So - is the Vive cockpit guage readable?

[Vedexent]

I've read a lot of reviews comparing the HTC Vive, and the Occulus Rift.

 

The general consensus seems to be: "Roomscale = Vive, Sitdown vehicle (and DCS) = Rift".

 

So, it appears that for vehicle sims the Rift has slightly superior performance.

 

My question, however, is "is the Vive good enough?"

 

By good enough I mean: Can I read instrument gauges? Can my brain do "suspension of disbelief" with the visual artifacts (which seem to be present on both peripherals, although slightly less so in the Rift).

 

I'm not going to argue Rift vs. Vive: the consensus seems to be that the Rift is slightly technically superior for DCS.

 

However, there are enough nasty aspects of Occulus as a company (i.e. their DRM title lock down, delayed shipping to long term early backers, etc.) , that it tempts me to go in the direction of the Vive, if it's good enough for an immersive VR flight sim experience - regardless of whether or not the Rift would give slightly superior performance.

 

In short, being willing to take a slight hit on consumer performance - so long as that performance is acceptable - in order to cultivate the "better behaved" company.

 

Comments on the Vive being fully usable?

[hansangb]

It's usable. But it's not smooth. So you'll likely get motion sickness and you'll have to get used to it over time. Or wait for ED to optimize things for Vive and hope it works out.

 

Will you have immersion? ABSOLUTELY. Will you have "suspension of disbelief" Without a doubt. Will you have the best hand held controller experience? For sure. Can you read gauges? Yes, but you do have to lean in on some.

 

Will you have the best DCS experience, No you will not.

 

So the question is, do you hate Oculus enough to put up with the lack of ATW and smoother game play?

 

I'm not sure why you're taking the objections you listed personally, but I respect that you don't like them. (I take it Valve has no lockdown of their titles?)

 

As of now, you would be settling if DCS is your primary gaming platform.

 

PS: Before anyone jumps down my throat, I actually put my money where my mouth (keyboard?) is and bought both. After testing, decided to keep CV1. These are my opinions only as there is no objective tests that an end user can conduct.

Edited June 2, 2016 by hansangb

[Kirin]

Presence and suspension of disbelief are spot on with the Vive. After I optimized my HDM adjustment procedure and minimized the spacing for the glasses I wear within the Vive all gauges are readable and usable. For some of the smaller gauges you have to lean in to be able to read the numbers - but the gauge indicator are always readable from neutral seating position. The HUD is also readable but the experiences changes from plane to plane. In the Mirage I can read the HUD without a problem - in the A-10 it's a little harder - but I haven't tried to adjust it yet either.

 

The biggest problem is the loss of frames. Reprojection is clearly inferior to Asynchronus Timewarp but this is something that can be adressed with a software update in the future hopefully.

 

All in all I am very happy with the Vive. So happy that I deinstalled TrackIR - there is no way back in to flat 2D flying. It's still the 1st generation though. There are still a lot of issues you have to be aware off but I am sold 100%.

[npole]

Honestly the resolution is OK for now.. the major issue at the moment is the performance, the fps goes down making it unplayable in multiplayer in the VIVE (it's different for the OR it seems..).

 

However some gauges cannot be read, in example the fuel gauge in the F15, neither by moving your head.. the digits looks confused.

[Kirin]

I'm getting 90fps, even over large cities, very smooth gameplay

 

I am very curious about your setup. I sport a i7-6700k along with a GTX970. I get 90FPS only if there is nothing else in view. Reprojection kicks in frequently which causes a stutter every time. That's with the 1.5 release - 2.0 is a bit better.

[tkairshows]

HTC Vive here (Oculus still has not shipped). The gauges are kind of readable depending on cockpit. The real problem is resolution. I cannot see the targets now, air or ground, without some kind of label. They are just a blur.

[Milopapa]

Same here.. I cant get 90fps for more than a few seconds, and that's usually looking at a blue sky.

Strangely, sometimes I get 90fps looking at a busy spot, and then I turn my head, look at the EXACT SAME spot, and it drops to 45.