VR wishlist

[Shabi]

(feel free to move this to the VR forum if more appropriate)

 

1- Zoom view

Resolution is probably the greatest issue right now with the current gen of VR goggles. I know you guys are working on implementing a zoom view in VR, and I have some suggestions:

- It could be a new framebuffer on a floating grid in front of the user, parented to the main camera. This may look weird, maybe not, but the intention is that it would not take up the whole FOV, thus leaving the periphery of the player's view as it was. This helps avoid motion sickness as the player always feels anchored in the seat.

- Bindable button to bring this up, as well as a bindable zoom/fov axis or zoom in/out buttons.

- HUD readability is a concern. Making text larger is problematic to HUD layout and only goes so far. What if there were a HUD zoom button that enlarges the hud on a static secondary framebuffer that is not parented to the player's head? Maybe a 1.5x zoom for a buffer that is parented would still be ok.

 

2- Performance

Maybe not an easy one to solve, as it seems that the number of draw calls in a sim are typically high, but being so CPU bound by them appears to be an issue- high powered cards don't help that much. I may be wrong about why performance is so limited, I'm not a real time rendering expert. Oculus' ATW really really does a good job with this, Vive less so. But perhaps a temporary work around for performance's sake would be to have seperate controls for cockpit shadows vs exterior shadows, as they add a lot to the visual appeal and spatial awareness, but are a massive hit to performance when trees and buildings are rendered.

 

3- Mouse look/usage

I see in DCS 2.0 Alpha that you are experimenting with the mouse cursor being bound to the player's head. Great!! Sometimes this is a bit much, like the mission editor for instance. Hot keys to bind and unbind would be very handy. I also note that it can be hard to figure out if the mouse cursor is 'on' a cockpit button. There are most likely challenges regarding this, does something like 3d arrow geometry help or does it look cheap and tacky?

 

4- In-flight text

Right now players need to edit the .lua and .sdg files to make text for radio menus and server messages etc bigger, otherwise they are unreadable. This is not so easy as there doesn't appear to be documentation or code comments and the game needs to be restarted to see every change. Maybe some tutorials or templates to help modify them would be enough for now, or ideally a new options menu to offset things and make them bigger would be most appreciated.

[NeilWillis]

Well, items 1, 3and 4 are already included in an update to VR functionality.

 

Performance, you are right isn't easy to resolve, but until we see the merger of the two DCS World versions, and the inculsion of the pixel density upadte etc, we don't even know what the current performance will give us.

 

Another one for the list would be to make all key presses mappable to joystick buttons. Particularly view centreing.

 

I also like ED to take on board voice activated command facilities and a decent radio interface system.

 

As with everything of course, there is a real need for some patience and fortitude in the short term. ED's resources are finite.

[SkateZilla]

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=165411

[Shabi]

Thanks for the link SkateZilla, there's a lot of detailed info within. I look forward to being able to update this thread to help development from one (of many) user's perspective.

 

I encourage others to add their wish lists and be free to add detail to their ideas. ie "VR Zoom" can have more information attached about why you need it, and how you think it might be used.

 

-----

 

Kneeboards; can we get a minor version that includes this soon ;P I am really wanting to start the a10-c with a kneeboard checklist. My memory only goes so far when I have an hour or two each week to practice cold starts.

[Mad Dog 7.62]

Wishlist item: A Icon or Command Line switch that lets you launch DCS in 2D mode for the times you want to use the editor, replay a track, make control adjustments, etc. that are better done in 2D.

[SkateZilla]

Wishlist item: A Icon or Command Line switch that lets you launch DCS in 2D mode for the times you want to use the editor, replay a track, make control adjustments, etc. that are better done in 2D.

 

Two Methods That I know work right now,

 

You can open options.lua and change the option for VR to false, save and launch DCS, then change it back to true to enable VR

You can Create Batch Files to do this function, then Just have a Short Cut for 2 Different Batch Files One for VR, One For 2D.

 

For the Batch File

First,

Boot DCS in Normal 2D Mode, Adjust all You GFX Options etc to where you want them, save and Exit,

 

Goto /Saved Games/DCS.<Install>/Config/ and make a Subfolder (ie /Source/) Copy the Options.LUA to the /Source Folder and Rename it to Options-2D.lua

 

Now, Boot DCS, Enable Rift, Reboot DCS, Set all GFX Options to Where You want them (Usually These Options would be LOWER than Normal 2D Screen Options), Save and Exit

 

Goto /Saved Games/DCS.<Install>/Config/ And copy the new options.lua to the /Source/ Folder and Rename to Options-VR.lua.

 

So Now you have 2 Separate Options LUA Files, One for 2D One for VR.

 

Create a Batch for for 2D, instruct it to copy the <root>/<user>/Saved Games/DCS.<install>/Config/Source/Options-2d.lua to <root>/<user>/Saved Games/DCS.<install>/Config/Options.lua

 

usually:

copy C:\Users\<Username>\Saved Games\DCS.<install>\Config\Source\Options-2D.lua C:\Users\<Username>\Saved Games\DCS.<install>\Config\Options.lua

<username> = Windows UserName

<install> = the install if not using the normal \DCS\ Folder (ie \DCS.OpenBeta\)

 

Then The Command to Launch DCS.

start <root>\bin\DCS.exe

where <root> is the path to DCS install folder

(not sure if start command is needed)

Save as Run-DCS-2D.Bat

 

 

Should Look like:

copy C:\Users\<Username>\Saved Games\DCS.<install>\Config\Source\Options-2D.lua C:\Users\<Username>\Saved Games\DCS.<install>\Config\Options.lua
start <root>\bin\DCS.exe

 

Then Make one for VR

copy C:\Users\<Username>\Saved Games\DCS.<install>\Config\Source\Options-VR.lua C:\Users\<Username>\Saved Games\DCS.<install>\Config\Options.lua
start <root>\bin\DCS.exe

Edited June 22, 2016 by SkateZilla

[DerekSpeare]

Something like dcs.exe /novr would be really cool to have in the future when development time can be used to do it.

[SkateZilla]

Once you enable VR,

 

if you unplug the rift's HDMI and launch DCS it will boot to 2D Mode onyour Screen,

 

if you re-plug the rift's HDMI and launch DCS it will boot to the rift.

[MostlyHarmless]

You can do the same by unplugging the usb to the rift, for those with usb ports on the front of the case and hdmi only on the video card it is the least annoying way to do it.

[Justin Case]

Thanks for the guide there Skate, I will try it out next week.

[Shabi]

Yep for the vive I just unplug the power from the link box and it won't boot into vr. I've noticed that it gets warm if left alone, even when not running anything so figured this is a good idea. But yes a command line flag would be an extra level of usefulness.

[SkateZilla]

I run short HDMI and USB extension cables to a bracket mounted to the under edge side of my desk, that way I can easily unplug the rift unit if needed, and if the cord gets tangled and yanked it will pull out of the connections at the bracket and not yank the back of my computer and possibly damage stuff.

[Frusheen]

VR request following today's beta update:

 

- please make the crosshair disappear when it is not over an active switch or click spot when using head as pointer.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Frusheen

[VR-Hunter]

Vr request -

 

- please make the tooltip window disappear after mouse movement ( ~5 seconds is ok)

[DerekSpeare]

Another VR REquest:

 

Please make the tooltip text larger and automatically resize the box in which it appears automatically resized to the amount of text contained within it.

[funkyfranky]

Please make the tooltip text larger and automatically resize the box in which it appears automatically resized to the amount of text contained within it.

+1

[Shabi]

Turning tree and building shadows off

 

Is it possible to push this flag to the graphics options? This way we could have cockpit shadows but turn off the heavy performance hit of tree/building/object shadows.

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2495081&postcount=7

[cichlidfan]

Separate graphics options for when a VR headset is detected. The same set of options but just duplicated so that the second set is used for VR while the first set would be used if no headset is connected.

[SkateZilla]

Separate graphics options for when a VR headset is detected. The same set of options but just duplicated so that the second set is used for VR while the first set would be used if no headset is connected.

 

VR Preset?

[cichlidfan]

VR Preset?

 

Yes.

[D4n]

the inculsion of the pixel density upadte etc,

 

What update? Pixel density? What about it? Where is information about that?

[Buznee]

Other than having the mouse controlled with head movement I think another option that would be fantastic is the mouse pointer coordinates should also be fixed to the cockpit surfaces rather than the pilot view which will make it much easier to keep the mouse on a particular button or switch while you move your head around. This will prevent neck strain from trying to hold your head still to keep the mouse pointer on a particular button. If the mouse pointer goes out of the pilot's field of view a simple arrow on the edge of the view can guide you back to where it is or it can snap back into your view. I think if this coordinate system is an option it can be very popular depending on the player.

[Purg]

mouse pointer coordinates should also be fixed to the cockpit surfaces

 

It is in the latest Beta. Works very well. You'll even see the mouse pointer bend on curved surfaces. No more guessing as to what your mouse pointer is pointing at.

[Smith]

Other than having the mouse controlled with head movement I think another option that would be fantastic is the mouse pointer coordinates should also be fixed to the cockpit surfaces rather than the pilot view which will make it much easier to keep the mouse on a particular button or switch while you move your head around. This will prevent neck strain from trying to hold your head still to keep the mouse pointer on a particular button. If the mouse pointer goes out of the pilot's field of view a simple arrow on the edge of the view can guide you back to where it is or it can snap back into your view. I think if this coordinate system is an option it can be very popular depending on the player.

 

+1

[cichlidfan]

VR Preset?

 

Now that I have actually looked at the implementation, I don't think you understood what I said.

 

I don't want a VR settings button, especially if the values chosen aren't actually good. I want a whole separate set of settings stored in the Options lua whereby you can fly without VR and the non VR settings will be used and when the program sees a VR headset, at startup, it automatically activates the VR settings. This means no going in and changing settings just because you don't want to use VR at the moment.

 

The current VR button is no more useful than Low, Medium and High, meaning not useful at all.