Hi Everyone,
For those of us who don’t have high-end headsets, here’s my working settings for iVRy using my Android mobile and Google Cardboard compatible viewer, for FS2020 Steam version. It took a while to figure it out as I was having big issues with fisheye / depth of field issues.
- Install iVRy and Cardboard apps from the app store.
- Install SteamVR from the Steam Store (some suggest the beta, but mine seems ok with the current store version).
- Connect phone via USB and start the iVRy app on the phone.
- Click on the cog to open the settings and enable USB tethering from there.
Start SteamVR
SteamVR Settings: Everything default, no changes.
iVRy Settings:
Double-click the icon in the toolbar.
Performance:
Headset: (This is where the fisheye problem can occur)
Disabling LENS DISTORTION (which I had done before even trying with MSFS) hides away all of the settings, with the important one being SCALE FACTOR. Put the scale factor somewhere in the middle.
SteamVR Settings (in iVRy):
This should give a basic starting point, and you can then tweak the settings as needed.
Other things to look out for:
Screen brightness: If your phone is set to auto-brightness, and you put it in a dark VR headset holder, the image will be way too dark. I found turning off auto and manually setting the phones screen brightness 50-75% looks good.
Image desaturation: The free version of iVRy will begin desaturating the VR display after 5 minutes. The paid version (available from Steam) removes the limitation.
Resolutions: Try to keep everything within bounds or as close as possible to the resolution supported by your phone. Going too high has little effect on display quality (worse in some cases) and can slow down the frame rate to unusable speeds.
Occasionally SteamVR will have issues connecting to the ‘headset’. In the majority of cases, re-starting the iVRy app on the phone and unblocking the apps in SteamVR solved the problem.
Blurry VR Image: Depends on your phone’s resolution and headset/phone holder. Mine is a little blurry especially when trying to read the glass cockpit instruments. It does however allow you to get the immersive experience. It’s not a limitation of the software.
Network: Worked without having to do anything, just start the iVRy app (discovered when I forgot to connect the USB cable (paid version).
Eye strain: I found my eyes were feeling extremely tired after a 30-40 minute flight in VR. Taking a short break every 10-15 minutes helps reduce this.
Starting a VR flight. You can fire up SteamVR at any time and have a VR flight. It doesn’t need to be started before FS2020.
Finally: (from an unfortunate experience) Don’t leave glasses of water or other beverages on the table in front of you, or anywhere else that you can reach with you hands/arms whilst seated.
Hope this helps others!
Fly safe.