Thinking about VR, Oculus or HTC?

[RobCom]

Hey ya'll, I have been reading a lot about VR and P3Dv4 and how amazing the experience is, but I am lost when it comes to VR hardware and compatibility.

Right now I can pick up the Oculus for a decent price, but like I said I'm not hip to what is and what isn't the best for VR flying. So I have a couple of questions.

For compatibility and function which one of the two is the most recommended? Is one better then the other as far as visuals?

How does the VR work? do I still need flight controls? or do the hand sensors work with all the functions of the virtual cockpit?

Appreciate any input, thanks,
RobC

[ronh991]

I have the Oculus Rift. I also have the Flyinside program. It works great with P3D v4.1.

Just make sure you have a good video card 1070 or better. 1050 does not work well or at all. 1060 is suppose to be the minimum. Says VR works with i5 but think you really need an i7 - just my opinion.

It was simple to get going.
Install Oculus Rift software - setup the sensors etc. go through the tutorial - it's fun. - Make sure you "allow additional programs" in the setup menu. You need USB 3.0 ports and a USB 2.0 just for the Rift. Then you need joystick, mouse keyboard ports. I had to buy a USB 7 port device to add a few more ports.

Install FlyInside for P3D v4.x
Start FlyInside - you will see a Prepar3D icon in the goggles. Point! and Press! with virtual finger and away you go. If not start P3D outside of the headset by using the mouse/keyboard to start P3D. It may say P3D taking too long - just wait.

I fly with controls - yoke and throttle. Using the Oculus hand controllers for yoke etc. does not work well. But you have wrist straps to drop the hand controller, fly the plane with one hand and use the other hand controller to operate switches. Also some aircraft - you can't work the prop or mixture. That is my experience with the maule.

I have not yet installed Leap Motion hand sensors but have viewed a couple videos that shows that works as another option.

The cockpit view may be a bit blurry to read small instruments. GA aircraft work well. But more complex A/C may be difficult to read dial/gauges.

VR has really just started to get good and reliable. I recommend it for GA aircraft flying VFR through the clouds.

This is my experience - I recommend it, but you may need to go through some frustration during the set-up and all those USB ports - I had to move them around just to get it all working. Front ports on your computer are not ideal for things other than maybe the mouse. Try to stick to the mainboard ports.

The effort is worth it. Amazing flying experience. My wife just laughs at me as I am looking up at the ceiling and down to the floor, with these stupid goggles on my head.

[RobCom]

lol yeah wives, they just don't fully understand guy stuff.

I read the min/ideal specs on the Oculus website, I have a 7700k OC to 4.6 and an EVGA 1080GTX OC and an EVGA Z270 Classified, I should be good to go there, it also said 3 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0 recomended, I'm using almost all my USB ports now, but I should be able to drop a USB 3.0 card in if needed OR move some other stuff around. That might be a min of another $80 though for a good one.

The blurry instruments might be an issue for me though, I didn't even think about that. But not being able to adjust prop or mixture is absolutely an issue, I'm going to have to research that a bit.

Well, now all I have to is decide between a 2k 34" monitor or the Oculus VR.

thanks for the input Ron.