Ready to pull trigger to jump into VR but have questions

User Support Hub Virtual Reality (VR)
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Hey guys I’m new here so please bear with my stupid questions… I’ve done some basic reading and I have set aside some budget for hopefully adequate PC setup for VR namely:

  • MSI Ventus RTX 3080 Ti
  • AMD Ryzen 9 5900XX
  • 32 GB RAM
    The rest of the hardware are still tbd but those are the core components of the PC

The peripherals are as follow:

  • HP Reverb G2 for VR headset
  • Thrustmaster Warthog set + Saitek Rudder (Now sold under Logitec)

Now I have several questions in my mind that I hope you guys with more experience can answer:

  1. Is VR in 2022 really a game changer and thus worth spending almost 5k (7k here in AUD) for the experience? Forgive me for this question but my last experience with VR was with Google Cardboard in 2014… Now I expect some of you will laugh but yes that was terrible. I’m honestly worried spending a fortune to jump into VR if the experience is still “gimmicky”.

  2. Is the VR going to be playable with such gear? I’ve read horror thread of people using 3080 but then still having low FPS and stuttering issues. Here’s one example in 2020: 10FPS with RTX 3080 in VR with Reverb G2. Solutions? - #18 by Malkuth1974 In this case I’m also worried that in 2022 the graphic cards are still going to be not enough. It would be very very disappointing if after spending that amount of money I can only play in limited settings e.g very low or only in some scenarios e.g far away airport with no scenery etc.

  3. Trying to make my question 2 more specific, my dream use case is to use VR to get immersive experience flying GA or classic airplanes e.g DC-3 or Piper Cub within Australia. I eventually have a dream of getting PPL in the future. So it’s really a plus if the VR setup can be used for navigational or approach practice. I don’t really feel the need to explore NYC or other scenery heavy cities at the moment. I’ll be just happy if I can fly over familiar landmarks around Australia. Do you think this is achievable within given setup?

  4. Lastly what do you guys think about the developer support in terms of VR. Do you think Microsoft is heading in the right direction? I’m concerned that with all of the issues I’ve been reading VR might not be the devs first priority therefore it’s not in the forefront of optimisation and support.

Finally more context. I used to play FSX a lot in 2014 using a PC I still have until now i.e i5 4670 and AMD R9 270 with Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick. I still remember the joy when my father bought MSFS 98. “As real as it gets!” Even at that time on very primitive hardware and keyboard it was quite mind-blowing for my young self…

I haven’t upgraded for years and I’m asking these questions to make sure that the upgrade is going to be worth it…

Thanks all!

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Yes!

Once you put the headset on and step into the cockpit you’ll never go back to the flat screen. (Of course now there will be someone who says “VR sucks and I don’t fly it anymore”, but their reasoning is usually because they lack some feature, not because VR is so immersive)

Your setup is a killer - it’ll be a top notch. I have a 6 year old I5-5675C@3,9GHz and it does amazinly well. you’ll do just fine with yours.

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Just curious and absolutely not meant to be condescending in any way, but what is their first priority according to you?

Because I read a whole lot of different views on the forum :slight_smile:

P.S.
VR has been the biggest revolution I’ve witnessed in my sim career. I’m absolutely blown away when flying in a single seat plane. Best experiences are a Spitfire and that sorts, although I also love the PC6 Porter from Milviz.

With the correct peripherals. it’s an absolutely awesome experience. Your rig will be more than plenty. I’m pulling it of on a 1080ti with the reverb G2. Can only dream of a 3080 :slight_smile:

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I have 11900K, Rtx3080, 32Gb ram and Reverb G2.
I absolutely love flying in VR with this setup.
I watched some Youtube videos and some tips on internet in the beginning and now when i found the right settings it is awesome.
I tried but can never go back to flat screen (3840x1600) again in flying or racing-sims.

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Thanks for your input and encouragement. My main concern was in order to get some passable performance you have to have really high end rig but this seems to be not the case as per the replies of other comments.

I raised this statement because it seems to me – based on my very shallow reading of forums and knowledge so far – VR users are at the moment are small portion of the user base, therefore developers might be interested more optimising or doing features that will affect other platforms e.g standard screen setup or Xbox. I really want to be corrected on this.

Great to hear that. :slight_smile: All in all it seems like I should go ahead with the orders.

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Welcome to what will be your best investment of all time :slight_smile:
Because of MSFS VR, I bought this and have not one single regret.

RTX 3080
Ryzen 5 5600X
both honeycomb devices
rudder pedals
Reverb G2

So all you stated is equal or above what I have and my performance is more than ideal for a smooth and enjoyable experience.

Happy to have a new VR friend in the community :smiley:

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I ask it, because many Xbox users in general feel the same that they are the minority and Asobo isn’t focusing on the xbox. Other users say Asobo is too much focusing on the xbox and VR and not enough on IFR flights and airliners. Hence my question. :smiley:

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I have an i7 12700k, 3080ti, 16gb ddr5, but using an oculus quest (1).

I do like palying VR in general, and it is a unique way to try msfs 2020.

For me personally though, it’s not worth the downgrade in graphics and performance. No matter what system you’re running, the game will 100% have better visuals and less fps drops when using flat screen mode.

I also prefer to play with all my new flight controls, logitech panels and have to actually physically flick switches, press buttons and look at all the dials and screens I ahve set up.

For me, this is actually somehow feels more immersive than using vr.

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I think the one piece of good news is that in general any optimisations of the Sim will positively affect VR performance so whilst the road map looks a little unloved with all the under investigations and not started tags, I think most will be implemented with larger core sim updates rather than VR specific implementations . VR works well today (at least for me) on a 2070S and a 3750X using a G2, I have to be careful with my settings to get it working smoothly, but once I got it dialled in I haven’t touched them since. I am one of those people that flies both 2d and VR. VR cannot be beat for immersion, but sometimes I do like to do a flight or two outside of the headset.

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VR is great, but I keep my TrackIR still working because I can drink my coffee while flying and take screenshots in 2D easier than in VR. :grinning:

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I think you will be very happy with the experience given the high end hardware you have selected (and clearly you’ve done your research on hardware and know the tweaking that will be needed from reading the many long posts here that have been down this road…we can help you for sure and it’s really not that difficult once you get the initial tweaking set up using a few YT videos we can refer you to and a few key posts on here from some very dedicated VR users that have invested countless hours in testing and tuning). I am running an i9 12900k (before that an i9 10900k) on a 3090 and 64gb. Your hardware will give you great performance especially in GA aircraft and turboprop, and also in the locations you mentioned. It will be smooth and very immersive and I have never gone back to 2D once I got VR set up, it’s that good even with the graphics set down a notch or two from the 2D settings. It’s preference of course and there are users that have large investments in physical switch boxes, panels, etc. and then run widescreen or multi-screen setups and that’s fantastic as well, but I prefer the feeling of being inside the plane and it takes up less space for me, but it’s a personal thing. Check out the various videos from Pie in the Sky Tours on youtube and also VR Flight Sim Guy and The Sim Hanger (if you watch those the YT feed will likely send you a few others who are prolific in this space)…those 3 have helpful videos on which settings really drive the most immersion but also which settings are the heaviest on the GPU and CPU, thus the tweaking you hear about to strike a decent balance. This sub forum also has several long threads from Captain Lucky 8 (I think thats the name but not spelled completely correctly) that are a good resource for how to balance settings (he’s on a 2080 I think) and you can scale from there. Also, if you are into GA and/or turboprop, you will need to buy the SWS Kodiak 100 as it’s a great plane for the type of thing you are interested in, along with the Bush modified Cessna 172 (engine, tires, etc), as well as the bush plane from Got Gravel (savage). Welcome and you’ll be thrilled with your investment.

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I have a 3080, i9 10850K, 32GB, SSD and Reverb G2 and run MSFS in VR on Win 11 at a 50/50 mix of ultra/high settings and ~ 2800x2800 res per eye and it is magnificent and smooth and usually 25 FPS+. Sure more FPS would be better, like I can achieve in 4K 2D at ultra settings, but for now it is very satisfactory.

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I have a lower-end graphic card (3060Ti) and I get 25 - 30 fps on flight with the FBW A320NX (which is very demanding). Most settings in “HIGH” (I do not dare ULTRA).
Image is much less sharp than a 2D 4K monitor, but the VR sensation is unbelievable. While your visuals are bit blurrier, the sensation of being there and your practically unlimited field of view are stunning.
I have the Airbus sidestick and throttle with add-on, so most of the physical important controls are there at the reach of my hand (although it takes some training to find every button or lever when your eyes are inside the VR headset).
I do not think I will go back to 2D…

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Hey mate, fellow Aussie here.

My specs are:

  • i7-10700K
  • 32 GB RAM
  • RTX 3070
  • Meta Quest 2
  • Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X

Purchased 6 months ago for VR. Cost about 5k in AUD.
Was it worth it? Absolutely, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

RE: Q1 - is it really a game-changer? My notes below:

  • Soaring through clouds in VR at sunset is absolutely breathtaking.
  • Flying over a city at night in VR is incredible.
  • Flying through a thunderstorm and rain in VR is mesmerizing.
  • Flying IFR through mountainous terrain in VR can be terrifying.
  • Feeling the wind rock your plane in VR is fantastic.
  • Flying at dawn through snow-covered mountains is amazing.
  • Literally turning your head 90 or 180 degrees in VR to look at scenery feels so natural.
  • Reading gauges above your head and flicking fuel switches in your lap - both feel perfect in VR.

I played flat screen games as a kid and also used Track IR in flight sims as I got older.
In VR, you’re actually IN the game. It’s incredible.

RE Q2: rig compatibility - VR and MSFS work great on my rig. Very happy. It usually takes people a little while to dial in the settings to the way they like it. I have really nice crisp graphics and smooth gameplay. I fly most aircraft including Cessna’s, King Air 350i, TBM 930, Kodiak, H145 helicopter, and P-38L Lightning just to name a few. I fly in foreign countries and in Australia. I am very happy with my graphical and audio experience. The Quest 2 has in-built speakers and a microphone. I have also read posts in the forum about people experiencing issues. They’re definitely genuine cases, however, that didn’t prevent me from wanting to try and I’m so glad I did.

RE Q3: navigation or approach practice. Good on you mate, a PPL is a great goal to have. I actually find being in VR much more natural, particularly when banking the aircraft and knowing when to pull out of a turn. It’s almost as though you can sense where objects are, perhaps because of the enhanced depth perception. Being able to quickly glance out the back cabin window might help too! Even little things like the sun disappearing behind the pillar are correctly mapped for each eye. Concerning instruments, as long as they’re functional, then yes. I find it much easier in VR. I also find myself sub-consciously mapping each instrument’s location in 3D space as I go. The muscle memory is much better. My wife finds it funny when she finds me peering at the ceiling if she walks in as I’m playing. I’m only doing it because I’m turning on a light switch, or reading a gauge, lol.

We also have a great Australian community of MSFS flyers called SydSquad on youtube, if you’re not already a member. Free to join, we have community flights every Tuesday and Friday evening. Recently flew the East Coast of Australia and we’re currently flying in Alaska. I don’t run the channel or anything, just a happy member.

RE Q4: developer support - A lot of other VR games that you may read about typically run around 70-90 FPS. So when MSFS came out and it was only getting 20-40 FPS, that threw a bit of a curveball. It’s not as bad as it sounds though. I prefer to fly with motion reprojection disabled and I generally don’t experience any issues. I still use my HOTAS even though controller support was recently added. For me, the HOTAS feels more natural at the moment. I’m happy with the development so far, and there are also some 3rd party players keen to develop VR further in MSFS. There’s another thread in the performance section where they chat about features such as hand-tracking, world-scale improvements, image brightness, and NIS image scaling, just to name a few. Overall, I’ve found my VR experience in MSFS to be extremely pleasant.

On a final note - MSFS is the main game I play, but I also enjoy other VR titles such as Kayak VR: Mirage, BattleGroup VR, VR Regatta, Lone Echo, Project Cars 2, Skiing, Snowboarding, Golf, Table Tennis, and Rock Climbing. Platforms like Steam and Oculus are worth checking out as they list a variety of VR titles worth exploring, some of which are also incredibly realistic. Many games should be compatible with a G2, however, some may not be.

Cheers,

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All the way in VR since 2016, with CV1 and now HP Reverb G2!!! Never ever went back to flat screen anymore! You defenetely will not regret it! Have fun!!! :wink:

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I’m in VR since oculus dk2 and always was a (stereoscopic) 3d guy so I’m absolutely biased. All I can say I never play flat anymore.
However, I would strongly recommend to try out before making such an investment because reception of VR differs very much from individal to individual. Find someone with an comparable setup (mainly same headset and gpu) and who’s tech savy. Also keep in mind that you need time to adopt to VR (nausea).
And yes, there are two major drawbacks: Field of view and resolution is still not where it should be. So don’t expect hi res monitor image quality.

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