Oculus Rift and FSX

[T6flyer]

I have today had the best flightsim experience EVER.....spent a day with Oculus Rift Dev Kit v2 and the Alabeo Waco and Tomahawk with Orbx PNW scenery. Ok, it was of a little low resolution and was on Prepar3D, but I have never ever experienced anything like that before. Felt so lifelike and flying circuits was well almost as if there. And then off with the headset and sadly back in the room. Brilliant stuff indeed.

The question now is, does anyone know if it works with FSX? As if so, will purchase it upon release later this year. If it doesn't then Prepar3D will have to do. I primarily fly using the Horizon VFR scenery so would love it if it worked with that. A truly remarkable experience. Still can't get the smile off my face.

(Tried it in DCS with a 109 and flying aeros, almost made myself quite ill, shall we say!)

Cheers,

Martin

[bob407]

I have today had the best flightsim experience EVER.....spent a day with Oculus Rift Dev Kit v2 and the Alabeo Waco and Tomahawk with Orbx PNW scenery. Ok, it was of a little low resolution and was on Prepar3D, but I have never ever experienced anything like that before. Felt so lifelike and flying circuits was well almost as if there. And then off with the headset and sadly back in the room. Brilliant stuff indeed.

The question now is, does anyone know if it works with FSX? As if so, will purchase it upon release later this year. If it doesn't then Prepar3D will have to do. I primarily fly using the Horizon VFR scenery so would love it if it worked with that. A truly remarkable experience. Still can't get the smile off my face.

(Tried it in DCS with a 109 and flying aeros, almost made myself quite ill, shall we say!)

Cheers,

Martin

Found this: MS Flight Sim X (FSX) confirmed working with Rift! | Oculus-ready Games and Demos | Oculus VR Forums

[txnetcop]

Looks interesting!
Ted

[T6flyer]

Looks interesting!
Ted

It was.....just a pity that it can't really be 'shown' unless you try it for yourself. Flew the Tomahawk and almost felt had to reach out and grab things. Put TrackIR to great shame. Would have been superb with a higher resolution display (was a little fuzzy) but so immersive. Still buzzing and been home a few hours. About 15 people tried it, some felt a little ill, some said 'it wasn't for them' and the rest of us.....well, saving our pennies for the release. My neighbours think I'm weird (no comments please!) when they see me with a baseball cap on indoors. Hate to think what they would say when they saw the Rift on my head. Least I wouldn't be able to see them gawping!

Thanks,

Martin

[PRB]

In my current job, we have a small team exploring the possibility of using Oculus Rift in our line of work, which is developing computer based maintenance training for various military customers. Imagine "virtually wandering around" a CH-147F helicopter, and you have to replace the number 2 VHF radio, using the correct procedures as documented in the maintenance manuals, while dodging incoming mortar rounds, and sand storms. I have my doubts, but I did get to "experience" the device. It's really pretty cool. For FS is would be awesome, when they get the "next generation" working, with better resolution...

O.T. anyone remember the computer game "Doom"? One of the founders of that company (id) is now employed by Oculus VR (John Carmack) as their "Chief Technology Officer". Interesting, no?

[YoYo]

I tested Oculus Rift in IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad. I like it too but it needs better resolution for me.
Maybe next 1,5 y. and will be fine?

[StormILM]

I've followed this a bit and listening to Froogle's eval on it, he noted that with the current design, in order to get good smooth/fluid performance within a Flight Sim environment the benchmark needs to be a minimum of 70fps and his opinion was that no current PC based flight sim platform could meet that standard. Of course as development continues perhaps OR can be tweaked to where it will perform well with most flight sim platforms.

[DennyA]

I've been playing with the DK2 and yes, it's absolutely incredible. Quick answers to some stuff in the thread:

• FSX can be tweaked to work with it with a third-party utility, but Prepar3D v2 has actual Oculus Rift support, so the experience is much better there. And there's a utility called DCOC that does "asynchronous time-warping," which is essentially "skipping ahead" on slow frame rate updates to keep what you're seeing in sync with how you turned your head. It lets you get a non-nauseating experience even if you don't have 70 fps.
• The consumer release is supposed to help the resolution issue. Biggest problem right now in sims like DCS is that you have to lean in to read the panel; it's too blurry. The version for real customers is supposed to have a better display.
• StormILM, as I mention in the first point, there are programming tricks that can make it comfortable to use even without 70 fps updates.

[falcon409]

. . . . .The question now is, does anyone know if it works with FSX? As if so, will purchase it upon release later this year. If it doesn't then Prepar3D will have to do. . . . . .
Cheers,
Martin

lol, T6Flyer you speak about P3D as though it's the "red-headed stepchild" when in actuality it's far superior to FSX. Plus it already has support for OR as DennyA has mentioned. While there are ways to make it work in FSX I think where it will eventually shine the brightest will be P3D.

[StormILM]

I've been playing with the DK2 and yes, it's absolutely incredible. Quick answers to some stuff in the thread:

• FSX can be tweaked to work with it with a third-party utility, but Prepar3D v2 has actual Oculus Rift support, so the experience is much better there. And there's a utility called DCOC that does "asynchronous time-warping," which is essentially "skipping ahead" on slow frame rate updates to keep what you're seeing in sync with how you turned your head. It lets you get a non-nauseating experience even if you don't have 70 fps.
• The consumer release is supposed to help the resolution issue. Biggest problem right now in sims like DCS is that you have to lean in to read the panel; it's too blurry. The version for real customers is supposed to have a better display.
• StormILM, as I mention in the first point, there are programming tricks that can make it comfortable to use even without 70 fps updates.

Thanks for the information. Being that thus far I've been going on scant information except Froogle's testing, I gather there are workarounds but to clarify what Froogle identified, his contention was that from his own high end hardware that to get smooth performance from FSX you had to roll back the sliders about which in turn killed detail. He and most others seemed to think that improvements in the design would yield better interfacing with a number of software platforms in addition to tweaks and utilities now available. I'm not ready to jump just yet but I will be closely watching the development and testing as IMO, this is quite possibly the beginning of a new era in VC immersion.

[T6flyer]

lol, T6Flyer you speak about P3D as though it's the "red-headed stepchild" when in actuality it's far superior to FSX. Plus it already has support for OR as DennyA has mentioned. While there are ways to make it work in FSX I think where it will eventually shine the brightest will be P3D.

Ha Ha, the intention wasn't anything like that. I was primarily concerned that the Horizon VFR scenery doesn't work with Prepar3D and I didn't want to use the Orbx rendition of the UK as it was so inaccurate. I like to see where I'm going....slowly most of the time. I realise that Prepar3D is a superior piece of software as have tried it many a time at my local flight simulator group meeting (where I tried the Rift yesterday), but am still very happy with my FSX setup.

Will have to watch the Froogle videos to see what he thinks. Yes, the resolution needs changing, but it was so good. I've flown over 1800 hours mostly in GA and it was so immersive. Ok. you could see the pixels, it was of a low resolution, but it was the best experience I had encountered. Its very early days for the equipment (remember what has been used so far is development kit), so hopefully it will all change upon final release this year. I for me, along with the majority of people that tried it yesterday would like to purchase one. A pretty picture is one thing, but feeling you are there, is ten times better. Just my thoughts of course.

Happy Landings,

Martin

[Daube]

Each time I read a user experience with the Occulus, I have to make my best to resist the urge to order the MkII...
The low resolution is the only thing stopping me to waste my money. Why is it taking them so long to make a new version with higher resolution ? How hard can it be ? This is really strange, I have the feeling the Occulus developpment is being delayed by political/financial problems, instead of technical stuff...

[ejoiner]

(Tried it in DCS with a 109 and flying aeros, almost made myself quite ill, shall we say!)

Cheers,

Martin

Yep, this is what I suspected. I cant play first person shooter games because the rapid movement makes me motion sick. I also have tried fresnel lenses with flight sim and had a similar headache.

I think Occulus could be amazing with FS, but the total emersion could fool my inner ear again. So I might pass depending on my experiences. Certainly would be "wait and see" once others tried and reported.

Funny because real world flying doesnt make me sick. Even small aircraft in turbulence Im usually OK. (except for that one time a long time ago in a friggin Traumahawk in high winds. at least got it on the ground before barfing beside the airplane. (instructor didnt care for that much.)

[ejoiner]

In my current job, we have a small team exploring the possibility of using Oculus Rift in our line of work, which is developing computer based maintenance training for various military customers. Imagine "virtually wandering around" a CH-147F helicopter, and you have to replace the number 2 VHF radio, using the correct procedures as documented in the maintenance manuals, while dodging incoming mortar rounds, and sand storms. I have my doubts, but I did get to "experience" the device. It's really pretty cool. For FS is would be awesome, when they get the "next generation" working, with better resolution...

O.T. anyone remember the computer game "Doom"? One of the founders of that company (id) is now employed by Oculus VR (John Carmack) as their "Chief Technology Officer". Interesting, no?

Yeah thank that guy for me getting seasick playing one of the first first person shooters! Never could play that game...besides didnt like what I thought was a disturbing macabre game.

[spatialpro]

Each time I read a user experience with the Occulus, I have to make my best to resist the urge to order the MkII...
The low resolution is the only thing stopping me to waste my money. Why is it taking them so long to make a new version with higher resolution ? How hard can it be ?

Not hard at all... IF you've got the money to splash on a really expensive product! If money were no object I reckon a production version of OR could be for sale on the shelves tomorrow! However, remember that OR set out to produce a consumer-grade product that would retail at a relatively low price (this all goes back to their Kickstarter campaign). This means it'll be affordable for us mere mortals, rather than just defense and the airline industry etc. The idea is to have masses of people using OR for all sorts of things, rather than a small minority. If they achieve this then VR will take off this time round, rather than fading into the background with previous incarnations.

In order to keep costs down OR relies on mobile phone screen technology. OR uses one screen, on which two images are displayed, one for each eye. Now if "high resolution" means full 1080p HD per eye that means you need a mobile phone screen with double that resolution. The only one I'm aware of so far is the Samsung Note 4, which has a Quad HD Super AMOLED screen with 2560×1440 resolution. It is no coincidence that the Samsung Gear VR uses this phone! If you really can't wait for a production version OR then I suggest you buy the Samsung Gear VR instead right now, but then you also need to buy the Samsung Note 4! Add these together and it is expensive! I believe OR is trying to get a whole bunch of cheap 2560×1440 screens when they are truly in widespread production, which brings economies of scale. I reckon their current prototype at OC HQ is using just such a screen. If we wait for OR we'll get a much cheaper product than the Samsung Gear VR + Note 4, as originally promised on the OR Kickstarter campaign (plus it'll have IR head tracking, which the Gear VR doesn't).

[vl82m]

Just a simple question, but does this ocolus rift really transport you into the world of the game? Like with your eyes, you're seeing nothing but the cockpit and feels you're actually there in real life? Or is the vision poorer than what you see in real life or pixelated? Obviously the small laptop screen I use for simming, is the biggest blow for realism.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/buying-ad...pecs-features/

Seems will just cost 200 USD

[Daube]

Thanks for the explanations AirTrooper.
I knew the OR team was having problems to determine the best hardware choice for the final product, but I was completely unaware of these final-cost problems. I have no idea how expensive the screen of the Galaxy Note S4 can be, and I do not know if this screen is the only one able to provide a suitable resolution for a device like the OR. Honnestly, I thought the screen market was much bigger than this, I didn't expect it would be so difficult to find a suitable device with suitable price...
In any case, I'm not interested in the other alternative products. I'll just wait for the final OR. That waiting time is just becoming more an more painful, but I suppose the situation is the same for the OR team...

[Daube]

Just a simple question, but does this ocolus rift really transport you into the world of the game? Like with your eyes, you're seeing nothing but the cockpit and feels you're actually there in real life? Or is the vision poorer than what you see in real life or pixelated? Obviously the small laptop screen I use for simming, is the biggest blow for realism.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/buying-ad...pecs-features/

Seems will just cost 200 USD

The Occulus is supposed to transport you into the cabin, you're supposed to feel like you're actually there. That's why you can see these funny Youtube videos about people shouting like mad when they try the Occulus for the first time with a rollercoaster simulation. The combination of first person view with the real 3D (one image per eye, the brain does the rest) gives you a real perception of distances/volumes, unlike a single screen.

That 200 USD target cost seems pretty low to me. I didn't remember they were aiming at such a low price. Now I can really understand why they have so much trouble to build a final version with acceptable resolution :/
Let's hope the high-res screen prices drop soon

[Daube]

One more question... Sorry, I feel like I have already asked this in the past, but I don't remember anymore: when using the Occulus Rift with FSX or P3D, what level of zoom are we supposed to use ?
I expect we'll have to switch to zoom 1.0x, to avoid any image/perspective distortion, right ?
Wouldn't that be a problem for the field of view ? Or will the final screen size/resolution compensate this, somehow ?

[vl82m]

The Occulus is supposed to transport you into the cabin, you're supposed to feel like you're actually there. That's why you can see these funny Youtube videos about people shouting like mad when they try the Occulus for the first time with a rollercoaster simulation. The combination of first person view with the real 3D (one image per eye, the brain does the rest) gives you a real perception of distances/volumes, unlike a single screen.

That 200 USD target cost seems pretty low to me. I didn't remember they were aiming at such a low price. Now I can really understand why they have so much trouble to build a final version with acceptable resolution :/
Let's hope the high-res screen prices drop soon

I read somewhere developers try to make the price as low as possible, so that everyone can use it. They wanted it to be free if they could, but that's not possible. It's rare I see a team that doesn't care about profit since the collapse.

If it does really transport you to the world, and you feel you're there, I guess all you need to do is get really drunk and you actually brainwash yourself you're really in a plane

[Daube]

If you sit in a plane that has a good virtual cockpit, and you have a good surround sound system, you probably won't need much alcohol until your brain starts thinking you're really in there
Must be quite a thrill. Even with the low resolution device, sitting in a simple plane, like the default glider, and flying over photoscenery...

[DennyA]

It's not a money issue -- Oculus is now owned by Facebook, which has a Scrooge McDuck-level cash vault. It's more that they can take their time to get it right because they have that much cash.

That said, apparently Oculus just listed a whole bunch of job openings having to do with procurement and supply chain. Which makes me think they're gearing up to start production. Also, I bought a DK2 late last year, which I figured would cause the much better production version to come out super-fast afterwards...

It's an amazing, unprecedented experience. Just the feeling of coming on on a runway approach is so much different, so much more realistic, than the usual 2D experience.

If you have access to a Rift and want to see what a combat sim might be like once everything is optimized, try the free Star Wars: Battle of Hoth demo. Gameplay gets repetitive very quickly, but the experience of twisting around in the cockpit as you chase TIE Fighters is awesome. (And you see R2, and you can open and close the S-Foils. : )

RE: Not needing much alcohol: I don't partake personally because I get fuzzy headed enough in my normal sober state, but from comments on Reddit /Oculus, apparently pot + Oculus = very believable sensation. (Hey, it's legal where I live! But still, kids, don't do drugs!)

[DaveWG]

Well, in the meantime, there's always the cheap version...

[T6flyer]

If you sit in a plane that has a good virtual cockpit, and you have a good surround sound system, you probably won't need much alcohol until your brain starts thinking you're really in there
Must be quite a thrill. Even with the low resolution device, sitting in a simple plane, like the default glider, and flying over photoscenery...

It was so good......even with the low resolution. It wasn't for some people, but for the majority of us that tested it (I had to have 3 goes just to make sure!), it was excellent. With TrackIR you have to look at the screen, with this it was just as if sat in the real aeroplane. I didn't go much on the Alabeo Tomahawk when bought it (and not that keen on the real thing) but with the Rift and flying circuits in PNW, it was so immersive. Never ever experienced anything like it before. Friends wanted to buy a DK2 there and then. I think I will wait until the release of the commercial project which I believe is later this year.

Cheers,

Martin

[vl82m]

I guess trackir and the final version oculus will be my next treats then (if higher resolution version), to finally enter the world of FSX flying the planes as if I was really there. Amazing how technology has advanced and how immersive it has really become. Close to a dream come true. All thats needed left is body sensors so you're actually able to dial and flip the switches, which might be 5-10 years away. The alcohol suggestion wasn't that good, you might become angry and try to punch your virtual copilot