I've noticed that there's a trend in various game specific flight sim threads for us to discuss our hardware in generalized terms. For example, I've spoken a lot about my setups for games like IL2 in the DCS thread.
The DCS thread has sort of become a catch all for us to discuss our simpits, our various hardware, and suggestions that we have for a general flight sim experience.
So I'd propose we start a more specific tech based discussion here for those that have questions about various gear and our experiences with them.
Between Jarhead and I we have a pretty complete experience with most of the brands, both enthusiast and beginner.
I also know we've got even more opinions from other simmers, some of which may not be into DCS but possibly IL2 or even space sims.
So with the hope that it might take, I think this might be a good place for us to share our pits, or gear, our experiences from HOTAS setups, to MFD's to even monitors and control boxes.
To start, the latest iteration of my simpit, with controls by Virpil, MFG, Winwing, Blackhog, Elgato and Thrustmaster. VR Valve Index.
(https://i.ibb.co/gJKG9FD/setup.jpg)
Great thread idea! I love the idea of flight games but I will never be hardcore. I loved Knights of the Sky, a classic. I have IL-2 but rarely play, partially because of other competing games, but mostly because I suck. I'm kinda like "Tell me the best joystick and I'll putter around a bit". BTW, your rig is ridiculous :) Exactly what I would expect from a devotee. Truly awesome.
I have a VKB stick and peddles. And not much else.
It's one of those things I'd love to sink time and money in (also a racing rig) but I am in short supply of both.
When puttering about in pancake mode (stealing that phrase from Jarhead, btw), I'm chill with my Saitek x45 HOTAS, and I've a Thrustmaster set with pedals still boxed as I've not touched a flight sim in quite a bit.
I have a VKB stick, an X55 throttle, and TrackIR. I got rid of the pedals and went back to using a twisty rudder. Does the job.
Holy moly...that is JH levels of tech in that shot.
Thanks guys.
As you can probably tell most of that gear is to try to handle DCS and all its millions of buttons of permutations. The clicky cockpits are great, but it totally changes the experience to have the most important functions at your fingertips.
However, as I noted in the WW1 VR thread, most of that gear is not really required for a WW1 or WW2 sim. In fact, I find even my reduced set to sometimes be overkill with lots of unused buttons.
If you are going to just wave off the advanced jets and concentrate on Early Flight/Warbirds there are lots of ways to trim the cost.
The only part of my setup that I find absolutely non negotiable are the Rudder Pedals.
The MFG Crosswinds were my first piece of kit that wasn't budget, and it opened my eyes to just how different a real set of pedals can be compared to say, CH or Saitek/Logitech options.
Another cool thing about Crosswinds is they offer a lot of authentic switchable pedals. Mine are BF-109's but they have options for universal combat, Cessna, Airbus, P-51, P-47 and more.
The seeming (to me in the picture) combined stick and rudder pedal unit is choice. Care to give details?
Quote from: Dammit Carl! on October 21, 2022, 11:53:59 AM
The seeming (to me in the picture) combined stick and rudder pedal unit is choice. Care to give details?
They're not actually combined. Different makers. The stick is a Virpil Mongoose Stick with both Control panels, one slaved to the stick, the other direct plugged into usb.
Pedals are MFG Crosswinds.
The Crosswinds action is just so precise and smooth I don't need to place it against a wall or barrier to use them, so I can position them in a natural place that feels comfortable.
For me the MFG pedals were the perfect blend of quality, precise response and price. There are other great rudder solutions out there though, Virpil makes many different styles of pedals, as does VKB. Thrustmaster has a set that is generally rated as the overall best, but Thrustmaster prices it significantly higher than the competition, much higher than the very tiny gap in quality, hence why I didn't consider their option.
FYI VKB has really good options for Warbird only flight siming that fall not quite in budget but way less than breaking the bank on their high end or Virpil.
I'm very interested in the WW2 Throttle. If I were only playing WW1/2 sims I'd probably make it my must have....
https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gladiator-evo-wwii-combat-edition
https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gnx-dual-thq-wwii-thq-sem-v-combo
This thread can cost me 100s of dollars or more.
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2022, 01:12:48 PM
This thread can cost me 100s of dollars or more.
LOL. Try thousands.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 23, 2022, 01:39:10 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2022, 01:12:48 PM
This thread can cost me 100s of dollars or more.
LOL. Try thousands.
Yeah...I've got thousands in my Virpil gear alone.
Many hundreds in the others, including my X-56 that's gathering dust unused.
Quote from: SirAndrewD on October 23, 2022, 01:51:47 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 23, 2022, 01:39:10 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2022, 01:12:48 PM
This thread can cost me 100s of dollars or more.
LOL. Try thousands.
Yeah...I've got thousands in my Virpil gear alone.
Many hundreds in the others, including my X-56 that's gathering dust unused.
Heh. I bought the X-55 after dumping my G940 (man I miss force feedback sticks). Love the throttle, hate the stick. And I never could get the software to work for it....
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 23, 2022, 02:08:39 PM
Heh. I bought the X-55 after dumping my G940 (man I miss force feedback sticks). Love the throttle, hate the stick. And I never could get the software to work for it....
Yes, I hated the stick for the X-56. The throttle's great, I really really love its action, possibly more than my Virpil.
But yeah, the stick was just....not good. Uncomfortable, not precise.
My old X-52 Pro was a much better HOTAS.
Quote from: SirAndrewD on October 23, 2022, 02:18:57 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 23, 2022, 02:08:39 PM
Heh. I bought the X-55 after dumping my G940 (man I miss force feedback sticks). Love the throttle, hate the stick. And I never could get the software to work for it....
Yes, I hated the stick for the X-56. The throttle's great, I really really love its action, possibly more than my Virpil.
But yeah, the stick was just....not good. Uncomfortable, not precise.
My old X-52 Pro was a much better HOTAS.
Yeah. I was never a big fan of the X-55 Rhino, although I used it for many years. It never felt like the upgrade from my standard X-52 that I was expecting it to be. During the height of the pandemic when prices of everything were crazy, I actually found a NIB X-52 Pro at a Microcenter in Queens. It was regular retail price so I picked it up for the hell of it. I still have it never opened.
Winwing Topgun MIP arrived and assembled. I have not plugged it in yet or tested it out. I have a new rig coming soon that is going to replace the one in the photo, so I may holdoff so that I don't have to do setup twice in rapid succession. As is typical for Winwing, very high quality. Very smart design. Very good packaging.
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/315438984_10159714667927702_6920841506495227694_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=PdIDY171MzYAX9MRp0z&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=00_AfAfWRGE_zP06CnrNLWqsupLwZtzlYrW3H7BLEcyj5Mv1w&oe=6380F968)
Amazing amount of kit right there. I see you are using the trackIR hat reflectors rather than the headphone mounted reflectors. You use speakers rather than a headset a lot of the time? Or just prefer the hat because it has no cords.
Does the chair swivel or is it a pain to get in and out of being heavy and static? A mate of mine has purchased a brand of chair that he got a special addon kit for so he could BOLT his joystick and throttle on to. THe problem for me with his setup is that it is a swivel chair with permanent cords coming out of the HOTAS to the back of the PC. A solution would have been a battery powered bluetooth to bluetooth kit of some kind. However unless you want to use a rasberry pie or something they do not seem to exist.
I have to ask. Is that PC dedicated to DCS? Is there another rig for normal gaming?
I can see I am going to have to buy a stack of magazines to keep up. ;)
Quote from: Destraex on November 12, 2022, 07:53:02 PM
Amazing amount of kit right there. I see you are using the trackIR hat reflectors rather than the headphone mounted reflectors. You use speakers rather than a headset a lot of the time? Or just prefer the hat because it has no cords.
I don't use trackIR. Haven't touched it since I got my first VR headset.
Quote from: Destraex on November 12, 2022, 07:53:02 PM
Does the chair swivel or is it a pain to get in and out of being heavy and static? A mate of mine has purchased a brand of chair that he got a special addon kit for so he could BOLT his joystick and throttle on to. THe problem for me with his setup is that it is a swivel chair with permanent cords coming out of the HOTAS to the back of the PC. A solution would have been a battery powered bluetooth to bluetooth kit of some kind. However unless you want to use a rasberry pie or something they do not seem to exist.
No swivel. It is somewhat of a pain to get in and out of, but not too bad. I have it on a plastic mat and it slides reasonably well.
Quote from: Destraex on November 12, 2022, 07:53:02 PM
I have to ask. Is that PC dedicated to DCS? Is there another rig for normal gaming?
Yes and Yes. That rig is exclusively dedicated to flight. At any one time, I'm running about five PCs. I have the flight rig. Two rigs linked to a KVM switch. One is for mostly work and "older" games. The other is for high end gaming and room scale VR. Another rig I let my daughter play around on and finally, I have an older rig dedicated to 3D printing and other "workshop" type applications.
Very cool. Regarding the daughter thing. I know somebody who has two young daughters who change all his cabling and windows settings. He always gets a shock when he sits down and some peripheral he expected is not working lol. Letting these two into your computer room would require a watchful eye. lol. I hope your young ones are either in another room or very well behaved. :)
Well, tomorrow I upgrade to the RTX 4090 after a 2080 Super as my primary card for DCS.
I'll give some impressions.
Well, there's a saying size matters...
(https://i.ibb.co/T1JwxVj/4090.jpg)
Quote from: SirAndrewD on February 11, 2023, 12:06:23 AMWell, tomorrow I upgrade to the RTX 4090 after a 2080 Super as my primary card for DCS.
I'll give some impressions.
You should notice a significant improvement. The jump with my 4090 rig from the 3080ti and 6900xt systems is notable.
I just wish the 3090 didn't take up that many PCIe slots. I tend to re-use my old gaming GPUs in my server, and I can at most take a 2-slot design there.
And, now the MFD's installed with mounting solutions.
I'm going to grab a third MFD next month for the center mount after confirming that they will lock effectively to the Virpil center mount.
After that it's finally time to start considering a separate cockpit to fit all this into.
(https://i.ibb.co/RPWQZsC/maverick.jpg)
Couldn't help myself. I grabbed the third winwing MFD and am going to center mount it in my Virpil rig.
(https://i.ibb.co/Fn3yRc2/viper.jpg)