Hmmm…I don’t know how a VR headset works - however, if there is a way to focus it, one would think one could adjust focus to correct your eyes…like you can do with binoculars.
The lens are set to be fixed focus. If you are far-sighted then you’ll be fine, but if you’re short-sighted then you’ll need them. The default focal length of something like the Oculus Rift is about 6 feet, so if you need glasses to see clearly over that distance then you’ll need them in VR.
I need glasses to read. Have 20/20 at distance. So I wouldn’t need them?
I am really getting tired of my TrackIR…OK its old…do they wear out? Its the spurious inputs that all of a sudden make me looking off at some weird angle. I’ve tried black out curtains, fiddled with the LED intensity. Set and reset the curves and dead zones…
…and even when it is working it just doesn’t work for DCS aircraft. Example: In a fighter, if I want to look at gauges or instruments or heaven forbid click a switch that is down by my virtual knees I must first look UP and hit the recenter key - this will give me more ability to look down. But if I am in a dog fight and trying to see my opponent across the circle (looking up through the canopy), I must first look way DOWN and recenter.
At the edges of my head turning limit, the scene “stutters back and forth” so much that trying to hit a switch is a losing proposition. Hit F9 to freeze it, click the switch, ht F9 to unfreeze…I’m thinking about adding F9 and F12 to my HOTAS.
You should be good without them, the focus of 6 feet to ∞ should be ok.
For the TrackIR, I always struggle with it - it’s a bit like a HOTAS where you need to map curves in the TrackIR software to get it right, and even then it depends on what you’re doing i.e. dogfight vs some scenic flying.
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Can confirm. I actually use contact lenses for distance but I need glasses to read with my contacts in. 
I was afraid something would be wonky when I got my Oculus while wearing my contacts and was blown away that everything sight wise was great! It’s freaky as well in that you can grab a virtual object and bring it right up to your virtual eyes and it’s crystal clear LOL!
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I think a big part of getting enjoyment out of VR with flight sims is your competency in the cockpit. If you’re a sierra hotel pilot and you can play a cockpit like a piano (assuming you can play the piano really well ), who cares if the labels might not be so clear or whatever … you know what all the buttons, knobs and switches do … you know the procedures … so what’s not to like about a fully realized 3D frikkin’ cockpit?!
If you’re just learning stuff and you have to keep taking your VR goggles off to look at a Chuck Owl guide or whatever, you might not be so happy with your first VR experience.
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Something a few have said has gotten me thinking: for those of you who can’t go back to 2D, do you play multiplayer or do you stick with offline? I wondered about current Oculus and distant specks in the sky. Do you just deal with the “disadvantage”. Also, are you doing mostly a/g in the case of VR or are you applying no restrictions on what your missions are?
I do almost exlusively offline single player. Not because of the disadvantages of VR, but because of time constraints. It’s just too much of a hazzle to link up with guys that want to do realistic missions. The general air-quake on dogfight servers never held any interest for me. This didn’t change with VR. I don’t think sighting problems in VR is that much of a problem. I can imagine that it will be a problem online, where people use very optimistic sighting distances.
That and the fact that TrackIR is much easier to use, in a dogfight.
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This has a definite parallel to the real world too. When you go to initial training for a complex aircraft, you generally start out using a cockpit procedures trainer. This can be as basic as having a cockpit poster in front of you, where you touch the various switches and controls for any given procedure. Here is the cockpit poster I used during my initial training for the Challenger 604, set up in my hotel room:
At the training centers they use an array of screens running systems training software to help you do the same thing, identical to this one:
After that you get into the actual simulator, which will be effectively a real cockpit in almost every detail.
So, I agree, for learning a new aircraft in DCS, it will be easier to use a flat screen initially to learn the cockpit and procedures. But once you have learned what you need to know, moving into VR seems like a natural progression. That doesn’t mean you can’t just jump into VR and learn as you go, but you will need to pause the sim quite often and remove your headset to read up on things.
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I couldn’t have put it better myself.
I fly offline exclusively. My reasons being:
- I have a flaky Internet connection.
- I have a fluid schedule, and so committing to meet up to fly a mission is kind of difficult.
- I need to be able to pause the sim and walk away when RL interrupts proceedings.
I don’t limit myself to just A2G missions, but I do admit I find them more interesting. The visibility issues can easily be worked around by using VR Zoom and editing the labels.lua file to give you nothing more than a gray dot. Works great and doesn’t feel unrealistic.
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I didnt find learning DCS cockpits that hard in VR. A key thing is to make short hops. Read. Practice. Read some more, try it out.
Another major thing that made the rift that much better for me was when I walked into an opticians shop (you know, where they sell glasses) and get them to measure your IPD, InterPupillary Distance. The oculus software lets you measure it yourself and you set it with a small nub on the headset, but knowing what it should be set at gets a far better result. I was off by 12 units on my own, and setting it at the opticians’ measurement made things that much clearer. I can read the DCS cockpit pop-up labels now…
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In practice, that is exactly how I do it too.
The kneeboard builder app is great for adding checklists and pictures while you’re learning in VR. https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=129341
It can reduce the need to take off the headset.
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The question should be:
Should I throw away my monitor?
The answer is
YES!
Thanks for the answers, I’ve really learned a lot so I’ll have more realistic expectations of VR when I do get something (2nd gen likely). Which is good because I’m going to have a tremendous amount of learning to first anyway. My trusty TrackIR will continue to serve me well.
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Track IR is a great device, no doubt about it. Once you try VR with DCS though, chances are you will never look at it at again. Mine went into a box on April 28th 2016, the day I received my Rift, and hasn’t seen the light of day ever since.
The same thing will happen to my Rift CV1 though, on the day I unpack my shiny new CV2. 
I suspect that will happen for sure when the Gen2 versions come out. I had a taste of it when I was able to try Elite Dangerous with Oculus. Amazing. With it you. Are. There. Full stop. Just need a bit better resolution for reading and I’m all set.
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Yeah… I was set on waiting for next gen VR. But then I tried the Rift…! 
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Elite Dangerous remains the only title that I will ONLY use in VR. Iracing and DCS I have gone back to triple monitors mainly with only occasional bouts in VR.
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