How Are You Typing In VR?

[CyberOcelot]

Hi Everyone,

Before I begin, I would like to preface this by stating that I already know how to touch type at just around 60 wpm.

^^ I had to say this first, as a similar thread I tried starting on in the Vive reddit community got ugly with condescending troll posts that couldn't comprehend the issue unique to me. ^^


OK. With that out of the way, Here's the deal...

My goal is to configure Elite: Dangerous in VR without having to take off my Vive headset at all.

Using my HOTAS and third party programs such as Voice Attack and EDDI, I've pretty much got this all done except for one...

In the Galaxy Map, I want to be able to type a system name, but I have a racing wheel I use for driving the SRV in front of the keyboard. This position was fine before using VR because I just had to type a few characters and can see the keyboard. But, now that I have a Vive headset on, I can't rely on my touch typing skills because I can't rest my hands on the home keys.

All that being said, is there ANY solution to typing into the Galaxy Map while keeping the headset on? I would even be fine with using a gamepad at this point.

I tried using Voice Attack dictation for this, but it's never going to be accurate enough. Even trying to have it type letter by letter was horribly inaccurate.

How are you guys typing in VR? Anyone discover a workaround, peripheral or mod that may be able to help me?

 

[Soda Popinski]

I haven't tried this yet, as I'm using my Rift DK2 and eventually the CV1 for Elite, but I've heard you may be able to use the SteamVR Desktop and bring up the Virtual Keyboard (Windows 10 and maybe 8).

That said, can't you identify the F and J keys on the keyboard with their distinctive bumps? Try resting the keyboard on something to make it higher so you can reach it better over the steering wheel. Who cares if it blocks the monitor?

 

[CyberOcelot]

Ha! True.

It took a while to click in my head that I don't need my TV anymore, and tried setting the keyboard higher. But, when I got to tweaking settings and wanted to do that out of VR, I realized I wanted my Cockpit to remain versatile and not have the keyboard blocking half the screen (yeah, it's that high if I want to clear the steering wheel for hand rests).

I initially thought the grooves on the F and J would suffice before I got the headset since I type everyday, but now that I've been actually trying it, I realized that my touch typing skills are so second nature, I can't identify where the actual keys are next to those home keys. I feel dumb admitting that, but I'm sure I'm not alone.

In regards to Steam VR, I haven't launched the game through that so I don't know if a virtual keyboard is available to me then. I can try and give that a go tonight if no one chimes in to confirm that a virtual keyboard can be used with Eliteangerous

 

[cygnusa]

Hi Everyone,

Before I begin, I would like to preface this by stating that I already know how to touch type at just around 60 wpm.

^^ I had to say this first, as a similar thread I tried starting on in the Vive reddit community got ugly with condescending troll posts that couldn't comprehend the issue unique to me. ^^


OK. With that out of the way, Here's the deal...

My goal is to configure Elite: Dangerous in VR without having to take off my Vive headset at all.

Using my HOTAS and third party programs such as Voice Attack and EDDI, I've pretty much got this all done except for one...

In the Galaxy Map, I want to be able to type a system name, but I have a racing wheel I use for driving the SRV in front of the keyboard. This position was fine before using VR because I just had to type a few characters and can see the keyboard. But, now that I have a Vive headset on, I can't rely on my touch typing skills because I can't rest my hands on the home keys.

All that being said, is there ANY solution to typing into the Galaxy Map while keeping the headset on? I would even be fine with using a gamepad at this point.

I tried using Voice Attack dictation for this, but it's never going to be accurate enough. Even trying to have it type letter by letter was horribly inaccurate.

How are you guys typing in VR? Anyone discover a workaround, peripheral or mod that may be able to help me?

I have an L-shaped desk. Keyboard goes on left. HOTAS directly in front. PC on right. Monitor in middle. Yeah I can imagine how having a steering wheel could cause an inconvenience. I wouldn't want to constantly move it out of the way either.

It would be nice if Elite had Vive controller support. For both 'laser pointer' capability in the Galaxy/system maps, as well as for text entry through a virtual point and click keyboard.. with optional auto-complete. Such as enter LFT, and a list of LFT* systems pop up from a selection list.

I currently sort of hunt for the keyboard when I need to type. I sometimes use the Vive camera by keeping the Vive controller nearby (double push of button brings up room view). Its enough to be able to find the keyboard while keeping the HMD on. I have Voice Attack but haven't been using it lately.. but intend to starting tonight. I made a few tweaks here and there. While the HOTAS can do all the things I need, voice commands seem like they'd be far more useful for VR. I don't want to hunt for the Chaff switch on my X55 in combat. I'd rather just say "chaff" while I focus on situation awareness.

 

[alcwell]

Can Voice Attack be set up to recoginise the phonetic alphabet?

 

[Bladesteel]

Could you mount the keyboard on an "arm" of some sort? Like a repurposed monitor arm or butchered desk lamp. So that it goes in front of the wheel when you type but can be pushed away whdn you drive.

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

Pretty easy. I just memorise where the left bottom corner on my keyboard is before putting on the HMD. I can find the left control key from there and if I found that, I know where the rest of the keys are.

 

[Frank]

Hi Everyone,

Before I begin, I would like to preface this by stating that I already know how to touch type at just around 60 wpm.

^^ I had to say this first, as a similar thread I tried starting on in the Vive reddit community got ugly with condescending troll posts that couldn't comprehend the issue unique to me. ^^

The responses on this forum might be less condescending. I doubt if anyone here thinks that the current way of blind typing is an ideal solution.. but the information will be the same.

I use VoiceAttack but it isn't setup for dictation, or for spelling out the individual alphabet. I have some stock prhases set up, and I have ctrl-V set as well. I can use a small text file with a few words I know I'll need. I can copy them from that file, and then just paste it into Elite.

I am not a touch typist, but I do resort to pecking away at keys in the dark, hoping to land the occasional correct character. Anyone to whom I've sent text comms will attest to this fact.

 

[DaggerSnake]

Have you considered being more flexible about re-training your muscle memory to use the hotas for the SRV and freeing up accessibility to keyboard? Seems like that would be more VR immersive as the character model uses one.

maybe one of those drawers under the desktops slide out, to put the keyboard there?

 

[Kyokushin]

I am typing as always. Fingers on F and J (they are marked, you will feel it on the finger). I am always typing without looking at the keyboard. There are tools for learning that. It will take you a few hours.

 

[Spam]

I've never mastered touch typing.

With the nose gap in the DK2 I can see enough to get me by.

 

[Deleted member 110140]

Touch typing. It's worth investing some time, not just for ED. Also, in my experience, split keyboards (such as MS's Natural Keyboard) make touch typing even easier.

 

[VR Dextrovix]

Frontier need to provide a VR keyboard in-game that appears when you a). have a Rift / Vive and b). only when selecting an input field. Much like a mobile or Windows tablet would.

Considering this is marketed as a VR title, it seems a pretty large oversight considering how often this topic appears. Although I release the percentage of VR users is small enough for this not to have been higher up in their priorities, it still needs addressing.

So to answer the OP, yes I can type in VR, but I'd rather not when a software solution should be possible if the time was put into it.

 

[Count_Zero]

I have Voice Attack commands for each letter and number. It's not fast, but it works. Also, if I'm doing a loop trade run, I'll set up two Voice Attack commands like "stop one" and "stop two".

 

[CMDR d00nicus]

Frontier need to provide a VR keyboard in-game that appears when you a). have a Rift / Vive and b). only when selecting an input field. Much like a mobile or Windows tablet would.

Considering this is marketed as a VR title, it seems a pretty large oversight considering how often this topic appears. Although I release the percentage of VR users is small enough for this not to have been higher up in their priorities, it still needs addressing.

So to answer the OP, yes I can type in VR, but I'd rather not when a software solution should be possible if the time was put into it.

Surely this now affects more than VR users? How do Xbox One players enter text, have they not already had to implement some sort of software keyboard functionality for them? Seems to me they've already got the solution staring them in the face already, they just haven't bothered to apply it to the problem.

 

[VR Dextrovix]

Surely this now affects more than VR users? How do Xbox One players enter text, have they not already had to implement some sort of software keyboard functionality for them? Seems to me they've already got the solution staring them in the face already, they just haven't bothered to apply it to the problem.

That's a very good point, but I assume as the Xbox has a keyboard function built in (like I said for phones and tablets in my post above) that the issue is solved for them by the operating system.

But for VR, there isn't an OS-level solution that can be rendered in the headset, so it would require Frontier to produce one. Programmatically it can't be that hard, but it no doubt is down to priorities. Which is annoying!

 

[J'Zargo]

At least on the Vive you could use the system button on one of the controllers to activate the headset camera. This should work for text input tasks such as the galaxy map.

 

[Soda Popinski]

At least on the Vive you could use the system button on one of the controllers to activate the headset camera. This should work for text input tasks such as the galaxy map.

That won't really work for 2 reasons. 1) The resolution of the camera is too low / the image is too small (shows up like floating 4x6" image attached to one of the Vive controllers), and 2) activating the camera dumps you into the SteamVR interface which won't let you interact with the game (like hitting pause or ESC).

Another option aside from raising the keyboard over the steering wheel, is to get a smallish wireless keyboard, like the Logitech K360, and just put it on your lap.

 

[shadragon]

Can Voice Attack be set up to recoginise the phonetic alphabet?

This would be the best way. Then you could use a command like "spell" and say:
'Sierra Oscar Lima' and have SOL appear in the window. endspell to stop the sequence.

 

[CMDR d00nicus]

That's a very good point, but I assume as the Xbox has a keyboard function built in (like I said for phones and tablets in my post above) that the issue is solved for them by the operating system.

But for VR, there isn't an OS-level solution that can be rendered in the headset, so it would require Frontier to produce one. Programmatically it can't be that hard, but it no doubt is down to priorities. Which is annoying!

Well, given that the Xbox One is Windows based, and Windows has had on-screen keyboard support for more than a few years now (and Microsoft's push to unify as many APIs as possible between the two platforms to facilitate porting) it shouldn't be too much of a leap. I haven't delved into the API docs for DirectX for a while now, but I'd be surprised if there isn't something implemented in there to go with the Xbox 360 controller support which was added way back when (also to smooth the porting process)