HOTAS VR Cockpit set up - the comfy version

Richie.A

R
New to the forum but there is a ton of really useful stuff on here.

Thought I’d share this as many of the systems are set up around an office, and our home office is my wife’s domain.

Just had a PC built for Oculus Rift as a family thing. In fact wife wanted it as much as me. My guilty pleasure is revisiting the world of Elite 30 years on, and it is glorious. One end of our living room has been given over to a permanent VR set up with permanently mounted sensors, but I needed to find a nice cockpit set up that wouldn’t take over.

So turns out the Ikea Poang chair and foot stool puts you in almost exactly the right position to mirror the pilot.
A couple of fabric storage boxes with some Velcro tape inside the lid and on the HOTAS to prevent it sliding around. This set up also has the added bonus of a built in massage module which even if not on makes the chair amazingly supportive. Long sessions are no problem, even thinking I might be able to have a kip between star systems.

5BEAEA54-AF0D-4738-A65D-9797AC567F22.jpg
 

TorTorden_VR

T
I personally cringe every time I see a joystick plopped on a desk.
Personally when I have tried using a stick in that manner I inflame some muscles in my shoulder and I would have had to stop for a week before it subsides.

It doesn't take a lot to get something far better though and you demonstrate it perfectly here :)

I don't mind a thread for this here either, but there is already an active thread for simpits here :
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/437286-Post-your-simpits!
 

[VR] Frank_G

[VR] Frank_G
Very nice and convenient solution. And it doesnt interefere with the regular furniture.

Personally, i prefer a fixed configuration, but this setup would be a good alternative.
 

Richie.A

R
TorTorden said:
I personally cringe every time I see a joystick plopped on a desk.
Personally when I have tried using a stick in that manner I inflame some muscles in my shoulder and I would have had to stop for a week before it subsides.

It doesn't take a lot to get something far better though and you demonstrate it perfectly here :)

I don't mind a thread for this here either, but there is already an active thread for simpits here :
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/437286-Post-your-simpits!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I did look for a pre-existing thread but couldn’t find anything suitable. I’d never even heard the term sim pit, I would assume that is a term from the flight sim boys and galls?
As for aches and pains Tor, definitely not with my rig, that massage pad has neck supports and is even heated ��
 

[VR] Frank_G

[VR] Frank_G
Richie.A said:
Thanks, I did look for a pre-existing thread but couldn’t find anything suitable. I’d never even heard the term sim pit, I would assume that is a term from the flight sim boys and galls?
As for aches and pains Tor, definitely not with my rig, that massage pad has neck supports and is even heated ��
Click to expand...

Massage pad? And i thought it was stuffed with transducers :D - But with a transducer, you only get a massage when the ship takes hits or one drives an SRV over uneven terrain... I can strongly recommend the installation of some transducers, especially for use with VR. It really adds a whole level of immersion when you feel the engines roaring and projectiles hitting the ships hull...
 

TorTorden_VR

T
Transducers are usually hooked up into your subwoofer output.
So if you desire a massage just find some EDM or dubstep.
With some clever wiring I'm sure you can isolate the subwoofer output only so you wouldn't actually have to listen to it.

I say usually for transducers have some neat features in sims.
Where some games have actual motion API's for various bits.
Like in some racing sim you can have several channels for various parts of the car and road surface feel.

Like having a channel for engine RPM, gearbox, and exhaust etc etc.
 
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BinakAlgo

BinakAlgo
Richie.A said:
New to the forum but there is a ton of really useful stuff on here.

Thought I’d share this as many of the systems are set up around an office, and our home office is my wife’s domain.

Just had a PC built for Oculus Rift as a family thing. In fact wife wanted it as much as me. My guilty pleasure is revisiting the world of Elite 30 years on, and it is glorious. One end of our living room has been given over to a permanent VR set up with permanently mounted sensors, but I needed to find a nice cockpit set up that wouldn’t take over.

So turns out the Ikea Poang chair and foot stool puts you in almost exactly the right position to mirror the pilot.
A couple of fabric storage boxes with some Velcro tape inside the lid and on the HOTAS to prevent it sliding around. This set up also has the added bonus of a built in massage module which even if not on makes the chair amazingly supportive. Long sessions are no problem, even thinking I might be able to have a kip between star systems.
Click to expand...

Living the dream...
 

Older Gamer

Older Gamer
TorTorden said:
Transducers are usually hooked up into your subwoofer output.
So if you desire a massage just find some EDM or dubstep.
With some clever wiring I'm sure you can isolate the subwoofer output only so you wouldn't actually have to listen to it.

I say usually for transducers have some neat features in sims.
Where some games have actual motion API's for various bits.
Like in some racing sim you can have several channels for various parts of the car and road surface feel.

Like having a channel for engine RPM, gearbox, and exhaust etc etc.
Click to expand...

I'd love to find a budget solution to fitting a bass shaker and amp to my hotas chair, but the conflicting advice I read and watch on the internet has totally put me off. Can it be done for under 50 quid?
 

[VR] Frank_G

[VR] Frank_G
WordSmith said:
I'd love to find a budget solution to fitting a bass shaker and amp to my hotas chair, but the conflicting advice I read and watch on the internet has totally put me off. Can it be done for under 50 quid?
Click to expand...

You will need a soundcard to separate game sound and the sound that is passed to the transducers. You will need an amplifier to power the transducers and at least one transducer (i recommend using three or more - 2 for left and right under the chair and one or more for the back). Together with cables, i say 75 - 100 € is a realistc price range for a simple DIY setup. The software to mask the channels is free at least. I hope this helps.
 
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TorTorden_VR

T
If for instance you have a USB headset, or use the rift audio while that still works.

Death, taxes, and the cv1 audio will stop working eventually.

I recommend cans anyway.

And a software splitter like Voicemeter Banana. And you can use the audio output from your motherboard to signal transducers.

But yeah they're audio equipment so even a budget kit will run $100 bucks.
I had one, it was two cheap transducer elements and a tiny subwoofer amplifier.

You will want an analog volume at least, preferable crossover control, or a lowpass filter, but I suppose it's possible this can be handled in software.

A lot of people are running transducers off old surround receivers for instance, just make sure to deactivate the crossover point of it has one.

But a dedicated subwoofer amplifier would be more ideal.

As for transducers themselves the barebones diy option would be using old subwoofer elements, just cut away the membrane and figure a way to mount them.

Securely mounting is exceedingly important, and they can easily take a very very heavy toll on your furniture.

Just the little tiny kit I had with a 50watt amp and two cost sized transducers would make my recliner at a mere 80lbs or so rattle across the floor like an 90's flip phone.
And that's with me sitting in it.

And I'm 6' 200 lbs..
 

Scubadog

Scubadog
I absolutely could NOT fly that way. In VR I absolutely must have the two parts of the HOTAS close to the same distance appart and in front of me as they appear to in VR.
 

Richie.A

R
Scubadog said:
I absolutely could NOT fly that way. In VR I absolutely must have the two parts of the HOTAS close to the same distance appart and in front of me as they appear to in VR.
Click to expand...

I’m about 30cm wider than the skinny little VR pilot so for me it’s a perfect spacing. I’d look like I was trying to squeeze my together if I copied that exactly. It is ideal for me, and I have the wood burner next to me so every time I exit hyperspace I roll round the sun so the heat from the fire matches direction of the sun ��.
Mines more a Guardians of the Galaxy relaxed flying stance.
 

VR micmacmoc

VR micmacmoc
Great stuff! I was dragged around Ikea last month by the mrs, spotted the Phang chair and immediately thought of it for my work in progress VR ED set up! I intended to build an add on to the arms to mount the sticks (x52 pro) on. Do you think they would be too high up? Also considering a mini keyboard and mouse that could be accessible too. I love the relatively low price of the Phoang chair, I don’t mind drilling holes in it. Didn’t think about the matching footstool...but it does look like something i’d Be likely to doze off on! Is the massage thingy wired up to the game or just an ‘in flight’ add on?
 

Richie.A

R
I think it depends on your proportions as to what is comfortable. I have reasonably long arms for my 5’10” and I’m reasonably broad shouldered so for me it is comfortable, the added bonus of those boxes is that you could adjust the height if needed but I find it just perfect. Those boxes are from Amazon and are just storage boxes at £15 a pop. They are used for storage but I have stuck Velcro on the underside of the lid and on the HOTAS so it doesn’t move around, then when you’ve finished playing spaceman it all hides neatly away (happy wife, happy life).
The footstool matches the VR pilot profile when you just prop your feet on the front edge and as for the massage pad, that has just always sat on that chair and turns out when you adjust the various pads and kneeding balls in it, then it is extremely comfortable. Weirdly I was having a bit of neck and shoulder ache from a gym injury, and sitting in that playing Elite for a few hours sorted it out nicely. It isn’t wired up to anything though, I reckon by the 31st century they will have found a way to iron out the lumps, bumps and rumbles. Hell they might even model the cockpit on my build ����
 

TorTorden_VR

T
That's the thing with diy.

You can get everything just right.

And once your ergonomics get just right it's almost like the "True level" scene from Rick & Morty.
With less withdrawal.
 
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He$$eeTant

He$$eeTant
Scubadog said:
I absolutely could NOT fly that way. In VR I absolutely must have the two parts of the HOTAS close to the same distance appart and in front of me as they appear to in VR.
Click to expand...

Same, I move my hand to the throttle and joystick in VR and that's where they are in RL. I guess I am the same proportions as the guy in the chair ;)
 

Ozmodion

Ozmodion
i have the X52 Pro sat on a desk either side of the keyboard and im now getting quite a big pain in my right shoulder. After reading a few posts on this thread im starting to worry that its some sort of RSI from having the setup on the desk.

I never had this whilst using the Thrustmaster HOTAS.

On another note, i have the buttkicker gamer X and can't use it as my sound either comes through the Rift headset or my soundbar (which is connected via SPID/F) so when i plug it into the sound card, there is no sound coming through it so the butt kicker doesn't activate. £150 wasted and sat in my cupboard gathering dust.
 

CylonSurfer

CylonSurfer
Ozmodion said:
On another note, i have the buttkicker gamer X and can't use it as my sound either comes through the Rift headset or my soundbar (which is connected via SPID/F) so when i plug it into the sound card, there is no sound coming through it so the butt kicker doesn't activate. £150 wasted and sat in my cupboard gathering dust.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't give up so easily.... There is software that will mirror your sound to different outputs, Oculus have a audio mirroring option, windows 10 offers this option for a lot of sound cards, there are many avenues for you to pursue if you don't, well.. give up and throw it in the cupboard.
 
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