Flight, once the dream of mankind, now an everyday reality. Judging by the number of white trails in the sky, thousands of people are whizzing over our heads as we speak. Still, airplanes and aviation never seize to amaze and excite (at least they do in my case…). For this reason flight simulation is one of the key virtual reality applications that catch my interest.
This post describes my experiences with Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS World), which is a free to play military aircraft simulation. In the free version you can fly two airplanes: the Su-25T fighter jet and the TF-51D WWII fighter. Of all flight simulators DCS is probably the most interesting because it has native support for the Oculus Rift DK2. Digital Combat Simulator can be downloaded via the DCS website or via Steam.
First experience
My first experience is a free flight with the TF-51D WWII plane. It starts on the tarmac at a small Georgian airfield, with the engine running. Unfortunately at the default setting the performance is too low and judder is clearly noticeable. Nevertheless, it feels very cool to be inside the cockpit and able to inspect all the gauges and levers—DCS has very detailed cockpits—and the lighting of the instruments is nice. The instruments are difficult to read because of the Rift’s limited resolution, but the positional tracking works very well, so you can lean towards the gauges to inspect them in more detail.
The TF-51D is not easy to taxi because it tend to go sideways (wheelbarrowing) and the view is obstructed by the high nose. The DK2 really helps in this regard, because the pilot can look around easily and glance left and right of the nose. Speed is also much easier to estimate in a real-scale 3D world.
The impression of banking the airplane is impressive, and looking down at the lowered wing you get a great sense of scale and position.
After take-off the real fun begins. My second take-off is successful as the aircraft is lifted in the air. Wow, seeing the ground move away below your feet is incredible! The airport buildings and the runway are gradually left behind. First, they are still visible on my left and right. Soon after, they are only visible behind the back of the plane.
Now comes the turning part. I can’t help laughing and being enthusiastic when making my first turns. The impression of banking the airplane is impressive, and looking down at the lowered wing you get a great sense of scale and position. As a side-effect of getting higher in the air, the performance is much better and the stutter is gone. I get a “rollercoaster” sensation when rolling the plane 360 degrees (on its head and back to normal).
My conclusion after this first ride: it really feels you are flying that airplane!
Landing
After this short flight I’m on my way to the airport again. The airplane is easily brought in line with the runway and because there’s no wind I can simply point the nose at the start of the runway. Coming closer to the airport the positional tracking and 3D effect really help estimating the right point to pull up the nose and reduce the speed for landing. To my own surprise the landing is pretty smooth. Not bad for the first time in VR 😉
In short I notice the following things:
- The feeling of flying in VR is great!
- Being able to look around really helps keeping track of the environment
- The 3D effect and positional tracking allow better judgment of speed and distance
- You’d better operate the controls smoothly to avoid motion sickness
- Instruments are difficult to read (except for the very large ones)
- Flying is only really comfortable when the FPS is good
Fast forward
Two months later I’ve been more busy with flying in VR rather than reporting on it, hence my late post 🙂
I’ve tried both theTF-51D and Su-25T intermittently. The first (discussed above) is more difficult to fly, because it is less stable and the airflow of the propeller will make the plane yaw. Landing and taking off is also more difficult for this reason. In contrast, the Su-25T is a jet plane, so it is faster and needs a different approach to landing. It is also more stable and perhaps more suited to introduce people to flying in VR. My friends tried it (in mid-air) and liked the experience.
In terms of flight model DCS is great and it will meet the expectations of a simulator audience. I haven’t tried lowering any difficulty setting, mainly because learning to fly the airplanes is part of the fun, right?
The graphics are quite demanding, even when viewed on a traditional monitor. For VR, I suggest turning off some effects (such as HDR) and lowering the graphics settings, depending on your system. My GTX670 had real difficulties at the airport (stuttering). Even with many options set to “low” it still isn’t entirely smooth on the ground. To avoid motion sickness, it’s really essential to achieve good FPS.
In terms of motion sickness, I’ve got used to the movement of the TF-51D warplane. Everyday maneuvers feel fine, and even rolls and loopings are possible. However, certain combined movements (downward spirals) still feel a bit weird, and also crosswinds can induce an odd feeling. This all greatly improved by “getting used to it”. My experiences are limited to free flying though, and I haven’t tried any combat.
Despite the DK2 implementation in the game (extended mode), the menus are still not made for VR. This requires either searching for menu options through the Rift’s lenses or using a program that displays (mirrors) the program on your desktop monitor. For the latter, I can recommend Open Broadcaster (it’s a free and open source “streaming” program).
Concluding remarks
In sum, DCS World has native DK2 support, which sets it apart from the competition. In the past weeks I’ve traded in my flying time in Aerofly FS for VR flying in DCS World. It is great to look around freely and get an unprecedented feeling of being inside the cockpit.
I can imagine VR (and the Oculus Rift) becoming a favorite in the flight simulation and flight combat community. From what I have read X-plane and Aerofly are also working on VR support, and Prepar3d has Rift support through a plugin.
I like DCS, and I’m eagerly awaiting more general aviation sims to support the Oculus Rift!
For flight simulation a virtual reality headset simply has many advantages, such as looking around in a natural way, estimating speeds and distances more accurately, and having a full-scale cockpit that matches the real airplane. It all makes simulated flying so much better! I would guess only suffering from motion sickness or already having an extensive home cockpit may deter flightsim enthusiasts from using a VR headset.
All in all, I like DCS, and I’m eagerly awaiting more general aviation sims to support the Oculus Rift!
Notes
I played DCS using a Logitech Force 3D Pro and Saitek Pro Flight Cessna rudder pedals. A joystick and (preferably) rudder pedals are highly recommended for this type of flying.
Dionos VR 