Go on…
Is there any decent scenery for the Queenstown NZ area in X-Plane? That would be pretty awesome in VR.
Well…there is some nice mesh and general NZ stuff…but I don’t know if specific Queenstown scenery is any good:
http://www.alpilotx.net/2012/11/28/x-plane-10-new-zealand-pro-released/
And this…but it doesn’t look like ultra payware quality or anything…but it might work…
Looking forward to trying FlyInside in XPlane, in P3D I don’t get high enough framerate for a good VR experience so far, I’m hoping XPlane will do better.
Thanks for the info Chris, both look pretty good!
I’ll put up more info as I get the chance. A couple videos and more screens and impressions with other aircraft…
The couple Queenstown sceneries on the org are good from what I recall.
So have spent some time with FlyInside for X-Plane tonight…and man…it is amazing. In my opinion, better than the P3D version just from the standpoint of fluid motion. My 2D window is showing a solid 30FPS throughout…almost as though it is locked. I have no idea what the ASW is doing, but the whole experience is very, very smooth. And you get that bonus of X-Plane fluidity of flight model and instruments.
I’m using these settings - I have shadow detail at STATIC right now because there is a bit of a penalty for having them at Global Melt Your CPU - about a 7 FPS hit…but actually totally flyable. HDR is off due to the requirement (at the moment) for the beta. I’m just getting my feet wet with info and the beta, so there might be some addressing that at some point.
Most aircraft and helos are functional with the mouse in the cockpit, but some are not. For instance, the BK-117 - which looks just fantastic in VR because of the attention to the 3D gauges and cockpit…I can’t get the mouse pointer to work. Most other planes/helos I can.
I have the zoom control mapped to my INCR/DECR axis thingy on the right side of my HOTAS Warthog throttle, just as I do in P3D and it seems to work fine. Some aircraft have just drop dead gorgeous 3D instrumentation and “presence” like the X-Trident 412 and the BK-117 (still flyable even though the mouse pointer isn’t working). Others, that didn’t expend the resources to build 3D gauges (like needles floating over the face of the gauge) look good, and are totally fine, but there is a bit of a difference that you can see compared to the really standout 3D models.
I have not experimented with resolutions or anything much because the experience has been fantastic from the first minute. Again, helos really benefit from VR because you feel like you are wearing them. You can put them anywhere due to the exceptional depth perception - it really is a huge, huge improvement that I never realized was missing from 2D flying. Let’s face it - when it comes to computer sims, 2D is all I’ve known for three decades…so the revelation of VR is really cool. You must demo it…really… I can see why @PaulRix is such a fan - he and I come from real cockpits and this really (really) feels real. Yeah…slight screen door effect…a bit of blurriness…but those are tech hurdles that I think are going to be in our rearview mirror in quick order. It is really awesome.
Short video of flying the S-92 in X-Plane in VR. It’s hard to really see anything from this video because what you are seeing isn’t really what I’m seeing…but it does demonstrate the fluid motion with those above settings…
More soon…
A bit of the X-Aviation Mu-2 - which is one gorgeous pit and fun aircraft to fly in VR (or non VR)… The lighting controls, 3D quality of the gauges, and overall presentation is just perfect…
The Felis An-24 is one of the nicest VR cockpits I’ve seen…and I have NO idea what any of the stuff does. It is really claustrophobic feeling with limited view…and just a mess of controls and buttons. VR really does totally give you a new perspective on aircraft you already have…at the risk of becoming the ultimate fanboi…I’m just having an awesome time tonight drinking beer, watching the World Series, and going through my airplane inventory…
And one thing worth mentioning - none of those overlays are visible in VR. Not the frame-rate counter, the side menu (X-Life) nor the menus on the left side - which makes me wonder how I’d access them. In FSX/P3D, you can use the keyboard shortcuts to the 2D panels…I dunno how it works in X-Plane…
Another thing worth mentioning about these 2D videos (that are pretty much only representative of FPS) is that when viewed on YouTube (or basically as presented to you), they seem sort of like you are looking all over the place wildly…but in game, in VR…it doesn’t feel that way because it tracks the center of your view and periphery and fills all that space around you. The little box you are looking at in 2D doesn’t translate that…again, it is very, very difficult to describe, but I thought it worth mentioning because sometimes the videos look a little frantic…but in fact, they aren’t… If that makes ANY sense.
The Virtavia C-17 is gorgeous…but does have an interesting problem. The HUD is really, really cool looking in VR…but it seems to be focused at a point that is only a couple feet away, so you can’t focus on the HUD and beyond for some reason. I don’t know why…you can focus on the terrain or airport beyond…but not on both. Again, very difficult to describe…
Thanks for sharing Chris. Very much look forward to this as well. 
The Rotate MD-80…is…uh…perfect in VR… (unlike my flying of it…)
How about some A6M21 Zero…?
