My setup: Where to go from here?

User Support Hub Hardware & Peripherals
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I think I have a reasonable setup but want to go a bit further. I have an i7/12700k & 3080ti connected to a triple 32" gaming monitor setup with two 14" touch-panels.

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I have tried VR but the visual quality was not there back then, I tried a G2 and a Pico4.

I think the PiMax Crystal would supply what i like in terms of being able to easily read cockpit displays etc but I also really like the physical world of 2D using the touch panels. If I go to VR I lose ability to actually use buttons and knobs etc so although the realism is better in the outside world it fails in the cockpit, for me at least.

Iā€™d also like to try motion simulation but have no idea if that works well enough with 2D or is it a VR thing only?

I also see users are now running Hue Ambient lighting which simulates the real light outside based on the displays and it looks great for racing sims but as the light doesnā€™t change so much in a cockpit would it have any effect?

Basically Iā€™m looking for a boost in realism but have no idea where to focus my attention to get the best bang for my money.

Is there anywhere in the UK that one could visit to try out motion sims or VR sets?
Has anyone got a few tips for adding realism, I guess a full cockpit build is good but then itā€™s limited to one plane only but at least you get real buttons, knobs and dials to play with :slight_smile:

Any tips appreciated.

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I have a far less sophisticated setup that you, but my thoughts are always on ā€œWhatā€™s my next step?ā€ as well. Iā€™ve tried to focus on getting those peripherals that give me as much flexibility as possible in the aircraft types I want to fly. For example, I spent extra money for an MFG Crosswinds rudder because it can be configured for fixed-wing and helicopter, and perform reasonably well for both types. I justified the budget.

Another example is the Honeycomb Bravo. With its six levers I can easily fly 1-engine and 2-engine GA, business jets, and 4-engine airliners. A TCA Airbus controller would give me more realism - in a 2-engine Airbus.

Streamdecks, along with SPAD and a panel manager system, give me a lot of flexibility, but canā€™t compare with a dedicated G1000 panel for ultimate realism. Again, Iā€™d be limited to planes with a G1000.

I have a Reverb G2, but I havenā€™t even flown with it yet. Why? Same reason as yours: I like the haptic feedback that a cockpit with buttons, knobs, and levers brings to the table. I think I will delve into the G2 soon, but Iā€™ll limit it to simple aircraft on pure low-level VFR sightseeing missions.

The other reason isā€¦ I HATE using a mouse to fly my plane. Hate itā€¦
My goal with every new aircraft I guy is to map every possible event to a button, switch or lever in my cockpit. I feel like Iā€™ve failed if I have to reach for the mouse.

Motion simulation is intriguing, but frankly, I donā€™t see myself ever having the budget for it. Kudos to those that do.

My next big purchase will be a high-end (probably Virpil) cyclic/collective/throttle rig so I can get into rotary wing flying the right way. Thatā€™s a big chunk of change, and will limit my future budget for at least a couple of years. Iā€™ve had my mid-range computer for two years now, and itā€™s been a pretty solid performer. But 3-5 years from now I know Iā€™ll want to upgrade it.

I expect the newest CPU/GPU offerings will be pretty amazing, and will finally allow for stutter-free, lag-free, maxed out graphics and FPS performance in all parts of this magical virtual world we have available to us.

Perhaps weā€™ll even get visually amazing augmented reality headsets that give us true haptic control of everything, allowing us to look at the pile of boxed up peripherals we replaced withā€¦nothing, and say, ā€œThanks for the memories.ā€

Good luck on your journey.

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Well, it looks like youā€™ve got a pretty complete setupā€¦ the only thing that iā€™d suggest would be a bezel free kit. Maybe some knob addons if yer flying the bigger irons?

Looks very comfy though, congrats on a great setup! (and yeah, i knowā€¦ a simrig is never finishedā€¦but iā€™m guessing yer quite close)

Have a great flight, Captain!

Regards,

Steiny

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Now if only the sim would give us the ā€˜Cockpit Viewā€™ Iā€™ve heard talk of, where we can position ourselves back in the seat, and the virtual cockpit would disappear, leaving us with an unrestricted view out the windows.

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A good bang-for-buck is one of these bad boys.

Adds more than you would think to the experience and takes up no extra space. Feels weird to me without it now.

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Thanks for the ā€˜feedback.ā€™ :wink:

Looks like a reasonably priced addon that would bring some value to the sim experience.

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I recommend Virpil Control Panels for some good button pushing action. The old Logitech Radio Panel and the Switch Panel are not to everyones liking but I can still recommend them. And if you fly planes using the G1000, I recently got a Octavi IFR-1 to control those and its pretty awesome.

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Thanks for the reply, we seem very similar.

The G2 was great, the VR experience was out of this world and can literally make you feel airsick sometimes, I also had some of my best ever landings in VR - the depth perception really aids transition and landing.

However, I too hated searching for the ā– ā– ā– ā–  mouse all the time and no way to use a keyboard at all. I have memorised most of my yoke buttons and could usually find the throttle quad pretty easy though. Not being able to easily read the dials and numbers without really leaning-in was a spoiler for me though, I hear great things about the Pimax Crystal though.

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Thanks for that link, Iā€™ll look into it now.

I think i recall one of the Youtube Sim guys doing a review on it as well?

I need to get a better seat though as the ā€œofficeā€ chair I use really gives me a back ache after an hour or so.

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You could consider building more of a ā€˜simpitā€™, maybe with some structures to create realistic looking control panels and embed your displays into a MIP, maybe even as far as building a shell of sorts to provide you with a real physical cockpit environment (youā€™d probably need bigger screens to make that work, though).

Thatā€™s a bit of a rabbit-hole to go down, but Iā€™ve personally enjoyed it every bit as much as the setup of the sim itself.

Then you can look into building your own hardware. Button boxes and panels are easy enough to make with Arduino / Mobiflight or USB controller cards + Spad.neXt / AAO / FSUIPC. You can get into fabricating parts, 3D printing, CNC machining, laser cutting / engraving. All of that can be done at desktop scale and reasonably cheaply. Then you could make very realistic looking parts for your increasingly-complex cockpit setup.

(Iā€™m basically describing my own route here, but plenty of people enjoy this as an extension to the flight simming hobby.)

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Thanks,

Iā€™d like a full cockpit but also feel it could be restrictive - I mostly fly the CJ4 but also like to mess with Helicopters occasionally - I swap the yoke for a stick and throttle pair and away I go.

I guess the ultimate for me would be a full cockpit on a motion rig but my room is not big enough and itā€™s massive Ā£Ā£Ā£

I do like the idea of building real panels though, I have two Knobsters that connect to AirManager and while that is a big leap upwards, itā€™s still not the same as actually having a knob for heading, alt, VS etc as you have to click on the touch-panel first then reach for the Knobster to make the action.

The CJ4 sems pretty simple in terms of cockpit design - no LCD/LED displays as itā€™s all on the PFD/MFD so maybe building the physical buttons would be a next-step, Iā€™m not sure yet though but I will dig a little I think.

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I have a semi-modular cockpit setup so I can swap bits and pieces depending on what Iā€™m flying. My next-gen setup will go a lot further with that concept. I donā€™t go from fixed-wing to rotary-wing, but helis are not my thing. I do go from small GA right up to big BizJet and eventually small airliner.

Iā€™m currently tooling up to start making proper back-lit panels a la the Warthog Project. Iā€™m taking a major diversion into heavily customising a K40 laser cutter.

It all keeps me busy :slight_smile:

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I will say that Iā€™m really glad I invested in a Streamdeck XL and a Streamdeck Plus. The Plus has 4 knobs (only single encoders, though) and SPAD has native support for both units. Itā€™s easy (wait, did I just say programming in SPAD is ā€˜easyā€™ :rofl:) to map a selection like AP or radio to a button on the XL, and have a page open up on the Plus that gives me control with 8 buttons and the 4 knobs.

Granted, a bezel with knobs is more realistic, but Iā€™m pretty happy with this setup.

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While VR is amazing, I would love to have your set up!!!

VR Quality just isnā€™t there yetā€¦ and really, Personally, with that setup, I would aim for full motion, but not certain how you would integrate itā€¦

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I agree although I have heard great things re the Pimax Crystal but feel it will mean a 4090 upgrade as well and will still mean no real-world controls.

I canā€™t visualise a motion setup with fixed screens, but also canā€™t see triple 32" screens mounted on a motion rig either. I guess it depends if you view the screens as the window frames in which case they should move or as the actual world in which case they should not move? Itā€™s a bit confusing to me :slight_smile:

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I absolutely think the cockpit frame needs to move with the motion.
Consider that, IRL, in a turn, the plane banks, the pilot banks, and the horizon stays level.

A single monitor affixed to the motion platform would look ā€˜right.ā€™
Your cockpit frame couldnā€™t be mounted to the platform, so it would definitely NOT look right.

Maybe you can build a big wooden platform for your entire cockpit to sit on, and mount the motion rig underneath the platform. You know, like this :smile:

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I do love my crystal and am running a water-cooled 4090, but the quality just isnā€™t there yetā€¦ Now donā€™t get me wrong, I use it all the time stillā€¦ Maybe I should stop ā€œchasing the dragonā€ā€¦

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There are various different approaches to motion cockpits. A stewart platform (the 6DOF setup in your picture) is the ultimate way, it gives you the most motion and distance, which is important for faking motion sensations like heave and sway, but you can do a lot with relatively small distances of motion. Something like this which has linear actuators for legs that can go up and down a short distance:

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That sort of setup can be relatively easily achieved by a home cockpit builder. Iā€™ve seen some cockpits (particularly VR-based ones) using racing motion rigs, for instance.

It doesnā€™t have to take a ton of room or be ultimately expensive, but it does kick the complexity up a few notches! Of course, if you want to take it to the extreme, you can just be Matthew Sheils (look him up if you want to see what true home cockpit dedication looks like).

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Iā€™m not sure if VR can actually get there - the physics involved in the lenses being so close to the eyes means compromises must be made and that gives issues. I think we all want the same thing really - realism and immersion, trouble is I doubt we will ever really get there unless win the lottery :slight_smile:

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Guess I need to buy some 6-49/LottoMax tickets thenā€¦ LOL

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