That’s interesting. Can you share a screenshot of your poses that do that? Just to see what values exactly are you taking and what filters you are using to process them to get that effect.
My DIY 2DOF Motion Platform for MSFS - adding a whole new immersion level to VR, on a budget - VIDEO
Obviously I’m using a somewhat different rig, but maybe enough to get started with a test to see if the general idea suits you - this is tuned for warbirds like the flying irons spitfire.
I’d try disabling other effects and tune one at a time, especially don’t try to tune roll/pitch speed at the same time as gravitational reference as obviously they both interact in the same axis. My personal preference was to get rate feeling good first (remember it’s just for the initial motion cue), then to get gravity feeling good, then a final tune together.
This is the Airborne setup btw, I tweak a little for ground.
Thanks a lot, that’s an interesting approach. The main pose I use for accelerations, but I have other poses to mix in roll and pitch positions. I can try replacing Roll Position with Lateral Gravity and Pitch Position with Longitudal Gravity. This might work. Here’s my current setup:
Those 4 poses work together in the air (Ground has modified pitch pose and additional road noise pose)
Let me know how you get on.
Good job on the rig btw - nice to see someone else using wood 
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After a few days of research and reading up on things I have decided against buying a ready made motion platform in favour of making my own from welded steel, so a very big thankyou to RomanDesign for inspiring me.
Basically, I can build a far better rig for less that the freight costs of getting just a DOFReality M2 seat mover from Ukraine.
I have experience in building large amateur telescope mounts for astrophotography ( I fashioned the optics too) so this project is child’s play by comparison. The only challenge is the fact that my simulator PC is also my day to day PC, so I’ll have to set up a separate cockpit rig in another room. Prolly for the best, as mounting and unmounting yokes and throttle quadrants etc is a real pain atm.
I’ll do a build video and publish plans for my rig as I go along, so that others can copy them if they wish. Steel fabrication is not that difficult and square tubing is cheap as chips here. Even if people are new to welding, you can always take your precut parts to a jobbing engineering firm and they will weld it up for you for a very modest price. Heck, here in Oz we have lots of so-called “mens sheds” where blokes get together to socialise and build stuff. They are always equipped with welders and cutting gear, as well as lathes, drill presses, and even milling machines. A project like this would make those guy’s day; they’d love to help out.
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Good luck with your project! The situation here in Toronto suburbs are not as great: tubing is not cheap and there are no “mens sheds” that I ever heard of. I do have a friend with equipment, but I didn’t want to impose on him too much. I just though wood would be easier. He told me that if my rig works in wood, we could redo the framing in metal. But to be fair, it works well enough, I think, so I’ll stick with it for now. I now have an idea inspired by the newly announced Boeing-style yoke, to replace my old Saitek setup with a DIY yoke with hall sensors - pendulum style yoke is much easier to fabricate than roller bearing and tube one. and a 6-axis throttle quadrant to accompany it. Anyway, I digress. I’m sure you can do a good job with steel. Try to find a good u-joint to hand it on, if you can.
Thanks. I notice some guys on the Xsimulator forums using using steering column uni joints, but they look a bit on the small side to me, although they are cheap enough on eBay, like $30 AUD. I’ll prolly just nip down to my local car wreckers and pick up an old driveshaft from a rear wheel drive car and cut that up.
I`ve had the V1 and now the V3. V3 is awesome. You crash and it about chucks you out of the chair. Maximum bank leans you to the point of neck ache if held for a long time. VERY smooth. Also gives back vibration effects. Taxiing from tarmac to gras gives a completely different feel so much so that you will really feel undulations. Settings on high in V3 and in ms set tessellation to ultra. Grand kids love the rollercoaster program in VR. Actually makes me feel giddy sometimes but they go again and again.
Had my V3 4 years now, still running like new, and the software is really good now, so easy to setup and you can adjust parameters ingame which is a big bonus. GET ONE!!!
Thank you for your post. I’ve been wanting to build a 6DOF platform from the beginning and have following similar topics since MSFS 2020 released. So FlyPTMover is now able to retrieve accurate acceleration vector/telemetry data for 6DOF? Earlier the developers said it wasn’t able to; nly the Y axis was supported. But that was a year ago. Does FlyPTMover support the Thanos controller? I clicked on the link for it in FlyPTMover’s website and it doesn’t link to anything. Or do I need to contact them directly?
I convinced the wife to let me splurge here and ordered it. Will arrive today (crazy short 1 day shipping from Amazon as the v3 was in their warehouse about 2 hours from me). Will report back on it after I can get it set up and running.
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I’m not sure about 6DOF, but I see about 40 data variables in the MSFS source. The simplest way to check is to download it, install, create a generic 6DOF rig, connect to MSFS and see the movement it emulates. I don’t know about Thanos either - I use SMC3, but that it only supports 3 motors. I suggest checking Xsimulator forum, there’s a thread for FlyPT Mover - ask the question there.
Had to take a break in planning today as my wife had a dental emergency and needs root canal work, poor dear.
Anyhoo I’m still thinking about adding a yaw motor to my rig as I use rudder pedals a lot in flying, even though in the sim the rudder is the worst simulated input. No tire friction, takeoffs are often really hard to get right due to the lousy sensitivity adjustments, poor adverse yaw implementation once you are in the air, etc etc.
Given all that though, could you do some sideslip landing experiments on your rig, RD? How does it feel with only 2 degrees of freedom, especially in the Pitts, or better the Spitfire or Stearman, if you have them?
Getting a feel for large rudder inputs is important for me when landing, especially if I’m coming in hot in crosswinds in a plane with no flaps (thinking mainly tail draggers here). I use both rudder and sideslip a lot landing some rc models in crummy conditions, so I’m curious.
As I mentioned, I mixed in some yaw and sway into roll, with a hard limit so it won’t feel like actual roll. I definitely feel a lot of input when I yank the pedals hard. It’s difficult to say how practical that feeling is, because I’m not a real pilot and a few flights that I took (years ago) I didn’t use rudder really, so can’t compare. Also, hard rudder movement results in a roll, so that gets intot he system and I’m not sure how much of what I’m feeling is from the roll and how much is from the yaw. I does seem natural, as I get a correct sidways acceleration on a hard pedal imput.
I planned to add a 3rd motor if the 2DOF version works, but now i’m not so sure. There so much going on when I do any serious rudder movement, that I’m not sure more motion would help. Also, yaw acceleration is fed well in the roll axis, not sure tiny motion that’s neede would be better done by a separate motor, andholding yaw position without any G-forces is not very useful in any rig, I guess. Traction loss is very important in car sims, apparently, but so far I’m happy with what my rig does with sideways acceleration momentum. I think my brain is tricked pretty well.
I didn’t do any crosswind landings, so that will be an interesting exercise. I’m not sure what I should feel, but my guess is that I’ll feel the adjustments in yaw, but not holding the yaw steady…
Thanks, I remember you mentioning being happy with yaw acceleration sensations even with a 2 motor set up. Just wanted to confirm.
Obviously there are limitations in what we can trick the brain into perceiving with motion platforms. Lift and drop being the most obvious with 2 or 3 degrees of freedom. Sideways G forces are another, as if you’ve ever been in a vicious flat spin you will definitely remember; it’s really weird, like a fair ground ride, but with a very sudden stop at the bottom if all else fails.
I have sketched out how to start of with a 2 way rig for now and add a subframe for the third motor if needed. But still, all inputs gratefully received, so thanks again.
There’s no end to how complicated you can do. People build rigs for $50k taking a whole room in the house. Each motor can add more degrees of freedom. 6DOF with linear activators can do pitch, roll, surge, sway, yaw and heave. People also build G-Seats (seat having flaps that press on your body to simulate G-Forces) add belt tensioners, fans, etc. However it’s never going to be completely real anyway, and although I don’t have experience with sophisticated motion platforms, I feel like each new motor after the first 2 is getting diminished returns. I’m all for adding a new dimension to VR for a few hundred dollars. Maybe 3rd motor is worth adding, but I’m not even sure about that now. Next up that makes sense to me is a 6DOF hexapod. I like the elegance of the concept, but 6 powerful actuators are prohibitively expensive, and take a lot of space, and comparing to the 2 x $130 motors I suspect the effect is not worth sinking thousands of dollars in, unless you are so rich or obsessed that money is no object. I bet the difference is huge in a non-VR rig, but the key is that with VR you just need to trick your brain, not physically move a lot.
There is no vertical motion exactly, or a lateral one for that matter, but Because my head is behind COG and motor rods are attached to the bottom of the chair, the motion of my head (and the inner ears) is not just rolling but slightly sideways, and not just pitching but slightly up/down and forward back. So there is this illusion of disconnection from the ground, or “floating”. It doesn’t feel like you’re sitting in a char standing on a floor.
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I tested the yaw in some crosswinf landings in different plances, dialed it in better. It works file within the limit of what it can do: provide a small motion cue when a yaw movement starts. It feels OK. Yaw motor could provide a larger cue, but it would also “wash out” (return to 0) when in a stable yaw, so there is kind of a limit of all rigs I guess.
I also programmed a “noise” profile for the air - similar to the ground “road noise” it gets a tiny random movements, barely noticeable, to help with a realistic flying sensation: even if in straight and level flight, there are very subtle movements now, almost impreceptible, that make you feel the air.
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Thanks, that’s all good to hear.
I’ve started to sketch out my design, using a mix of steel for the base and aluminium for rudder and yoke extensions. Will start ordering parts next week. I have to square away some parts choices with noorbeast over on Xsimulator (we are both Tasmanians, which is so cool) as I’m using similar gear to his build.
This is fun! 
Edit: Must add, I followed your build thread on Xsimulator forums and was very impressed with your success. Your design evolved to an inspiring end product. Props!
Good on you. You will be pleased with it. Dont forget to download forceseat PM from motionsystems.eu
Yes, very well.
The Thanos is brilliant and is what I use, but do be aware it’s specifically design for AASD-15A drivers and servos.
Just Outstanding. If I was only 30 years younger, a project like this would have been right up my alley.
You may want to consider using a small air pump and cylinder connected to an analog valve to an inflatable bladder mounted inside you seat to simulate G force. Fill the bladder 50% and then let more air in or out based on your pitch.
Like you say, small changes are better in VR. It’s just the way our brains are wired.
Best wishes with your future enhancements. Please keep us updated. Great work!