As a youth lacrosse coach, I hear from those that collect data that all participation sports are in decline due to competition with screen time. And with all of the data streams that, whether perceived or real, we feel the need to keep up with, there is competition for everyone’s time and entertainment $. That’s probably why as an old fart it appears that younger generations have declining attention spans. Nothing new here.
I also feel like when I was a kid that I aspired to be like my real life heroes. Am I imagining a trend toward a super power persona prevalent in modern culture? Maybe it’s always been there, just now in a different media format. Movies and video games vs books and comics.
When I was growing up, dad took me to Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, Steve McQueen in Les Mans, and Bond films. When I was 15, he took me down to the squadron and let me sit in his Phantom. He took my brother and I to see the premier of A Bridge Too Far, that was also attended by veterans whom had jumped into Arnhem and Nijmegan. When we lived in England there were trips to the Imperial War Museum and RAF WW2 airfields. He spoke of hanging out with Adolf Galland and Douglas Bader. His wing commander in England was Robin Olds.
These were my heroes and whom I wanted to emulate. It wasn’t Capt. America or The Hulk. Probably why I love simulations. I do get what Wikifrog is saying and he’s probably right about we being the lucky fringe beneficiary of whatever technology supports gaming consoles.
I just spent 30 minutes testing vorpX with Strike Fighters, and changed the cockpit.INI files so that I’m getting 1:1 motion throughout the entire cockpit…and man, what a physical workout it is to crane your neck around all the way to keep a target in sight. @Troll is going to look like this if he plays these sims with his full flight helmet on…
For me, it’s a case of wanting to try before I throw down the cash. There were a couple instances this winter of some VR devices getting really super cheap that I almost jumped on, but held back because I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through the hassle of trying it and finding out it didn’t play nice with my physiology. My eyes are very sensitive, so I’m uncertain how VR would play out with all the small effects like framerate, screendoor effect, etc.; I rely on my eyes for balance because my cochlear implant blew out my sense of balance in my right ear; and I’m not sure whether or not the various VR devices would be comfortable to wear, since so many have to have a tight fit around your head (my implant sits about an inch above my right ear and is fairly sensitive to touch/pressure). The other thing is my right eye sits significantly higher than my left and I’m not sure if VR devices can account for this.
Since VR is getting cheaper by the day, I think there will come a point where VR will be the preferred solution over TrackIR (since the price of that has remained firm over the years), but I think there’s still room for advancements in terms of size and weight, not so much performance.
umm…given your initial statement…that ship has sailed…for me also, so…just say’n.
Your point about the graphics resolution is a good one. I recall playing some type of Apache sim on my Commodore 64 one night in probably 1987. I got so into it that at one point I felt like I was really flying…I could sort of “sense the motion” as it were, as I swooped through a turn. This was with VGA 4-color graphics on a 12" TV screen. Over the years I’ve gotten that kind of sensation every now and then…the first time I hooked up Track-IR was one.
Then I put on VR and wow! Ive got a Rift-S and will readily admit the resolution is not the greatest. But the sense of depth is fantastic. The sense of speed (at low altitude) can be stunning. Moreover it is the sense of scale that really does it for me. The first time I saw a Ka-25 parked next to my Hip and realized how big it really was…the first time I sat in a MD-80 flight deck and realized that I really could not reach the gear lever.
For me, all the things VR “brings to the fight” strongly outweigh its current short comings. Plus I think that “codgers” like myself and there, who lived through the early days of PC simming, may have a different perspective–an unbridled optimism that eventually VR will get better and better–not while we are still young but hopefully while we are still kicking.
One observation I do have about VR, is that I’m always a bit surprised with the amount of vitriol opinion against it, as people that take the position it should not be done in flight sims.
It feels like saying you have a hobby of ‘not collecting stamps’, in that the passion on both sides runs pretty deep, and I know VR people are annoying, but the reaction against it is always a sight to behold.
I guess the feeling is a combination of ‘please just shut these babbling people up’ and ‘if $X is spent on stupid VR then my fantastic feature is not worked on’, but still, it does seem something particularly divisive in the sim community, especially on the more, um, experienced players sites like avsim etc.
In MSFS2020 it is practically inevitable it will be there as a feature, but the feedback is like 50% ‘it must be in’ vs 50% ‘it must not be in’. It’s like the VR people kicked the flatworld people’s puppy or something.
Yes. Why even bother trying VR if it’s going to be too uncomfortable for me to use no matter how good it looks? Why try the ribs if they’re going to make you feel like dying after you eat them? Why rent a Ferrari for a day when I’ll have to go back to my Honda afterwards? I’m going to see something that will make what I must live with seem more inferior than it does now, creating permanent dissatisfaction.
I have a 3D TV that I use regularly and have no issues with wearing a pair of plastic lenses to watch a 3 hr movie like Avatar. But it doesn’t weigh anything and I can still see my drink and the remote and the kids when they come into the room every 20 minutes to ask me something, or “see what I’m doing”, or tell me about something they saw, or whatever. Yet “the market” has dictated that movies aren’t being released in 3D anymore, and you can’t even buy a TV or player for the ones you already have. So I jumped on the 3D bandwagon, loved it, and now it’s being slowly taken away from me.
Ok! This I understand and can relate to.
Didn’t get the ribs…
I actually feel somewhat the same. VR has ruined non VR flightsims for me. If they stopped making VR headsets tomorrow and devs quit supporting the technology, I’d be lost!
If that is the case, a few years down the road, well, at least I enjoyed it while it lasted. If there is no VR option left, I’ll manage to get back to 2D again. The 34” curved screen I had before VR was very nice too!
y’all need to light up a bit