VR at work

Today I had the opportunity to take my Reverb and my MSI laptop out to work since we had a fairly idle day on the schedule (always subject to change with a pager going off of course). The pilots that tried the Reverb were just floored at the technology. I decided to keep it simple and just demo Aerofly FS2 because it is so user friendly, easy to set up, and has glass smooth performance.

Everyone was really jazzed with the whole thing. The guy sitting in the seat in the photo is a fan of sims from the somewhat long distant era (Falcon 4 / early FSX) and he was floored by the newer technology. Enough so that he is ready to drop some cash into getting back into the hobby. I didn’t have a chance to show off DCS World to him yet, but he knows about it and he is very interested to give that a whirl. One of our mechanics came in and was also a big fan of the old FS9 / early FSX sims and he too was just amazed at the head tracking accuracy and the sheer wow factor that VR gives. I couldn’t get either of them to stop playing even after it was time to head home for the day. That was a great feeling to introduce (or reintroduce) some new simmers back into the fold hopefully.

I did not take a HOTAS in, simply due to space and time constraints…so they were only using the hand controllers to grab the yoke and throttles of the various Aerofly 2 aircraft they tried. They both got the hang of it quickly…and were very impressed with the accuracy of the head tracking, and the ability to move switches around in the cockpit just by using their virtual fingers.

Our mechanic was fascinated by looking out the left window of the Q400 and craning his neck to see the feathered prop out on the left pylon. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear after the few hours they played. It made the purchase of the laptop well worth it to be able to take the rig on the road. I can’t wait to show them DCS World and hook up my FLY 5 joystick to it to make it a bit more authentic feeling.

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I’m still undecided if this makes you a good guy or a bad guy…
:laughing:

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Preach it brother, preach it! :latin_cross: :vr: :musical_score:

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Please list the model number of the MSI laptop. I would like to have the same exact system to demo to students.

I am thinking of getting a new mid tower, but this really got my attention!

Well, this is the laptop I bought a couple months ago - but I got it on sale with a rebate for $1299. It was listed at $1,599 and I got a $50 off promo code, and a $250 mail in rebate…

https://www.newegg.com/rgb-a-cover-aluminum-black-msi-ge-series-ge63-raider-rgb-052-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155074

I remember when RL pilots used to refer to flight sims as video games. Couldn’t blame them for that. However, given the number of pilots on this board, reading this thread, and seeing the recent synergy between Wags and both Navy and USAF pilots gives me hope that the video games days are mostly gone. And VR is spraying a healthy amount of fuel in the after burner cans of this transition. :grin:

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@BeachAV8R,
Thanks for the laptop info. Do you use a miniDisplayPort to DP adapter? How is the performance compared to your desktop? Have you learned anything new about the Reverb?

Thanks
Dave W

I am using a miniDisplayPort to DP adapter - one comes with the Reverb. Performance with the 2070 vs. the 2080Ti doesn’t really seem to be a factor, but I’m not maxing out everything in either X-Plane or DCS World, so I probably have some room to move some sliders to the right in both using the 2080Ti. I’m very happy with the MSI and 2070 combination so far though. It does have to push some hot air out of the case though, so there is some fan noise…and that exhaust air is pretty warm.

Regarding the Reverb, I haven’t had any issues with the second batch of manufacturing. No flickering, no disconnects, no heat issues…so I’m hoping this one will last.

Since you have kept your Reverb and have some decent hours on it, i have to ask what you opinion is of how the clarity reduces as you go away from the center. IRL i want the center instrument scan to be clear as possible and then be able to glance to the edge of my eyesight without moving my head to see if anything has changed much or has caused an alert - and i don’t expect that to be real clear. Then i am happy to point my head in a different direction so i can read that clearly. I’m hoping the Reverb basically works that way.

Thanks much for taking the time to respond with your precious experience!

I feel that the Reverb has a pretty small “sweet spot” if that’s what most people are calling it. My 68 IPD seems to work pretty well with it. The center is clear, but if you just use your eyes to dart to the periphery, the instruments will not be as clear…so you’ll definitely have to move your head as you scan around the cockpit. I’ll try to get you a more concrete measurement…like sitting in a cockpit and try to describe what instruments are clear and where they start to get fuzzy. Give me a day or so and I’ll try to get that in a more descriptive way.