@@Ready.A-10CI suppose it depends on how you set it up. Some people have 1-1 simpits of their aircraft some people have a bit of a hybrid. All depends on what your end goal is. But there’s nothing like completely getting rid of the keyboard and mouse during a flight. I’d also recommend checking out voice attack if you haven’t.
@@MeplusYellow Yeah I am using Voice Attack, but stopped using the voice recognition side of it. I use it to run shortcuts on my HOTAS to trigger actions and scripts. I use the keyboard numpad for my CDU and mouse for the F10 menu. My next step probably will be a motion rig, don't think I will go the full cockpit route. If you have videos on your setup I am very interested in watching that.
@@Ready.A-10Cmost people who build pits are pretty dedicated to the aircraft they built the pit for.. You never see The Warthog Project flying anything but the A-10C.
The first option is really smart. Can you (haven't tried yet) to bind another button as a modifier for a hat switch as a mouse. i.e. the hat switch controls your trim. But if you depress another button (the modifier) the hat switch then controls the mouse.
*Slowly,* I am finding these solutions to nagging issues. Thank you for this. I had not considered turning off the mouse and using the _look_ to-point. I also have the additional controller and will immediately be setting it up for this. *Thanks again!*
I had no idea that you could do this. I bought DCS but I have been putting off installing it, because I come from Il-2 Sturmovik and I thought I would have to bind all of my controls to the HOTAS, but that would be very time consuming, as much as I really want to play DCS. These options are so much better and make jumping into a full fidelity aircraft much less daunting. Thank you!
As one of your readers already comment on: if you want to reach behind you on the left console, first look right and lean slightly forward, then hit recenter VR view from your mapped hot key. Then look straight ahead as normal and sit back in chair as normal. Your view will be of the left console and slightly pulled away from you which makes everything easy to reach. When done using left console, simple look forward and hit recenter VR view and now the cockpit is back to normal.
What is really missing in DCS is the pointer bound to the cockpit. The way it is right now, it moves the pointer according to your head + the mouse (if mouse is enabled). On MSFS for example, the pointer is bound to the cockpit, so you can move your head (within a limit, of course) and the pointer will stay over the same button, knob, anything. This for me is the best way to go.
I use a variation of your method 1, but I map the additional little joystick to mouse movement in an external program Joystick Gremlin. This way, I can move the cursor with my head most of the time, but also control it with my thumb with hand on the stick, like if I had to twist my head too much. I never found the need for this little joystick in any aircraft, so it's not a great loss.
This is the best reply. Slugmouse is a week time from purchase to using, pointcontrol close to 18+ month wait. Point control lite looks promising and will be shipped after payment too. HTCC software otherwise is free and works very very well with practice, not need for Virtual Desktop.
Is PointCTRL shipping now? I put my name on the list maybe 2 years ago now, and I don't know if any batches have been made -> shipped since. That's a dead product if no one can get it and shouldn't be discussed.
I have a micro trackball attached near right throttle finger lift and another one next to flap lever (TM Warthog mod). Both include left a right mouse buttons and switch for wheel operation.
There is actually a 5th method that should solve the hand tracking issues. You can get a finger mouse (small blueooth mouse that attaches to your finger) so you will use hand tracking to point the laser pointer, but for actually left/right clicking you can use the mouse buttons on you finger. Just cover the LED sensor with a duct tape or someting as these mouses are meant to be used by driving your index finger on a mouse pad, but that is obviously what we are not doing here, so you just use some electric black tape to cover that sensor.
I will explore the advanced methods that require special hardware/paid software in a bit. What you suggested, what you suggested with point CTRL and a mention to voice attack. I just need to figure everything out properly
I use a genius ring mouse on my left hand throttle index finger - can gently move the mouse anywhere, click left button, right click button, all without moving my hands off the throttle, and with all throttle controls remaining easily accessible. You can't get them in the west, but they are available on Aliexpress, and was delivered to the UK in around 10 days. They are brilliant, and until I can afford a full cockpit build with a pimax passthrough setup, works a dream. Give it a try.
@@Hatredy11 Tried several times to reply, but it keeps getting deleted - must think it is spam. Just google what I described above, you should be able to find it.
Great video! Very helpful and very much needed instructions on how to use VR UI and panel controls intelligently. Thank you for that! I've tried them all, including developing a Bluetooth "mouse glove" and also hanging the hand controllers from a lanyard around the neck which does help, but I found the first method you describe as the most efficient. If you use the great VR utility "Necksafer", you can tweak that to gain that extra neck turn to get those hard to reach controls. Unfortunately some buttons cannot be reached and a dedicated controller button is still needed. The video link really should be posted on the DCS forums. Just a comment, I found the video ended very abruptly. Maybe a "thanks for watching, I hope this helps" or something along those lines so the end is not so jarring. Anyways, thanks again for a very informative video!
A method to help with getting your mouse pointer to appear again is to use Voice Attack. They have a pretty powerful controller interface where you can set up a button on your hotas to set the cursor to a particular point on your screen every time. I set the X and Y coordinates to be entered horizontally and a little bit further down than center vertically and then you have no more lost cursor - the button press will both “wake” and “center” the mouse pointer in one shot. I also use a trackpad for my left hand as well so there is no losing that either.
To help with out of reach cockpit panels, bind the "Toggle VR Zoom" in the UI Layer menu. During flight, look at a panel and click to zoom into it. Click again to zoom out.
awesome idea to replace the mouse with the hat of the stick - I have the same WinWing stick but I didn´t know how to keybind this....I will try this method out! Thanks for sharing!👍👍👍
I move the mouse with my head and use a finger mouse on my left hand for the buttons and scroll wheel. I use voice command to put the mouse cursor below center when I key the mic on my hotas.
that is actually very smart, I wanted to dive into voice attack and nested profiles for DCS but my explanation skills were already stretched thin for this video, maybe soon! which finger mouse are you using?
I use a combination of methods 1 and 2. I have a finger mouse strapped the joystick and use JoyToKey to map buttons to centre the mouse and to offset left and right so that I can reach controls at the back of the cockpit. You can also use JoyToKey to offset the cursor higher or lower in the cockpit.
Method 1 is my favorite as well. For method 2, I wrote an autohotkey script that moved the mouse 1 pixel and back every 2 seconds to keep it visible. It also let me move the mouse position with the arrow keys for hard to reach places.
The only disadvantages of VR for me are having a lower resolution (I am still on an older Meta 2) and even with a Meta 2 you need to turn down graphic settings for smooth gaming. Playing in 2D with my 4070ti I can turn every option up. Great video! Thanks
Thanks for the video which points one of the headache when you fly vr. I also fly only vr and have a very detailed cockpit with tons of buttons, however still using the cursor to interact with the cockpit. For me the best effective way is a trackball mouse. I don’t even think that I would trade trackball mouse over hand tracking when becomes available.
@@CuneytSeckin-e7l the great thing about VR is that one can just have a lonely flight chair like mine and forget about the cockpit thing. Not that my setup is “entry level” but we’re talking half the price of a decent cockpit
In Voice Attack you can set a command to center mouse or much more options to set the mouse to a certain point when you say a command or press a button..i center the mouse and VR headset with one button..plus kneeboard and XR Necksafer..1 Button and everything recenters
Great video, well done. I agree that fixed mouse is the clear winner for the time being. Do you know if there is a way to lower the position in the view as the middle is not the best place as most buttons are lower so I think bottom 1/3 would be better.
The 2 methods I know require to have the mouse enabled: a) Manually place the cursor in the lower part of the screen then never touch the mouse again. b) Use Voice Attack and define "Move Mouse Cursor to Screen Coordinates (1920,1250)" command (twice with a 0.1 interval in between) If the cursor disappears just click it will come back visible.
I use a combination of trackball and voice control through Voice Attack. Voice control works great, except it takes some time to make the bindings. I only fly WWII. It might be a lot to remember for the jets, idk. For example, the BF109 has a tail wheel lock that’s critical to ground operations and needs to come on and off about 20 times taxiing from parking to the runway. It’s not used at all in flight, so I don’t want to dedicate a HOTAS button to it. The handle is basically impossible to see and crazy hard to reach with the mouse cursor. I say “tail wheel” and it toggles back and forth every time I say it. You can also use it to set up macros. For example, the multiplayer server I use has a comms menu to use radar to tell you the general location of enemy planes. It’s 4 different key presses to get the information to pop up. I just say “Bandits” and voice attack does those 4 key presses and the information pops up. I understand this is all different from actually using the actual buttons and switches in the virtual cockpit, which is what this video is talking about. Im just saying what works for me and maybe people haven’t thought of.
Thanks for this video! I personally like to have physical buttons for everything and very rarely use a mouse to "click" on stuff but my setup is very F/18 specific. At time mark @1:32, how do you get to that menu? Only time I am breaking immersion is when using the coms menu. Thanks!
I find it's best to bind certain buttons because in a pinch muscle memory is a factor. For example, dropping tanks in a dogfight isn't ideal if you have to look at the button. That said, most of the mundane buttons during start-up makes sense.
@@gelbevierzehn pretty specific hardware not that easy to get my hands on at the moment, still have to decide the next step but i’m more prone to go for the slugmouse+HTTC
Be nice if you could bind a button to swap between fixed mouse and normal 'free' mouse. Then you could use fixed for most thing, but swap to 'free' for those hard to reach panels.
I play in VR with the quest 3 and in the F14 I put the utility light on my hand controller, it's quite cool. The only problem I have with the controller is that usually I out it on my leg and sometimes it falls
I am curious to know what your setup is in regards to the center mounted stick? I need ideas as to how to mount my joystick center...! And these chairs with the center mount integrated are soo damn expansive...
@@KevinS47 I have a Next level racing seat, 3D printed a custom center stick adapter so I can fit the stick with an extension so to have the same leverage as a future FFB stick
Use the fixed mouse aswell. Just wish we could change the dot (color and size). I feel currently it’s too visible. Also like the vr hands but we need 3 more axis to set up each hand separately. Now we have 3 axis for both. This would allow me to setup my virtual hands to match my real cockpit.
i use a Logitech MX Ergo Trackball. Not optmal because you has to find the Mousecursor first but the Trackball is in the same Position every Time and easy to find with the VR Set on. My Dreamset would be full Handcontrol.
You missed the best option which is Point Ctrl. With that you have two devices strapped to your index fingers with three buttons and an IR sensor. The movements of the FCUs (Finger control units) are tracked by an IR sensor that you attach to the top of your VR headset. When you move your hands you control the mouse pointer and can click on all buttons in the cockpit easily.
I'm trying to get my hands on the slug mouse for pointCtrl, but that's been lost in shipping, still haven't received it. They also cost a pretty penny on top of everything else that you need to own already. That's the problem with small artisan products and that's why they've been left out from this video.
@ yea, it sure took a loooong time to get it. I think I was on the waiting list for little over a year before I got mine. But it is so good. I can’t fly DCS without it
I use the VR controller option. Find it fairly easy. Looking forward to the day hand tracking will work in cockpit. I set the controller on my lap and it usually stays put. One problem I have had is I accidentally have pulled the ejection handle in the F18, lol. It's happened more than once.😂
@@duguluse2089 I also use controllers, made resting points for them on the side of my chair, I also have “require palm grip to interact” so they don’t do stuff by themselves
I believe, to change the default cockpit view press R ALT+Numpad0. How Can I change the aircraft in the Hanger? You had a Tomcat, I have a SU-57 in mine.
You missed an even more important method of controlling the cockpit while flying. That is a trackball. There are track balls with built-in scroll wheels. With these devices, you position it on your weak-side. With these devices, you never have to let go of the stick.
So if you're using handtracking mouse control isn't available at all? Would be nice if both were active at the same time, use handtracking for some operations and for things that are a bit more "fiddly" use the mouse.
with handtracking you can use the mouse if and only if you have your "trackers" set to click or click and touch + enable when palm grip is obtained. I think hand tracking is the worst at the moment. I'm compiling a second video where i'll be using some custom hardware or software hacks
I have a Cristal light. My son has a quest 3. He's still running a RX6700XT, so we were wondering what's the difference is between the Cristal light and the quest 3 on the same pc. After a few weeks of testing and swapping headsets, we both agree that the Cristal is better on my PC with a 4090, R7 7950x, and 64 gigs of DDR5 But the difference is very minor as long as you're using a quality data link cable. When done wireless, there is a very noticeable reduction in image quality with the quest 3. On his PC, ( R7 5800x, RX6700XT, 64 gigs DDR4 not a weak system) the Quest 3 blew the Cristal light away. The Cristal was eating up all 12 gigs of Vram the 6700 had. Even though pimax says this headset will work well on that card, it won't.
I dont get those Hands to appear. I have set all the same settings as you did, no joy. What prevents DCS VR the hands to show up? An explanation would be highly apreciated as I really dont get an answer on this, no matter where I ask for it.
@@MemphisBelle291 did you restarted DCS every time? 1 hand tracking on the quest 3 should work. 2 hand tracking on the desktop in Virtual Desktop should work 3 with some finesse now hand tracking should work on DCS
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 hey there and thx, for the response. Yes, I did restart DCS. I have an interaction with my hands in DCS using VD on a quest 3 with all settings applied as you or laubox (the Dutch UA-camr) suggested. But I dont get to see them. They are there but they dont appear visually...if that makes sense
could you help me, i am a wounded vet uk army. My spine got badly damaged i now am a wheel chair user not bound. In Vr i find it hard to turn my head and look to my sides, in normal i would roll the zoom back then turn my head. things like the harrier, f16 give me a lot of pain to cold start
@@hobgoblingaming9128 there is a VR neck saver tool! check it out and tell me if you like it! “XRNeckSafer” it’s made specifically for cases like yours!
Yes. You combine HTCC to perform hand to mouse movement and use Slugmouse worn on each index finger to perform the mouse button clicks. Search for Slugmouse in the VR section of th DCS forum for more information and demonstration videos.
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 you can if you turn off hands and use a Slugmouse instead. There is no risk of accidentally throwing switches with the Slugmouse and it's far more reliable than DCS's fumbling fingers.
You must be using a older version of DCS. in June the latest versions Break the VR hand tracking. This also includes controllers. sometimes you can get it to work, but if you go to VR settings they disappear. Right now there are lots of post of the Forum that these feature is broke. untill DCs fixes this playing it you will have to settle for the mouse. people with PC DCS can revert back to a older version of DCS, however if you have STEAM like me ytou are hosed as you can not revert...so you are left with waiting on DCS
Actually, it is beatable. The Slugmouse is cheaper, has a longer battery life (days, not hours), has five buttons built into the hat switch on each hand compared to three, is completely wireless. And.. the best part is it ships in a week whereas pointctrl still has a two-year waiting list and seems to be getting longer.
There is another option. Hand tracking to move the mouse using HTCC and Slugmouse worn on each index finger to perform mouse button clicks. HTCC gives you a mouse cursor cross in the same way a normal mouse does. So no fumbling for controllers, no fumbling for a mouse, just point your hand over a control in the cockpit and click with the Slugmouse. More information on this in the VR section of the DCS forum.
@@slughead817 im pretty interested on what you told me, Slugmouse is in this continent too… Have you tried it without HTTC? meaning having the DCS native tracked hands
Hand tracking is still bad for turning knobs. Even flipping toggles work only half the time. When you say VR is better than full cockpit you assume people with full cockpit use big projector screen only. I have full cockpit, but I do MR only, no projector screen. With MR I can see my cockpit and my hands to operate switches, and also see the virtual DCS around me.
There's no problem if you use a Slugmouse. DCS's native hand tracking is very poor. Turn off the gloves and use hand to mouse pointer and Slugmouse to perform the mouse clicks. Simple, accurate, reliable.
Thanks due to surprising interest in the argument, my next step surely will be to try out the SlugMouse!
I have both a full cockpit and have VR with passthrough - that’s really the goat option.
Yes it must be great! But are you not limited to the aircraft's cockpit? Switching from a jet to an Apache must not be that easy I guess
@@Ready.A-10CI suppose it depends on how you set it up. Some people have 1-1 simpits of their aircraft some people have a bit of a hybrid. All depends on what your end goal is. But there’s nothing like completely getting rid of the keyboard and mouse during a flight. I’d also recommend checking out voice attack if you haven’t.
@@MeplusYellow Yeah I am using Voice Attack, but stopped using the voice recognition side of it. I use it to run shortcuts on my HOTAS to trigger actions and scripts. I use the keyboard numpad for my CDU and mouse for the F10 menu. My next step probably will be a motion rig, don't think I will go the full cockpit route. If you have videos on your setup I am very interested in watching that.
@@Ready.A-10Cmost people who build pits are pretty dedicated to the aircraft they built the pit for.. You never see The Warthog Project flying anything but the A-10C.
The first option is really smart. Can you (haven't tried yet) to bind another button as a modifier for a hat switch as a mouse. i.e. the hat switch controls your trim. But if you depress another button (the modifier) the hat switch then controls the mouse.
*Slowly,* I am finding these solutions to nagging issues. Thank you for this. I had not considered turning off the mouse and using the _look_ to-point. I also have the additional controller and will immediately be setting it up for this.
*Thanks again!*
I had no idea that you could do this. I bought DCS but I have been putting off installing it, because I come from Il-2 Sturmovik and I thought I would have to bind all of my controls to the HOTAS, but that would be very time consuming, as much as I really want to play DCS. These options are so much better and make jumping into a full fidelity aircraft much less daunting. Thank you!
As one of your readers already comment on: if you want to reach behind you on the left console, first look right and lean slightly forward, then hit recenter VR view from your mapped hot key. Then look straight ahead as normal and sit back in chair as normal. Your view will be of the left console and slightly pulled away from you which makes everything easy to reach. When done using left console, simple look forward and hit recenter VR view and now the cockpit is back to normal.
What is really missing in DCS is the pointer bound to the cockpit. The way it is right now, it moves the pointer according to your head + the mouse (if mouse is enabled). On MSFS for example, the pointer is bound to the cockpit, so you can move your head (within a limit, of course) and the pointer will stay over the same button, knob, anything. This for me is the best way to go.
THIS is the main problem in all VR and headtracking cockpit interaction in DCS !
Thank you very much, this has been the most helpful vr video i have seen.
I use a variation of your method 1, but I map the additional little joystick to mouse movement in an external program Joystick Gremlin. This way, I can move the cursor with my head most of the time, but also control it with my thumb with hand on the stick, like if I had to twist my head too much. I never found the need for this little joystick in any aircraft, so it's not a great loss.
Slugmouse and PointCTRL are the best ways to interact with DCS in VR at the moment.
This is the best reply. Slugmouse is a week time from purchase to using, pointcontrol close to 18+ month wait. Point control lite looks promising and will be shipped after payment too.
HTCC software otherwise is free and works very very well with practice, not need for Virtual Desktop.
Is PointCTRL shipping now? I put my name on the list maybe 2 years ago now, and I don't know if any batches have been made -> shipped since. That's a dead product if no one can get it and shouldn't be discussed.
Same here @@EbonySeraphim
@@EbonySeraphim Slugmouse ships in under a week.
The setup is crazy. The best one i have seen
Thank u so much ! been looking for a video like this to decide certain things about this game...
I have a micro trackball attached near right throttle finger lift and another one next to flap lever (TM Warthog mod). Both include left a right mouse buttons and switch for wheel operation.
there's also that ring with a joystick solution which seems to be a nice balance
We need eye tracking + mouse buttons mapped to hotas. Then you sipmly look at the button you want to interact with and click with the hotas.
There is actually a 5th method that should solve the hand tracking issues. You can get a finger mouse (small blueooth mouse that attaches to your finger) so you will use hand tracking to point the laser pointer, but for actually left/right clicking you can use the mouse buttons on you finger. Just cover the LED sensor with a duct tape or someting as these mouses are meant to be used by driving your index finger on a mouse pad, but that is obviously what we are not doing here, so you just use some electric black tape to cover that sensor.
I will explore the advanced methods that require special hardware/paid software in a bit.
What you suggested, what you suggested with point CTRL and a mention to voice attack. I just need to figure everything out properly
I use a genius ring mouse on my left hand throttle index finger - can gently move the mouse anywhere, click left button, right click button, all without moving my hands off the throttle, and with all throttle controls remaining easily accessible. You can't get them in the west, but they are available on Aliexpress, and was delivered to the UK in around 10 days. They are brilliant, and until I can afford a full cockpit build with a pimax passthrough setup, works a dream. Give it a try.
Can you give a link to the one you use?
@@Hatredy11 Tried several times to reply, but it keeps getting deleted - must think it is spam. Just google what I described above, you should be able to find it.
@Hatredy - won't let me post a link. Google what I said and you should find it.
Great video! Very helpful and very much needed instructions on how to use VR UI and panel controls intelligently. Thank you for that! I've tried them all, including developing a Bluetooth "mouse glove" and also hanging the hand controllers from a lanyard around the neck which does help, but I found the first method you describe as the most efficient. If you use the great VR utility "Necksafer", you can tweak that to gain that extra neck turn to get those hard to reach controls. Unfortunately some buttons cannot be reached and a dedicated controller button is still needed.
The video link really should be posted on the DCS forums.
Just a comment, I found the video ended very abruptly. Maybe a "thanks for watching, I hope this helps" or something along those lines so the end is not so jarring. Anyways, thanks again for a very informative video!
Thanks :)
Necksafer goes against my VR-beliefs tho
I really enjoyed this info. I didn’t know a lot of what you covered. Thanks. On new sub as well.
Good video. Imho more logical would be horizontal axis as the "mouse buttons" and vertical axis for the "wheel"
A method to help with getting your mouse pointer to appear again is to use Voice Attack. They have a pretty powerful controller interface where you can set up a button on your hotas to set the cursor to a particular point on your screen every time. I set the X and Y coordinates to be entered horizontally and a little bit further down than center vertically and then you have no more lost cursor - the button press will both “wake” and “center” the mouse pointer in one shot. I also use a trackpad for my left hand as well so there is no losing that either.
To help with out of reach cockpit panels, bind the "Toggle VR Zoom" in the UI Layer menu. During flight, look at a panel and click to zoom into it. Click again to zoom out.
awesome idea to replace the mouse with the hat of the stick - I have the same WinWing stick but I didn´t know how to keybind this....I will try this method out! Thanks for sharing!👍👍👍
I move the mouse with my head and use a finger mouse on my left hand for the buttons and scroll wheel. I use voice command to put the mouse cursor below center when I key the mic on my hotas.
that is actually very smart, I wanted to dive into voice attack and nested profiles for DCS but my explanation skills were already stretched thin for this video, maybe soon!
which finger mouse are you using?
Brilliant! Can you please explain how you use the voice attack to center the mouse?
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 BESTDO Finger Rings Optical Mouse"
@@vikingo3001 search ed forums for "Please make VR head cursor point position adjustable (or a little lower than current position)"
I use a combination of methods 1 and 2. I have a finger mouse strapped the joystick and use JoyToKey to map buttons to centre the mouse and to offset left and right so that I can reach controls at the back of the cockpit. You can also use JoyToKey to offset the cursor higher or lower in the cockpit.
Is this possible with the pimax handtracking?
That fixed mouse is actually something i might use.
Method 1 is my favorite as well. For method 2, I wrote an autohotkey script that moved the mouse 1 pixel and back every 2 seconds to keep it visible. It also let me move the mouse position with the arrow keys for hard to reach places.
The only disadvantages of VR for me are having a lower resolution (I am still on an older Meta 2) and even with a Meta 2 you need to turn down graphic settings for smooth gaming. Playing in 2D with my 4070ti I can turn every option up. Great video! Thanks
Thanks for the video which points one of the headache when you fly vr. I also fly only vr and have a very detailed cockpit with tons of buttons, however still using the cursor to interact with the cockpit. For me the best effective way is a trackball mouse. I don’t even think that I would trade trackball mouse over hand tracking when becomes available.
@@CuneytSeckin-e7l the great thing about VR is that one can just have a lonely flight chair like
mine and forget about the cockpit thing. Not that my setup is “entry level” but we’re talking half the price of a decent cockpit
Seems like the ultimate setup would be a IRL simpit with working buttons and then using mixed reality for everything outside the canopy.
In Voice Attack you can set a command to center mouse or much more options to set the mouse to a certain point when you say a command or press a button..i center the mouse and VR headset with one button..plus kneeboard and XR Necksafer..1 Button and everything recenters
Great video, well done. I agree that fixed mouse is the clear winner for the time being. Do you know if there is a way to lower the position in the view as the middle is not the best place as most buttons are lower so I think bottom 1/3 would be better.
The 2 methods I know require to have the mouse enabled:
a) Manually place the cursor in the lower part of the screen then never touch the mouse again.
b) Use Voice Attack and define "Move Mouse Cursor to Screen Coordinates (1920,1250)" command (twice with a 0.1 interval in between)
If the cursor disappears just click it will come back visible.
I use a combination of trackball and voice control through Voice Attack. Voice control works great, except it takes some time to make the bindings. I only fly WWII. It might be a lot to remember for the jets, idk. For example, the BF109 has a tail wheel lock that’s critical to ground operations and needs to come on and off about 20 times taxiing from parking to the runway. It’s not used at all in flight, so I don’t want to dedicate a HOTAS button to it. The handle is basically impossible to see and crazy hard to reach with the mouse cursor. I say “tail wheel” and it toggles back and forth every time I say it. You can also use it to set up macros. For example, the multiplayer server I use has a comms menu to use radar to tell you the general location of enemy planes. It’s 4 different key presses to get the information to pop up. I just say “Bandits” and voice attack does those 4 key presses and the information pops up. I understand this is all different from actually using the actual buttons and switches in the virtual cockpit, which is what this video is talking about. Im just saying what works for me and maybe people haven’t thought of.
Thanks for this video! I personally like to have physical buttons for everything and very rarely use a mouse to "click" on stuff but my setup is very F/18 specific. At time mark @1:32, how do you get to that menu? Only time I am breaking immersion is when using the coms menu. Thanks!
@@rontalley that’s the built-in jester menu in the F-4, it’s to communicate with the back seater AI. I use the ICS comms switch
Really helpful video, cheers dude. :)
Correction, you dont need virtual desktop to use handtacking, it works just fine over link.
I find it's best to bind certain buttons because in a pinch muscle memory is a factor. For example, dropping tanks in a dogfight isn't ideal if you have to look at the button. That said, most of the mundane buttons during start-up makes sense.
@4:58 just look up and right and reset your VR view. Then you'll naturally be looking down and to the left.
Solid overview - I've found mouse control to be best but it still has a few quirks, and although accurate its not the fastest
Wow thank you for the video!!
You missed PointCTRL, which is actually the best way to interact within DCS. Even the Airforce is using it in their training...
@@gelbevierzehn pretty specific hardware not that easy to get my hands on at the moment, still have to decide the next step but i’m more prone to go for the slugmouse+HTTC
Yes I was just about to post the same thing about PointCtrl. It would be nice to have seen that, but it is hard to get your hands on.
@@gelbevierzehn Two year wait still for pointctrl. Slugmouse ships in under a week.
Be nice if you could bind a button to swap between fixed mouse and normal 'free' mouse. Then you could use fixed for most thing, but swap to 'free' for those hard to reach panels.
I play in VR with the quest 3 and in the F14 I put the utility light on my hand controller, it's quite cool. The only problem I have with the controller is that usually I out it on my leg and sometimes it falls
I am curious to know what your setup is in regards to the center mounted stick? I need ideas as to how to mount my joystick center...! And these chairs with the center mount integrated are soo damn expansive...
@@KevinS47 I have a Next level racing seat, 3D printed a custom center stick adapter so I can fit the stick with an extension so to have the same leverage as a future FFB stick
i can answer to your question @4:55 i use a button to reset center view, you can look left, recenter, then you can look further left..
Use the fixed mouse aswell. Just wish we could change the dot (color and size). I feel currently it’s too visible.
Also like the vr hands but we need 3 more axis to set up each hand separately. Now we have 3 axis for both. This would allow me to setup my virtual hands to match my real cockpit.
i use a Logitech MX Ergo Trackball. Not optmal because you has to find the Mousecursor first but the Trackball is in the same Position every Time and easy to find with the VR Set on. My Dreamset would be full Handcontrol.
You missed the best option which is Point Ctrl. With that you have two devices strapped to your index fingers with three buttons and an IR sensor. The movements of the FCUs (Finger control units) are tracked by an IR sensor that you attach to the top of your VR headset. When you move your hands you control the mouse pointer and can click on all buttons in the cockpit easily.
I'm trying to get my hands on the slug mouse for pointCtrl, but that's been lost in shipping, still haven't received it. They also cost a pretty penny on top of everything else that you need to own already.
That's the problem with small artisan products and that's why they've been left out from this video.
@ yea, it sure took a loooong time to get it. I think I was on the waiting list for little over a year before I got mine. But it is so good. I can’t fly DCS without it
@ I will be doing a second video once I have everything and also putting VoiceAttack in there
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 voice attack (with VICOM PRO) and Point Ctrl works really well together
I thought they were making interactable cockpits like VTOL vr, heart dropped but nope 😢
OK, "...virtual deKStop..." made my day 🙂
You left out a surprisingly simple option: use keybindings and remember your keyboard or put keycaps with easy to feel indicators on them.
I use the VR controller option. Find it fairly easy. Looking forward to the day hand tracking will work in cockpit.
I set the controller on my lap and it usually stays put. One problem I have had is I accidentally have pulled the ejection handle in the F18, lol. It's happened more than once.😂
@@duguluse2089 I also use controllers, made resting points for them on the side of my chair, I also have “require palm grip to interact” so they don’t do stuff by themselves
I believe, to change the default cockpit view press R ALT+Numpad0. How Can I change the aircraft in the Hanger? You had a Tomcat, I have a SU-57 in mine.
\Scripts\DemoScenes\sceneVR.lua
You can use the recenter in VR button this allows you to look behind your shoulder 360 by just centering opposite and turning your head
LOL You eat them !! That was great thanks!!
The fastest, most efficient way to interact with & click the cockpit controls is surely the trusty left mouse click?
You missed an even more important method of controlling the cockpit while flying. That is a trackball. There are track balls with built-in scroll wheels. With these devices, you position it on your weak-side. With these devices, you never have to let go of the stick.
@@gregpruitt1647 oh yes its in “mouse” i have a trackball as the mouse often fell to the ground.
So if you're using handtracking mouse control isn't available at all? Would be nice if both were active at the same time, use handtracking for some operations and for things that are a bit more "fiddly" use the mouse.
with handtracking you can use the mouse if and only if you have your "trackers" set to click or click and touch + enable when palm grip is obtained.
I think hand tracking is the worst at the moment.
I'm compiling a second video where i'll be using some custom hardware or software hacks
Sometimes you have to wait to get your hands on the best... 😏
Can you Share your layout for controller? I use only the ursa minor, complete new in game
The biggest issue for method 1 for me is I find it very hard to hold my head perfectly steady on a button and manipulate it
I have a Cristal light. My son has a quest 3. He's still running a RX6700XT, so we were wondering what's the difference is between the Cristal light and the quest 3 on the same pc.
After a few weeks of testing and swapping headsets, we both agree that the Cristal is better on my PC with a 4090, R7 7950x, and 64 gigs of DDR5 But the difference is very minor as long as you're using a quality data link cable. When done wireless, there is a very noticeable reduction in image quality with the quest 3.
On his PC, ( R7 5800x, RX6700XT, 64 gigs DDR4 not a weak system) the Quest 3 blew the Cristal light away. The Cristal was eating up all 12 gigs of Vram the 6700 had. Even though pimax says this headset will work well on that card, it won't.
I've heared that pimax has some drivers to iron out... sad because i would love to get one of their new headsets!
I dont get those Hands to appear. I have set all the same settings as you did, no joy. What prevents DCS VR the hands to show up? An explanation would be highly apreciated as I really dont get an answer on this, no matter where I ask for it.
@@MemphisBelle291 did you restarted DCS every time?
@@MemphisBelle291 did you restarted DCS every time?
1 hand tracking on the quest 3 should work.
2 hand tracking on the desktop in Virtual Desktop should work
3 with some finesse now hand tracking should work on DCS
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 hey there and thx, for the response. Yes, I did restart DCS. I have an interaction with my hands in DCS using VD on a quest 3 with all settings applied as you or laubox (the Dutch UA-camr) suggested. But I dont get to see them. They are there but they dont appear visually...if that makes sense
@ that sounds like a dcs issue, i’m afraid you might have to try a complete file check and maybe settings delete
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 oh bummer, OK. Will give it a try. Thx
what about the connection between pc and vr. by Bluetooth or cables?
dedicated 30$ access point, with the quest there is no point in using the cable. Oculus software is always broken
could you help me, i am a wounded vet uk army. My spine got badly damaged i now am a wheel chair user not bound. In Vr i find it hard to turn my head and look to my sides, in normal i would roll the zoom back then turn my head. things like the harrier, f16 give me a lot of pain to cold start
@@hobgoblingaming9128 there is a VR neck saver tool! check it out and tell me if you like it! “XRNeckSafer”
it’s made specifically for cases like yours!
Awesome video.
Is there a way to have hand tracking and mouse control?
@@Bazbzon you have mouse control with hand tracking, but as you reach for the mouse you will be clicking stuff all around you unfortunately
Yes. You combine HTCC to perform hand to mouse movement and use Slugmouse worn on each index finger to perform the mouse button clicks. Search for Slugmouse in the VR section of th DCS forum for more information and demonstration videos.
Yes.
Slugmouse
Yes, just use keybinds on your other hand for mouse presses. Works well for me.
@@alpenfoxvideo7255 you can if you turn off hands and use a Slugmouse instead. There is no risk of accidentally throwing switches with the Slugmouse and it's far more reliable than DCS's fumbling fingers.
can i do that with track ir?
Maybe one day when I have a $3,000 PC...
Trackpad is another good method.
I also use slugmouse
You must be using a older version of DCS. in June the latest versions Break the VR hand tracking. This also includes controllers. sometimes you can get it to work, but if you go to VR settings they disappear. Right now there are lots of post of the Forum that these feature is broke. untill DCs fixes this playing it you will have to settle for the mouse.
people with PC DCS can revert back to a older version of DCS, however if you have STEAM like me ytou are hosed as you can not revert...so you are left with waiting on DCS
@@keepsyouincontrol use Virtual Desktop man, stop using Oculus’s software
Though it can take a while to get through the wait list, you left out what I have found to be THE best and most accurate option, PointCTRL.
couldn't get my hands on one :C
@@roguesqdn and now there is Slugmouse. Ships in less than a week and only £100.
nice
For VR, PointCTRL is absolutely unbeatable. Why isn’t that mentioned in this vid?
I am making a video solely relying on specific hardware and software.
Actually, it is beatable. The Slugmouse is cheaper, has a longer battery life (days, not hours), has five buttons built into the hat switch on each hand compared to three, is completely wireless. And.. the best part is it ships in a week whereas pointctrl still has a two-year waiting list and seems to be getting longer.
@ I can vouch for the slug mouse, the hardware is much better than expected
For me PointCTRL works the best.
There is another option. Hand tracking to move the mouse using HTCC and Slugmouse worn on each index finger to perform mouse button clicks. HTCC gives you a mouse cursor cross in the same way a normal mouse does. So no fumbling for controllers, no fumbling for a mouse, just point your hand over a control in the cockpit and click with the Slugmouse. More information on this in the VR section of the DCS forum.
I cannot agree more with that comment.
I just love mines, the creator is quick to answer questions and shipping is done properly and rapidly
There’s a 25% Christmas sale on it too!
@@slughead817 im pretty interested on what you told me, Slugmouse is in this continent too…
Have you tried it without HTTC? meaning having the DCS native tracked hands
@ Yes. And it’s not good. You might try multiple times to flip a switch before actually managing to do so. That’s why I developed the Slugmouse.
@@slughead817 i've sent you a DM on ED's forums
Hand tracking is still bad for turning knobs. Even flipping toggles work only half the time. When you say VR is better than full cockpit you assume people with full cockpit use big projector screen only. I have full cockpit, but I do MR only, no projector screen. With MR I can see my cockpit and my hands to operate switches, and also see the virtual DCS around me.
There's no problem if you use a Slugmouse. DCS's native hand tracking is very poor. Turn off the gloves and use hand to mouse pointer and Slugmouse to perform the mouse clicks. Simple, accurate, reliable.
But in three screen you got richer view. Sorry :)
How can you go out for 1 second in the discor. With meta qiest 3.
Too late, already uninstalled it.
I use method 3 with both controllers, much better than mouse for me.