Some people buid what’s called a G Seat - motorized flaps on the seat bottom, right and left and the seat back, to simulate g-forces. Mostly people who fly military sims like DCS though.
I just flew in a real Cessna 152 yesterday, haven’t been in one in years (I’m not a pilot unfortunately). It was interesting to compare the forces I felt with my motion rig. I really paid attention this time. It actually felt surprisingly close to my rig. Naturally there was more heave that I can’t fully simulate, but I’ll try to feed more heave into my rig’s pitch and see f I can match the feeling more closely. Maybe even add a heave motor, if I can manage the spring-assist balance properly. Anyway, my rig in 152 is very close to what I felt in a real 152. I’m impressed.
One other observation is that I tested some FPS tweaks with the rig’s offline (sheared m4 screw on motor’s arm, replaced today with a thicker screws), and just by doing some turnes I suddenly felt motion sickness setting on - surprisingly fast with the motion rig off. When I did similar shenanigans with motion on, I could go on for quite some time without feeling anything like that. So I really think the motion rig helps with motion sickness.
I’m not sure what’s the point. There is no heave at all (no vertican movement), no surge and sway either. It’s just pitch and roll - 2DOF, same as what I have, basically. Well, if it can rotate on the vertical axis, there is yaw too, so 3DOF maybe, but most likely not, the wheels would be vertical most likely. The only practical difference is that it can theoretically do 360 degrees rotation on any axis. But no, because of all the wires connecting VR and peripherals it’s not gonna fly And after 10 minutes it’s going to be very stuffy in there… All that for a very very high cost. If you want to invest a lot of money into a complicated project that takes a large space - I suggest you build 6DOF hexapod instead.
yeah these hamsterball-style seats have the computer and stuff mounted inside the hamsterball. And i actually hadn’t considered that it might get stuffy inside.
It’s probably cheaper to rip a chair out from a car at the junk yard, slap a couple actuators and motors on it, wire a rasberry pi to it and call it a day.
Google threw me some ads about some motion rigs with 9dof. They cost $60,000 and are meant to be like arcade attractions you charge $10-$20 a head for. You’re better off taking the money, paying to remove the flight deck portion of a 737 sitting in Victorville and modifying that to be your simpit. you might not get motion, but you still got a 737 cockpit sitting in your shed. Granted, the dials and stuff will all be ripped out, but that’s why we got eBay right?
From what I see in terms of part cost, building a 6DOF hexapod rig would probably run you about 3K to 5K in parts, provided you have access to all the metalworking tools, and it’s not an easy build. It’s awesome of course, but based on my awesome 2DOF experience, I don’t really think the price-performance ratio is favorable 6DOF is better of course, but I’m not even sure now I want to add a 3DOF to my rig by adding yaw or heave. That would cost me additional $150, which is not a problem. But to get to several thousand dollar budget and build a 6DOF, I’m afraid the perceived difference in the actual feeling in VR would be disappointingly small. All that assuming VR, of course. Because all the brain trickery going on. Without VR the difference would be much larger.
Probably would be cheaper to use wood or something. Granted, it probably would not be as structurally sound as say slot frames or something but i’m willing to bet there’s ways to cut down from $3k. The most expensive parts are probably motors and such and a resourceful individual could find these parts secondhand in good condition for way less.
Not me, i’m 30 but i still got the mind of a 12 year old so i’m good just moving my body in the chair going “weeeeeeeeee” (in VR)
That’s why I used wood in my rig Worked out quite well.
With 6DOF build you need much more powerful motors, or linear actuators - commercial or DIY. Either way motor torque and all hardware has to support and move the whole weight of the seat/person/gear - not just rotate it on a u-joint placed as COG that holds all of the weight, like a 2DOF rig. The cost of motors and gear boxes rises exponentially. Plus the rig has to be precise and made from metal mostly. I don’t think it’s possible to build a 6DOF for less than about $3000. Most builds are more expensive. So that’s like 10x my budget. I doubt I’d get 10x more excitement
Well, I’ve been busily reading all sorts of threads regarding a DUI motion platform (much thanks to RomanDesign for this one and answering my questions) and rabbiting on to the wife about it. And yesterday she just sighed and said, so who makes these flamin’ things anyway? I mentioned a few brands and she said, well for gawd’s sake stop banging on about it and I’ll buy you one, it can be your Christmas present.
So, one DOFReality motion simulator is now on it’s way from Ukraine.
I replaced roll and pitch position mix-in poses with “Lateral Gravity” and “Longitudal Gravity” instead. The benefit is that it behaves similar to roll and pitch position, but there is no sudden flip when inverted - when doing a barrel roll or a loop, the directional gravity simply decreases again and goes to the fully inverted, so there are no sudden jumps. Tuned it to a nice smooth cue that mixes in to the main roll and pitch acceleration forces.
I created a new pose to mix in HEAVE to pitch axis. After my recent flight in a Cessna 152 I paid attention to the forces and heave was definitely a prominent force that was lacking in my rig, otherwise it was surprisingly realistic by comparison. Because of all the gear in front my rig’s COG is forward of my body COG, so a very limited and fast pitch movement feels a lot like a lifting movement of my body, then when angle becomes prominent it feels more like actually pitching up or down. So I limited the max possible movement for mixed in heave. Now it feels much more like I’m pressed into my seat when pitching up, or feel a momentary “weightlessness” when leveling in from a climb - that was a really memorable feeling when I was piloting the Cessna for a bit and started leveling off - really felt like a high-speed elevator stopping, I tried to mimic it with my rig, and now it’s there - within reason of course, as it’s only a 2DOF.
I’m very happy with how it feels now. Got a friend who visited me and he asked me to let him try the rig. I did. He was just shocked by the realism. He said he couldn’t have imagined anything that feels so amazingly real, i blew all his expectations. He’s not a simmer actually, and has no VR, but it was nice to see the reaction.
I’ve built more stuff! Yay! I will eventually make a new post with a new video, but just as an update:
Custom pendular yoke that converts to a joystick using frictionless custom hall sensors - both with a very large throw and bungee cord tension. Both feel awesome, compared to an ailing Saitek yoke and a short-throw joysticks.
8-axis Boeing-inspired universal throttle quadrant, including large throttle levers with analog reversers, TO/GA and TA disconnect buttons, magnetos rotary switches, trim wheel and rudder/aileron trim encoders (controlled by Mobiflight). By holding a button on the yoke I can make prop and mix levers act separately for left and right engines, if I ever need that. Mounted Wacom tablet for writing down ATC instructions etc.
Left HOTAS-style throttle, convertible to helicopter collective control with RPM pot (by repositioning a pin changing the lever movement range) - it actually sends two different axes data, so no need to recalibrate, just switch the MSFS controller preset. Has another switchbox for controlling radio volume, Prop sync, engine starters, APU, YD, AP, fuel tank selection, cabin and panel lights.
Just curious, for the guys using FlyPT to drive their platforms, are you experiencing stutter every 10-20 sec? I’m using Simtools and I get a lag/stutter constantly. In researching, it seems this is related to MSFS and Simconnect. I’m considering trying out FlyPT to see if I have the same issue.
You have a serious rig there, kudos to you! FlyPT works flawlessly, I could not be happier. I never had a single issue with it. It never disconnected or did anything unexpected. I have no stutter of any kind (I wish I could say that about the MSFS itself) - all very smooth and stable. It’s the one thing in MSFS that is almost perfect. I just have to make sure it connected - it can stay disconnected if it’s launched too early, like before FSUIPC starts. So when I load the plane I make sure it’s connected, if not - I connect it manually. From that point I have never had any issues with it. No stutter. No noticeable lag. I’ve not tested in with fighter jets or racing sims, maybe if there are very precise rapid movements I would notice some lag - I don’t know. In normal flight I feel no lag at all.
Ah, I forgot - if the sim crashes, or just when I close it, FlyPT Mover throws out an error. I just click “continue” and then you can save if you need. No harm. I guess I should close FlyPT Mover first, but I forget.
I guess MSFS is my hobby, and building stuff for it I do have a few things that are more than hobbies, I think, but they don’t classify as pro because they don’t earn big bucks.
I compose, record and perform music and play keys in a prog rock band: https://7times.ca/
Also, speaking of more standard hobby stuff, I do photography, occasionally, and have a really nice gear that I love, a full-frame mirrorless with some modern and vintage optics. And play other games in VR. I just started playing Elite Dangerous in VR with my motion platform. It’s really amazing in VR with all the motion.
And after 10 minutes it’s going to be very stuffy in there… All that for a very very high cost. If you want to invest a lot of money into a complicated project that takes a large space - I suggest you build 6DOF hexapod instead.
6DOF is better of course, but I’m not even sure now I want to add a 3DOF to my rig by adding yaw or heave. That would cost me additional $150, which is not a problem. But to get to several thousand dollar budget and build a 6DOF, I’m afraid the perceived difference in the actual feeling in VR would be disappointingly small. All that assuming VR, of course. Because all the brain trickery going on. Without VR the difference would be much larger.
