Adjustments

Virtual Reality

When using Virtual Reality headsets such as Oculus Rift or HTC VIVE™, a much more immersive flight experience can be achieved compared to conventional flying in front of an ordinary monitor. By stereoscopic 3D rendering combined with low latency consideration of head orientation and head position, the models position and trajectory are perceived as intuitively as in reality.

Before you activate Virtual Reality mode for the first time, install your headset according to the manufacturer's instructions. It is imperative that all safety precautions of the manufacturer be observed.

The following dialog allows you to configure your Virtual Reality headset for use with REFLEX XTR˛ (see menu Simulation):

Check the Enable Virtual Reality mode option to start using your headset. As long as this option is enabled, you will be promted to put on the headset. All the menus and dialogs of the application remain functional as usual. However since they are not displayed on the headset, but only on the monitor you must remove the headset briefly for any operation such as changing model or scenery. You can enable and disable Virtual Reality mode at any time, e.g. also during the participation in a flight convertion.

The options of the Oculus Rift dialog have the following meaning:

API
REFLEX XTR˛ supports the Virtual Reality APIs Oculus and OpenVR. This allows you to use almost any Virtual Reality headset currently available or to be offered in the future. When the dialog is called, the API setting suitable for the installed headset will automatically be preselected.

Application windows display mode
The setting HMD display mirrored shows the left and right eye's image side by side:



The settings left eye and right eye show the unwarped image of the left or right eye respectively:

The setting no display does not show any animation in the application window, which can be advantageous on low-performance systems.

Multisample Antialiasing
Higher values result in better image quality with less grainy graphics.

Mip Levels
Higher values prevent flickering which can be observed on high contrast edges, but also reduce general image sharpness.

Pixels per display pixel
Higher values result in a sharper, more detailed image, but also require more system ressources, which in turn can lead to blurry and jerky presentation.

World scale
If you feel the size of the virtual world perceived through the headset to be out of scale, you can use this parameter for proper adjustment. Increase the value to enlarge, and decrease the value to shrink the world.

Try different settings in order to find a suitable compromise between image quality and smooth presentation. Click on Restore default settings, to retrieve the recommended setup.

If you like to enable Oculus Rift's headphones as well, proceed as follows:

  1. Right click on the speaker icon in the bottom right of the windows taskbar.
  2. Choose playback devices.
  3. Remember the currently selected device in order to reactivate it after Oculus Rift usage.
  4. Select the playback device Headphone 2-Rift Audio.
  5. Click on As default.
  6. Click OK.


For a good virtual reality experience constant frame rate and low latency are extremely important. For this reason, when using the Oculus API, a diagnostic tool is available, whose various pages you can be displayed by pressing <Strg><F1>:

The App Motion-to-Photon Latency should be under 25 ms, the App Frame rate should be at 90.0 Hz constantly.

Press <Strg><F1> repeatedly to hide the diagnostic screen.

 

Warning: The use of virtual reality systems may cause health related complications such as nausea, headache, dizziness, disorientation, altered awareness or involuntary movements. If you experience any of these problems immediately stop using the simulator and consult a doctor.