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Old 08-04-20, 10:02 AM   #1
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Default VTOL VR full release

I am certain that quite some of the older guys around recall the feel of sims, namely flight sims and Microprose sims from back in the 90s. Graphics were as they were back then, we were young, the tech and the matter was new, and evertyhing thus was magical and fascinating as a result. Sims today may have become more perfect, more complex, more realistic and visually more photorealistic, but somehow, for me at least, the thunder of those years is gone. We got used to perfection. We expect it. It stuns nobody anymore as some small progress from one sim to the next did back in those days.

When I got VR in winter 2017, somebody mentioned VTOL VR in Early access back then, saying it was good. I looked at the images and videos and thought "Meh", but kept a mental note of it. I took note of the ongoing development, but did not get into it. But now, the full game has been released, the feedback is impressively positive, and I thought I now must try it out.

First things first. This is not a DCS sim. In no way. Not vosually, not tehcncially, not in terms of realism. Do not compare to it, or sims of that callibre. Okay, with this off my chest, lets see.

I have done just two test flights now, and I am stunned. Its the overall package the author has pout together in these three years. Developed for VR from beginning on, typical weaknesses of VR (tiny letters of panel labels beign almost unreadable for example, or a nightmare of butto flipping needing to get done with VR controllers, have ben elegantly evaded form beginning on by designing the interfaces such that these issues do not become "issues". The reuslt is visually rmeinding of sims from the late 90s, of Microprose - just massively improved. The title surfs safely on a balance between basic physics and functioinality realism, and partly simplified, partly futuristic interface and cockpit ambiente. Much is self-expalnatory. I found myself on the bridge of a carrier, watching the flight deck. Visually, its 90s style. Then jetfighters scream by, low and fast. I stood up from ym chair and bend forward so that I could see more of the flightdeck. Never before have I goitten a more alive impression of size and compactness of a carrier flightdeck. There is not that much detail, but it is the combination of typical VR strengths and the familiarity of these kinds of graphics that made me feel immediately at home.

The bame offers three flyable VTOL and or stealth planes. It comes with map and msisione ditor (on 2D sxcrfteen), and you can download workshop content and missions from within the 3D interface.

I took the F-25 on a free flight in the morning, without further reading (I do not even know if there is a manual). And the sim spit me out on an open cockpit in typical Microprose flair and feel, just evertyhing better. I had grabbed a helmet before, and man, in no VR game wearing a helmet looked and felt more convinmcingly than here, working fantastically around the unnatural limitation of yoru viewing field the VR helmet would normally give you, this is better than the helmet-feature in ACC. I looked aroudn, folund greta buttons for stuff needed to get an engine runnign and the aircrfat rolling, what I recalld in switches andlocations from Falcon 4.0 and the likes, was enough. Then canopy came down, I rolled, I scrambled, and up ther I was, over an island scenery that reaslly catapulted me back tothe 90s, in a good way, and much improved. Really, when I say it reminds of the games form the 90s, that is nothing bad to say, everythign falls in its place in this package. Surprisingly, the steering with Oculus handgrips works very well, I do not miss hardware joysticks and tghrottles. I then checked the MFDs and found more functionality hidden in them than I was prepared to find, a pleasurable surprise! And the HUD, let me say, this one is high tech, grpoahcially, it looks stunning, it sgropahcis are outstanding, I am completekly bought by it, also by the way this HUD and the fact that I have real stereoscopic view now provides me with a realiostic impression of how the numbers and symbols dance on the small glass shields and appear slightly differently for each of your eyes, its a weired sensation at first, you feel how your brain must adapt to this at first.

Inevitably I finally searched and found the carrier, and pissed the deck crewws with low and fast fly over, greetings to Top Gun, but sorry, Maverick, I did it faster and lower than you. And then, landing. I looked and found arrestor hook lever, flaps, the rest like gear and throttle was alraeyd known, and I did not care for comms and calling the ball (which is there). I also had no real idea of approach and touch down spoeeds, and altitide needed, and for a first attempt I produced a decent touch and go at 260 kn, not too well aligned and missing all clable, full throttle, and up I went again, after almost having kissed the waves. In the second attempt, I was better aligned, or so I thought, but maybe came in too steep, I caught a cable, but the plane started a pirouette and I knew it was all messed up, I grabbed between my virtuzal legs for the emergency handle and pulled it with my virtual hands, then it was chaotic and evertyhig nturtned and unde rme was the carrier, and I heard the plane splashing into the water and then I hanging on the chute and dropped into the sea at a not comfprtable but certainyl survivble speed, with carrier passing by and an escort cruiser running almost over me.

Never felt ejecting from a simulated plane so satisfactory.

I cannot say much oin the missions and camopaign, again it all looks a bit retro,but as I said: workshop. Map editor. Mission editor. All content needs can be served, it seems.

This all seems to be much, very much better than I had expected. For launch the game is reduced in price to around 20 Euros. One of the best VR titles I have played so far. If you have VR, get it.

And feel like the guy again that you were 20, 30 years ago, fascinated by Total Air War, Microprose, and sims of that time - their unmistakable flavour, but massively improved in eveything.


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Old 08-04-20, 06:27 PM   #2
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Heck, I love it! First successful carrier landing. Finally a flight simulator that really handles well in VR and has been fully adapted to this medium. Also I found maps in the workshop. Huge maps. NTC. UK. That kind of size.



And plenty of instruction videos, although all these are 1-2 years old.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo5...EvsigAj_RQWyZg

Maybe the best VR flight sim around currently.


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Old 08-04-20, 07:36 PM   #3
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Do you feel satisfied with the experiences that software has given you in relation to money....
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Old 08-05-20, 03:26 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vendor View Post
Do you feel satisfied with the experiences that software has given you in relation to money....
Have not spend much time so far, but already do, heck, yes, absolute value for money. Its a steal for the current 21 euros!
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Old 08-05-20, 04:08 AM   #5
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21 euros? It sounds like peanuts, got the impression that it is about completely different money. I remember when you posted the thread several years ago ... and described it in "detail", have had an interest myself but to express myself rather diplomatically ... in the name of honesty it all feels like there is many less good players in the market, who not have what you want and the quality is under ice.
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Old 08-05-20, 04:53 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vendor View Post
21 euros? It sounds like peanuts, got the impression that it is about completely different money. I remember when you posted the thread several years ago ... and described it in "detail",
There is a 20% price reduction to celebrate the release of the full version, it normally will cost around I think 27 or so. Still cheap, imo, for the fun this brings.


It was not me but somebody else mentioning it in the past, I was the guy running a VR games thread, but VTOL was described by somebody else.


It has been designed from scratch to work best with VR from beginning on, and avoiding the current setbacks VR displays currently have. Designing a game for VR this way, pays off. It brings the strengths of VR to shine, and evades many of the negatives.

Think of this as a mix of F19 Stealth Fighter and Total Air War, and the result squared. It also reminds me a bit of Jane'S F/A-18 Super Hornet.

I have posted the link with the tutorial videos in my first post, the author calls them "nuggets", they are 2-4 minutes in length each. Each nugget deals with one explicit aspect: launching from carrier, landing at night, air refueling, GBU dropping, etc.

I must reiterate how nicely the planes handles with Rift controllers. I really do not miss hardware stick and throttle.

Since there is no written manual, only tutorial missions with spoken and written explanations, some things are left for discovery via finding out while doing it. I consider that to be part of the fun.

The flight physics are very solid, imo, results in speed and altitude changes during aggressive manouvering are in the range of what I would expect from other examples like Falcon etc. Its no flying on rails. Sensor and weapon bubble modelling also seems to be more sophisticated than is apparent intitially, I red surprisingly in-depth discussions of the AIM120 for example at Steam, on why it has such a surprisingly low kill rate (its an overestimating-the-range thing, many people seem to fire it way too early, and even launch unsupported).
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Old 08-05-20, 05:14 AM   #7
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Thanks for the information. I will look further into this..and see if there is something that is worth investing in..but the money is not a concern rather an accessory and perhaps the lack of theoretical files how it is structured, to capture the experience.
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Old 08-05-20, 05:20 AM   #8
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I think the graphics look great. Not every sim has to have a DCS-style AAA photorealism look.
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Old 08-05-20, 05:42 AM   #9
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The graphics are designed to match the characteristical abilties of current VR displays. The cockpit instrjments thus are simoklifiued - BUT READABLE, and easily so. You cannot say that naturally about many other games that are 2D originally and than got a VR optiion force don them.


The graohcis style coudl also be compared to the old Comanche-Hokum sim-game.


The other big difference to other flight games in VR is, in the words of the guy who did the following video, "this sim was designed for your hands".


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Old 08-05-20, 06:20 AM   #10
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Finding out what VTOL means.




FYI, there are currently around 200 missions oj the worksho, 150 maps, 40 campaigns. Mission and map editors

are running on 2D screen. Content can be requested and downloaded (missions) from within the running game,

accessing workshop in VR. You must not leave the running game for downloading a new mission.

.
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Old 08-05-20, 06:28 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vendor View Post
Thanks for the information. I will look further into this..and see if there is something that is worth investing in..but the money is not a concern rather an accessory and perhaps the lack of theoretical files how it is structured, to capture the experience.
I wouzld say the package is very accessible, you must not worry about lakcign manual. Mind you, I managed to jump into freee flight in the successor to the F-18, get her airborn, underdstanding all cockpit fucntions required for laucnhign and lanidng, and even almost gpot her down on a carrier in one piece. This is not DCS. But then, it also is not War Thunder.

No worries, really. Its good. Watch the longer two videos I just linked to. Missions flown almost like in good old Falcon 4.0 times.


I still have not gotten over the helmet sight. Its just so cool to wear a virtual helmet. It does its part to let you forget that you wear a real hardware VR headset. Is there any other VR game currently that can let your forget that? You always see the outer rims of the display obstructing your viewing field. Here, you see the helmet visor instead, offering your brain a much more natural explanation why your vieiwing field is limited. It does not sound like a big thing, but imo it is.



Heck in two weeks they release Microsoft FS20, I wonder if I will be ready for it by that date. Sounds as if I have an flying autumn ahead this year.
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Old 08-05-20, 10:25 AM   #12
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Switched to the second of the three flyables now, the duel-jet-engine-equipped Osprey-kind of thing that is the signature aircraft of VTOL-VR. Good fun, though a bit tricky. It flies like a helicopter at first, but the more you move the engines from vertical to horizontal, the more it flies like a plane. Stable manual hovering is difficult, so is the transition from hover to flight, and vice versa. Precision point landings are even more a challenge if not using the autopilot, and then even compensating for movement of the tiny little landing pad (those carriers are really moving, you know...) is the cream on top of the challenge hierarchy.

The more I play it, the more I like to just fly with it. Sensors and weapons I have not even touched so far, there is quite some system diversity and complexity, and handling all that simulataneously AND WITH MY OWN HANDS promises to become - well, even more of a challenge.

This title has risen within 24 hours to my Olymp of VR games. Did not expect that I would ever "train" that much for a computer game again like I did many years ago for the flight sims of that time! I now label this title a must have for VR gamers. I also realise that my head and reflexes work slightly slower now than lets say 10, 15 years ago...

I just learned that you can attach hardware pedals, if you want. Else you twist the virtual control stick for rudders. I must say the handling of the aircraft, the virtual stick and throttle interfaces, works very, very well. Physics are convincing.
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Old 08-05-20, 11:32 AM   #13
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Nice Video's you have put up here.
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Old 12-29-20, 07:27 PM   #14
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In the Best of Steam 2020 rankings, the game made it to Gold ranking in the category "Best VR title".
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Old 12-30-20, 12:30 PM   #15
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Which VR system did you get in 2017?
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