Buying advice please - Next Level v3 Motion Platform

[MarkR]

I'm looking for some advice and thoughts of other owners or people with good knowledge of the product, please.

I always said I'd buy myself a motion simulator if I could afford one and had the room available. Well, that day may have arrived. I'm impressed by what I've seen of the Next Level v3 Motion Platform

This seems to meet all my criteria:

+ Limited space requirements, I don't have room for a huge sim rig but this seems compact enough to work.
+ Works with Oculus Rift VR, that fixed head position setting solution is impressive
+ Great support and regular updates from the developers
+ Available in the UK
+ Works with my current Thrustmaster wheel and accessories.
+ Sub £3k for the full setup, I'm not a pro racer I'm not looking for a practice simulator this is just for fun so the cost/fun balance has to be right.

So help me do the man maths! Is it worth it?

Is there another similar product I should also look at? It would need to be reasonably compact, work with VR, available in the UK without too much hassle and in the same £3-5K price range.

Is there anywhere I can try one or even better several of the systems in the UK?

 

[anton_Chez]

That's what we're here for, to make everyone else pour as much into their rigs as others made us do!

I am not a UK resident, but as an Aussie I am happy to see you guys cut ties. I am sure you have been told doom and gloom, but I see it differently. Anyway, hopefully it's not yourself that has been directly affected and you are just speaking from hearsay. Politics can stay away from our sim racing, thank you!

If you need some more info, just hit me up, I'll do what I can to get you into that rig with the motion as easily as possible.

 

[Steve D]

You alternatively could use your rig (if it has that adjustment) to just move forward and back, and not move the seat on sliders at all. This of course would mean that the platform is moving in that adjustment also.

Anton,

Do you think it would be best to make any forwards / backwards seat adjustments on the rig, (so that the seat and V3 platform always move in unison) rather than using a slider, which might create an imbalance with the V3? (I.e the weight of the seat and me in it would move forwards or backwards but the V3 would stay put)

Thanks.

PS. Ta very much for your last response. And re the political comment, "no worries" as you might say. If there were I wouldn't have spent the sum I have but I have to say I'm like a kid in a sweet shop at the moment and this V3 might well be the icing on the cake, especially hooked up with the Oculus.

 

[sjb266]

After a good few months with the V3 on my VR rig I am very very happy with it and will not be without one again.. I don't use side motion at all but for simulating bumps , impacts and braking g forces its amazing.. if I forget to turn it on before I play it feels so so weird without it..!

 

[anton_Chez]

Do you think it would be best to make any forwards / backwards seat adjustments on the rig, (so that the seat and V3 platform always move in unison) rather than using a slider, which might create an imbalance with the V3? (I.e the weight of the seat and me in it would move forwards or backwards but the V3 would stay put)

I have the slider on my seat. It sits fine, no imbalance or anything. But remember I use the standard mounts for the V3 and my rig, while it does have some forwards and backwards movement, is not as modular as an 80/20 type rig. My advice would be to see how it sits in the rig before mounting the seat. Then, depending how you have mounted the V3 to your rig (or placed it INSIDE the space in rear end, on the standard mounts if space permits) evaluate the next course of action in relation to how the seat position is going to be affected.

It's hard to know how it's all going to go together without actually having it in front of you. I have had to mess around with a few things not actually knowing the end result, but you work through it with what you have available to you. Since I got the V3, I've actually wanted to see what other rigs I could use as the one I have, while serviceable, is not all that great. But your situation is the reason why I have just decided to leave it as is, and just replace the seat. Which was awesome by the way, the standard seat was not great and the Bride replica I have now makes the motion even better. So if you can order you rig without a seat, I would get a real race car seat (replica, no need to spend $2K on a sim seat) and mount that to the V3. It made a great deal of difference to COG and the way the motion is transferred to your body.

But anyway I am rambling, so have a think about what I said. My bottom line would be, unless the rig manufacturer can supply you with a pre fab mount for the particular model (V3) of seat mover you want to add, just get it, and be prepared to make some mods while building. It's really the only way that you are going to know how it all fits together. If you are handy with tools and have a little imagination, then you should be fine

 

[Steve D]

After a good few months with the V3 on my VR rig I am very very happy with it and will not be without one again.. I don't use side motion at all but for simulating bumps , impacts and braking g forces its amazing.. if I forget to turn it on before I play it feels so so weird without it..!

I'm sold. Now just need to track one down but think I may have to wait a bit.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Mounting the NL motion to a 80/20 rig is very easy. The NL comes with side plates to lift it. You can just sit that on the 80/20 rig and bolt it down. That's what I did. I have a Sim-lab rig. Otherwise another option is to use additional 80/20 and mount to the rig.

This is mine.

And an example of using 80/20 to make your own mount. Of course this isn't an exact, it's just a few bits I've thrown together to show in principle. You'd use a more appropriate size of 80/20.

Anton is right, it's just the process of trying different things to get it to work. The Sim-Lab rig is easily modded, or just the arrangement of the construction adjusted from what they send you to get it all to fit.

Installing a bucket seat with side mounts should be easy as there will be enough play or the ability to drill the additional holes in the mounting brackets to line up the holes into the NL mounting holes.

However a regular seat with base mounting holes only isn't, as the fixed holes on those seats will not line up to the NL platform without drilling the NL side.

 

[Steve D]

Mounting the NL motion to a 80/20 rig is very easy. The NL comes with side plates to lift it. You can just sit that on the 80/20 rig and bolt it down. That's what I did. I have a Sim-lab rig. Otherwise another option is to use additional 80/20 and mount to the rig.

This is mine.
View attachment 218297

And an example of using 80/20 to make your own mount. Of course this isn't an exact, it's just a few bits I've thrown together to show in principle. You'd use a more appropriate size of 80/20.
View attachment 218298

Anton is right, it's just the process of trying different things to get it to work. The Sim-Lab rig is easily modded, or just the arrangement of the construction adjusted from what they send you to get it all to fit.

Installing a bucket seat with side mounts should be easy as there will be enough play or the ability to drill the additional holes in the mounting brackets to line up the holes into the NL mounting holes.

However a regular seat with base mounting holes only isn't, as the fixed holes on those seats will not line up to the NL platform without drilling the NL side.

Jeremy, that's really useful. Thank you for that. May well 'tap you up' for more advice / pics when I get my rig, (should arrive in a week or so), but based on the excellent info provided by Anton and yourself, fitment does sound fairly straightforward.

Quick question, with your Sim-lab rig, did you retain a seat slider, assuming you had one?

Many thanks again.

Mac

 

[anton_Chez]

I had to drill the holes on the platform out, yes. They were JUST off enough to not be able to drill new holes, so I opened up the existing ones. A little nerve racking as ruining that mounting plate would have meant getting another one, or some further surgery to provide an adequate place to mount the seat. My slider came with the new bucket seat, so I just used that, which I had to also drill out the existing holes to get some play to make it fit. A few washers did the trick of making sure the bolts didn't pull through the newly enlarged holes.

One piece of advice is to TRY to not get frustrated with the process. There WILL be a way, you just need a cool head to work it out. I get frustrated (see angry) pretty easily so I just have to keep it in check to allow my problem solving side to come through.

The mount the Jeremy suggests will actually be best now that I've seen it. You give the platform the clearance it requires to move freely by using the intended mounts, and then you just mount those mounts to your rig. It shouldn't raise it TOO much and I would be comforted knowing that the platform is mounted to what was intended for it. Getting a bucket seat will also drop the seating position from the standard seat (the one that come with mine, as I ordered the bundle) but this will depend on what seat your rig comes with, if any. It may end up that the seat that comes with yours is like mine now, which would be great for you.

 

[Steve D]

Thanks fellas and yep, Jeremy's use of the New Level supplied mount looks like the most straightforward fitting option. And Anton, fear not, I won't be rushing things, want to enjoy the build and don't tend to get frustrated. And if I'm heading that way a brief timeout and a trip to the fridge for a cold one always helps.

Well I've gone and done it now. Found a V3 in stock and it should arrive early next week.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Jeremy, that's really useful. Thank you for that. May well 'tap you up' for more advice / pics when I get my rig, (should arrive in a week or so), but based on the excellent info provided by Anton and yourself, fitment does sound fairly straightforward.

Quick question, with your Sim-lab rig, did you retain a seat slider, assuming you had one?

Many thanks again.

Mac

Previously I had the full NL cockpit so have the original NL seat from that setup still, so I'm using the seat slider that came with it. I haven't changed the seat but I have ran the measurements and researched alternative seats to know the mounting holes on the NL platform are not uniform to regular seats so it will require a bit of additional work to connect a different seat.

Anton's brute force method of extending the holes on the platform side is a solution. The holes are only off by about half a cm on each hole. Another solution I figured was using some 80/20 mounted to the NL platform, then mount the seat sliders to that. The channels in the 80/20 would then allow the width adjustment, then attach the seat to seat sliders.

The NL seat is okay, but if I had the option I'd prefer to choose my own. I may get around to changing the seat, it's not a priority for me as the stock seat does the job.

You will probably want a seat slider; if anything, just to get in and out of the rig more comfortably. The way you'd plan mounting the platform to the cockpit is so it sits fairly central to your seating position with regards to the seat above the platform. And the seat slider is just for minor adjustment off centre. With an 80/20 rig that's easy as you have full freedom of the position the lateral 80/20 posts below. So move those and the platform above moves forward and back too.

I'll be happy to post further pictures to help you out. Once you're familiar with 80/20 you'll realise it's all pretty straightforward. It's just man sized mechano.

 

[Magiashkii]

here is another simple way to attach the v3 with no mods to the base and its solid as a rock... this was an early picture from my build

 

[Steve D]

here is another simple way to attach the v3 with no mods to the base and its solid as a rock... this was an early picture from my build

Now that would work very nicely as well. Am really please I went down the 80/20 route with Sim Lab. Was so close to pushing the button on an RSeat N1, which looked great and ticked all my boxes but I acme across Sim Lab by chance at the last minute. Think the P1 will give me that little bit of extra flexibility and more customisation options.

 

[anton_Chez]

That pic is exactly what I was thinking to do. They would negate the need to use the standard side mounts, and keep the unit closer to the ground. If you can get it to fit like that, that's perfect. It's in exactly the same holes as the bolts would go through for the standard side mounts, and looks very sturdy. You then can move the back end of your rig forward or back as Jeremy was suggesting, to get within striking distance and then use your slider to micro manage your seating position eg. shoes on or off, different person in the rig, etc. Personally I am the only person that uses my rig and I never move my seat slider getting in or out. I am a pretty small body (165cm, 70 odd kg) so it's never an issue, even with the bucket seat. I think that's also why I disliked the stock seat as it was far too big for me but I can see it being necessary to suit larger people buying the kit.

You will be VERY happy with your purchase and as much as I say that I hated getting all of mine set up, some of the fun is actually putting it all together, solving the problems unique to your situation, adding things over time, all of that stuff. It's a bit like PC gaming in the sense that I love it as much for the hardware as I do for the software, sometimes more so. If you have the interest in it and also the funds to make it happen, then why not.

Also, I have some custom profiles in the Next Level software that I have spent many hours testing and working with the guys that code the motion platform algorithm. So when you get yours all set up, let me know and I can give you some tips. Some of the features in the software have come from me having issues with certain things as well as suggestions for the team, which they eventually implemented into the release build. It feels AWESOME now.

 

[Steve D]

Also, I have some custom profiles in the Next Level software that I have spent many hours testing and working with the guys that code the motion platform algorithm. So when you get yours all set up, let me know and I can give you some tips. Some of the features in the software have come from me having issues with certain things as well as suggestions for the team, which they eventually implemented into the release build. It feels AWESOME now.

Cheers for the reply once again Anton and funny you should mention the NL software and custom profiles as I've been reading up on that and will definitely 'pick your brains' later on if that's okay. For info my 'go-to' games to start with will be Assetto Corsa, Dirt Rally and Project Cars 2.

I have to say that I'm really excited at the thought of putting everything together and getting it just right for me. The Motion V3 was pretty much the last piece of the jigsaw and whilst it certainly wasn't on the agenda, for now at least, the more I read the more I was hooked and it just seemed to make sense to add it to the build from the off rather than retrofit. And as I'll also be using the Oculus Rift to maximise immersion, everything I read was extremely positive in terms of the benefits of motion to the overall VR experience. I cannot wait to feel that for myself as I have absolutely no clue what to expect.

Fun times ahead!

 

[Magiashkii]

AntoN_CheZ can you send me the custom profiles for the Next Level V3... what other tips do you have? I have had my v3 for about 6 months and love it

 

[anton_Chez]

AntoN_CheZ can you send me the custom profiles for the Next Level V3... what other tips do you have? I have had my v3 for about 6 months and love it

The software has some additional features that you would have seen added over the past couple of updates. Namely, in the 'tools and diagnostics' section, there is now a category called 'hardware configuration', and in the individual game profiles, there is now a tab on the right hand side that is called "motion post processing'.

The hardware configuration was a stop gap for the later addition of the post process settings and I do not touch that setting anymore, just leave it at 100% for both axis and you're normally good. The post processing, however, I have set up profiles for all my titles, and this allows me to tailor the motion to be more like what you would feel in a car and less of like you being on a ride. Have a play with them and see what you think. It basically allows you to limit the range of motion of the platform, as well as increase/decrease the intensity of that axis' movement. For example, I don't like a lot of sway movement (left and right motion while in turns) at all, so I reduce the movement of the axis to maybe 40% of what the platform is actually capable of, and slightly increase the intensity. This makes it feel more realistic, as the force you feel in a race car is a sudden movement, and then if you're going fast enough, the constant G force mid corner being exerted on your body. You miss that feeling in a seat mover as it cannot convey G force, but you certainly can limit the movement enough to make it feel as if the immediate change of direction is realistic, and not just pushing you further over the more you turn the steering wheel.

I also have different profiles for open wheel cars and GT cars, as they have different characteristics that you can tune to enhance the feeling of being in each. Short sharp and intense movement for open wheel, with an emphasis on braking forces, and the more moderate feeling you would have in a GT style car with road car suspension, and not as many HP to throw you around.

Have a play with it and come back with what you think.

 

[Magiashkii]

Great information... Can you send me a screenshot of how you have it set up for open wheel verses GT cars. that would give me a great baseline to start with

 

[anton_Chez]

 

[anton_Chez]

Here is a look at my set up for rFactor2. Pretty much all my sims use the same settings as these. I also have a GAIN profile, this was for before the OFFSET option was added, as the GAIN setting was making the movement non linear (small movements would feel bigger than large movements, as shown by the red line on the graph when moving the GAIN slider). I only really use my OFFSET profiles now, which do utilize some GAIN on open wheel profiles, just to give a little more power to the movements.

See how you go with it.

 

[Magiashkii]

great thanks so much... i look forward to trying these setting out this weekend and i'll report back