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]

I was thinking of adding the profile for the seat mount inside the side rails, with the angle brackets provided to construct the seat frame. That's 80mm space covered, a few washers on each side or a small spacer should cover the remaining mm's. I could just go with the Jeremy method at that point, but inside the side rails as opposed to on top. That's the measurements that they gave me anyway, or I read them somewhere.

 

[Rizzo72]

...

 

[Mascot]

I was thinking of adding the profile for the seat mount inside the side rails, with the angle brackets provided to construct the seat frame. That's 80mm space covered, a few washers on each side or a small spacer should cover the remaining mm's. I could just go with the Jeremy method at that point, but inside the side rails as opposed to on top. That's the measurements that they gave me anyway, or I read them somewhere.

Yeah, those dims are correct, I just checked them on the Sim Lab website. Your idea of mounting the seat rails to the inside of the main cockpit frame then suspending the NLV3 from them sounds like a good way of reducing the gap.

 

[anton_Chez]

There are a few ways to go about it but one thing I do want to do now is isolate the seat and maybe the pedals too. It's highly regarded as a great way to increase the effectiveness of tactile units. I can't say that I understand it fully, I still struggle to comprehend how having rubber between the seat and the rig helps, when the shaker unit is not attached to the actual seat but that's the way it's described. These chassis' are already suspended from the floor with feet (my current one is not) so that is one isolation done, now to get some between the seat and the platform. Which, and this is the part that concerns this thread, raises the seat again a little higher than what it would normally be. Thus, getting the platform as low as possible helps us to incorporate things like this with less side effect.

 

[Mascot]

My V3 won't be arriving until the middle of next week and my P1 will probably follow next weekend, but in the meantime I found this video to be quite informative about how the software is used and expanding on some of the V3's features.

I chopped the beginning off where he was just talking about how to connect the V3 to his particular rig. [edit: you need to jump to about 22 mins in to avoid that stuff. Embedding the video loses the time stamp]

Is it right that you can use the V3 software to drive your transducers? So I could use it to operate my Buttkicker Gamer 2, which is currently driven from my sub feed? That's great news if so.

Also, is the BK mount included in the box? Doesn't need ordering as an extra? I was expecting to have to fabricate something myself.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

The NL software does support transducers but I've found the the software isn't that great, the effects are limited and the delivery quite harsh. Compared to SimVibe the NL tactile feels binary, the effects feel on or off. Unlike SimVibe where effects have more dynamic characteristics.

 

[1Coroner]

I've moved all my Steam apps to a different SSD, so they aren't in C:. Can the NL software find them, or is there another way to point to them?

 

[anton_Chez]

I have all my games and sims on a storage drive as well and there is no problem getting them all picked up. It tries to find them but then you can point to them if it cant, like Simcommander does as well.

I've tried the tactile portion of the software. For a single BK gamer model it may be better than using an audio output like a sub out, but obviously not as good as something like Simvibe. On the other hand, its simpler nature makes it far easier to understand than the mind bender that is Simvibe.

The buttkicker mount I am pretty sure comes in the box. It's only useful if you have a BK Gamer 2 so anything else will need another solution.

Are you just guessing at your window of delivery @Mascot, or did you get confirmation? I have decided to take my entire kit downstairs now, which means nothing in the driving department until the cockpit is here and I build it. It's been nearly 3 weeks since I placed the order, I was hoping that it would be leaving their warehouse imminently. I have no notice of anything however.

 

[BrainsBush]

My V3 won't be arriving until the middle of next week and my P1 will probably follow next weekend, but in the meantime I found this video to be quite informative about how the software is used and expanding on some of the V3's features.

I chopped the beginning off where he was just talking about how to connect the V3 to his particular rig.

Is it right that you can use the V3 software to drive your transducers? So I could use it to operate my Buttkicker Gamer 2, which is currently driven from my sub feed? That's great news if so.

Also, is the BK mount included in the box? Doesn't need ordering as an extra? I was expecting to have to fabricate something myself.

That are going to be very long (waiting) days which I recognize. Enjoy the pre phase. Yep the BK mount is included and don;t forget to mount it BEFORE you install the seat.

 

[Mascot]

I have all my games and sims on a storage drive as well and there is no problem getting them all picked up. It tries to find them but then you can point to them if it cant, like Simcommander does as well.

I've tried the tactile portion of the software. For a single BK gamer model it may be better than using an audio output like a sub out, but obviously not as good as something like Simvibe. On the other hand, its simpler nature makes it far easier to understand than the mind bender that is Simvibe.

The buttkicker mount I am pretty sure comes in the box. It's only useful if you have a BK Gamer 2 so anything else will need another solution.

Are you just guessing at your window of delivery @Mascot, or did you get confirmation? I have decided to take my entire kit downstairs now, which means nothing in the driving department until the cockpit is here and I build it. It's been nearly 3 weeks since I placed the order, I was hoping that it would be leaving their warehouse imminently. I have no notice of anything however.

I dropped them a note and was told it should ship on Wednesday.

 

[Mascot]

That are going to be very long (waiting) days which I recognize. Enjoy the pre phase. Yep the BK mount is included and don;t forget to mount it BEFORE you install the seat.

I'm not sure it'll fit inside the P1, especially if the v3 is mounted lower. Might have to attach it directly to the cockpit.

 

[BrainsBush]

I'm not sure it'll fit inside the P1, especially if the v3 is mounted lower. Might have to attach it directly to the cockpit.

If you want I can take some pics/video of the back of the platform with the BK mount installed. for dimensions etc.

 

[Mascot]

If you want I can take some pics/video of the back of the platform with the BK mount installed. for dimensions etc.

That would be great - many thanks!

 

[BrainsBush]

Hope it helps in anyway?

PS I just had to show (off) my new shifter

 

[Mascot]

Hope it helps in anyway?

View attachment 246884 View attachment 246885 View attachment 246886 View attachment 246887 View attachment 246888 View attachment 246889

PS I just had to show (off) my new shifter

Many thanks - that's a huge help. . Nice setup!
I think it'll fit after all. I just have to remember to take the full range of motion into account before installing it.

How has your overall experience with the V3 been? I don't think you've had it long, have you?

 

[BrainsBush]

Many thanks - that's a huge help. . Nice setup!
I think it'll fit after all. I just have to remember to take the full range of motion into account before installing it.

How has your overall experience with the V3 been? I don't think you've had it long, have you?

I only have this NLR v3 (and seat....) for two months. Everytime I put the power button on and the short calibrate routine starts I still get a smile from ear to ear. In combination with VR it is so freaking great. Yes I might be sometimes react overenthusiastic but this is absolutely worth it. ANd I hope you have the exact same experience.

Already discussed in previous posts but do keep the at least one inch (?) ground clearance in mind for ventilation/air flow of the motion sim itself. Default it is about 4 cm as seen in pic.

PS that moment my wife caught me when I was crawling through my sim room with a camera. Epic! She is still laughing...mid life crisis/fun in optima forma.

 

[Steve D]

Everytime I put the power button on and the short calibrate routine starts I still get a smile from ear to ear. In combination with VR it is so freaking great. Yes I might be sometimes react overenthusiastic but this is absolutely worth it. ANd I hope you have the exact same experience.

You are certainly not being over-enthusiastic or over-reacting! I feel exactly the same and in VR and with a decent FFB set up, the immersion factor goes up to another level, although it's still epic when I use my triples.

Spa and Eau Rouge in a DTM Merc just never gets old although I found myself hot lapping the Aquila CR1 GT for an hour solid at Hockenheimring National in Raceroom yesterday afternoon because it just felt so damn good and communicative.

Mascot, you will love it.

 

[Mascot]

VR has increased my enjoyment of sim racing immeasurably (to the point where I sometimes wonder how I ever got into it in the first place when 2D was the only option..!), and adding motion always seemed like the final piece of the immersion jigsaw. I've been researching this subject for a year and I don't think I've read one negative comment about the V3 or heard from one disgruntled customer (although there MUST be some out there somewhere, surely? It's human nature). For a long time it was a toss-up between this and the 3dof DOF Reality one (which was cheaper, had traction loss, and negated the need to upgrade my cockpit) but there were too many negative reports about build quality and cost savings on vital components like the cheap traction loss wheels. I'm also a lot happier that Next Level are UK-based and seem to have excellent aftersales support. There are some nightmare stories about the DOF Reality unit on dedicated motion platform forums.

I also think a seat mover will be a better solution that full motion at this end of the market, until you get into full suspended chassis systems like the D-Box.

So yeah. Starting to get excited now..!

 

[BrainsBush]

Disadvantage of racing in VR is that some other good 2D titles like e.g F1 series or TT Isle of Man are a struggle to get used to. Feels like going back in time. Yes 4k graphics but still...So at least F1 2018 needs VR support and hopefully I can test that during the early beta. (not confirmed!!)

You will also be surprised by the sound level. Or better said the sound of silence.
Although UK based (too easy ) NLR has great support. And in my case I refer to questions and regular software/firmware updates. So far no experience -and I want to keep it that way for a very long time- with support in case of failures. For that reason I've bought NLR with also good local support.

 

[Mascot]

I simply can't go back to racing in 2D now. Everything seems flat, lifeless and limited compared to VR. There's zero sense of presence, immersion or involvement for me now, if those things ever really existed at all in 2D. I've been ruined!