The VR effect on il2

[WIS-Redcoat]

Have there been any indication on the increase in player numbers post VR?  I have to think it has helped tremendously.  I assume they can track data on game launch modes (VR/ Standard).

 

Though I have followed and bought all the products, I never really played this game until VR; now I have my seven other friends (none of them played flight sims before) and we all play nearly daily because of the outstanding experience.

 

This game really needs some bigger exposure to the VR community.  It is my opinion that il2 is the most complete VR experience out there currently.

[BeastyBaiter]

VR has certainly renewed my interest in it. I find myself regularly playing it again, last time I did was during the alpha/beta of BoS itself a few years back. If it were released on Oculus Home, it would instantly become one of the best selling games there since pretty much everything else there is trash. Of course, BoS would need to multi-thread better for that to happen. OH requires 90 fps on a stock FX8350, BoS fails to do that on a 7700k and 1600x due to the graphics thread dragging it down. Not sure how easy that is to fix.

[Nibbio]

I haven't found any other VR experience as entertaining as this game so far.

However it's difficult to succeed in mainstream gaming market if you need a ton of peripherals to enjoy the product. It's going to be a niche forever, unless they can bring onboard civil flight sim enthusiasts, who already have the necessary hardware. IMO it won't happen until SP content is much more than what we have now.

[dburne]

Yes having this game in the Oculus Store would really help in giving it some exposure to the VR community. I am not sure how open Oculus would be to that unless it also supported the Oculus runtime however, who knows.

 

I have been talking it up over there, but it quickly gets moved down to another page eventually and just does not get as much exposure.

Just look at Elite Dangerous, it is offered on Oculus Home and has a huge following over there on the Oculus forums.

 

Maybe on down the pike when the devs don't have quite so much on their plate as they have now, undoubtedly the exposure it is getting over on the Steam forums likely helps as well.

 

I am pretty sure VR has certainly injected quite a number of players, and hopefully that will just continue as well. Oculus has obviously sold a crap load of units over the last several weeks.

There really is no combat flight sim today that does VR as good as this one currently does. 

[BeastyBaiter]

Very true, especially about Elite. That game did not get good steam or metacritic user reviews and yet it's one of the best reviewed on OH. I found the game vast but exceptionally shallow, just like all the other negative reviewers. It's all graphics with no game behind it. But it doesn't take much to have a winner on OH when your competition is a 2 hour mechwarrior cutscene (Archangel), a few wave shooters and "Job Simulator." I also don't think peripherals are an issue. Everyone with a rift has the touch controllers, an xbox controller or both. Both setups have a pair of usable thumbsticks and enough buttons for flying with engine assists. I haven't looked at the Rift's SDK, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to add native support. Ditto for the touch controllers (as non-touch devices). The xbox controller already works just fine. I suspect the biggest hurdle would be the CPU bottleneck though. Fixing that is a potential minefield and it isn't an issue for 2d, only us VR users.

[=SqSq=switch201]

I did not own this game before VR, and now I have every expansion and collector plane. I can't play flight sims not in VR anymore which is why this game was not on my radar before the VR update. I just happened to be browsing reddit or something when someone mentioned this game is in VR. So the VR integration definitely made me buy this game

[chiliwili69]

I also was wondering what has been (and what it will be) the effect of incorporating VR to IL-2. It is difficult to measure it, since although it was announced at the DK1 times and later with the DK2, it arrived finally this April-17 with the CV1 Rift/Vive. For example, I joined BOS in 2013 because it was going to incorporate VR.

 

With the help of Advanced Search applied to the members of this forum, I have been calculating the number of people in this forum from 2012 to today.

They are just members of the forum, it doesn´t mean they buy zero, one, two or three products, but it is an indicative of the forum health and grow.

These are the numbers:

 

So if in the forum we are 112000, we could say that at least half of them have purchased IL-2 (I really don´t know, just a guess). We will see that a portion of them will start to test the VR in IL-2.

Officially only few of them has participated in the VR poll:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/27278-about-vr-and-vr-devices-used/

We really don´t know how many people are using VR apart from that poll.

 

The VR community, which now would be bout 500.000 people but with the potential to be millions in few years, is a target for IL-2, but there are many games out there to compete with.

 

I think that for the true plane lovers, the VR is a facilitator to enter in IL-2. People who like planes but never entered in Flight Sim, will now consider IL-2 as their new hobby to have some realistic fun.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by chiliwili69

[katdog5]

Have there been any indication on the increase in player numbers post VR?  I have to think it has helped tremendously.  I assume they can track data on game launch modes (VR/ Standard).

 

Though I have followed and bought all the products, I never really played this game until VR; now I have my seven other friends (none of them played flight sims before) and we all play nearly daily because of the outstanding experience.

 

This game really needs some bigger exposure to the VR community.  It is my opinion that il2 is the most complete VR experience out there currently.

 

American planes. And thats coming next. Agreed. Mind blowing.

 

We're alpha infant. Entry level a little steep too for some.

[nangu]

I stopped with flight sims 10 years ago at least. Replaced it with racing sims. 

 

I bought the Rift on March, and decided to give flight sims a run again because I tought it would be amazing, so bought a HOTAS and did a research about sims. Now I'm here, and it's because IL-2 got VR.

 

The sim is really great. I need to get it tough, the flight model is a lot more complex than I was used to, and I need to get the right controller config, but I'm very pleased with IL-2's VR mode. Still fighting motion sickness on it tough :-)

[=EXPEND=Tripwire]

I created a poll related to this thread.

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/30946-vr-poll-vr-effect-il2/

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

I stopped with flight sims 10 years ago at least. Replaced it with racing sims.

 

I bought the Rift on March, and decided to give flight sims a run again because I tought it would be amazing, so bought a HOTAS and did a research about sims. Now I'm here, and it's because IL-2 got VR.

 

The sim is really great. I need to get it tough, the flight model is a lot more complex than I was used to, and I need to get the right controller config, but I'm very pleased with IL-2's VR mode. Still fighting motion sickness on it tough :-)

Hold 90fps, no more motion sickness

[BeastyBaiter]

90fps isn't a magic cure for motion sickness when the game simulates something that makes most people motion sick IRL. Time seems to cure it for most people from what I've seen.

Edited September 3, 2017 by BeastyBaiter

[BlznSaddles]

I am one of those people... Played CloD for a while when the DK1 was out, kind of just waiting for the VR thing to drop.  It has been a while since then, took a long time to get there, but I am really pleased with the state that BoX is in for VR.  I just won't go back to non-VR for flight sims.  The only competition right now is DCS and they don't have any kind of campaign figured out, nor do they have as many aircraft available.  All these grand visions of DCS WWII just never seem to actually materialize.  But BoX seems to be right on track.  The VR implementation is excellent, pretty much the best thing you can play on the OR at the present time.  I think it blows E:D away, different style games to be sure and E:D is fun but it pales in comparison to BoX.  

[vracan]

Too bad performance in VR with BoS sucks (at least on my rig). I really love this game but need this game to be smooth or I'm stopping to play. It could be fine at one moment then stutter horribly the next, especially with lots of activity around on the ground, so annoying. I wish it ran as smooth as warthunder in VR.

GTX1080 /  i5-4670K

Edited September 13, 2017 by vracan

[Virus*]

Too bad performance in VR with BoS sucks (at least on my rig). I really love this game but need this game to be smooth or I'm stopping to play. It could be fine at one moment then stutter horribly the next, especially with lots of activity around on the ground, so annoying. I wish it ran as smooth as warthunder in VR.

GTX1080 / i5-4670K

Strange, your rig should run il2 well in vr...maybe the cpunis holding you back

[BeastyBaiter]

It is the CPU. BoS, like DCS, is mostly single threaded. It's less obvious when running BoS on a monitor because it is much better optimized but high single thread CPU usage rears its ugly head the instant everything has to be rendered twice.

[chiliwili69]

 

 

Too bad performance in VR with BoS sucks (at least on my rig). I really love this game but need this game to be smooth or I'm stopping to play. It could be fine at one moment then stutter horribly the next, especially with lots of activity around on the ground, so annoying. I wish it ran as smooth as warthunder in VR. GTX1080 /  i5-4670K

Vracan, you might think that a 1080 card will solve all problems for BoS in VR, but that´s not true as you feel in your own eyes.

 

Your problem will be the CPU and probably RAM.

 

Do you overclock your CPU?

If not, your CPU will run at base clock speed (ie 3.4 GHz) and this is yielding a low performance. According to Passmark your CPU has a Single Threaded Mark (STMArk) index of 2195.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4670K+%40+3.40GHz&id=1921

 

If you want to improve your VR experience you should squeeze as much as possible your CPU. This means doing Overclocking. Yes, few months ago I never did it and now it is a routine.

OC has never been as easy as it is now (talking about not extreme OC).

 

So please, before doing anything follow the instructions of this test and report your results:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/29322-measuring-rig-performance-common-baseline/

 

The do this (if you want better VR experience in BoS):

1. Go to your OC limit (consider to have a good CPU cooler)

2. Report test results

3. If your memory is below 2000 MHz, consider to upgrade to 2800 or higher

4. Report test results

5. If your performance is still low, then adjust your settings to Balanced or Low.

 

The test will also help you to determine if your VR performance is as expected. If not something will be wrong in your hardware/software/settings.

[Lensman]

No motion sickness whatsoever for me and no frame drop judder either.

 

I'd all but given up on IL-2 for a couple of years and moved to Elite. I chanced upon the news (barely mentioned in the update list) that the Rift had support and thought "This will be rubbish, they're just ticking a marketing box!" and it'll be a nightmare to set up.

It was extremely easy to setup and from the first moment it was astonishing. Since then I've flown nearly every day and my flying and in particular, gunnery, has massively improved. Being able to SEE properly at last means I can deflection shoot with ease even in tight turns. Being able to see the whole winscreen, gun-sight and instrument panel down to the pedals without moving my head, just my eyes, is tremendous. I'm instrument flying now because I CAN! VR has made me love IL-2 again and is a staggering achievement by the developers, a masterpiece of design and coding!

[rephil]

this is great in VR just wish setting stick bindings was not so time consuming 

Edited October 22, 2017 by rephil

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

Have there been any indication on the increase in player numbers post VR?  I have to think it has helped tremendously.  I assume they can track data on game launch modes (VR/ Standard).

 

Though I have followed and bought all the products, I never really played this game until VR; now I have my seven other friends (none of them played flight sims before) and we all play nearly daily because of the outstanding experience.

 

This game really needs some bigger exposure to the VR community.  It is my opinion that il2 is the most complete VR experience out there currently.

 

That is true of BOX exposure in general.  To your point look at this October 2017 list of the 7 top VR flight sims:  https://riftinfo.com/top-4-oculus-rift-flight-simulators-at-this-current-moment

 

Not only NOT in the 7 but it didn't make the next 6 honorable mentions.  Unbelievable...

[dburne]

That is true of BOX exposure in general.  To your point look at this October 2017 list of the 7 top VR flight sims:  https://riftinfo.com/top-4-oculus-rift-flight-simulators-at-this-current-moment

 

Not only NOT in the 7 but it didn't make the next 6 honorable mentions.  Unbelievable...

 

I personally think it would really help them to get some exposure over on the Oculus site and forums, but to do that would be to probably have native support for the Rift. And I doubt that is in 1CGS plans anytime soon as they have so much on their plate already.

 

If they did , and even got the sim listed in the Oculus Store, it would probably capture a lot more of the Rift users out there. 

[TG-55Panthercules]

Really is unbelievable.  I tried to post a comment pointing out the omission of BoX, but although it seemed to accept the comment it doesn't seem to have posted it (yet anyway).

[chiliwili69]

Clearly this review is not serious since they put UltraWings and forgot BOS.

Me too. I tried to put a comment but it didn´t appear later.

[Cpt_Siddy]

Count me in as one of the VR groupies. 

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

Is this Siddy the Fin?

[Cpt_Siddy]

Is this Siddy the Fin?

 

I still got the "speech" i recorded

 

 

JC, did u get the VR set?

Edited October 26, 2017 by Cpt_Siddy

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

Haha, Yea, and I want that speech:)

 

 

P.S. Replied to conversation - "Completionist unlocked"

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

Question.  Does anyone know if there are streaming "trailers" that show in VR?  I would think this would be a great way to expose products to VR users.  VR Youtube.  Maybe it's just too complex at the moment.

Edited October 29, 2017 by VBF-12_Stick-95

[katdog5]

Question.  Does anyone know if there are streaming "trailers" that show in VR?  I would think this would be a great way to expose products to VR users.  VR Youtube.  Maybe it's just too complex at the moment.

 

 

right. even in oculus store there are no virtual trailers. certainly they are right around the corner .. recording software ?

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

The IPD would need to be fixed. Then you adjust yours, and it should work.

 

We just need software to capture both screens. Issue is that there would be no freedom of movement at all.

 

What is possible right now is to capture game replay it IL 2 and replay that in VR, including freedom of movement. Just a tiny issue is that translational movement is recorded and thus fixed in IL 2's recording as well. It shouldn't.

[Cpt_Siddy]

VR is about experiencing and playing, not watching recordings. 

 

The whole point is that VR makes controlling the plane more visceral experience. Sitting in a plane as a passenger is just pure terror inducing ride. This is why i will never backseat gunner in VR... 

[[CPT]CptJackSparrow]

Gunning in VR is cookie tossing.

 

I can do it, but I don't like it.

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

VR is about experiencing and playing, not watching recordings. 

 

The whole point is that VR makes controlling the plane more visceral experience. Sitting in a plane as a passenger is just pure terror inducing ride. This is why i will never backseat gunner in VR... 

 

Yes, you are right, but before you buy, maybe you want to see a simple trailer to check out a product.  1CGS does not have a demo to try but does have vids.  Why not have them in VR?   The point of trailers is marketing, exposing VR owners to other products.

[Furni]

I'm back to Il2 after about a 12 year break I have always checked on this site just to see what developments was happening in the sim world but to be honest I missed the VR development. Have alway been keen to get back to IL2 now I have the time I have downloaded BOS and BOM the eye candy is just brillaint but now with VR it's just going to be so much more immersive, will see in the new year what the Pimax 8k unit is like but at the moment the Rift is a favourite. From what I have read from people with VR I just cannot wait to try it.

[1./KG4_OldJames]

Perhaps a free Il2 VR demo download might help, but considering the setup trauma I have had trying to balance game play and graphics, maybe not such a good idea (?)

[katdog5]

Perhaps a free Il2 VR demo download might help, but considering the setup trauma I have had trying to balance game play and graphics, maybe not such a good idea (?)

 

 

theres a free face your fears app in the VR store. you click on a door to go through.  theres a 2 minute "scene" of a king konglike robot picking you up and placing you on a radio tower. its mind blowing. 

 

now imagine clicking on a door and you're in a stuka at night with spotlights and yaks chasing you . you dive down and hell break loose ...you warp to the rear seat and are shooting the yak....its a VR rollercuster with guns.  A 1:30 scene. 

 

thats whats needed. 

 

Im guessing it could be done with in game VR recording somehow. just need some genius to write the code

[[CPT]Crunch]

With the upcoming Rift suite, part of it is suppose to be a free 3D capture in game movie maker.  That might do the trick for showcasing flight sims in all their glory.  You know the boys at facebook need to top the MS desktop suite with unique and usable apps including their own desktop, the race is on.

Edited November 10, 2017 by [CPT]Crunch

[chiliwili69]

 

 

Perhaps a free Il2 VR demo download might help, but considering the setup trauma I have had trying to balance game play and graphics, maybe not such a good idea (?)

 

There are hundreds of Youtube videos for IL-2 for monitors, but none of them give you the feeling that IL-2 VR gives you.

 

Creating a 360 VR video of IL-2 is impossible since the scene is only rendered for the area that you look at.

 

The only possible thing is that the Dev create a short free VR demo (with LOW settings and just basic control) that people can download from Oculus Store or Steam.