81–90 of 94 posts
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I used to spend a lot of time in flight simulators and am very interested in VR. What headsets have you used? Just a Quest 2? Or one of the high end ones?
The samsung odyssey"+" is the best flight sim headset imo; they use some sort of screen to reduce the pixel/screen door effect and it works wonders in making stuff look realistic.
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First, thanks for the info -- you answered my question, too. :) > VR is in my opinion absolutely groundbreaking in flight simulation. I completely agree. I'm not a pilot nor interested in becoming one. My Dad owned his company and flew a plane for work[0]. He used the 1980s version of Flight Simulator to get licensed for IFR flying. I was impressed with the latest, but if there ever was a use for VR, it's this. You'v…
Have you tried something like a TrackIR? It gives you the ability to do what you describe in a cockpit, as well as using your head to fix your eyes on a point of the horizon/landscape/object during maneuvers. I haven't tried a flight simulator with a VR headset, but TrackIR increases immersion so much that I never felt like I was missing the experience. Admittedly it can take some tweaking to get the response curves…
The 3D vision (a horizon never looks the same on a screen), full 6DOF tracking (you can look over your shoulder, bend down etc), motion controllers with which you can turn buttons.. It feels so real.
Even the way you look out the window to see if it's time for the turn to base, it just looks like how it looks when you do it in a real airplane. Seeing it on a flat screen is really not the same.
Does anyone know if they've fixed the AI and ATC? I distinctly remember in previous versions watching the AI aircraft bounce off the ground repeatedly in an attempt to reach an incorrect flight level given to them by the ATC. That kind of ruined the illusion for me. It's a great sim, overall, I think it has a different set of priorities from MSFS, which is totally fine. I only wish I could have the best of both world…
If you really want good ATC, yeah VATSIM or IVAO.
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I don't know the alps area :) But I find the surroundings of Barcelona very realistic!
Does Montserrat look realistic in FS 2020? I remember how recognizable it was from Tibidabo but I couldn't find it when I was flying around Barcelona last time.
Why this isn't released in EA on Steam - where most of the community is located due to 10 and 11 being there and which has even recently grown a bit due to a quite hefty discount on 11 - is a bit weird imo...
I mean, this data is old, but that wasn't true in 2018[0]
I've been buying new X-Plane(s) since like 1997, I haven't yet used Steam to do so -- the x-plane website is easy to use, offers discounts frequently, and doesn't hold my software hostage behind another walled garden.
I'm not alone, if the modding forums are any indication.
XP-10 was said to have sold over 100,000 copies, but Steam charts shows an average number of players at 2 for 10 and 400 for 11 -- those numbers don't really seem to fit, even for a fairly old game. I presume a significant portion of the install base is done outside of Steam.
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Just a VKB stick isn't actually as functional as a cheaper T16000M HOTAS with separate stick and throttle quadrant, so I'm not sure I'd recommend VKB unless you're getting the rest as well. A VKB setup is about $800 (dual THQ+SEM+FSM+stick+rudders) so... don't look at VKB until you've flown with a <$200 HOTAS for a while and actually know what you enjoy flying (and whether that kind of flying even justifies buying in…
The OP was just about a joystick and the VKB's Gladiator NXT EVO is a very nice one within their budget (<$200). It has a simple analog/throttle wheel on the base. IMO one of those is a much better investment than the thrustmaster HOTAS setup as it will last much, much longer and is still in their budget.
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Here's a great example of why the flight model is... lacking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GX9lTvKuqU It's perfectly fine for most things, but _really_ bad with things that could actually kill you. Meanwhile, in X-Plane land: https://developer.x-plane.com/2022/02/x-plane-12-flight-mode...
"The flight model" is kind of inaccurate when it comes to MSFS. They've always used a system that allows the aircraft developer significant authority to make their aircraft as simulated or gamified as they want. IE, a pmdg boeing will be hugely better simulated than the built in boeing.
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TrackIR doesn’t really compare. I went from TrackIR to VR for multiplayer IL2 and the difference is stratospheric in terms of actually feeling “in” the aircraft. It also significantly improved my gunnery.
What headset do you use or recommend? Thx
How does X-Plane compare to the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator?
The experience in VR is much much better in X-Plane. Sadly it doesn't have the amazingly realistic cities and world textures of MSFS but the controls work so much better. Especially X-Plane's "ergonomic yoke" which uses the tilt sensor in the controller instead of having to hold up your hand in thin air. MSFS is far behind this. And why call out VR specifically? Well, VR is in my opinion absolutely groundbreaking in…
The VR works and works pretty well. The feeling of looking around in the cockpit is a nice improvement even over my old standby of TrackIR, which I used to use more frequently.
I will say that I think I might dust the TrackIR off and use it again at some point. VR is a little disorienting and uncomfortable for long time periods and just having head tracking with a monitor does get you part of the way there.
I do find it difficult to "touch" the controls in the cockpit, so if you want to actually learn the cockpit layout (rather than mapping a bunch of stuff to your keyboard and/or other input devices) you may want to pause the game while you select things.
The graphics in XP 11 can be somewhat improved with "Orthophoto scenery" and there is a lot of payware available too, but this is a deep rabbit hole with lots of sketchy downloads and mucking about. Even after doing this I don't think the visuals ever get close to competing with the MSFS "out of the box" experience.