Aerofly FS2 and Valve Index

  • I hadn’t flown Aerofly for a while but now that I have my Valve Index, I thought I’d give it a shot again.

    For those that don’t know, Index can run at 80/90/120/144 frames per second. On 120 fps (just not powerful enough to do 144), and at the higher effective resolution of Index, it looks amazingly real. The Bücker and the Corsair are just really breathtaking. The other planes too, and I haven’t tried them all yet to see how they look in the Index, but with the added smoothness, resolution, slightly more fov, and the sound which is now basically surround sound, it’s pretty nuts. Above a couple of thousand feet it is easy to get lost in the experience. You have to try it to know what I’m talking about but it’s a big step up. Highly, highly, recommended!

    Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, MFG Crosswind pedals, 2 dof Motion, Valve Index

  • I hadn’t flown Aerofly for a while but now that I have my Valve Index, I thought I’d give it a shot again.

    For those that don’t know, Index can run at 80/90/120/144 frames per second. On 120 fps (just not powerful enough to do 144), and at the higher effective resolution of Index, it looks amazingly real. The Bücker and the Corsair are just really breathtaking. The other planes too, and I haven’t tried them all yet to see how they look in the Index, but with the added smoothness, resolution, slightly more fov, and the sound which is now basically surround sound, it’s pretty nuts. Above a couple of thousand feet it is easy to get lost in the experience. You have to try it to know what I’m talking about but it’s a big step up. Highly, highly, recommended!

    Great feedback Zed ! I was looking closely at the Index today. I'm very tempted by the HP Reverb, but I've been reading really good things about the Index and can't decide. Those speakers, the extra vertical FOV as well as horizontal FOV. the extra pixels from RGB stripe (even if it isn't 2k x 2k) , mura-free and just Valve's experience and ability to build a well put together package of a product.

    What puts me off... I have no Vive infrastructure so I'd need lighthouses and controllers. = ££££/$$$$$ If only they'd do an inside out option for people who are only doing seated sims.

    "surround sound" - interesting. Really? I find FS2 sound a bit poor in general.

  • How is the clarity compared with other headsets you have used?

    It’s excellent. Pretty much edge to edge is clear. The lensing rocks. One thing, though, is instead of fixed god rays, you can get very light ghosts that move across your field of view depending on the scene. But in flight sims in daylight, not even noticeable for me. But just about everything you see is clear and in focus. It’s a big improvement over Vive/Pro. And it makes a difference. You can just glance at things instead of having to turn your head. And the combination of RGB LCD makes screen door much reduced (can still see it if I look for it) and instead of needing two pixels to make a white pixel (green/blue plus a green/red), a single pixel can make white. That makes text on dials and gauges much more clear since it’s almost always white. Invasion stripes, clouds, and text now look so much better.


    Phil - on the plus side, if you are only doing seated, you only need a single base station and can just put it in front of you. As a bonus you also get seated/standing facing the general direction of the base station. Still, it’s $150, but you really only need one.

    There’s apparently an issue with being able to press-click the joystick on the controllers but you don’t have to get those right away.

    After trying it, I have to say Index is the hot setup for flying and driving. Anywhere you can have fast relative motions. The 60/120 Hz display rate is so much nicer than 45/90. It’s a 33% increase for me and it’s just so fluid. And sharp. There is another thing happening with the backlight - it’s flashing very fast. Much faster than OLEDs in Vive/Pro flash. And that really tightens up the display. You don’t get blurring in a frame due to head movement. It’s more like how you see things in real life.

    The face gasket seems more for those with narrow faces and wide-faced people are asking for a different gasket. There’s the Index controller joystick button thing. And black levels are more gray since it’s an LCD. Those who want to hunt zombies in near total darkness might not like Index.

    But for my uses it is hands down better than Vive Pro. My wife now gets that one for Audio Shield since that is quite dark. She might prefer Index, though, since there is so much movement.

    Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, MFG Crosswind pedals, 2 dof Motion, Valve Index

  • That sounds very tempting. Pity there is none in stock.

  • Does it maintain a truly smooth frame rate even in dense areas at 120 fps? I have a Vive Pro, and even with a 2080 TI and an 8700K at 4.7 I have to turn down the over sampling to 1.0 to maintain 90 fps.

    Oldar, have you considered trying motion smoothing? It sets everything to 45 fps but sends in a filler image and imitates 90 fps thus allowing you to turn a few settings up higher. I find it great for flight sims.

  • The Index does look interesting. Those controllers look pretty 'sizeable' coming from the Oculus world, but the rest of the specs seem great.

    HTC Vive Cosmos also has my interest, especially if they brought it in nearer to an Oculus Rift S price point (given that you don't need lighthouse sensors).

    It's pretty much what the Rift S should have been.

    I kind of feel that mounted sensors are on their way out at this point, so I'm loathed to have to buy them for the Index.

    I think I'll wait until the reviews come in for both before putting some cash down.

    Looking forward to second gen VR with Aerofly though.

    AeroScenery - Easily create photoreal scenery for Aerofly

  • I have been playing around with the Oculus S and Aerofly. There is really no need to upgrade to the S if you have the original Oculus. I also feel like the lack of base stations makes the S slightly less "stable", although only slightly.

    • Official Post

    I have been playing around with the Oculus S and Aerofly. There is really no need to upgrade to the S if you have the original Oculus. I also feel like the lack of base stations makes the S slightly less "stable", although only slightly.

    Have you tried the Rift S at night? It's 100x better than the original Rift. Much crisper visuals as well IMO.

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  • Have you tried the Rift S at night? It's 100x better than the original Rift. Much crisper visuals as well IMO.

    That makes sense based on the shift from OLED to LCD/RGB as one subpixel group makes a white pixel whereas the OLED needed to spread it across 2. All the HMDs seem to be going LCD/RGB now. It took a while for me to come round to the merits of LCD/RGB but I'm there now.

    I agree with nickhod that external sensors should become a thing of the past but I may have occasion to treat myself to an upgrade in a couple of months time and I think the Index will be the choice for simming. Single base station and 2nd hand Valve wands.

  • I hadn’t flown Aerofly for a while but now that I have my Valve Index, I thought I’d give it a shot again.

    For those that don’t know, Index can run at 80/90/120/144 frames per second. On 120 fps (just not powerful enough to do 144), and at the higher effective resolution of Index, it looks amazingly real. The Bücker and the Corsair are just really breathtaking. The other planes too, and I haven’t tried them all yet to see how they look in the Index, but with the added smoothness, resolution, slightly more fov, and the sound which is now basically surround sound, it’s pretty nuts. Above a couple of thousand feet it is easy to get lost in the experience. You have to try it to know what I’m talking about but it’s a big step up. Highly, highly, recommended!

    Hi Zed,

    Thanks for your report, like Spit40 I hesitate between the HP Reverb and the Valve Index.

    I currently have a CV1 and like to fly with CV1 touch controllers but have some difficulties to tune radio knob, or to tune the pitch compensator/trim with precision.

    So what about the Valve Index Knuckles ? Can you tune easily the double knobs of the radio for example ?

    Thanks in advance,

    JPX

  • Another reason to consider the Index - Half-Life: Alyx will make good use of the Knuckles controllers ...

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