Adding immersion

[SCG_motoadve]

So far my best hardware to add immersion has been VR actually it has been a game changer.

Then added

Warthog Throttle

Cessna trim wheel (great for the 109 horizontal trim)

Crosswinds pedals (very realistic, awesome)

Virpil Joystick with extensions (very realistic and awesome too)

Already had the Saitek TPM which I use for radiator axis and light switches.

I Add german WWII radio chatter on the background also helps with immersion big time.(youtube)

(havent found russian radio chatter yet)

Fluid smooth gaming also helps

 

I wanted a Jetseat (was not supported)

So ordered a Buttkicker.(will post how does that one works)

 

Any other stuff to add to IL BOS immersion?

 

 

[xvii-Dietrich]

21 minutes ago, II./JG77_motoadve said:

I Add german WWII radio chatter on the background also helps with immersion big time.(youtube)

 

Do you have a link? Thanks.

 

 

I don't have VR yet, but will probably get it with FCv1. In which case, I think putting a fan in front of you to blow air at your face would be pretty immersive. It would be even better if it could be speed-controlled to match your airspeed.  That, and wearing a silk-scarf. Especially one dabbed in kerosene or something to get the smell right. Although these are probably more relevant to WWI than WWII.

 

But another thing may be some sort of equaliser or bass-boost for the sound. The BoX sounds have strong treble and little bass. Adding low-frequencies (especially those you can actually feel) would probably add a lot too.

[BFsSmurfy]

For me the Rift puts you in the pit , there`s no doubt that the immersion factor goes off the scale. However to see the game in all it`s glory you cannot beat maxing it out and playing on a monitor. The day the Rift can emulate or closely match the vibrancy and definition achievable on a good monitor is the day I stop using a monitor. I didn`t realise how badly the Rift kills the depth of colour and the level of detail achievable on a monitor till I switched back to TrackIr and a monitor for an afternoon, set everything as high as I could and sat back looking at the true beauty of this sim. Going to alternate between the 2 for the foreseeable future.

[SCG_motoadve]

Here is the link for the German radio chatter, so I have this running in the background when flying german planes.

Rift I upgraded my PC to have the best possible setup.

Still resolution is not great but I can add SS and have ultra settings AA x 4 and looks pretty good and super smooth.

I know when next gen VR comes we will look at the old one thinking, that was bad, but for now its awesome.

 

[Archie]

I'm pretty much set with my peripherals, but after getting the Rift I've started looking at 5.0Ghz 8700k's and 1080Ti's. Although you lose a lot of eye candy I'm really not sure I could go back to a monitor now. Flying the  A-20 today and looking out of the window to see that huge radial so close was just another wow moment.
Expensive game this 

[Jack59]

I think I may be able to add some value to this conversation.

 

For me, VR was an incredible step forward in immersion. To the point that I am not interested in simulated flight without it. Now I've added an additional aspect to the experience that I've also gotten so attached to that flight without it seems sterile. That is the tactile feel that can be had through bass shakers.

 

motoadve, I see that you have a buttkicker on order. This is off course one example of a bass shaker. This will introduce vibration to your seat, and I think you'll really like that. I wanted to not only have it in my seat, but experience it through my stick and pedals as well.

 

I have for a while been using a homemade mount for my joystick, to be able to have the joystick located in the more natural and realistic position between my legs. I have expanded the size of this mount to be able to include my rudder pedals.

 

So, to experience more comprehensive vibration from the in-game sound, I have mounted 2 base shakers; one on my chair and one on the underside of this joystick/pedals mount. You can see how I did this in the attached pictures. I split the sound output from my sound card using a simple Y splitter. One side goes to my speakers, as normal, the other goes to an amplifier. The 2 shakers are then attached to this amplifier. I bought all the electronics from Parts Express. They include a Dayton Audio APA150 150w amplifier, a Dayton Audio BST-1 shaker, and a ADX Maximus shaker. These items plus the speaker wire ended costing me about $220 USD. I mounted the ADX shaker on my chair because it's considered to put out a bit more shake than the BST-1, and I wanted more shake on my chair because it's padded.

 

The result is fantastic. I can FEEL the vibration of the aircraft in flight. I can FEEL the extra shake from stall buffeting. I can FEEL the vibration of firing guns working its way through the air frame. I can FEEL it when I perform yet another belly landing.    And I can feel that vibration right through my pedals, stick, and seat.  It really adds another dimension to making you feel like you are actually in the aircraft. A great source of immersion. Like I said, flight now seems sterile without it.

 

A drawback - it's noisy. Happily, my closest neighbor is over 300 feet away, and my wife doesn't mind the noise.

 

One other immersion related aside: you may note that I have 2 Saitek throttles as part of my setup, rather than just one. I don't have the second one for the extra control axes and buttons; I have plenty of those on the one throttle and on my flight stick. It's because when a real life control exists on the right hand of the cockpit, that's where I want to reach, and the same when a control is on the left; that's where I want to reach. This way I can map things on the throttle somewhat corresponding to the real aircraft location. The correlation of position is obviously never perfect, but for me it is close enough to add to the immersion.

 

A couple of other quick notes: Another advantage of the stick/pedals console is that it can easily be moved aside to restore my PC to non-flight sim mode. Setting up or dismantling my flight peripherals only takes 2 to 3 minutes. Also, that rubber strip that you see in the last image is a piece of bicycle tire tube used to insulate the vibration in the console from my computer stand.

 

 

 

[SCG_motoadve]

Awesome, great idea of 2 set of axes on each side depending on where is in the real airplane.

 

Got the buttkicker and really like it , I ended up mounting it in my Virpil Joystick base and like you, I think is absolutely awesome.

You feel everything, guns, motor, revs up or down, landing gear down, stall, ground roll, hits its super immersive.

 

Now I want to have another device under my seat but I have no idea how to do that, since Buttkicker only has one.

Any ideas?

 

Oh by the way since you are liking immersion so much, I recommend you the Joystick extension, much realistic, movements are like a real airplane , with your full arm, unlike the joystick which is with your wrist, I had the exact same setup you had with your joystick, and in the same position.

Also had the same pedals and got the Crosswinds which are again awesome and very realistic.

 

Here is how I setup the Buttkicker.

 

21 minutes ago, Jack59 said:

I think I may be able to add some value to this conversation.

 

For me, VR was an incredible step forward in immersion. To the point that I am not interested in simulated flight without it. Now I've added an additional aspect to the experience that I've also gotten so attached to that flight without it seems sterile. That is the tactile feel that can be had through bass shakers.

 

motoadve, I see that you have a buttkicker on order. This is off course one example of a bass shaker. This will introduce vibration to your seat, and I think you'll really like that. I wanted to not only have it in my seat, but experience it through my stick and pedals as well.

 

I have for a while been using a homemade mount for my joystick, to be able to have the joystick located in the more natural and realistic position between my legs. I have expanded the size of this mount to be able to include my rudder pedals.

 

So, to experience more comprehensive vibration from the in-game sound, I have mounted 2 base shakers; one on my chair and one on the underside of this joystick/pedals mount. You can see how I did this in the attached pictures. I split the sound output from my sound card using a simple Y splitter. One side goes to my speakers, as normal, the other goes to an amplifier. The 2 shakers are then attached to this amplifier. I bought all the electronics from Parts Express. They include a Dayton Audio APA150 150w amplifier, a Dayton Audio BST-1 shaker, and a ADX Maximus shaker. These items plus the speaker wire ended costing me about $220 USD. I mounted the ADX shaker on my chair because it's considered to put out a bit more shake than the BST-1, and I wanted more shake on my chair because it's padded.

 

The result is fantastic. I can FEEL the vibration of the aircraft in flight. I can FEEL the extra shake from stall buffeting. I can FEEL the vibration of firing guns working its way through the air frame. I can FEEL it when I perform yet another belly landing.    And I can feel that vibration right through my pedals, stick, and seat.  It really adds another dimension to making you feel like you are actually in the aircraft. A great source of immersion. Like I said, flight now seems sterile without it.

 

A drawback - it's noisy. Happily, my closest neighbor is over 300 feet away, and my wife doesn't mind the noise.

 

One other immersion related aside: you may note that I have 2 Saitek throttles as part of my setup, rather than just one. I don't have the second one for the extra control axes and buttons; I have plenty of those on the one throttle and on my flight stick. It's because when a real life control exists on the right hand of the cockpit, that's where I want to reach, and the same when a control is on the left; that's where I want to reach. This way I can map things on the throttle somewhat corresponding to the real aircraft location. The correlation of position is obviously never perfect, but for me it is close enough to add to the immersion.

 

A couple of other quick notes: Another advantage of the stick/pedals console is that it can easily be moved aside to restore my PC to non-flight sim mode. Setting up or dismantling my flight peripherals only takes 2 to 3 minutes. Also, that rubber strip that you see in the last image is a piece of bicycle tire tube used to insulate the vibration in the console from my computer stand.

 

 

 

 

[Jack59]

motoadve, what a clever way to use the buttkicker! With that plus the stick extension, you have an awesome setup.

 

For a shaker on your chair, I'm groping a bit because I'm not sure how the buttkicker is set up. Perhaps the amplifier that comes with it can drive an additional shaker? If so, you could simply buy one and come up with a way to mount it on your chair. Failing that, maybe your buttkicker could be driven by a different amplifier (one that can handle 2 shakers, such as the 150w one that I purchased). Not sure what to suggest other than that.

 

And you already know that it will be worth the effort coming up with something, so I don't need to say that...

[SCG_motoadve]

I will call Buttkicker tomorrow and ask if it is possible to do.

They should sell this setup for flight simulators, as a real pilot I can tell you you feel the vibrations and feedback in the stick or joke a lot more than in your seat.

This is why I did it, i was liking the buttkicker in the seat , but just felt weird to have the joystick all smooth.

Having it there also enhaced the effects big time.

[AuburnAlumni]

There is just no going back from VR to monitor flying for me.  The "wow" feeling I get every single time I put on the rift and get in the cockpit simply cannot be matched by a bit sharper graphics on a monitor.  

 

I'm running a 1080ti with an i7-8700k and I get outstanding performance with very good graphics quality.  But more than that...there is simply no comparison once you get that taste of VR flight.  

 

No matter how many times I fly...I still stare out the cockpit in awe at this game in VR.  And I can't wait for the future Tanks and Western Front additions.

[dburne]

4 hours ago, AuburnAlumni said:

There is just no going back from VR to monitor flying for me.  The "wow" feeling I get every single time I put on the rift and get in the cockpit simply cannot be matched by a bit sharper graphics on a monitor.  

 

I'm running a 1080ti with an i7-8700k and I get outstanding performance with very good graphics quality.  But more than that...there is simply no comparison once you get that taste of VR flight.  

 

No matter how many times I fly...I still stare out the cockpit in awe at this game in VR.  And I can't wait for the future Tanks and Western Front additions.

 

 

I am with you there, been flying in VR for over a year now and feel the same.

[chiliwili69]

4 hours ago, AuburnAlumni said:

No matter how many times I fly...I still stare out the cockpit in awe at this game in VR.

 

Yes, It is like that. No matter how many hours you spend in VR, it is always like the "first time".

Sometimes I just enjoy flying, with no mission at all.

 

Don´t forget to enter the growing VR club:

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by chiliwili69

[Fruchtzwerg1976]

My Speedmaster Flight Seat really gave me another dimension in combination with the Jetseat. I like the rumble best when you hardly feel any vibration while flying and then firing your cannon and boom the whole seat is rumbling.

Here is my setup:

 

[71st_AH_statuskuo]

Not sure if this is the right section, but here goes.   After getting the BK I've got everything set-up with Voicemeeter to play to the Rift headset and the BK (through my on-board sound output).  Only thing is Teamspeak voices goes into BK, any recommendations on how to avoid that.  I've seen getting a separate soundcard or souftware like Simsshaker or Simvibe, any advice?

[Jack59]

5 hours ago, 71st_AH_statuskuo said:

Not sure if this is the right section, but here goes.   After getting the BK I've got everything set-up with Voicemeeter to play to the Rift headset and the BK (through my on-board sound output).  Only thing is Teamspeak voices goes into BK, any recommendations on how to avoid that.  I've seen getting a separate soundcard or souftware like Simsshaker or Simvibe, any advice?

 

Full disclosure: I don't use Teamspeak at all, so I don't have any direct experience with your issue. But I did run across this link that may very well contain the solution to your problem. The posts present at least a couple of solutions. The one described in the video appears to be a free work-around.

 

http://dangerdogz.com/forums/topic/12393-buttkicker-gamer-2-usb-headset-setup-guide/

 

I hope this helps!

[71st_AH_statuskuo]

22 hours ago, Jack59 said:

 

Full disclosure: I don't use Teamspeak at all, so I don't have any direct experience with your issue. But I did run across this link that may very well contain the solution to your problem. The posts present at least a couple of solutions. The one described in the video appears to be a free work-around.

 

http://dangerdogz.com/forums/topic/12393-buttkicker-gamer-2-usb-headset-setup-guide/

 

I hope this helps!

Thanks Jack, that did point me in the right direction but had to do some more tweaking.   Here's what I did so Teamspeak (Discord too) doesn't go into the Buttkicker:

1. Plug BK into the green 3.5mm output from my motherboard soundcard 

2. Go into Windows sound recording tab

3.  Under the Stereo Mix for Realtek, select properties and go to the listen tab  (if you have a separate soundcard you may need to pick that if you're BK is plugged into that)

4.  Select "Listen to this device" and pick Rift Headphones under playback

5.  Back under recording tab, make sure Rift Audio microphone is default and Stereo Mix is Default communications device (both right clicks)

6.  Under the playback tab select  Speakers (Realtek HD audio) as default, this is what KB is plugged into.   Test this setup with any audio source w/ bass (i.e. Youtube)

7.  In Teamspeak or Discord select Rift for your output and mic

 

This should also work if you're using normal USB headset, just select that under playback in Stereo Mix

[OrLoK]

The Dunkirk Soundtrack is groovy to listen to whilst one flies, give a nice sense of dread without overpowering.