OFF TOPIC: New civilian flight sim with VR!

[DennyA]

I realize this is the FSX topic, but this is where the civilian sim fans hang out, so wanted to give you a heads-up! AeroflyFS2 just hit Steam Early access -- I discovered it on an Oculus Rift news site of all places! Since I have a Rift, it was an instant purchase, and I'm downloading it right now.

Some caveats:

• It's Steam Early Access, which is basically a way to buy a game when it's in alpha/beta and help guide it to the finish line
• Right now it just has the SW US and Switzerland available to fly in
• Again, it's not done, so don't expect an experience matching the mature FSX environment.

That said, native VR support! And a modern graphics engine! And a focus on realism!

Sim info:
https://www.aerofly.com/aerofly_fs_2/index.html

The manual, good for folks interested in what's implemented at the moment:
http://www.ikarus.net/en/manual-aeroflyfs2/



Anxious to try it out! How often do we get new sims nowadays? I hope folks here will give it the benefit of the doubt instead of getting into sim wars. New sims are so rare now I hope we can support the efforts of folks trying to create products to appeal to us!

[flaviossa]

30Gb, the default install

[heywooood]

I bought their FS1 when it came out and kept it until I needed HD space...one of the last programs I sacrificed before the inevitable upgrade next year.
It looks great especially the terrain and aircraft. Good flight models too.
This looks instantly better than the DTG Flight School debacle...

[DennyA]

Wow. My first impressions are super-positive! Here's a shot from inside the P-38 Yippee! flying around Sedona, AZ at 3,440x1,440 resolution, silky smooth!

Flight models feel pretty good, graphics are spectacular, it even automatically configured everything on my Logitech G940 Throttle/Stick/Pedals combo except for the view keys.

Haven't tried VR yet as I'm downloading it to that PC now.

The photo textures look really good.

Main thing I'm missing is air traffic. Static planes at the airports, but haven't seen anything flying yet.

The panels look great on the planes I've tried so far. (C172, F/A-18, 737, A320, P-38.)

And flaviossa, the install with the hi-res textures for the SW USA and Switzerland is 101GB!!! But hey, you can literally buy a 1TB 7,200 RPM hard drive from Amazon.com now for $25.

[Killbilly]

Does it support TrakIR?

[scotth6]

Looks pretty good to me. Large HD imprint is to be expected as it is all photoreal. I am really tempted to get it but I don't have enough time to use all the sims I currently have. Between DCS World, FSX and P3D my time is nearly used up. I don't even have time to use a few of my other faves lately; Rise of Flight, IL2 Franchise, CFS3, Falcon.....

Native Rift support makes it really, really tempting though.

Cheers,

[davido53]

My first impressions: (I've flown flight sims since around 94 or so starting with Gunship, EF2000, Warbirds, IL2, DOF, MFS and P3D plus I have a RL PPL, expired)

best looking flight sim I've ever seen

ultra fast loading...change a plane takes about 4 seconds

loading flight takes about 4 seconds

cockpits ultra clean

great sound, better than FSX

with high settings the graphics are literally jaw-dropping

went to Moffat Field to start a flight and they had the old blimp hangar there, nice detail!

you can see every rivet on these planes with high settings

shadows better than P3D

downside:

can't get a plane to stall

had one memory dump CTD, but then this is a beta

[DennyA]

I tried it on the Rift last night briefly before going to bed. (Took a long time to transfer the 100GB to our second PC!)

HOLY WOW. Amazing. The cockpits... Man, dirty them up a bit more and you'd think you were there. Instruments are somehow dramatically more readable than those in DCS and P3D/FlyInside. Terrain looks fantastic once you get a bit of altitude, though the "Photoreal" aspect is kind of given away down low.

Have a few Saturday chores to do and then I think I'm going to go check out the Grand Canyon in VR!

[jschall]

Yes, @Killbilly, TrackIR works fine with Aerofly FS2.

[DennyA]

Spent four or five hours flying today. So much fun already, and such great potential if they keep developing for it.

The flight models vary in depth and quality -- I not only stalled the Pitts, I got into a pretty impressive spin too.

Man, it's so beautiful in VR. Flew around Edwards AFB, Sedona, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Switzerland and everything looked amazing.

[hairyspin]

Lionheart is pretty excited about this one and is looking at the SDK for getting his fleet exported when aircraft modelling gets added to the toolset.

[scotth6]

I almost bought this today, it looks amazing. I even emptied out some HD space for it. Just holding off 'til tomorrow, and then maybe the next day.

[Navy Chief]

I have no clue how much a VR setup would cost me (in addition to having to replace my current video card). Would someone please give an idea how much equipment I would need, and approx. cost? Thanks. NC

[wombat666]

My interest has been piqued by this one, I might just find a use for the spare 500GB SSD that has been lurking in my extras box...........

And a PS for the Chief, the best of the VR units as of June this year appears to be the 'HTC Vive', at US$899.00 RRP it should be!

[Stickshaker]

NC, a Rift VR will set you back some 700 dollars I think – I paid 650 Euros or so for mine. On the Rift website you can download a tool to test whether your computer meets the requirements for the Rift, and what needs to be changed. I have DCS working and it is fantastic - I made a flight in a real P-51D three weeks ago and sitting in the DCS one with a Rift brought back the experience vividly. But I am still getting used to it and each flight is a challenge. But I will never go back to a monitor voluntarily.<o></o>

[scotth6]

I have no clue how much a VR setup would cost me (in addition to having to replace my current video card). Would someone please give an idea how much equipment I would need, and approx. cost? Thanks. NC

Hi Chief,

I believe the cost of the Oculus Rift is still the same, $600 USD + postage. If a new video card is required then the minimum is :

NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater.

I just picked up a GTX 980 on sale for around $650 AUD (down from around $1050 in store) about two months ago. I see on newegg.com that most of the GTX980s seem to be open box models or refurbished and are between $400 to $600 USD. The GTX980 has 4GB of RAM, the GTX980ti has 6GB of RAM and I think the new GTX 1080 (around $699 USD) has 8GB of RAM. If you can afford it I would recommend the newer model as VR will use all the processing power of the CPU and GPU that you can throw at it. Probably the more RAM the better. That being said, if you shop around you may find a GTX 980ti on sale due to it being an older model now, and 6GB of VRAM will be pretty handy to have.

Depending on what video card you have though you may not even need to upgrade, at least for a while. I had an ATI/AMD Radeon HD 7970 which wasn't technically up to the minimum specs, but the Rift worked pretty well on it. Of course then it stopped working after about a month. It was quite a few years old also. You just need to ensure you have 3 USB 3.0 ports and one HDMI port to plug everything in.

https://www3.oculus.com/en-us/rift/

It is really amazing. I have been flying the A-10C and F-5E with the Rift in DCS world lately, and it is just incredible immersion. I also just finished a flight in the AS Catalina between Bar Harbour and Knox County Regional Airport in P3D and again it's just incredible. Everything looks full scale in the Rift. I felt like I could poke my arm out the window and have my hand hit by the huge prop. Made me a bit nervous actually. The cockpit is absolutely huge too. It looked like I wouldn't even be able to reach the rudder pedals.


Cheers,

[Navy Chief]

Thanks Scott, for the info.

My current card, a Radeon HD5870, cannot handle VR. The card is working fine for now, and I don't have the cash to buy a updated card and the Oculus Rift setup. Maybe someday, but doubtful. I will be content with what I have for now, and maybe a few years from now the prices will go down some. As with any new technology, the cost is high. NC

[Desert Rat]

Looks like I'll have to wait too, Track-IR will have to suffice for now. Just busted my budget on a new rig which claims that the onboard graphics are VR ready, I somehow doubt that, lol. (I7 6700K oc'd to 4.5GHz)

Jamie

[scotth6]

Yeah I'm sure the price will come down and not too far from now. From my perspective, VR seems to have really burst on to the scene and has been adopted by many users and companies producing software. As you say NC the price is always high when a new tech is released, and I'm sure it will be much more competitive in a year or two.

[mike_cyul]

How's weather portrayal? That, to me, is one of the most important things in depicting real flight (once there are good flight dynamics!).

[jschall]

@mike_cyul: Weather is beautifully portrayed, at least visually - clouds, fog, wind. But it's static, and there's no precipitation. Room for improvement, for sure.

[davido53]

I love being able to change the visibility on the fly...in FSX you have to exit, then reload...in AF2 it is instantaneous, along with the time...being able to move the sun with one click is just awesome...and the particle system is so good it makes it look just like you are there...

[heywooood]

Now I am wondering if Aerofly will add helicopters to FS2..

adding helo's and AI traffic would make it better - Does the beta have ATC?

[wombat666]

Now I am wondering if Aerofly will add helicopters to FS2..

adding helo's and AI traffic would make it better - Does the beta have ATC?

Give them time and we should see the usual features.
As it is an 'Early Access' Beta the definitive Sim will be a fair time away, especially if it is to be as good as we would hope.
Just an example, I signed on for an Early Access program which (despite weekly upgrades) was some 2 years in the making.
It was worth the wait.
Patience is required.

[Bomber_12th]

If the Corsair and P-38 look familiar, it's because they come from the same modeler who originally did the Corsair released through A2A/Aircraft Factory and the P-38 through FSD/Milviz. Obviously there has been a great number of changes, but the DNA is still there.