Do you want a VR lookback view?

[Terry Dactil]

Are you tired of getting shot down because  in VR you can't look back behind you to see those pesky bandits  getting into your six?

 

TrackIR is great with its 'Exorcist' or 'Owl' mode where you can rotate your line of sight as much as you like and looking behind you is no problem.

In real life you can rototate your head about 45°, your shoulders another 45°, then your eyes  45°, and in your peripheral vision you might be able to see what is directly behind you.
However, VR has a basic limitation. The VR headset I use (Rift S) says it has an 88° field of view, so eye movement and peripheral vision will only give 44° for a total of 134°  from straight ahead, and no chance of seeing anything directly behind.

 

So,as it is not considered unrealistic to use the 'Look Back'  feature in TrackIR , let's have something similar for us poor VR users  - a 'Look Back' snap view!
Like this: (It is called with LSHFT + F4 keybind to a HOTAS button and/or a Voice Attack command).

 All it needs is to modify 2 lines of lua code so the chase view  looks in the reverse direction from a viewpoint near the pilot's head.
 The hard part is finding the code to modify. Some older aircraft have it in server.lua, but more recent modules have it in
 C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\CoreMods\aircraft
and the  WWII aircraft have it  in
 C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\CoreMods\WWII Units

 For the P-51D go down to line 1469 and find in the  ViewSettings section

            Chase = {
                LocalPoint    = {0.200, -0.652, -0.650},
                AnglesDefault = {0.0, 0.0},
            }, -- Chase
            Arcade = {
                LocalPoint    = {-21.500, 5.618, 0.000},
                AnglesDefault = {0.0, -8.0},
            }, -- Arcade
       
and modify the numbers in the second and third lines to be .    

            Chase = {
                LocalPoint        = {2.000000,0.80000,0.000000},        -- (forward/back, up/down, left/right) relative to AngleDefault
                AnglesDefault   = {180.000000,0.000000},                  -- (left right, up/down)  relative to aircraft longitudinal axis fwd
            }, -- Chase
            Arcade = {
                LocalPoint    = {-21.500, 5.618, 0.000},
                AnglesDefault = {0.0, -8.0},
            }, -- Arcade
    
Modifying this file will work, but you will lose the changes with any update or repair.
The proper way is to make a copy of the file, then modify it and s put it in the saved games folder complete with its subdirectory structure.
In this case it is CoreMods\WWII Units\P-51D.lua.     OVGME is perfect for inserting and removing mods like this.
Here is the OVGME file for anyone who wants to try it on their P-51. It should be the same procedure for other aircraft.

P-51D.lua

Edited February 3, 2022 by Terry Dactil
fixed typo in path CoreMods\WWII Units\P-51D.lua

[oz555]

I'll give that a go for sure. My neck can't take too much dogfighting. Will report back. 

 

Yup, works a treat in the Mustang with OVGME. I'll now have to delve into the Hornet and see if I can replicate.

 

 

 

Thanks for your efforts.....

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by oz555

[speed-of-heat]

can you add additional entries to the file, the F-18 data is in Server.lua

[speed-of-heat]

@Terry DactilIm not sure the path in the saved games is correct, it does not seem to be working; thanks for this btw

[Terry Dactil]

36 minutes ago, speed-of-heat said:

can you add additional entries to the file, the F-18 data is in Server.lua

Not additional entries, just alter the existing ones and and it should work. The hard part is finding the location of the chase view code and then setting a good position to look from. Lots of stuff in the cockpit wanted to get in the way.   So far the only other one I have done is the TF-51.

I'm hoping others will have a fiddle with the code for other aircraft and publish their results here.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Terry Dactil

[Terry Dactil]

49 minutes ago, speed-of-heat said:

@Terry DactilIm not sure the path in the saved games is correct, it does not seem to be working; thanks for this btw

Sorry, there was a backslash typo error in the path. Try using CoreMods\WWII Units\P-51D.lua

Edited January 6, 2021 by Terry Dactil

[speed-of-heat]

Nope  that doesnt seem to work either ?  when i press LShift F4 i get a view from under the radiator cowling 

[speed-of-heat]

it definitely works (ish) in the dcs world folder, i say "ish", because it cycles through available p51 views , so if there are two p51's available pressing LSHFT-F4 twice will get you the rear view of a different aircraft ... maybe try modifying a snap view ?

Edited January 6, 2021 by speed-of-heat

[Terry Dactil]

5 minutes ago, speed-of-heat said:

it definitely works (ish) in the dcs world folder, i say "ish", because it cycles through available p51 views , so if there are two p51's available pressing LSHFT-F4 twice will get you the rear view of a different aircraft ...

That would be normal for repeated key presses.

I use Voice attack so that press and hold a hotas button gives me the rear view until the button is released and it goes back to normal view.

 

When I press joystick2 button 17

the result is...

Press Left Shift+F4 keys and hold  for 0.3 seconds and release
Start Loop While :  Joystick 2 Button 17 Is Pressed
    Loop Continue
End Loop
Press F1 key and hold for 0.3 seconds and release

 

[oz555]

1 hour ago, speed-of-heat said:

it definitely works (ish) in the dcs world folder, i say "ish", because it cycles through available p51 views , so if there are two p51's available pressing LSHFT-F4 twice will get you the rear view of a different aircraft ... maybe try modifying a snap view ?

 

I don't see the problem. LSHFT-F4 to look back, F1 to return to forward facing. 

[ShaunX]

13 minutes ago, oz555 said:

I don't see the problem. LSHFT-F4 to look back, F1 to return to forward facing. 

If You run VoiceAttack (or RS Mapper for that matter) you can map LSIFT+F4 to the depression of a button (HOTAS hat in my case) and F1 to that button's release, giving you a quick lookback and return to cockpit view when you release the button. Works really well for me..at least in the A-10C where LSHIFT+F4 gives you a view looking directly back over the tail.

[speed-of-heat]

33 minutes ago, oz555 said:

I don't see the problem. LSHFT-F4 to look back, F1 to return to forward facing. 

because you are very likely to press it twice by mistake 

[Hoirtel]

I don't really have an issue with looking back, I think a button view would be a bit nauseating! I always thought it was kind of realistic as it is - I mean a pilot under G with helmet and full flight gear plus seat straps probably isn't going to be able to get that far around anyway (certainly not 180)

[Terry Dactil]

I have been testing things and shifting between various missions in both Open Beta and Stable.

I am now getting instances where the main program is not using the Saved Games (modified) file and the view is now that strange one looking forward from the left wing root.

Until we find the cause (it may be the large file size for a mod) all I can suggest is to just make the changes in the main file in CoreMods.

[speed-of-heat]

yes that was my experience sort of looking forward under the engine exhausts 

[speed-of-heat]

the hornet file seems to be:

 

...\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World Openbeta\Mods\aircraft\FA-18C\Views.lua

[imacken]

On 1/6/2021 at 10:54 AM, Hoirtel said:

I don't really have an issue with looking back, I think a button view would be a bit nauseating! I always thought it was kind of realistic as it is - I mean a pilot under G with helmet and full flight gear plus seat straps probably isn't going to be able to get that far around anyway (certainly not 180)

Agreed it is more realistic as is, but the issue is we are at a huge disadvantage compared to TrackIR users and their Exorcist views!

[lefuneste01]

If you use SteamVR, you should have a look here :

 

Or far far far better here : https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/67985-simple-tool-to-check-your-six/

You should have set a seated space with WMR to make the second tool work with the Reverb...

Edited January 7, 2021 by lefuneste01

[imacken]

Hmm, good find.  I tried it, and although the autorotate does jump 30 degrees in a turn, it also jumps up. So, the return to straight ahead gives you a view on top of the cockpit till a re-center VR button is pressed. Weird.

[Hoirtel]

5 hours ago, imacken said:

Agreed it is more realistic as is, but the issue is we are at a huge disadvantage compared to TrackIR users and their Exorcist views!

Yeah I suppose. I never mastered BFM with trackir just couldn't manage twisting my head while still staring at the screen. Plus I lost all sense of direction and spatial awareness pretty quickly!

[jross194]

Do I want it? No. But, if you can do it I'm sure there are those that will use it.

[Bailey]

Clever solution. Nice.

 

[lefuneste01]

17 hours ago, imacken said:

Hmm, good find.  I tried it, and although the autorotate does jump 30 degrees in a turn, it also jumps up. So, the return to straight ahead gives you a view on top of the cockpit till a re-center VR button is pressed. Weird.

 

The VRNeckSafer is still WIP for DCS, but I'm confident J2_NobiWan will make it work soon. But in the meantime you can use the first solution (with OVRAS), even if a bit complicated it works flawlessly.

[dburne]

I personally have no desire for a snap look back view in VR.

I won't begrudge those that do either.

[ShaunX]

On 1/7/2021 at 7:08 PM, imacken said:

Hmm, good find.  I tried it, and although the autorotate does jump 30 degrees in a turn, it also jumps up. So, the return to straight ahead gives you a view on top of the cockpit till a re-center VR button is pressed. Weird.

 

Nobiwan has just fixed this for DCS. I've just tried his latest DCS test version and it works perfectly, both the buttoned and autorotate.

 

It seems to be vital to map the "reset" button and press that first, otherwise the jump up occurs. Once it's been reset however, everything works and no further resets required.

 

Tested on the Viper and A10C this morning. New DCS version is towards the end of his thread.

 

Oh, my start up sequence had to be: WMR -> Steam VR then open a desktop window and run VRNeckSafer, then DCS. It wouldn't run before Steam VR loaded.