming urge to rest my elbow on the cockpit edge or lazily place my hand on the glare shield above the MFDs while my Butt-Kicker chair gently rumbles and bumps with my progress on the taxiway. With the Rift, the feeling of flight is intense. Simply leaving the runway as your aircraft takes flight is a stomach flipping - giddy - school boy experience that blows me away every time. The first time this happen, my $600 risky investment was instantly justified. My wife wasn't quite as thrilled but did seem relieved.

With the Rift, most of us will find we are far better pilots than we thought. The ability to maintain a hover, terrain follow, judge a break into a missile, air refuel, kiss the runway threshold, move your gunship into attack positions, and conduct manual bombing attacks are all immeasurably improved by the sense of depth and the freedom to twist and contort in your seat to gain or maintain situational awareness. This is especially true in helicopters. Like wow...I get it now.

Don't wait for the "next evolution in VR" or for "greater resolution", etc, the Oculus Rift in its current offering is more than adequate if you have the base-line system to incorporate its use. If sim-flying is your hobby, feel confident that this is a purchase worth making, a truly game-changing experience (much like TrackIR was) that will leave you reliving your flights for hours after your remove your headset.

If anyone has questions or needs more detail please feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to help.

Happy Independence Day (for our SimHQ Americans) and hope everyone has a great weekend.

Cav (aka Stephen) winner


Stephen Luebbert
MAJ, AR
United States Army

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4275685 - 07/03/16 06:01 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,829
mikew Offline
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UK
No 'lack-of-motion sickness' at all?

DCS World is one of the games that I've been trying out with a HTC Vive. It's not an Oculus, but the visuals are pretty much what you describe...but the lack of physical feedback gives me a headache after a few minutes.

#4275689 - 07/03/16 06:19 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 616
Ratcatcher Offline
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North Yorkshire, UK
Great write up, thanks for sharing. I too got my rift this week. Unfortunately at present I cant use it as it is crash's when I go into the home screen.

At the moment I don't know if its because my USB 3.0 ports aren't compatible ( that's what it says and Ive ordered a supported one ) or if the unit is FUBAR'd!

I can't wait to try DCS...very frustrating. I was completely blown away by just the initial demo's ( before everything started crashing )I can't imagine what DCS is going to feel like!

Please feel free to add any tips as you go along, fingers crossed I will get mine working soon!

#4275695 - 07/03/16 06:25 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Mar 2003
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Paradaz Offline
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I received my OR a week ago, have been playing and sampling all sorts of content but yet to go back into DCS with it. I think the Gazelle will be a good start point.


On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
#4275707 - 07/03/16 07:36 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 177
clarasdk Offline
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Denmark
Just upgrade my GPU to be VR ready. But I am still holding back on the investment. But posts like this make me urge to buy it now.


Here some questions that I hope you can answer:
*What I am unsure about is the resolution. In general I am a resolution "whore", I cannot stand unsharp text and that is what until now has kept me waiting. How easy is it to read dials and digits on the HUD?
*When not using voice command are you using the mouse to click dials or is there some other way to look at dials and "press" them in the 3d cockpit?
*Have you done any testing in FSX or Prepar3d?
*Is it easy to switch between using the OR or the normaly monitors? Or is it a big hassle of changing setup etc in DCS?


Noob in current sims, but played tons of combat sims back in the 80's and 90's

Flying:
DCS World 2 Beta
Prepar3d primarily GA planes
Elite Dangerous

And I love games like XCOM, Fallout etc


System:
I7-2600k, MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X 8 gigs, 16 gigs memory,Thrustmaster Warthog, Thrustmaster MFD, Saitek pro flight pedals and TrackIR 5
Saitek yoke, multipanel, radiopanel and switch panel
3* Dell U2414H

#4275714 - 07/03/16 08:25 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 3
ACG_Redeye Offline
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This write up is dangerous to ones personal economy and should be treated accordingly.

#4275737 - 07/03/16 10:07 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,042
cichlidfan Offline
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Playing flight sims isn't particularly good for ones personal economy, in the first place. This just adds extra oxygen to an already big fire. biggrin


ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1
#4275773 - 07/04/16 02:50 AM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 624
FlyingMonkey Offline
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Down under in Adelaide
Having spent many hours in VR (using a HTC Vive in my case), I can only agree with that post. I really have my mind blown away everyday with VR - simple as that. And my wife loves it too - she doesn't care about flight sims but the HTC Vive has got plenty of other games and experiences that she loves, so there's zero regret about the investment.

#4275774 - 07/04/16 02:51 AM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,708
Paul Rix Offline
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Paul Rix  Offline
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Posts: 2,708
NW of Austin, Tx
I wholeheartedly agree with everything CAVCPT said. I could not go back to flying DCS on a flat screen now.
The feeling you have when sat in an enclosed cockpit is phenomenal. Yes, the resolution isn't 4K, but you soon forget (or at least forgive) that point because, well, you are sat in the cockpit. It is all around you, in stereoscopic 3D. You really do feel like you could reach out and touch the various switches and controls. You get a real sense of scale. The F15C feels like the large airplane it is yet the cockpit is quite cramped. The opposite is true of the Huey's comparatively spacious cockpit. You just don't feel that on a flat screen.

Formation flying is easier because you have real depth perception. You also learn a new respect for real fighter pilots because, as Cav mentioned, you are moving about and twisting in your seat trying to keep track of an enemy airplane. Checking 6 is not a trivial matter anymore, you actually have to physically look behind you (and around the ejection seat).

It's not a cheap item, but it takes simming to an entirely different level.

Last edited by Paul Rix; 07/04/16 02:53 AM.

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.
Carl Sagan
#4276028 - 07/05/16 09:04 AM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: clarasdk]  
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
CAVCPT Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
CAVCPT  Offline
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Member

Joined: Dec 2003
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LOUISIANA, USA
Clarasdk,

Sorry it took me a day to answer, I was traveling.

1. You can read everything fine. On smaller print or text you may have to lean a little closer or use the zoom feature but I barely notice and like you I'm a resolution hound.

2. In DCS you can use the mouse in the cockpit as you normally would or you can use a new unique feature in which you look at item by using a small green crosshair and then you manipulate that item (switch, dial, etc.) by assigning mouse keys to say your HOTAS. It works great either way.

3. I have. P3DV3 looks great but to get the most out of it you need an external application called FlyInside. However, the app makes the experience totally worth the $30 or so required to purchase it. That said, I feel DCS is presently the best flying program out there for Oculus and I say that even as a huge X-plane and P3D fan.

4. No issues. I have two monitors on, TrackIR and Oculus and I can easily switch between them all as required with zero hassle. Your monitors stay on while you are in the Rift so to check a map, add something to VoiceAttack, or read a manual you can always just lift your Rift up.

Hope this helps. Did I mention this thing is amazing?


Stephen Luebbert
MAJ, AR
United States Army

#4276035 - 07/05/16 09:52 AM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,699
Aeronautico Offline
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Aeronautico  Offline
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Milan, Italy
Little question that I see no clear answers for: what if I use the OR for older sims that do not officially support it (ex. IL-2 1946)? Does it work "just" like a TIR on steroids? Or not at all, or depends?


Airplanes are now built to carry a pilot and a dog in the cockpit: the pilot's job is
to feed the dog, and the dog's job is to bite the pilot if he touches anything...

- Arlen Rens, Lockheed Martin test pilot
#4276044 - 07/05/16 10:52 AM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 207
bkthunder Offline
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Originally Posted By: CAVCPT
Fellow Pilots,



I have a Jetline Systems i7-4770 (OC'd a titch) with 12 megs of ram and single NVIDIA GTX 970(OC) and my Oculus runs flawlessly in DCS with high graphic settings and 2.2 pixels in the new VR settings.




Can you elaborate a little on this?
How many stable FPS, Single or Multiplayer, clouds etc.

Thanks

#4276114 - 07/05/16 02:40 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: Aeronautico]  
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
CAVCPT Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
CAVCPT  Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
Member

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
LOUISIANA, USA
Originally Posted By: Aeronautico
Little question that I see no clear answers for: what if I use the OR for older sims that do not officially support it (ex. IL-2 1946)? Does it work "just" like a TIR on steroids? Or not at all, or depends?


In a nutshell, no. There are some programs out there people are using that enable use of the Rift in applications like Arma III, Oblivion, FSX, etc. But alone, Rift won't work in programs that don't specifically support the Oculus Rift use in-game.


Stephen Luebbert
MAJ, AR
United States Army

#4276119 - 07/05/16 02:47 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: bkthunder]  
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
CAVCPT Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
CAVCPT  Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
Member

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
LOUISIANA, USA

Originally Posted By: bkthunder
Originally Posted By: CAVCPT
Fellow Pilots,



I have a Jetline Systems i7-4770 (OC'd a titch) with 12 megs of ram and single NVIDIA GTX 970(OC) and my Oculus runs flawlessly in DCS with high graphic settings and 2.2 pixels in the new VR settings.




Can you elaborate a little on this?
How many stable FPS, Single or Multiplayer, clouds etc.

Thanks


Presently, I'm simply selecting the new VR graphics setting option and then bumping the Texture option back up to HIGH. Under those settings and in reasonable busy environments I'm getting 40 FPS and 32 or so with the TGP or a similar sensor active.


Stephen Luebbert
MAJ, AR
United States Army

#4276127 - 07/05/16 03:23 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: ]  
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 207
bkthunder Offline
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I read somewhere that you should have a stable 90FPS otherwise you'll get tearing, motion sickness and all kinds of other bad consequences that I can't recall now :P

#4276156 - 07/05/16 04:39 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,699
Aeronautico Offline
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Aeronautico  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,699
Milan, Italy
Originally Posted By: CAVCPT
Originally Posted By: Aeronautico
Little question

In a nutshell, no.

Okay thanks, that sheds some light.


Airplanes are now built to carry a pilot and a dog in the cockpit: the pilot's job is
to feed the dog, and the dog's job is to bite the pilot if he touches anything...

- Arlen Rens, Lockheed Martin test pilot
#4276165 - 07/05/16 05:12 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
CAVCPT Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
CAVCPT  Offline
MAJ, IN, USA
Member

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 307
LOUISIANA, USA
Well, that's using FRAPs and looking at the monitor not an FPS display within the Rift. Regardless, I'm having zero issues regarding the FPS and the fluidity of the Rift. The FPS and the smoothness of the program has enabled me to up the pixel count a little more under the VR options tab which helps with clarity in-game.

I'll look into it some more and report.


Stephen Luebbert
MAJ, AR
United States Army

#4276167 - 07/05/16 05:24 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,180
scrim Offline
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scrim  Offline
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Posts: 1,180
IIRC, Right Ctrl+Pause is the FPS counter, but I don't think there's any reason for Fraps to be off in its estimation.

#4276186 - 07/05/16 07:03 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 177
clarasdk Offline
Member
clarasdk  Offline
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 177
Denmark
Thx CAVCPT

I need to find a way to get some money set aside for this smile Sounds so cool smile


Noob in current sims, but played tons of combat sims back in the 80's and 90's

Flying:
DCS World 2 Beta
Prepar3d primarily GA planes
Elite Dangerous

And I love games like XCOM, Fallout etc


System:
I7-2600k, MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X 8 gigs, 16 gigs memory,Thrustmaster Warthog, Thrustmaster MFD, Saitek pro flight pedals and TrackIR 5
Saitek yoke, multipanel, radiopanel and switch panel
3* Dell U2414H

#4276236 - 07/05/16 08:47 PM Re: My Oculus Experience [Re: CAVCPT]  
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 337
Art_J Offline
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Art_J  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 337
Warsaw, Poland
It all bogs down to what one accepts as a "smooth" rendering. For some, 30-ish fps is enough, for the others 60 is the thing. I know for sure I couldn't go back to sub-55 no matter how awesome VR is, so it's still traditional screen for me in foreseeable future.

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