Does your VR horizon tilt as it does in the regular Flight Simulator?

User Support Hub Virtual Reality (VR)
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I have a question for simmers who have flown Flight Simulator while using Virtual Reality headsets, as I would like to know if using VR would change the way I experience MFS in the following context:

As I sit in front of my screen and fly the Cessna 172 in Cockpit view, for example, everything I see feels pretty well as if I was in a real Cessna; I can look left, straight ahead and over to the right and the horizon is level, and it stays level, as it does when I am in a real plane.

If I make a sharp turn to, say, my left, the horizon tilts sharply, the left horizon rises to the top left
corner of my screen while the right portion of the horizon dips to the middle of my screen’s right side and becomes hidden as the right side of my craft’s panel goes up, tilting in exactly the opposite way.

I realize the simulation’s creators made the sim’s interface react in this fashion on purpose, in an effort to make Flight Simulator feel as real as possible—within the constraints dictated by the need to operate the sim while looking at a flat screen without the benefit of 3D. I suppose it is not practical or possibly not even feasible to fly an aircraft in MFS and have the horizon staying level ‘on the screen’ in sharp turns. Whether this might detract too much from the experience of flight, I don’t know.

I have looked at VR perfunctorily so far but I believe I should delve further into all its aspects and characteristics; for the time being, I wonder what Flight Simulator looks like in VR. Do a user’s eyes ‘see’ exactly the same view that is on an ordinary simmer’s flat screen but with added 3D depth perception? Or does VR change the sim flyer’s ‘view’ of things such as the horizon staying level in turns as it does in a real aircraft?

Here’s a sharp left turn to illustrate my post:

MFS Horizon in Sharp Left Turn
MFS Horizon in Sharp Left Turn1920×1080 341 KB

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It tilts in VR - but that’s what is supposed to happen, as you’re changing your perspective the further you bank.

Edit just to clarify - what you see in VR mimics what you would expect to see in real life.

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@Brossardjoe 
 With this video you can maybe imagine what you will see.

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It will definitely change you experience but maybe not the way you’re expecting:

FS2020 is breaking the VR golden rule: don’t move the camera, the user is

Make sure to grab a brown bag with you :joy:

Aside from this, VR is very immersive with FS2020 and I’d suggest you some of the posts in the VR forum:
Latest Virtual Reality (VR) topics - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums

Starting with this one:
How Realistic is VR

And then these:
FS2020 VR is Rubbish compared to other VR Apps
To VR or not to VR that is the question - Virtual Reality (VR) / General - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums

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don’t disuade the poor guy. VR is one of the best experiences for flight sims from combat planes to GA to tubeliners. Don’t get me wrong, performance is not the greatest. But my faith lies in the devs that it will be eventually made better

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I don’t have any faith they’ll do, otherwise I’d :pray: the Asobo cult :joy:

Instead, I’m certain they will make it better because Jorg told us Asobo has had prior experience in VR/AR apps (and they are still expanding on this technology nowadays), and the first VR might be rough on the edges sometimes but it is very promising.

Actually the OP is asking a valid question about camera movement and I’m wondering why did they just disable the cockpit roll/pitch movement for VR because it really is not working at all in my opinion.

There might not be any “best practice” in this field, but if any could be a model to follow, I believe XP11 VR Camera handling is a reference in this department.

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You’re still thinking 2D. VR is nothing like it, because you’re not looking AT the monitor, your’re looking AROUND you.
To make it clear, VR has no inertia, or feedback like moving the camera on g force changes, which will certainly confuse your brain and induce motion sickness (at first; you get used to it pretty quickly).
But it will look exactly as it’s supposed to look if you were ACTUALLY in the plane and it was banking and you were fixed straight in your chair. So yes, the horizon is NOT going to be horizontal (how could it
) Your dashboard will be horizontal if you don’t move your head. But your brain will automatically compensate for that (and you won’t even realize it :wink: ).

You know the saying “Once you go ahem VR you never go back”? Yeah, it was like that for me. You’re never going to see 2D flying the same way ever again!

Look at the links suggested by CptLucky8 as they are far more detailed and technical than this, but if you’re new to VR, try it the first chance you get (with this or any other game). You’ll see what we’re talking about.

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can we all just agree the brain is really complex? We know more about the sea and the stars than we do our brains


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Why would you do, or even want this? It makes no sense whatsoever. The world is supposed to tilt and shift from the pilot’s point of view. Doing otherwise would be extremely disorienting.

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So there is some validity to the horizon staying somewhat stationary in certain situations. Not necessarily in a Flight Sim, but in a racing game in VR, if the head of the player is rigidly attached to the movement of the car, the up and downs of the road will make it VERY uncomfortable to drive. In racing games, horizon tends to stay stationary because the amplitude of the up and down and to some extend roll motion on a rough road could be very unpleasant to the player.
In a flight sim, since the motion is much smoother, even in tight turn combat in such games as War Thunder you don’t experience the same level of discomfort. Also it wouldn’t make sense for the aircraft to be rolling around you, as your eyes stay level with horizon. In a racing game, with the horizon staying stationary it sometimes feels like the car is pitching and rolling around you, but since the motion is very very limited only to a few degrees even at the steepest of the camber angles, its not as distracting.

I remember when they turned off the horizon motion compensation in Dirt Rally in one of the patches, it was impossible to drive until they got it back in.

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I’m still in the “getting used to it” stage. I tried VR auto racing (Dirt Rally) and about tossed my cookies. The flight sims don’t seem so bad. I did an hour or so in VR (with FS 2020) tonight. It’s weird how it can make your body feel. :slight_smile:

Bottom line
once you’ve tried VR in ANY game/sim, 2D panels just won’t cut it anymore.

“I remember when they turned off the horizon motion compensation in Dirt Rally in one of the patches, it was impossible to drive until they got it back in.”

Is this what was causing my problem? The instant I started moving forward I about lost it! I gave up on it. :slight_smile:

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I mean rallying was a poor choice for getting used to it lol
 the only thing worse driving wise would have been go-karts!

Try something tarmac based, ideally with VR options that allow you to lock to horizon to varying degrees (like AMS2, PC2 etc). Some have a preference for either way, to me personally I find a good % of horizon lock is the most natural feeling as it mimics how your head/eyes compensate for motion in reality.

And the big key - don’t try to push through. Sickness starts, stop immediately and have a break.

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Yes, you do get “involuntary” head tilt in VR like you do in pancake mode. It can be turned off in a cfg file.

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Would you mind sharing which file and which setting this is?

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It’s incredible how fast it happens. I can do aerobatics (while in VR with FS 2020) no problem, but Dirt Rally put me on my knees. :smiley:

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My thanks to all of you who came forth with thoughts following my original post. I really appreciate it.

ElegantAlmond12’s ‘You’re still thinking 2D’ put things in perspective, so to speak, and CaptLucky8 links to several informative posts helped a lot but, to tell the truth, what with being very busy with all kinds of projects, I’ve not been making my way through them all as quickly as I would have liked.

Based on what I’ve read so far, I’m considering purchasing the HP Reverb G2, one caveat to acquisition being the possibility that my rig’s specifications might not be quite up to the headset’s exigencies:

18-month old Dell Alienware Tower

Windows 10 64-bit with all MS updates

Alienware 0VDT73 motherboard (U3E1)

Intel Core i7 @ 3.2Ghz

GTX 1060 with 6GB

16 GB Dual-channel memory @ 1329Mhz

Two 1-Terabyte drives (including an SSD holding all my MFS files that is still 80% free).

Based on my PC’s specs, I would love to hear from experienced MFS VR users on whether the Reverb G2 would run reliably and to its full rendering ability.

I have a second consideration and I would appreciate hearing from older VR users in its regard:

I turned 86 last August and I sold my two electrical bikes because I felt I was beginning to feel a wee bit unstable as I rode them, the folding bike especially. Before going ahead with a VR headset purchase, I am wondering about its advisability, given the disorientation effects some are feeling. I would need some reassurance any dizziness I felt using VR would be temporary and not bring on hazardous ill effects. I suppose I should conduct a web search to see if perchance VR proponents have issued guidelines pertaining to users’ age.

This simulation has come at just the right time to help alleviate the confinement many of us are now experiencing. Flight Simulator has worked very well for me thus far and I am extremely grateful to all who made it possible to fly all over the world from the comfort of home. This sim’s ‘realness’ factor in comparison to the 1995 MFS 5.1’s solid-green pyramidal mountains is unbelievable.

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In FlightSimulator.cfg edit this section to:

[DynamicHeadMovement]
LonAccelOnHeadLon=0.00000
LonAccelOnHeadPitch=0.000000
RollAccelOnHeadLat=0.000000
YawAccelOnHeadLat=0.000000
RollAccelOnHeadRoll=0.000000
MaxHeadAngle=0.000000
MaxHeadOffset=0.000000
HeadMoveTimeConstant=1.000000

The involuntary head movement goes away relative to the plane/panel.

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The problem with VR is the perception people have of it until they try it. Mostly people seem to assume it a bit like being at the Cinema or putting your nose 10 cm away from a 40 inch TV. It is nothing like either of those things.

It is more like you are transported into the computer. You can see things with depth perception and moving your head in all axis does something like it does in real life; you aren’t just restricted to looking up/down left/right. You can move forwards and downwards whist doing either or both of those things.

VR is like you are ‘there’ but things tends look a bit blurry and trippy (because so much computer power is need to do this). For most people there is no going back though.

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Driving a buggy on a rough planet in Elite Dangerous was the closest i’ve been to VR sickness, until i discovered the horizon compensation. After activating that, it was so much better.

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I’ve done some limited flying ‘training days’ IRL in gliders an extra 300 in local airstrips but far from a real pilot! Heres my take but you know you need to try VR to truely get it.

From my experience being in VR is much more than looking at the world in 3D goggles. You are completely immersed in the environment and you feel part of it. It doesn’t matter if the environment is a cartoon or photographic you still feel part of it because you are in it.

Turning in VR is pretty convincing, flying sideways and you feel your stomock move with the plane, it’s truely incredible. The spacial awareness is vastly increased and part of that is depth perception but also just living in the space as well really helps.

It’s not perfect as @CptLucky8 has pointed out, the camera system looks like it’s built on the desktop version, when you brake the plane dips down but in VR your in the plane so seeing it move when you don’t is strange, same for turbulence. This should be much reduced with the bulk of the reaction happening in the outside world instead.

There’s also the issue of selecting a headset and getting a PC to give you smooth performance which is crucial in VR but if you can do that and get it dialed in the experience is a game changer.

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