I recently bought a Knobster for X-Plane, and was not surprised that it wasn’t supported by MSFS since the sim is so new. What was surprising, however, was to find out that the Knobster developers actually did try, but found that the SDK is too limited to support it. Given the simplicity of the device, it does seem to imply that the SDK really is uncooked.
Personally, I haven’t “gone back to xplane” in the sense of abandoning MSFS. I’m a long-time flight simmer and find that one needs several to scratch all the itches. For example, VTOL, I’d say, gives the biggest bang for the buck in terms of sheer flying excitement in VR even though scenery-wise it is the weakest. In DCS, oddly, I seem to have the most fun sitting on the tarmac flipping switches. MSFS, on the other hand, gives the biggest bang for the buck in terms of photorealistic cross-country VFR flight, and that’s the niche its falling into for me. X-Plane, however, falls into a very different category. It is most definitely not a gamers sim and can be a royal pain to setup and configure (especially if you want the scenery looking pretty good); but in almost every other way besides scenery it remains a benchmark of simulator fidelity. Solid motion controls, superior performance, superior avionics, superior plug-ins, excellent flight modeling, mature SDK, support for multiple screens (heck, if my Knobster can’t be supported, then I’m pretty sure this is impossible in MSFS right now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK1xP9Wqzx0). Because I do enjoy VFR flight, MSFS is definitely getting stick time from me because it offers the best view out the window; but when it comes to the mechanical and procedural side of flying, and to the more subjective “feel” of flight (I’ve taken enough lessons IRL to be acquainted with this feel), X-Plane just simply has that nailed-down better.
Hehe, I’ve (literally) been playing MSFS for 35 years. So other than the graphical advances that we already saw previewed in MS “Flight” back in 2012 and which are now (finally) fully realized in 2021, seeking all the other things that are baseline today or have gone missing since FSX, is hardly a desire for instant gratification. I mean if a car company builds a brand new car model, one still pretty much expects all the mundane basic stuff to be there in their modern, mature forms.
Thank you for this! It would be nice to be informed of this by Asobo directly. The articles also doesn’t put this as a quote, so we don’t really know if it’s the author’s opinion, him impression, or a quote from an interview.
@RomanDesign i read the eurogamer article that this links to. The only mention of VR controllers is the lack of them, and it most spoke about the console release.
I’ve read it too. The exact quote is " … I’ve been playing on a Reverb G2 paired with a 3070, and while the demands of Microsoft Flight Simulator mean it’s not wise to max out the resolution of the headset it’s still impressively immersive - with more being done, the VR controller support that was absent at launch currently being worked on."
There is no source for this data, it’s not a quote or a relayed speech from the interview, nor is it in a context of an interview. Where did the author took this information from - is a mystery. Let’s hope he actually heard it from Asobo, but we don’t really know.
right. the UploadVR page is pretty much saying "i misread the article but decided to put a misleading title. Granted, it even says in the UploadVR “there’s no current word on VR controllers.”
That’s interesting. I’ve been looking at buying a knobster. I was under the impression that it uses Air Manager for the software interface, and there is an MSFS2020 beta for Air Manager.
I don’t use Air Manager, but waiting for a VR plug-in similar to what XP has. The Knobster wiki says “Note that FS2020 isn’t complete and a lot of things aren’t function (correct). We’re waiting / hoping for Microsoft to fix these issues in the near future.”
I had a great experience in X-Plane directly rotating the knobs with VR controllers - it’s very satisfying to feel the clicks of the rotating encoders and see speed-dependent numbers change. Those were the most enjoyable and realistic controls in VR. And interacting with the actual knobs in the cabin is very immersive. But that’s a very personal experience though. Dual knobs need more motor precision skills, but you feel the faint “clicks” when latching to top and then bottom knob (inner/outer), so you can get used to that.
I used the VR controllers for rotating knobs for quite a while in XP and agree that virtual control is quite adequate; however, after giving the Knobster a try, I found its VR mode to be a revelation. I have mine mounted just under my Honeycomb yoke. It is a full-fledged mechanical/optical dual knob with pushbutton, easily located “in the dark”, and works exactly like a real knob (since it is one). The VR plug-in provides a way of very quickly and conveniently (using the VR motion controller) making the knob function as any dial on the aircraft. It’s a little expensive, but worth every penny IMO.
MSFS currently lacks both motion controller and Knobster support in VR, so both are currently missed and on my wish list.
Controller support for me is critical to flight simulation when practising emergency scenarios. For general flying it’s relatively easy to use the mouse, but annoying. Especially when the mouse zooms up to your face (this might just be my G1 headset). it also reminds me of having a fly in the car that’s on the corner of your windshield (annoying). Reaching for the controls is more than just a gimmick and I hope the guys at ASOBO can see that.
Developing muscle memory when reaching for controls is part of the learning process and humans have operated this way for thousands of years. A human brain remembers both the instruction and “limb operation” when learning anything that typically involves manual labour.
I fully understand why there are reasons for and against controller support. However, in an emergency scenario (which I hope we are all never in) those vital milliseconds count in the real world. I will need my muscle memory to “kick in” and reach for controls without my brain panicking and looking for a mouse to point and click.
Agreed. The lack of depth for the mouse cursor makes it terrible for pointing at things at different distances. For example, try clicking the buttons on the yoke. There are no depth cues to indicate that I’m now pointing at something closer than the dashboard. Also, if I put my mouse pointer on the throttle and fail to “lock-in” by keeping the mouse button pressed in, the cursor will float somewhere else the moment I turn my head. I’m glad they got it working well enough to experiment with in VR, but definitely still an “early-access” experience.
Updated the original post based on the Asobo Twitch QnA. Good news! This topic made it to the top priority in the new VR snapshot and this issue is not going to be neglected. How long do we have to wait is unknown, but they got the message of the importance of VR, and this issue in particular.
Another +1 here. I play vr wireless through virtual desktop. Thing is I dont have much room for vr, if i go into my ‘vr room’ its in a different room than the pc. Would be great to have motion controls rather than having to sit up right at my computer desk
Good news, I think: The latest VR feedback snapshot has this issue status changed to “started” and target date set as 2021. So Asobo is now definitely working on it. Thank you everybody for voting and making this issue noticed and prioritized as “dev priority 1”, thus ensuring it gets the resources needed for implementation.
Exactly. I was stunned when I first got in and couldn’t even see my controllers. The mouse is incredibly annoying in vr, especially for atc because it never seems to easily put itself on the correct plane. So it takes forever to respond. Also having to fiddle with the mouse to try and do things is a nightmare. Planes were made for people who have hands! Let us use our hands!
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