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 didn't add VR until the last piece of my puzzle. I was never sold on it and being a graphics whore I didn't think I could deal with the low pixel count and the dreaded screen door effect. I bought into triples after debating whether to not bother with them and just plunge into VR and hope for the best, but I didn't do that until at least a year later I think, after the motion and all the other gear I bought. I must say, it is a super experience IF you can handle it and IF you can deal with the low res units that are available today. I super sample and make the best of it, but there is absolutely nothing compared to sitting in the cockpit. Nothing. When you're in the F40 in AC, you feel like you're in an 80's car. When you're in an open wheel formula car, the road is right there, next to you. The presence you get from it is unmatched. It's almost as if VR was made specifically for sim racing, as there is no other experience that pretty much has no flaws. You can't bump into a wall, run out of room, none of that.

I still have my screens and have ordered to monitor mount with my GT1, but that's just a safeguard for titles that don't support VR (AMS namely) and also when I finally start to race competitively I just don't know how a headset is going to feel after 90 minutes, 2 hours of racing. In heat. I've kept them for that.

I hope my chassis is close to being on the way. I have everything sitting here beside me in pieces, ready to go. Now it's just waiting.

Also, now that I've dismantled the NL GT2 cockpit, I've had a play with getting my seat directly onto the platform. Won't happen. You need clearance (that the seat slider and the H bracket provide) for the bottom of the seat curve to sit into. So I will definitely be using the Jeremy method of 80 20 mounts in between platform and seat to get all the holes lined up and also to allow the seat room to not hit the motion platform. My seat did come with some risers that prop it up slightly, but I am still not matching hole patterns, and because I've removed the slider it isn't enough to allow the seat to clear.

 

[Mascot]

...there is absolutely nothing compared to sitting in the cockpit. Nothing. When you're in the F40 in AC, you feel like you're in an 80's car. When you're in an open wheel formula car, the road is right there, next to you. The presence you get from it is unmatched. It's almost as if VR was made specifically for sim racing, as there is no other experience that pretty much has no flaws. You can't bump into a wall, run out of room, none of that.

Yep, totally agree. VR and sim racing were made for each other.
How lucky are we that within a couple of minutes we can be 'sitting' in the cockpit and turning laps in just about any race car from history on just about any track - even ones that no longer exist - and all from the comfort and safety of our own homes. And thanks to VR, FFB wheels, pedals, shifters, surround sound, transducers and motion platforms it's a genuinely authentic and believable experience.

 

[anton_Chez]

Pity shipping times still exist....... !!!

 

[BrainsBush]

Yep, totally agree. VR and sim racing were made for each other.
How lucky are we that within a couple of minutes we can be 'sitting' in the cockpit and turning laps in just about any race car from history on just about any track - even ones that no longer exist - and all from the comfort and safety of our own homes. And thanks to VR, FFB wheels, pedals, shifters, surround sound, transducers and motion platforms it's a genuinely authentic and believable experience.

And my wife acts as a pitgirl . That's still allowed in my living

I prefer headphones over my (old) Logitech surround sound set. Recenlty bought a Sennheiser HD599 and swapped the Denon MM-AH300. Over ear with open cups because my gameroom is quiet most of the times. Really great sound! But that's maybe going off topic too much?

 

[BrainsBush]

Pity shipping times still exist....... !!!

May be because I live in a small country with high density on a square kilometer? More and more larger retailers and Etailers offer the service of same day delivery for FREE. Order before 12 and get it delivered the same day.

 

[anton_Chez]

I am the same as you Brian. I use headphones when I am racing. It blocks out noise you otherwise wouldn't hear in a race car (dogs barking, phones ringing etc.). I use bluetooth earbuds now so almost no cord, and completely isolated apart from what's going on inside (and out) of the car. I tried using my over the ears and it just got too hot. So earbuds for me are perfect. I did have my 2.1 connected upstairs but now downstairs it won't be. Just the buds.

 

[Mascot]

Ah, you two are missing out on the glory that is having the main game audio coming from a surround sound speaker setup, but having Crew Chief and the spotter talking to you via your helmet (ie the VR headset headphones). I love it! You get room-shaking audio but with crystal-clear comms with the pit crew. I can hear him and the spotter just fine but I have to lift off the accelerator to talk to Crew Chief most of the time though, just so he can hear me over the engine noise..!

 

[anton_Chez]

That's interesting. I might try that.

 

[Mascot]

That's interesting. I might try that.

It's awesome. To implement it (dev's own words):

First make sure your Rift is running. Then enable the "Use nAudio playback" option in the app's Properties screen and restart the app. The app's main screen will have 2 new select boxes under the volume sliders. These contain all the audio devices the app can send its output to - select the one you want (whatever the Rift's audio device is called) for messages and background sounds. That's it.

You did put soundproofing into your games room extension, yes..?

 

[anton_Chez]

Not sure I'm going to be jamming that hard with the sound. I have ear plugs for work should the missus find the need to complain.......

 

[Mascot]

The Eagle has landed.

Mofo weighs a bastard ton. Looks REALLY well put together.

The angle profile for the suspension brackets arrived too. Very glad I went for the 1/4" thick section after feeling the weight of the NLV3..!

Got a busy time ahead drilling/filing out the slots (grrrr..!) so that my Sparco can bolt directly to the frame, and cutting/drilling/painting the suspension brackets. Hopefully the P1 will have arrived by then and the real fun can start.

I'm half tempted to bodge-rig it up to my current cockpit tonight for a quick play, but must resist...

 

[anton_Chez]

@Mascot I jumped a little for you when I saw the pic..... Lame, lol!

That's awesome that it's with you now. One suggestion, place your seat on the platform as you intend to mount it. That is, with the slider (if any) and any spacers that the seat may include also. I went to mount my seat directly to the platform and it wouldn't work for me because a) of the already mentioned hole pattern not lining up, but also b) because the bottom of the bucket seat needs clearance and if there isn't enough it will hit the platform before being able to tighten down.

Try it before you drill anything. I wish my mounting plates looked like yours again

P.S I carried that mother downstairs mounted to the NL side rails from my old cockpit and can confirm weighs a tonne.

 

[Mascot]

Some minor progress: I got the seat rail fixing points amended to suit the standard bolt pattern for a recliner sport seat. STANDARD BOLT PATTERN, Next Level. Did you hear that?

It actually wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Decided not to drill holes, just open up the slots with a round file. Masking and sealing everything off and carefully measuring and marking took longer than the actual filing - the whole thing probably only took an hour from start to finish.

 

[anton_Chez]

How have you gone mounting the seat now that the holes are aligned? Btw that is a super clean cut there, I am super impressed. I won't show mine (I might do) because I may be responsible for heart attacks of other V3 owners..... I WISH mine came out like that. How is the clearance under the seat? Does it hit?

So, for your seat (and I guess all others too seeing as they are supposed to be a standard pattern) is the front and rear alignment good? Is it just the left and right alignment that need fixing? I've tried to look on mine but I didn't pay that much attention to it at the time as I knew I needed another solution anyway, given the lack of clearance a direct mount with no seat slider would have caused. But, I want to know if I am going to be able to get away with just 2 pieces (one front and one back, bridging across the plates) of 80 20 to align the holes. I am hoping so.

Another off topic (slightly). I have decided how to mount my new Buttkicker mini LFE to the rear end of the GT1 chassis. Instead of putting it at the bottom of the cockpit, I am going to use the above mentioned 80 20 pieces used to mount the seat, to mount the mini. Have a plate mounted to the underneath of the piece of profile at the rear, which means the shaker is directly connected to the seat platform, and therefore the seat. Isolate the seat from the bottom frame with the rubber isolators I've got coming and should be good to go. I should have ordered a buttkicker mount now that I think about it from SImlab but I had no idea I was swapping the Aura's out when I ordered, so bad luck there. I am sure a thick piece of steel from the local hardware store with a couple of custom drilled holes should get the job done.

P.S. Did you use the file in a drill or dremmel type tool or was it just a hand file? Looks like it would have taken an age if it was a hand file.

 

[Mascot]

How have you gone mounting the seat now that the holes are aligned? Btw that is a super clean cut there, I am super impressed. I won't show mine (I might do) because I may be responsible for heart attacks of other V3 owners..... I WISH mine came out like that. How is the clearance under the seat? Does it hit?

So, for your seat (and I guess all others too seeing as they are supposed to be a standard pattern) is the front and rear alignment good? Is it just the left and right alignment that need fixing? I've tried to look on mine but I didn't pay that much attention to it at the time as I knew I needed another solution anyway, given the lack of clearance a direct mount with no seat slider would have caused. But, I want to know if I am going to be able to get away with just 2 pieces (one front and one back, bridging across the plates) of 80 20 to align the holes. I am hoping so.

Another off topic (slightly). I have decided how to mount my new Buttkicker mini LFE to the rear end of the GT1 chassis. Instead of putting it at the bottom of the cockpit, I am going to use the above mentioned 80 20 pieces used to mount the seat, to mount the mini. Have a plate mounted to the underneath of the piece of profile at the rear, which means the shaker is directly connected to the seat platform, and therefore the seat. Isolate the seat from the bottom frame with the rubber isolators I've got coming and should be good to go. I should have ordered a buttkicker mount now that I think about it from SImlab but I had no idea I was swapping the Aura's out when I ordered, so bad luck there. I am sure a thick piece of steel from the local hardware store with a couple of custom drilled holes should get the job done.

P.S. Did you use the file in a drill or dremmel type tool or was it just a hand file? Looks like it would have taken an age if it was a hand file.

The base of my seat is pretty flush so I should be able to just bolt it from underneath into the vertical threaded bosses in the seat frame. Hole alignment along the seat rails was spot on - if NL put the slots at 90° then no modding would have been required.
I simply opened the slots up with a round hand file. It was pretty quick as the file was relatively new and sharp. I'd definitely recommend this method for anyone needing to do the same.

If you contact Darko at Sim Lab he might be able to add a BK mount to your order if it hasn't shipped yet. They are great about that kind of stuff.

I'm holding out for my P1 before trying the V3. There's not much sense in faffing about for the sake of a few days. I'll get the suspension bracket made in the meantime.

 

[anton_Chez]

I was thinking that but I have a feeling it's already left. I ordered it over 20 days ago, It might be just about to leave or already left. I can ask him but I feel bad because even if I say I want to order it he may think I am trying to sneak another freebie and I don't want that. They have been great already with my little requests and as far as I know I am getting some profile for the seat mount AND the upright and sandwich plates for the shifter arm. That's awesome.

I would wait too, and I am the most impatient person for things like that. I haven't even been bothered to try and mount my HE shifter to the NL cockpit, I just tore it down and have all the bits waiting for the GT1 ready to go. I sort of lost interest in being bothered driving with the old set up. So I thought I'd use my day off work to begin the process. I want to smash out the new God of War when it's released later this week so by the time I am done with that hopefully it's here!

Does your seat have threading? That's probably way easier than the way I needed to do it. My seat needs lock nuts on the other end of the bolt, so doing the hole drilling out, then modifying the seat slider and still having to have room to hold and secure the lock nuts while I tightened everything down nearly made me quit sim racing for good (not really). Right pain in the ass that was.

So if the holes along the rail line up, I should only need the one piece of profile to fit the narrower hole pattern across the seat. That should give me enough clearance, somewhere to mount the mini lfe to AND have the hole pattern aligned. I have the seat right next to me I should have another play.... cbf :/

 

[Mr Latte]

Has or can someone show the underside of the "H" section used to attach a seat.
Might be interesting to see these parts underside or removed.

For those seeking to add tactile for improved performance. In my view, it would be worth finding a solution that has this section sandwiched within top/bottom aluminum plates. These could be approx 8-10mm thick, strong but little weight. Between these plates, isolators would be used/fixed to just raise above the current "H" section. This means the top plate on the Left/Right hand sides is isolated (rubber between the metal top/bottom) helping to maintain and reduce the level of vibration that goes down into the main VR3 unit. This type of application would avoid adding too much additional height to the current frame.

The seat used can then be bolted to the new top plates and tactile also attached.
Needs perhaps more thought and plans discussed or considered by someone to tackle doing if interested.

 

[HugoB]

...for new buyers that don't want to drill out the top holes for the seat mount on the NLV3, there is an adapter that will attach to the underside of your standard race seat hole pattern, and then you can slide it on top of the V3 and attach it to the side holes of the seat mount of the V3. It makes sense when you see this picture:

This is the schematic:

And attach that to these holes:

And you can buy it here for the astronomical amount of 160 euro:
https://www.force2motion.de/product...next-level-motion-platform-v3.html&no_boost=1

I'll be doing this because at the price of my whole rig, this is but a drop of water in a rainstorm

 

[Neil Farren]

...for new buyers that don't want to drill out the top holes for the seat mount on the NLV3, there is an adapter that will attach to the underside of your standard race seat hole pattern, and then you can slide it on top of the V3 and attach it to the side holes of the seat mount of the V3. It makes sense when you see this picture:

This is the schematic:

And attach that to these holes:

And you can buy it here for the astronomical amount of 160 euro:
https://www.force2motion.de/product...next-level-motion-platform-v3.html&no_boost=1

I'll be doing this because at the price of my whole rig, this is but a drop of water in a rainstorm

This looks like a good solution.

 

[Mascot]

...for new buyers that don't want to drill out the top holes for the seat mount on the NLV3, there is an adapter that will attach to the underside of your standard race seat hole pattern, and then you can slide it on top of the V3 and attach it to the side holes of the seat mount of the V3. It makes sense when you see this picture:

This is the schematic:

And attach that to these holes:

And you can buy it here for the astronomical amount of 160 euro:
https://www.force2motion.de/product...next-level-motion-platform-v3.html&no_boost=1

I'll be doing this because at the price of my whole rig, this is but a drop of water in a rainstorm

@AntoN_CheZ yep, my Sparco has threaded holes for bolting from below. Dead simple.

€160 ?!!?
Holy crap, it's an hour's work including prep and cleanup to file the slots. I'd seriously recommend trying what I did and then spending the €160 on strippers and Scotch.

Or sim gear.