FSdesktop can bring ANY desktop application into your VR cockpit (EARLY PROTOTYPE)

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Hi Fellow Flight Simmers and VR Enthusiasts :rocket:,

I am Chris, and some of you may already know me as the author of FSKneeboard.

Currently I am working on a new Flight Simulator extension called FSdesktop.

It’s going to be a pretty powerful extension, I believe, that many of you guys flying in VR could benefit from. If you are missing your browser, Twitch chat, vPilot panel, E6B or WHATEVER while flying in VR, then search no more: I have you covered :slight_smile:

FSdesktop can bring virtually ANY windows desktop application into your VR space. Currently, I am working on a two-way-communication so that users can even control their desktop applications from within MSFS, without tabbing in and out of the sim. Simple mouse clicks do already work.

But why talk if I can show. Check out this video of the early prototype to learn more…

And here is an animated gif of the newly implemented two-way-interaction, showcasing the usage of the windows calculator in VR:

Please bear in mind that the footage and information shown above are showcasing a very early prototype. I hope, though, that you like the development are are as excited as I am :blush: I am pretty excited :sweat_smile:

If you would like to learn more and get notified when FSdesktop approaches its release, please sign up over at https://fsdesktop.com and tell your friends.

Looking forward to seeing you and fly safe!

Cheers,
chris

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This is Perfect for VR , Can’t wait to use this with PRO ATC SR and anything else needed in VR. Thanks Chris. Looking forward to the purchase or donate.

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Together with some pen tablet support, this will bring the VR experience to a whole new level!
Or if some 3rd party program can make the tablet pen an independent/dedicated cursor and confine that cursor within a drawing board program; then bring in the window of the drawing board into VR, boom, you got a nearly full experience of seamless interactable VR kneeboard! What’s even better, you can change the background of the drawing board to simulate the experience of using a nav log.

Thanks Chris. Looking forward to get it!

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Been following this on the discord channel and it’s going to be a game changer for VR pilots. Good luck with progress Chris and looking forward to picking it up when it’s ready!

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Same here, this will be totally great! Can’t wait to get this. Currently, I mostly fly gliders and I bring the XCSoar app window through the Oculus desktop thing, but it’s a pain and interaction is impossible.

Thanks for your work!

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It’s an interesting idea but a tool such as what you’re suggesting and trying to build will have an impact on Main Thread performance and will more than likely cause lag on either the sim or the desktop app you’re trying to control for VR users.

Are you benchmarking this against the other solutions already out there such as bringing a window in via steam VR etc?

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How is this different from the built in desktop windows import that both oculus and WMR have natively?

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This would be a break-though.

As a mostly VR user, this is something I’ve been waiting for since the first VR implementaiton in MSFS. I tried several suggestions for possible solutions but either they were clumsy or I couldn’t get them to work at all.

I only hope this will be successful.

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It looks pretty similar, so maybe just nicer usability and a specific toolbar button? There are things like vPilot that under WMR can’t be brought in as single apps, meaning you have to bring in an entire desktop with it on (at least in WMR), so this could be better at that maybe?

It could also be the case that people don’t really know about the WMR, SteamVR, Oculus ways of using a compositor and bringing in desktops/apps as layers already.

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I’m looking forward to when this will be available! I’ve signed up on FSdesktop.com to be notified when it’s ready for launch. I hope that will happen soon.

I’m hoping this will work well with a variety of windows that I launch on my PC:

  • browser windows such as Edge and/or Chrome displaying various sites like SkyVector.com, FltPlan.com, ChartFox.org, etc.

  • some aviation-related apps running on my PC.

  • Adobe Acrobat displaying PDF’s e.g. approach charts, airport diagrams, aircraft data sheets, etc.

Will this be Freeware or Payware? What price point / range are you aiming for?

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Not to distract too much from the thread but vPilot can be brought in under WMR. The process is to start vPilot from inside WMR , hit the Follow Me window widget and then toggle MSFS into VR via the usual ctrl-tab method. You should then unclick the Follow Me widget otherwise the window moves around the cockpit as you turn you head. I’ve also mapped a mouse button to Win+Y so I can interact with vPilot as necessary -which is less these days now that the excellent VSR panel brings a lot of vPilot functionality into the game.

What FSDesktop will do though (hopefully), is to simplify bringing these types of apps into VR. For sure the WMR method I described works but is fiddly.

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Exactly, fiddly is an understatement.
Kneeboard is active via the brilliant msfs in flight toolbar which is flawless in VR and adding desktop windows via this process will be just great for VR users.

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That’s great for littlenavmap and SkyVector.

I appreciate that things aren’t free but navigraph subscription for a hobby is way way overpriced.

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This! I’m doing several trips of Migman’s World Tour which is sightseeing per excellence. Contrary to nearly all Bush Trips, it comes with extended briefing documentation (several 100 pp each) to view in-flight. I have a couple of kneeboards being able to digest and display these docs under VR. They work but processing as well navigating is slow and clumsy so far.

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There are already solutions for bring desktop to MSFS VR, but all of them take a heavy toll on FPS. That’s why I don’t use any of them. I hope your addon won’t have the same issue.

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BTW you can do that today w/ FSKneeboard Pro. I’ll have my ipad on my lap, position the app overlay where my ipad is and resize, and then access the app’s local server from my ipad browser. I can write on it in real-time and it is flawless (albeit slightly lagged as you might expect).

I’m not quite sure why this other app is needed. Quest 2’s have native overlay that works fine. Does this offer a performance gain?

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Yeah I know: FSKneeboard PRO is pretty awesome :wink: The idea is to bring any app you want into VR and also be able to control it from here, without ALT-tabbing etc. It’s not supposed to replace FSKneeboard; not at all :slight_smile: If it doesn’t suit your use case and FSKneeboard serves you better: Purrrrrfect :cat2:

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Can you point me to one of the solutions you mention above? Are you talking “native” solutions like WMR overlay/Steam VR or a specific, MSFS-panel-like mod/extension? Cheers!

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I bought a Wacom Tablet for use in VR. It works very well on the Windows desktop when opened but is completely useless in MSFS. I hope your new app will allow this to work in VR. Will this work with the Steam version of MSFS and a Varjo Aero? Or just WMR?

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This app will be great. i need them to read chat from youtube or twitch in VR. it is also important that you can change the size like in FSKneeboard, it already works there. when can we expect publication?