How does VR headset work with flight controllers?

tosvus

T
Hi,

I just bought Elite Dangerous, and I am planning on getting a HOTAS setup plus a VR helmet (probably Vive). How will the HOTAS work in practical use when wearing a helmet? Will it be represented visually so I would be able to reach for it? I understand it wouldn't be able to pick up on finger movements etc, but it would be nice to at least be able to take your hands off and on the controllers and find them. Also, are there any recommended HOTAS controllers for VR? I.e. does the cockpit show a particular model?

Thanks from a newbie..
 

Deimos-GOW

D
Your avatar's hands move (trigger movements and other stuff) but obviously not when you take your hands off. Most of the time the controls are out of view and the HOTAS is nothing like the in game rendering. Position of the in game controls are fixed, so whether they are the same as RL or not depends on your setup. Honestly its a non issue, you know where they are in real space, that's all you need. You need to learn where all the controls are anyway otherwise you are going to be a pretty crap pilot.
 

Malic

Malic
I use a Logitech G940 on my desk. It is no longer made so I am sure there are newer ones out there. I am currently designing a cockpit to have them set lower and more of a relaxed arm position but its all by feel, i can take my hands off the controls and just a little bit of feeling and can get back onto them very quickly. Several of the newer HOTAS setups should have several buttons, and the entire point of a HOTAS is so you don't need to be reaching around, it should all be at your fingertips and be able to find the buttons during combat.

Use the demo practice mode and get used to the way the ship flies and that you can use all the controls from it. My controller has a three position switch that allows me to change all the keybinds if needed, but right now all it does is change what my pinky switch does, secondary fire, open local map, open galaxy map. I am going to be adding a button box when i build the cockpit and those will all be by feel only and will take over more of the things that are not needed in combat situations, examples being radar range scale, selecting wing-men. I might add large buttons so i can use my heel to pop off chaff or something.

I believe ones like the X55 are on the high end of what people are getting now, i am unsure what the majority of people are currently using. Some HOTAS also use modifier keys, so its like pressing shift, ctrl, or alt so you can make buttons do more then one thing when using those in combinations
 

jabokai

jabokai
tosvus said:
Hi,

I just bought Elite Dangerous, and I am planning on getting a HOTAS setup plus a VR helmet (probably Vive). How will the HOTAS work in practical use when wearing a helmet? Will it be represented visually so I would be able to reach for it? I understand it wouldn't be able to pick up on finger movements etc, but it would be nice to at least be able to take your hands off and on the controllers and find them. Also, are there any recommended HOTAS controllers for VR? I.e. does the cockpit show a particular model?

Thanks from a newbie..
Click to expand...

Not sure how you'd expect the game to do that without hand tracking. Both the Vive and the Rift will have custom controllers that will track hand positions but obviously you're then using those controllers rather than a HOTAS.

They used the X52 Pro as the basis for the visuals in ED. I use an X55 cos of the twist stick for yaw, even though the in game visuals do not represent that.
 

grammatonfeather

grammatonfeather
tosvus said:
Hi,

I just bought Elite Dangerous, and I am planning on getting a HOTAS setup plus a VR helmet (probably Vive). How will the HOTAS work in practical use when wearing a helmet? Will it be represented visually so I would be able to reach for it? I understand it wouldn't be able to pick up on finger movements etc, but it would be nice to at least be able to take your hands off and on the controllers and find them. Also, are there any recommended HOTAS controllers for VR? I.e. does the cockpit show a particular model?

Thanks from a newbie..
Click to expand...

That's the great thing about HOTAS versus keyboard. Keyboard isn't a good idea for VR. HOTAS is. You can feel where everything is on HOTAS within a day or two. I have the Saitek X52 Pro. A friend a mine just got one also just so he can play Elite with the forthcoming Oculus CV1.

I'm not sure if the newer Saitek X55 has a similar number of controls actually on the stick & throttle compared to X52 Pro. I must read up on it. I notice the X55 throttle has a number of rotary knobs on the base.

In any case... You can easily take your hands off the HOTAS and locate the HOTAS again unless you're surrounded by a whole bunch of HOTAS at once which seems unlikely.
 

Beavis Tingleball

Beavis Tingleball
the x52-x52pro are great hotas's for this game and VR. I have everything mapped to my hotas so there is no need to use mouse or keyboard for anything. I'm using the x52 :)
 

tosvus

T
Thanks everyone! Lots of good info here. Certainly seems like a great community of people that are using this game! :)
 

bloom691

bloom691
I use the X55 HOTAS and love it :) The one thing I find is that occasionally it's quicker for me to grab the mouse from time to time... which I hate to do. But this is probably because I need to spend some time mapping all the keys I need better. I also use Voice Attack, but find I only use it when in the stress of combat and I don't want to think about which button to press...! But thats just me :)
 
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