Newcomer / Intro Playing ED with an Oculus Quest - Do you use the Quest touch controllers OR do you use a joystick

[Captainralph2016]

Hi all,
I now have ED on a PC and I am using the Oculas Quest. My question though for all those people using the Oculas quest is...Do you use your own joystick or do you use the controls which come with the oculus quest (the touch controllers)?

 

[[VR] Orodruin]

I am not on an Oculus, but I think I speak for most VR users when I say: Use a HOTAS. The VR controllers (be it Vive, Oculus, or Index) are not made for Elite.

 

[Captainralph2016]

I am not on an Oculus, but I think I speak for most VR users when I say: Use a HOTAS. The VR controllers (be it Vive, Oculus, or Index) are not made for Elite.

But the problem is, when you are using the Oculus quest, you cant see the HOTAS so it is very difficult to use.

 

[John Stoutbeard]

Valve Index here. VR + HOTAS. The point with a HOTAS (TM Warthog) is that you're hands on most of the time, I don't have to see mine to be able to use it. I remember and feel where the hats, sliders, buttons and everything else is.
But I do use mouse + keyboard as well, I can see these over the tip of my nose.

 

[Maolagin]

But the problem is, when you are using the Oculus quest, you cant see the HOTAS so it is very difficult to use.

That's just how it is though - in VR you'll have to learn to use whatever controls you use by touch. A HOTAS has the advantage that it's made to be used by muscle memory, so once you learn it, it's pretty natural. But there are definitely people flying with XBox controllers or even keyboard+mouse in VR. Definitely experiment to find out what works for you; just don't be surprised when whatever you pick has a learning curve.

 

[[VR] Orodruin]

But the problem is, when you are using the Oculus quest, you cant see the HOTAS so it is very difficult to use.

The key word is the O in the HOTAS. You keep your hands On the throttle and the stick. You do not need to see it (much like the gear stick on a car, you do not need to look at it to know how to use it). You can also conveniently place the HOTAS more or less in the same position as the virtual ones (this should be particularly immersive if you have an X52 as the in-game model is based on the X52, but works perfectly well with any other stick as well).

Typing on the keyboard will be a problem if you do not touch type. If you do not have an obscene number of buttons on your HOTAS you may also want to install something like VoiceAttack.

Personally, I play with a HOTAS with the throttle and joystick just on the sides of a keyboard and a mouse right in front of the keyboard. I use the HOTAS to fly while using the keyboard and mouse to navigate the additional browser window I am projecting into the VR environment (very useful for watching movies or looking up prices on EDDB etc). I also use the mouse for the FSS scanner as it is much faster than anything you can do with a joystick. I know where everything is by muscle memory and you only need the rough position of each implement in order to reach for it. I also use VoiceAttack for tasks that are not time-critical.