TrackIR vs VR?

[Strawberrybuns]

So I have been playing DCS for about a month now and I have been flying in VR. It's an amazing experience to actually be in the plane especially while operating on the carrier. But my main issue with the VR is how short my play times can be. After about 30-60 mins of wearing the headset i can barely feel my head because it's so numb from the headset, or my head starts to get really sweaty. Performance is also a bit of an issue but I've found ways to make it better. I love flying in VR and I think there's nothing like it, but going through the process of getting everything set up, having to take breaks in the middle of playing, performance, and other things; I'm starting to think that TrackIR might be better. But I'm also hesitant about that because flying flatscreen just isn't the same to me, but I know it will make flying a ton easier.

I'd love to hear different people's thoughts, ESPECIALLY people who have both, or tried both, and picked which one they like more.

[-OrLoK- Слава Україн]

VR more immersive / Track ir more competitive.

for civil flights i prefer trackir, for combat i prefer VR

[SSerponi76]

TrackIR is absolutely NOT better than VR (I'm currently using TrackIR but I had the chance to try VR for few hours) BUT it still has some good point in its favour:

1) You don't need a Cray CX computer to run it.
2) You can play at your monitor resolution.
3) No sick feeling effect.
4) Is cheaper.

However, since you already have a VR device I don't see any reason why you shold switch to a TrackIR: just make shorter VR session or get used to that.

[spike2071]

I have VR, but use TrackIR most of the time, for many of the reasons you mention. It's also boring to fly 45 minutes to the mission area in VR. Performance is immeasurably better with TrackIR. For SP missions, I tend to take notes while playing (LAT/LON coordinates if given mid-mission, CASE III information, altitude/speed info for a given waypoint, etc.), which is much more difficult in VR. It also allows me to check on Chuck's Guide if it's a refresher/new module, TacView if I'm testing something, etc.

I put the VR goggles on every once in a while, and it's cool in short bursts, but I prefer TrackIR with my ultrawide monitor.

[rimmer66]

Originally posted by SSerponi76:

TrackIR is absolutely NOT better than VR (I'm currently using TrackIR but I had the chance to try VR for few hours) BUT it still has some good point in its favour:

1) You don't need a Cray CX computer to run it.
2) You can play at your monitor resolution.
3) No sick feeling effect.
4) Is cheaper.

However, since you already have a VR device I don't see any reason why you shold switch to a TrackIR: just make shorter VR session or get used to that.

5) you can see the keyboard

[Emme]

I had VR and am now using TrackIR exclusively. VR currently is just not in the spot where it should be! It just needs more developement. In the next years a VR experience will be much better. With TrackIR you're much more flexible and it won't cost any extra resources on your hardware. You can set the sensitivity to your liking. If you take the time and set this up to your liking you'll benefit from a much better situational awareness compared to VR.

But of course IR won't be as immersive as VR that's for sure!

[Althar]

I have both - while VR is easier to get into because the movement is 1:1, the resolution / technology isn't quite good enough to have a flawless experience. I can do small/short skirmishes & do prefer VR as an experience overall but doing a full mission is tiring on the neck/eyes & everything is just blurrier/harder to see.

On the other hand, with TrackIR or any of the similar alternatives/variants you get a crisp image & playing for extended periods of time is nowhere near as tiring. The only caveat is the fact the motion isn't 1:1 and you could easily spend a few hours just getting your curves in a place where navigating around the cockpit doesn't feel too unatural. I've already spent a few hours just tweaking and re-tweaking my curves & while I am having a better experience than using the POV/joystick combo it could always be better.

[TheOptimator]

Originally posted by Althar:

The only caveat is the fact the motion isn't 1:1 and you could easily spend a few hours just getting your curves in a place where navigating around the cockpit doesn't feel too unatural. I've already spent a few hours just tweaking and re-tweaking my curves & while I am having a better experience than using the POV/joystick combo it could always be better.

How hard is TrackIR to set up and tune? Hours? A few minutes?

I'm still learning DCS World right now and while I love VR, I need to be able to study for, well...a "study sim" :D That means alt-tabbing a lot, looking at my keybinds, etc so I can't have my VR headset on.

I've been playing on a flatscreen of late and it has made my rate of learning increase a lot lol, so I want to keep doing it....but the immersion (or lack of) sort of makes it less fun; once you go VR and get vertigo for real doing a bunch of rolls and dives and stuff it's hard to go back.

TY in advance.

[spike2071]

Originally posted by TheOptimator:

How hard is TrackIR to set up and tune? Hours? A few minutes?

I'm still learning DCS World right now and while I love VR, I need to be able to study for, well...a "study sim" :D That means alt-tabbing a lot, looking at my keybinds, etc so I can't have my VR headset on.

I've been playing on a flatscreen of late and it has made my rate of learning increase a lot lol, so I want to keep doing it....but the immersion (or lack of) sort of makes it less fun; once you go VR and get vertigo for real doing a bunch of rolls and dives and stuff it's hard to go back.

TY in advance.

Setup was easy for me. Plug in the peripherals, install the drivers, and you're good to go. I probably spent about 10 mins configuring the head tracking. Play DCS for a few minutes while looking around, alt tab to the TrackIR software to tweak whatever, go back to DCS and play a bit more, alt tab, etc.

It comes with a few default setups for head tracking, and I just tweaked one of those. I think the default hot keys for pausing and recentering the camera were on the F-keys, which interfered with the DCS camera views. But it was easy to change those to something else.

About the only issues I've had with TrackIR was if you have a window behind you. Any direct sunlight peeking through the blinds/curtains will mess up the head tracking. That's only if it's within sight of the camera, and it's easy to see where it's coming from by using the software to see what the camera sees.

[Emme]

Originally posted by spike2071:

Setup was easy for me. Plug in the peripherals, install the drivers, and you're good to go. I probably spent about 10 mins configuring the head tracking. Play DCS for a few minutes while looking around, alt tab to the TrackIR software to tweak whatever, go back to DCS and play a bit more, alt tab, etc.

Besides that... you could simply try one of the numerous shared profiles that are sitting out there in the web waiting to be downloaded from the individual for free...

[Captain Baldy]

I have trackir5 and HTC vive. For fun factor I go with the VR setup all the way. trackIR is great too but nothing can put one in the cockpit like VR does

[★Macman★]

Originally posted by Tenko:

TrackIR doesn't impact performance almost 0, no where near VR. While VR feels better, Track IR looks better,I didnt have to change my graphic settings, Where as I had to make a whole profile just for Vr.

You made a profile that probably sucks and barely uses your GPU. That is the 100% wrong doing for everyone that has not stuck with VR including lots of YouTubers. If you don't push your card to be achieving 95% in Combat then you did it all wrong. I had my old GTX 1080 running the Release on all highest Settings but reduced Shadows and it was almost as good as my RTX 2080 TI ULTRA I use right now!

[Emme]

Originally posted by Macman:

You made a profile that probably sucks and barely uses your GPU. That is the 100% wrong doing for everyone that has not stuck with VR including lots of YouTubers. If you don't push your card to be achieving 95% in Combat then you did it all wrong. I had my old GTX 1080 running the Release on all highest Settings but reduced Shadows and it was almost as good as my RTX 2080 TI ULTRA I use right now!

I'm going to debate with you here. No VR device currently on the market will be able to give you a clearer and more fluid picture as a gaming monitor and IR! And VR is pretty much plug and play. If your hardware can't handle it then you'd simply have to do an expensive hardware upgrade otherwise you won't have nearly as good results as compared to IR and monitor. The next thing to concider is the total cost compared between VR and IR. And you would not have to make any compromise and turn off shadows for the needed extra fps. Also playing the game in 4k gives me better performance and much clearer picture than any current VR experience could ever give atm. So there are a lot of downsides to VR currently which you can not deny.

The only real reason to buy VR is the immersion it will bring. But if you're a purist you won't be very satisfied!

[HoboCop]

There is NO comparison at all! It's not even in the same ball park. I had both and gave my "Delan Clip" (track IR copy) away because I do not use it.

Granted, you cannot do VR in DCS on a budget or cut corners. Even with a RiftS, a 2070S and a 6700k @5ghz, the visuals are still a compromise, but I would still rather that compromise than play it "flat".

I have a G2 on preorder, my i9 10850k and new board arrived yesterday, and I'm gonna be getting the MSI RTX3090 Gaming X Trio as soon as they release (fingers crossed I can get one) and I'm hoping I will not have to compromise any longer with the visuals. It is because of VR that I am spending this money because the immersion is unbeatable. If I was happy with "flat" then I'd have kept my Delan Clip, maybe would go for a 3070 or 3080, and would play on my 3440 x 1440 ultra wide instead of having pre-ordered the G2 and save a lot of money!

[★Macman★]

I ordered my G2 too. This is as good as a Monitor. Why compromise the experience for a Sim when this is the age of VR.

[HoboCop]

Originally posted by Macman:

I ordered my G2 too. This is as good as a Monitor. Why compromise the experience for a Sim when this is the age of VR.

Precisely. Now I just need to get my hands on a 3090 (preferably MSI 3090 gaming x trio!)