VR changed the way I play the game

[VR-DriftaholiC]

I think some people come here to get an impression of VR before buying a headset. With all the discussion of things that can improve the game in VR I just wanted to touch on all the ways VR changed and improved the way I experience this sim. I would hate to turn anyone off from this awesome technology. When I go fly I tell my better half I'm off to Europe because it's so easy to get lost in the immersion especially playing with all HUD elements off.

 

The ground never sneaks up on me. I have perfect depth perception and can anticipate when the wheels are about to touch. That depth perception makes dog fighting 200% more instinctual, I can range targets by feel. This made leading substantially easier. Formation flying a aerobatics followed suit. If you ever wonder who that random plane is on multiplayer pretending he's a blue angle off your wing tip as you climb out from base... hi.

 

Scratching the surface here add yours.

Edited June 5, 2020 by VR-DriftaholiC

[Alonzo]

I finish dogfights (usually on the losing end) a sweaty mess. The physical act of looking around to check six, trying to maintain sight on the bandit, maneuvering, avoiding trees, calling to wingmen on SRS radio.... it's intense. I've added bass shakers and the Sim Shaker Wings software and the whole thing is really immersive. When I first put on the headset I realized I'm not looking at what my pilot would see, I am the pilot and I'm in the plane. Totally different experience to pancake mode.

[firdimigdi]

38 minutes ago, VR-DriftaholiC said:

especially playing with all HUD elements off

 

Just glancing down to gauges or levers to see what position they're in instead of technochat percentages.

And actually leaning in to the gunsight.

 

6 minutes ago, Alonzo said:

I finish dogfights (usually on the losing end) a sweaty mess.

 

Coming in for a landing after a sortie and thinking "man, I get to open the canopy and get some air in here" ... only to be rather disappointed...

[FTC_Snowy]

I could write pages about my enjoyment of IL-2 in VR. To be in the cockpit of a Spitfire, start it up, taxi out then take off is pure joy. I too build up a sweat in a fight as it seems so real. My heart races. Then to survive and land at mission’s end. I remember to breath again as I shut the Merlin down. Solo flight, scripted campaigns or multiplayer, it is simply amazing in VR and I hope everyone gets to experience it. Highly recommended!

[SvAF/F16_Goblin]

Most annoying when I always raise my hand to block the sun just to realise it wont work ?

[chiliwili69]

I have tested hundreds of VR games and experiences since the Oculus DK1 and IL-2 VR is by far the most awesome experience if you like warbirds or just flying.

I can only afford about 3 hours per week, but when it happens I totally forgot I am in the real world. I am 100% translated to that remote combat scenario thinking I am part of that historical event. When back to reality a part of my mind is still there and takes some time to disconnect. I try to do not talk of "my battles" during dinner time,but they are so vivid.

 

Just nice things to experiment:

- VR is specially good for FC, when all is about plane inertias.

- After a forced landing you get trap in the plane while a AA or plane is shooting over you. You feel you are going to die soon.

- Night missions being suddendly detected by searchlights!

- Your airflied being bombed while taxing

- Escorting bombers, just 5 meters below

- Flying in Kuban mountains and valleys

- Spatial sound of planes, explosions etc mixed with VR

 

IL-2 is the only game I play, and I would not play if it would not be in VR.

[VR-DriftaholiC]

1 hour ago, MA_Goblin said:

Most annoying when I always raise my hand to block the sun just to realise it wont work ?

 

I sometimes reach for the flight yoke of an A20 only to realize in the real I've got a center-stick as I punch the desk. When the plane comes to stop after landing I find my self leaning forward or back under forces that don't exist; a little disorienting but the half second it takes to realize what I'm instinctively doing, immersion.

Edited June 5, 2020 by VR-DriftaholiC

[Vortice]

VR has finally liberated me from the clutches of TrackIR. I had been using head tracking since TrackIR v1.0 came out in the early 2000s (can't remember exactly when, 2004-2005 perhaps?) and I have never been 100% comfortable with it, even with custom curve profiles etc.

 

In contrast to what some others have reported I do not experience motion sickness with VR, in fact I have always found that it was quite easy to get dizzy and disorientated using TrackIR if I moved my head around too quickly, but this does not happen to me now when flying in VR. All the cockpit reference points are there all around me so I always know which way I am facing and which way is up and down.

 

Quite often if I was in a turning fight using TrackIR I would stall or spin out the aircraft just through losing my bearings generally and not realising how close to the departure point I was pushing it. This does not happen in VR and I think it has made me a better virtual pilot and better at dogfighting as a consequence.

 

I did wonder if I would experience any issues with vertigo when converting to VR, but this has proved not to be the case. In fact when the area around me is quiet with not much going on it is simply lots of fun just to engage autolevel and then peer over the sides of the cockpit to watch the terrain below and all around going past in 3D, with a proper sense of height and distance.

 

The novelty and delight of doing that has not worn off yet.

[jaydee]

Driftaholic , I have been waiting to jump in to VR ! I have been Lurking Chillies, Alonzos (to name a few) posts in VR trying to decide  what Headset to go with...Clarity, Res, Screen door, Spotting ( without Icons) are all improving with each gen of headset...Your description of VR is like most that have tried it ! WOW. …..I think I will order my Reverb 2 Now ! 

[dburne]

Yeah VR is so unique and awesome, I get that rush every time I put on my headset and start a new mission.

Spent a few hours yesterday in my PWCG Campaign. We were in a heavy dogfight, outnumbered at least 2 to 1.

I am twisting in my chair, raising my head a little as I turn it around as far as I can, to keep eyes on the bogey I am gaining on.

A few cannon shots and a wing start flying off and headed straight for me. I literally duck myself as I dive down below it to barely miss it.

 

I fly way more than I did prior to getting my first headset back in Jan 2017. Now it is a daily thing for me, accumulating many hours each week.

And it never gets old. Whilst IL-2 is my first love and gets the bulk of my VR time, I do also enjoy several other VR titles off and on.

I most definitely get my money's worth out of my headsets.

 

 

[Hoots]

6 minutes ago, dburne said:

Yeah VR is so unique and awesome, I get that rush every time I put on my headset and start a new mission.

Spent a few hours yesterday in my PWCG Campaign. We were in a heavy dogfight, outnumbered at least 2 to 1.

I am twisting in my chair, raising my head a little as I turn it around as far as I can, to keep eyes on the bogey I am gaining on.

A few cannon shots and a wing start flying off and headed straight for me. I literally duck myself as I dive down below it to barely miss it.

 

I fly way more than I did prior to getting my first headset back in Jan 2017. Now it is a daily thing for me, accumulating many hours each week.

And it never gets old. Whilst IL-2 is my first love and gets the bulk of my VR time, I do also enjoy several other VR titles off and on.

I most definitely get my money's worth out of my headsets.

 

 

 

Your last point is very relevant to me too. I have a rift S and it was a chunk of cash to buy and like anything I was worried I wouldn't get my money's worth out of it. I can honestly say I have, by far, exceeded any possible value for money definition. 

[=RS=Funkie]

27 minutes ago, jaydee said:

Driftaholic , I have been waiting to jump in to VR ! I have been Lurking Chillies, Alonzos (to name a few) posts in VR trying to decide  what Headset to go with...Clarity, Res, Screen door, Spotting ( without Icons) are all improving with each gen of headset...Your description of VR is like most that have tried it ! WOW. …..I think I will order my Reverb 2 Now ! 

Make sure you get a beast PC to make the most of it! 

[von_Tom]

On 6/5/2020 at 7:36 AM, MA_Goblin said:

Most annoying when I always raise my hand to block the sun just to realise it wont work ?

 

Same.  And grabbing my bottle of beer (easier to drink than something from a glass) and tilt it to avoid the reflector sight.

 

von Tom

[Charlo-VRde]

On 6/4/2020 at 9:36 PM, Alonzo said:

I finish dogfights (usually on the losing end) a sweaty mess. The physical act of looking around to check six, trying to maintain sight on the bandit, maneuvering, avoiding trees, calling to wingmen on SRS radio.... it's intense. I've added bass shakers and the Sim Shaker Wings software and the whole thing is really immersive. When I first put on the headset I realized I'm not looking at what my pilot would see, I am the pilot and I'm in the plane. Totally different experience to pancake mode.

This, including a Buttkicker with the Sim Shaker Wings software.

 

I came back to flight simming since the pandemic would give me the time and VR goggles with enough resolution were reasonably affordable to me. See my specs below that it’s possible to thoroughly enjoy Il-2 in VR on somewhat older hardware.
 

I’m definitely more vulnerable to being bounced in VR than I was with TrackIR, but it’s worth it, and simply surviving to land on Combatbox or Flugpark is a win to me.

 

For the past three months I haven’t been able to pursue my usual outdoor hobbies, but my Oculus Quest has filled my need well for a sense of flight. It truly feels as if I have been in another place and time.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Charlo-VR
Grammar

[dburne]

22 minutes ago, Charlo-VR said:

This, including a Buttkicker with the Sim Shaker Wings software.

 

I came back to flight simming since the pandemic would give me the time and VR goggles with enough resolution were reasonably affordable to me. See my specs below that it’s possible to thoroughly enjoy Il-2 in VR on somewhat older hardware.
 

I’m definitely more vulnerable to being bounced in VR than I was with TrackIR, but it’s worth it, and simply surviving to land on Combatbox of Flugpark is a win to me.

 

For the past three months I haven’t been able to pursue my usual outdoor hobbies, but my Oculus Quest has filled my need well for a sense of flight. It truly feels as if I have been in another place and time.

 

Yep that is what VR is all about!