VR and keyboard

[jollyjack]

How does one cope with using the much needed keyboard functions and seeing f.i a throttle hardware unit's buttons while you have a blindfold on like a VR set?

[spreckair]

This is how I, and I assume many others, tackle this. 

First, use a joystick and throttle with a lot of buttons.  You can map most of the frequently used keys to buttons and other controls. 

Second, I use a program called VoiceAttack for things that happen only once or twice per flight (think nav lights and landing gear) and for issuing commands to my AI flight (however, I could use this for a lot more if I thought more about it).  The nice things about VoiceAttack is that you can use if for much more than just gaming or IL-2, it is only $10 US, and its customer support is excellent.

[MAJORgoonMADLOU]

  On my G2 I do not use the rubber thingy to fill the gap around the nose area of the headset.  Instead I leave it out which allows me to easily peek at my keyboard or HOTAs just by leaning my head back a little bit and looking through the gap. It only takes a millisecond to do.  The tiny gap around my nose does not effect my immersion in any way. I guess if you have a very large nose there may be no gap, though.   

[dburne]

I use all buttons on HOTAS as needed. No need to look at keyboard with VR headset on.

[unlikely_spider]

The little nubs on the F and J keys were put there just for this purpose!

[ZiggyZiggyStar]

Voice attack definitely, lots of buttons on joystick and throttle controls also, but when it comes to keyboard I use small squares of stick-on Velcro to find certain keys. You can use the differential feel of both the furry side and the hook side.

[1Sascha]

The only keys I still use on my keyboard are ESC and ^ / F-keys to issue orders in single-player. It's just too much of a hassle to lift up the headset, go look for a certain key (or key-combinations ?) and then put the set back over your eyes.

 

I'd say in certain planes you don't need all that many buttons to fly them effectively - I usually fly only LW-stuff, most of which have a nice level of automation. But having lots of buttons/sliders/whatever is a bit of a must in VR nonetheless IMO. IL-2 in VR is pretty much the only time I really need the mode-switch on my Virpil throttle. My VKB KG-12 GL Evo for example was a bit too light on the functions - the MCGP I use now is much better suited for VR.

 

Haven't tried DCS in VR yet, but now that I've upgraded my set, I might give that a shot. I imagine I'll need all four settings of the mode-switch in that game.. ?

 

 

S.