Several AH players have asked me online about VR. Not easy to answer on the VOX.
I had spent several weeks using VR. I got an abrasion on my forehead so I switched back to regular AH with TrackIR for a week. This made for an interesting, comparative test.
A quick thanks to HTC. They went out of their way to make switching back and forth between VR and regular AH very simple. Things like head position and game sound setting are now saved in different file names so if you change one say in VR, it does not mess up the same setting in regular AH. There are several other features HTC has provided that makes playing in VR easy. Like regular AH, there is a learning curve but it is fairly easy to grasp once you get the basics.
When donning a VR headset for the first time, you will be disappointed in the clarity of the graphics. Everyone agrees with that. No sense steering you away from the lack of clarity issue but there is more to the story than that initial disappointment. You get use to the somewhat, fuzzy graphics. Much like living next to a train track I would guess. Sooner or latter you just don't hear the train any more.
When I switched back to AH with TrackIR, I was taken with the clarity of everything outside the cockpit. Inside the cockpit, it is disappointing without the full 3D experience of VR. The VR, 3D field is striking and near real life size. Especially so in the updated planes and GVs. My best comparison between VR and regular AH is the cockpit of a P-47. There is a small gap behind the dash board of a P-47 if you look closely in regular AH. In VR, that gap is huge. Maybe large enough to put a pony keg. The B17 is just pure neat.
Air to air combat is a high hurdle when going from TrackIR to VR. On the other hand, those, that switched from a hat switch view to VR had little or no problem. TrackIR, as many have reported, is just that good. Now VR head tracking is just as good in the front 180 degree but to look full back or full up, you need the aid of a hat switch. Often I lose a player in the rear view or steer the wrong way when using VR after years of using TrackIR. Now if can get a good turn so I am tracking for a shot, the VR shines. Hopefully, someday, VR will act more like TrackIR when looking to the rear and upper views.
Shooting is two different worlds when comparing VR to regular AH. Gun and canon shooting whether plane or GV is where VR really shines. When I switched to regular AH, I missed the full scale, VR shooting the most of all. The full scale of the shooting situation is just fantastic even with less than sharp graphics. There is an one exception here. For some reason, the head position is like on the handles of a top mounted 50 cal like on an M4. No amount of head position change can fix that.
Bombing is way different in VR play. It does take getting use too because of the scale, view change is different. I drop my ords say as an example on a fighter hanger by the size and aim point on the gunsight. They look different so you have to practice your VR drops to get to where you were in regular AH. Judging the attack angle is a bit more of a challenge in VR some say and I think they are right. Lack of TrackIR like viewing very much hurts finding that GV under a tree then keeping it insight while you clover leaf for the drop.
How long can you play using VR? Pretty much as long as you want once you get use to VR. Your face can get hot. A fan blowing on your face fixes that. If I want to plan a day session and night session like on a weekend then I use regular AH for one session and VR for the next albeit you could do both.
In conclusion, after a week using regular AH with TrackIR, I was glad to get back to the VR. It is now my first choice.
I hope this helps someone contemplating a VR purchase.
