To VR or not to VR that is the question

I’ll stick my neck out and predict that in a few years I reckon Microsoft and Asobo bring out a combat orientated version of FS to compete with DCS. I might be remembering things wrongly but I’m sure I heard somewhere that someone had discovered code references to combat in the current version of the simulator.

I honestly don’t think it will be that long. We’re not quite there yet but not that far off. Maybe a couple of years or so is my guess until the next HMDs and GPUs come out and VR software gets a bit more optimised.

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Possibly a good call there. Maybe it also depends on how successful they deem FS2020 to have been also. It would definitely be something to look forward to anyway.

Yeah you’re probably right we’re maybe only a generation behind it. There’s certainly rumours of Apple bringing out a crazy 8K massive field of view headset. Whenever they bring out a new piece of hardware like that it has the habit of really pushing along all the competitors.

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It would definitely make sense for them to do it I think. There’s already aircraft carriers in the works for the current version of the sim, so clearly its a direction quite a few current fans of the sim would would go for. I could imagine it being a lot of fun.

Yes, the world scenery is already there. They could have it up and running with a few combat planes (needn’t be 100% realistic as IL2 or DCS), a few combat scenarios or single player careers and multiplayer, VR support and loads of optional DLC. Could be minimal work and a good earner for them :slightly_smiling_face:

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VR, Flat panel is not the same as flying!
It does not feel like your in a real plane, looking at a monitor,

It will get better and better, just try to enjoy it, and enjoy the level of graphics you do get, with the true feeling of being inside the aircraft.

@Vonzeigler, imagine what it will be like in a year or three when we’re sporting Reverb G3s (or better) and 40-series (or better) GPUs. Of course, like everything else, that too will come to be viewed as we now view stick figure flight simming given enough time to evolve even further.

The key is to focus, not on frame rate, but rather on smoothness. I do not have a high-end graphics card, nor a high-end system. My system is based on a 9th gen Intel i9 Extreme CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card. Without VR, running on 4k, I can set almost every setting in Ultra and get a smooth flight experience – little choppiness in large cities, but nothing to panic. Running the next highest resolution, below 4k, the choppiness is eliminated, for the most part.

In VR, I’m still experimenting with the settings. Right now, I have them closer to what I use for non-VR, and so far, so good. My only issue is with making the text in the cockpit LCDs more readable. Also, there is some degradation in the visual, even in Ultra, as compared to non-VR. Nonetheless, the experience of flight in VR mode is unmatched. It’s awesome!

Got a 1660super with a little OC and Ryzen 2700 with 16Gb Ram and I tried a Quest 2 and now I cannot fly in 2D.

Game changer for me. I only fly the smaller planes from standard and deluxe, plus the Carenado Mooney and Twin.

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They’re gonna have to make the Mooney more VR-ready (meaning if you right click on the mouse it’s supposed to zoom in on whatever instrument you happen to be looking at, at least as long as your mappings are done properly) before I go back to that plane, and I LOVE that plane.

So Carenado, if your reading (and as a bonus, I actually am going to have to purchase the plane again before using it is even a hypothetical option), here is a big hint for you…

I am in love with the PA44, though, especially when paired with @ScorpionFilm422’s GNS530 mod, which is hands down the best model of a Garmin instrument so far done for MSFS even amongst other competing products for the G1000 and others.

Please understand this feature requires specific 3D modeling steps which are not documented (well maybe to a few fortunate 3rd party vendors only but not to most). The “trick” has been published in the 3rd Party Dev Forum only a few days ago by another 3rd party vendor…

We won’t be friends with such statements, unless by MSFS you mean FS2020 only:
www.reality-xp.com

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Interesting I did not realise right-clicking did that in VR. I have always leaned in towards the dashboard to see things like you would in real life.

One thing I noticed is on Mooney etc that you need to shut one eye when clicking stuff to avoid two cursors or clicking in the wrong place.

Well, whether by luck or design, they got it right on the PA44, and “not right” on the M20R or 182T. And I hope they do get it right, as the Mooney was one of my favorite steam gauge single engine pistons in the entire sim, and I wouldn’t even be using it until that was fixed, never mind spending the money to buy it again. And they’re going to have no choice but to get it right on future releases, assuming they intend to actually sell any to VR users.

LOL, well, while my history with MSFS goes all the way back to version 3 in 1988 give or take, it’s equally true that before I got bitten by the bug by FS2020, I had a good decade where I didn’t fly anything made from anyone. I never had a simcraft with anything but the most rudimentary GPS unit (and I’m even making some assumptions there, as I don’t remember ever having used GPS in any sim (which was limited to MS variants only, anyway) until FS2020. So I am completely and wholly unaware of what might have come into existence during my period of self-imposed “retirement”, that largely happened because life got in the way and I simply didn’t have any time for the hobby.

Which is kind of a long winded way of saying I have no idea who www.reality-xp.com is, what they make/sell, how good it works (or doesn’t), or even just the fact that they existed at all. But if they’re as good as your endorsement and a 2-minute perusal of their website seems to indicate, I welcome their entry into the FS2020 market. The more competition there is, the better it is for all of us, and it really doesn’t matter what subject we’re talking about.

Does this mean we can still be friends? LOL… :sunglasses:

That doesn’t always work for those of us stuck in bed with disabilities.

Yes, that’s another thing that they need to fix, in addition to the “click to zoom” feature. Even on the PA44, but fortunately that only seems to be an issue on the light switches on the ceiling with that b1rd.

needs hand tracking for the switches an panels… a ultra leap stuck to the front of the headset would work great, but fs needs to support it…

There are a coupe drawbacks to VR (lower graphics settings, harder to interact with the cockpit, etc.) but I think folks will be creative as time moves forward solving all of those issues.

I’m fortunate I’m on a top-end rig (i7-10700k and a 3090) and even I had to tweak it a bit to get smooth visuals.

I’m not quite as hardcore as some (a lot?) of the guys here. I have a lot of pilot friends tho I myself am not one - I find myself considering going for my PPL some day so I do try to fly “realistically”.

I’ll say with VR, and given my own personal insane stress levels… I’ve been literally able to make myself feel like I’m somewhere else. Flying some of the bush trips in VR, or just a random flight down the CA coast, or over Arizona somewhere… I find myself with lower blood pressure, lower heartrate, I’m relaxed just looking out the window as it gently floats by, piston engine(s) gently humming in the background.

I know I won’t get that experience with a monitor. It’s a difference between “Hey wow that looks exactly like California!” and “Hey wow I’m IN California!”

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To see fully realized VR, you’ll need a Cray.

Not sure what you mean by Cray ?

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For me, I am finding that depending on what type of flying I will be doing will determine whether I strap on the headset or not. VFR and bush trips VR all the way, multiplayer on 2D monitor and IFR a combination of 2D and VR (takeoff and departure VR, Enroute 2D, Arrival and Approach VR).