What kind of view do you use?

Msportdan · Jan 9, 2015

Yesterday i started experimenting in a new view (for me) for racing sims, in. First thing is i did was to remove the wheel and use another FOV to create a more of a feeling of being inside the cockpit.

I settled with a FOV of 0.6 and played with the seat so the HUD sat above my physical wheel. Im only on a relatively small single monitor, so i understand the official FOV calculation may be incorrect. But to me its seemed pretty good and immersive.

Was wondering how many of you take off the wheel and zoom in so to speak? with either triples or single displays?

Im still undecided whether to stick with this however i may find it hard to go back to a full (simcade) view
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWV0_u0r-Hk&fmt=37

Msportdan · Jan 13, 2015

lol yeah gottya

dont get me wrong when it worked it was good, but i play mainly in the evening and that means low level light. It was taking me ages to try and set this thing up, so i was messing about more than i was playing. If i want it to work it must be flawless in its operation otherwise, i wont bother with it.

James Cook · Jan 13, 2015

You would need to go down the IR route or not at all in your situation. FaceTrackNoIR is no good in low light conditions. You should be able to build a hat or clip for a tenner if you think it's worth it.

Msportdan · Jan 13, 2015

yes ur totally right james..

For me im not sure its worth it. I spend enough time in the FFB menu in RRE. lol

Msportdan · Jan 14, 2015

quick question to anyone in the know..

If i WERE to consider triple screen racing on my PC. would my Gtx 970 single be okay, and an i7?

Brandon Wright · Jan 14, 2015

I run three 32" screens on my single 970 with an i5. Granted, they're only 720p/60hz which helps a bit, but I can crank the settings up pretty high on all games with a rock-solid 60fps (60hz can only display 60fps so no point in going higher). If you get 1080p/120hz monitors you may have to crank things down a smidgen but should still run fine I'd think.

Msportdan · Jan 14, 2015

i was thinking 22inch screens as i already have one. I would be happy 60fps at 1080 i suppose. but know nothing about this side of things. I get a solid 60fps with pretty much full bar hi reflections 8xaa.

Suppose experiencing the face tracking made me appreciate the wide view and immersion it gives..

Brandon Wright · Jan 14, 2015

I used to have 23" screens, the step up to 32" was incredible and made things feel so much more lifelike. I wouldn't want to go back to those smaller screens, but you go with what you can afford. Three 22's would still be nice. I'm strongly considering upgrading to 27" 1080/120hz monitors, I think the 120hz especially would really make an improvement. Plus, even though my tv's are all the same brand, they are slightly different versions of 720p so they don't line up perfectly (the side monitors display slightly larger than the center) and it's getting to be annoying.

Msportdan · Jan 14, 2015

hhmm i probably wont find my model tv again.

Brandon Wright · Jan 14, 2015

I already had one of the 32"ers, saw the other two at a pawn shop and they appeared to be the same make/model, but they're resolution is slightly different (768vs720?) and that causes images on the top and bottom of the screen to not line up with the center screen, but the center parts of the image line up ok which is the most important part. It's not that big a deal, but it does annoy me sometimes. My biggest desire to upgrade is the 120hz, I know that makes a huge difference on regular tv (makes it feel more life-like) so I imagine it will do great things for my racing screens too.

Mach · Jan 14, 2015

I run with just the wheel for a while to test input lag...which is tiny most of the time. But on some tracks and car combos it's a little worse and I may have to change some settings to reduce it. Sometimes the wheel doesn't bother me and other times it does; the R8 wheel seems massive

As for FOV, I run it on '1' atm and adjust the seat for each car (wish it was that simple getting into my car when the missis has been driving it ) but then I'm new to R3E and have yet to tune it to my liking.

Emilio · Jan 14, 2015

The only reason I don't want to go triple screens it's because of the Oculus Rift.
I understand though that if you have a nice rig setup you take pleasure also in seeing the equipment you've around you.
But yeah... for me the final destination is OR.

Brandon Wright · Jan 14, 2015

^ It's certainly an interesting device but I'd need to try it before thinking about buying one. I already get pretty bad eye-strain being so close to three 32" screens, I imagine it would be even worse with a screen 2" from my eye balls.

Mach · Jan 14, 2015

I have tried the DK2 in AC, we have 5 at work (technician for a school of arts) but the resolution needs to be better IMO of course, and the implementation within the games/sims is poor. Much work to be done. However, it did have a WOW about it, and I am excited.

Emilio · Jan 14, 2015

Brandon Wright said:
^ It's certainly an interesting device but I'd need to try it before thinking about buying one. I already get pretty bad eye-strain being so close to three 32" screens, I imagine it would be even worse with a screen 2" from my eye balls.

Yeah for sure that's important. I think I'll search for some "testing site" as well the moment is out. One of my biggest concern is the weight of that crap on your head. I'm not that much of a long-stint-race lover so I guess I'll have no problem holding it on for 30-60 min... but then after that a 15-20 min break will be definitely needed.
No idea of the consequences on your eyes or brain (migraine?)... sure this sounds a little bit too much optimistic to me!

Connor Caple · Jan 15, 2015

James Cook said:
I keep meaning to get the parts ordered and make a cap for head tracking. Seems quite straightforward and very cheap. I think you have to do a slight modification to the PS Eye too (switch out the filter).

I went to the PoundShop some years ago and bought a pack of two Red Rear LED Bicycle Lights. I then took one of them apart and soldered wires into the PCB and attached the Red LEDs to the end of the wires. I attached the remains of the light (minus the outer cover) to the rear of a BLACK baseball cap (stops spurious readings from white patches/reflections) and sewed the LEDs to the cap - one either side of the peak and one above those two near the top of the hat. Total cost - including value of the wire and solder and new batteries - well under a fiver.

I adjust the camera so all it can see is the bright red LEDs and I can use my hat-tracker in the day or in the dark. No messing about buying IR LEDs or changing the filter on the camera.

Msportdan · Jan 15, 2015

connor, have you got a pic of this cap.. Im interested in making one rather than forking 20£ for it.

cheers

Connor Caple · Jan 15, 2015

Msportdan said:
connor, have you got a pic of this cap.. Im interested in making one rather than forking 20£ for it.

cheers

I didn't make it to look pretty, so someone who cared about that kind of thing could do a nicer job, but it works fine and has done so for 5 years. It looks better on my head, but nobody wants that sort of image before lunch...

I forgot to mention the drinking straw and glue-gun - hehe - so I have sort of 'stalks' at the front there. I originally made it as a 'clip' design attached to the bicycle light base, then changed it to a cap because it worked better.