Hand Controllers

if you say so :sweat_smile: :man_shrugging:

@RomanDesign @rob12770 Controllers are better than mouse for one, mouse is better for the other, in the end what matters most is not what is best for each, but that we have both input methods so that anyone feeling comfortable with one can use it. I strongly feel debating which is best is not the point of these topics at all, rather:

  • for those preferring mouse: what FS2020 should improve for mouse support
  • for those preferring controllers: what FS2020 should do to support it

It’s not just me. My topic on this has the most votes in the VR debug list by Asobo. There is nothing wrong with preferring the mouse or a trackball (I actually use the trackball now. Still a “yuck” experience for me, compared with the freedom of a controller). Nobody’s going to take the mouse away from you. But for me and many like me, the whole point of flight simulation is to get it “as real as it gets”, and interacting with 3D environment vs. sliding a mouse on a table just doesn’t even remotely compare in terms of realism. I actually understood for the fist time in my life how the flap lever notches work in 737, and how does the gear lever locks up, and how the revers controllers operate by using VR controller. And rotating autopilot knobs or radios while feeling the clicks of an encoder is priceless. Muscle motor memory works as if in real plane, where you have to reach and operate things. This is what realism is. When we have an actual hand tracking it will be even better. For now - the controller strapped to your hand is “as real as it gets”. Mouse is just not. It maybe was in 1989, but not now, in VR age. You may still like it, and it’s fine. But most VR users were flabbergasted by Asobo’s VR implementation that was not a full VR but just the visual part of it. Nobody thought it could even be conceived as merely a TrackIR replacement instead of proper VR…

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well, as you no doubt know, the oculus Quest 2 hand tracking works pretty well, its just not implemented in much yet… but it works well… in time, i think all VR will be hand tracking…

That said, VR takes some effort to master, and if you don’t want to bump into your table all the time, you need a dedicated VR arrangement (which is very simple to do - see my post for the photo of my rig). That way your hand can freely travel in the entire cockpit without bumping into things.

BTW taking things “as real as it gets” also means using live ATC (VATSIM etc.). Be my guest, try writing down live ATC instructions and readbacks with your mouse (you can’t use keyboard in VR of course). Let me know how it goes :slight_smile: I can write down or type in the keyboard basic points with a controller. There are no tablets or notebooks in MSFS yet, but this is also a must-have and when there will be - you will feel the pain… No way you can use mouse for that successfully, among other things…

try writing with your controllers :man_shrugging:

Oh, but I did, a lot :slight_smile: Used it with VATSIM quite well. Either scribbled on AVITAB tablet/notepad (along with charts), or typed on its keyboard. Same speed as typing with one finger - not ideal, but quite manageable. Unlike a mouse. Same reason: natural muscle memory. Mouse 2D-3D translation doesn’t work that way.

yeah… ok then :roll_eyes:
anyway, this post aint about VATsim…

Yup. If you try handwriting with a mouse (in MS paint or anything) and compare it with writing with stylus (like Wacom Bamboo, or even a simple stylus on a tablet) you would understand what I mean. Controller is a bit worse than a stylus of course, because your hand is not in a natual pen-holding position, but still an order of magnitude better than a mouse, because physical relation of motion to the result is much more natural. For that reason, you would do a much better result trying to write with your eyes closed with a stylus (or even controller) than a mouse. Your brain is wired for it, not for writing with a mouse. And this principle applies for all cockpit interactions. Just explaining what I mean - no problem with preferring the mouse, again, but most VR users will get what I mean and will consider using the mouse highly unrealistic and immersion-breaking, which is a well-known VR term and the worst enemy of VR. VR is meant to trick your brain into perceiving the experience as real (as much as possible) and using the mouse is contrary to that paradigm. May not matter to you or some other folks, who just tried VR as a MSFS extension, but it certainly does a lot to many VR users, who know what VR should be and can compare with MSFS “VR”.

yeah… i used a Wacom professionally for 5 years so… :man_shrugging: :joy:

Great, me too, so you should see my point, even if you have different priorities and preferences in MSFS controls…

i DO like AviTab , i have used with XPlane , but its limited… im hoping Microsoft will implement something with a virtual keyboard maybe

but as far as im concerned VATsim and similar are not really conducive with VR… not yet anyway…but hopefully soon… but i digress…

so i HAVE used VR controllers in XPLANE… it just felt terrible, and yes, i too had my controller round my wrist …clanking off my yoke… nah,… not for me…that does not mean im saying anyone shouldn’t … their choice

What I am asking for is a choice of what I use.

I have been using VR with X-Plane for over 3 years since soon after native VR support was added and did live through the early growing pains which I see the same as now with MSFS. I also have been streaming in VR with X-Plane for over a year so my wants might be different than a non streamer.

I use Valve Index controllers and had them before I had a Index headset and used them with my Vive Pro headset. I am now using my Index controllers with my HP Reverb G2 so I always have at least one or two controllers strapped to my hands.

This morning I did a Twitch stream and when I checked the VR box in X-Plane that was the last time I used a mouse till after I had landed at the last airport. I used my Index controllers to interact with Xchecklist, Avitab, Pilot2ATC, switches, trim wheel, flaps while controlling the plane with a hardware yoke and pedals. I use only my fingertips to control the yoke thru all phases of a flight including landing like I was taught in a real Cessna 172.

All I am asking for in MSFS is the same functionality that is possible in other sims and has been so for many years now.

Thanks for reading Bill

Thats fair enough Bill :+1:

Hopefully one day this sim will have native Oculus Hand tracking implemented.
Unfortunately Leap Motion was never taken advantage of with native VR sims.

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OMG, thank you for saying this!

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Absolutely true.

This must be Sparker from the x-plane org forums!

I remember you posting about your knuckles lol.