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Welcome to the flight sim thread. Here we talk about flight simulators of all kinds, associated hardware, and other things associated with flying. IRC: irc.synirc.net #flightsim Mumble: Discord: AirGoons Civilian Sims Microsoft Flight Simulator X Still the yardstick after 8 years Now available on Steam! X-Plane It's getting better Also available on Steam. Prepar3D DON'T HAVE FUN WITH THIS! Military Sims Digital Combat Series (DCS) IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 Wings of Prey Rise of Flight Free to Play with 2 Planes, other planes are DLC Strike Fighters 2 series/First Eagles Sim-Light, SF2 series is Jets from the 50s through the 70s, First Eagles is WWI Over Flanders Fields - Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 required! Falcon BMS, a free total conversion of the original Falcon 4.0 game from the 1990's, with a focus on the F16 variants in fully clickable and spergy cockpits. Used by many actual air forces. Basically, imagine DCS F16. The thread for spergy and clickable military simulations, DCS World and Falcon BMS among them is here Sauer posted:DCS is like that really hot guy with a great body who's never had sex before, so he doesn't know what to do with his hands and blows his load in ten seconds so the fun ends quickly. OH GOD I WANT MORE Joysticks / Rudder Pedals / Other CH Products - Expensive Saitek - Somewhat affordable, quality can vary. Thrustmaster - Expensive / Affordable Logitech - Expensive / Affordable Cyborg - Affordable / Console Compatible This section stolen from an older Elite: Dangerous thread: Rotation Confusion posted:Joystick Hierarchy: Headtracking Natural Point's TrackIR - Expensive FreeTrack - Free / DIY FaceTrackNoIR - Free / Experimental / Webcam-based Civilian Sims
OH GOD MAKE FSX WORK HALFWAY DECENTLY http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html Tool for optimizing FSX's lovely old code for your modern system. Military Sims Combat Ace - Lots of addons for various Military flight sims Other SimHQ - Simulation news and forums for sperglords. SelenicMartian's Strike Fighters 2 LP FAQ How do I turn on time acceleration in FSX? Thanks to pixelbaron for the formatting! Kilonum fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Feb 13, 2018 |
# ? May 23, 2013 16:38 |
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# ? Apr 26, 2024 04:20 |
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PadreScout's idiot's guide to Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). What the gently caress is FSX? Here's the skinny: FSX is the defacto flight sim these day for the civilian dick wagging flight sim folk. The other big one seems to be X-Plane, but I haven't got that one. So suck a box of dicks, I'm not made of money. I think of FSX as a little framework to which you can hang a retarded assortment of free and pay content to turn it from a graphically "meh" flight sim into a jaw dropping visual feast complete with real life air traffic controllers who will steadfastly ignore your requests for take-off from Atlanta(drink more Coke, newb). More on these later, what you need to take away is "boring", "ugly", and "no guns" PLUG INS: Ok, like I said before, FSX is kind of gently caress ugly in vanilla format. This is ok because I have painstakingly researched all the bullshit you'll want to buy and plug into your copy to make it rival any modern flight simulator in the eye candy department. MUST HAVES: UTX: To be honest I'm not super sure what this one does, but I was assured it does something you want that involves replacing roads and .. meshes? I recall hearing that word at some point in the conversation. Definitely the roads part. http://www.scenerysolutions.com/ut_fsx_usa.html Active Sky Next: Replaces all sorts of textures and additionally has a kick-rear end weather modeling system built in. Really worth the http://www.hifitechinc.com/products/activeskynext So there you go, basically you get these 2, it replaces basically everything except for the actual plane models and makes things look super sweet. This will inspire you to aimlessly fly around for hours on end "ooing" and "ahing" and generally tugging one off for mother nature. OK- So lets assume you dropped 75 bucks on this stuff and now you have graphics all lined out, what else is there? VATSIM: Vatsim is real life air traffic controllers for your FSX. Yeah, you heard me, real loving life people train to become virtual ATC Controllers and then spend their evening routing people around Cleveland. This adds another level of immersion and is supposedly really awesome. The software is a plugin that you add to your FSX and you then register and account and do some other stuff, basically- think plugin, learn some poo poo, use your headset to feel just like a real pilot. http://www.vatsim.net/index.php?id=start Additional Planes: The basic software comes with something like 18 aircraft to fly. If you get tired of those 18 there is a loving WORLD of planes to add on. Everything from free poo poo people make because they have way too much free time to poo poo that costs 35 bucks a plane and is modeled accurately to every detail. No, really http://www.precisionmanuals.com/pages/product/738.html. Google some more of that stuff up but seriously, I'm pretty sure at this point commercial outfits and community modders have added everything from the SR-71 to a loving Veritech fighter. The quality isn't terribly consistent across the board, but a little research should save you heartache. Additional things to waste time on: I'm told you can even become a pilot for a real life, honest to god pretend airline. They make you run flights, following routes and poo poo- supposedly some of the even run metrics to evaluate your on job performance and customer comfort. Here are two examples: http://northeastva.org/ http://www.freightdogs.info <-- Kilonum is a manager in this one Seriously though, there are a ton of these things, just google 'virtual airlines', there must be 30 of the things. So why should you play the FSX? Basically- it's an incredibly complex simulation that will allow you to build and test your skills over a consistent and incredibly extensible framework of awesome. Every time you think you have got things mastered- there are more things that you can tack on to make the experience even more elaborate. It's a hoot. I've been at it for 3 days now and am just working out what all those funny dials in my cockpit do (mostly) but I look forward to getting a lot of plug-ins and really pushing this as far as it will go. Daimo posted:I love sorting through freeware stuff. Here is a selection of the best planes, scenery and utilities that I've collected over the years. I haven't tested all of the the download links so apologies if they don't work. Enjoy. And now a critique of the steaming pile of poo poo that was MS Flight: Jonny Nox posted:MS Flight was killed by being poorly marketed, poorly conceived, poorly communicated, tied to a terrible DRM system, closed DLC, and an atrocious choice of addons. INTJ Mastermind posted:For the XP10 newbies here's a list of addons to improve the graphics and scenery that I've personally used. Kilonum fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Dec 21, 2015 |
# ? May 23, 2013 16:40 |
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Captain Apollo's VATSIM Guide Gee golly flightsimmers, I've never understood what VATSIM is...so what is it?!?! VATSIM stands for Virtual Air Traffic Simulation. In essence, VATSIM replicates real world air traffic operations across the WORLD. Some people log in as controllers to control air traffic, and the majority of us log in as pilots and fly from place to place talking to air traffic. VATSIM takes themselves very seriously. They do not allow attempts to fly into any buildings. If you want to do this, or be a complete douchebag to people online, go somewhere else. Again, VATSIM tries to professionally replicate the real world as much as possible while still remaining friendly and understanding that we're all staring at a computer that might crash at any time. First question when it comes to VATSIM What software am I going to use??? You have options. Flight Simulator X, or X-Plane. Personally, I believe X-Plane is a better flight simulator, however, FSX really is the way to go if you want to do VATSIM. The plugins all around for FSX are better and VATSIM works better with FSX. If you don't have FSX, go to your local electronics store or amazon and pick up Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition. It has all the latest updates and the Acceleration pack that you want. Second question for VATSIM Okay, I've got FSX/Xplane, now how do I connect to VATSIM?? If you are using FSX, please follow this information sticky step by step. You probably want to read the first post all ONCE(It's quick) and then follow the instructions so you have a complete grasp. FSInn http://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic.php?t=20466 If you have X-Plane, download Squawkbox and install from here http://www.squawkbox.ca/downloads/ SPECIAL NOTE FOR FSX FSINN USERS. After installing FSInn, navigate to Start/Programs/FSCopilot and click the FSInn Control Panel. Open it and then click the CHAT button. After it loads properly, close out the program. Start FSX(Xplane) and load up a free flight mission. Get in the habit of loading up your free flight on a runway, and OFF OF THE RUNWAY. GET IN THE HABIT OF LOADING UP AT A PARKING AREA. Remember this is like real life, if you connect on an active runway, air traffic control will get pretty upset! So once fsx is up, press the alt button on your keyboard to make the toolbar come up. Then navigate to Addons and then FSCopilot and FSInn Control Panel. It will cycle through and update a list of airplanes, just be patient here. Now, click on the bottom right "SET" button. Under "BASIC" fill in your real name, this is important, do it. Then navigate to "NETWORKING" and reset the IPs. Now, the default servers for FSInn and most likely squawkbox are OUTDATED. Click for a list of updated IP's http://faq.apollo3.com/ljames/fsinn/vatsim/data/showservers.pl After updating all information, close the settings dialog box. Then, while looking at the FSInn Control Panel, click the button to the left of the big green VATSIM sign. It should turn the WHOLE BOX bright green. That's when you'll know you have successfully connected to VATSIM. If it turns red after about 10 seconds, your vatsim ID and PW or your user information has not been inputted correctly. Congrats, you're now connected to ONLINE VIRTUAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL Having problems, have a question that can only be solved by human interaction? DROP BY OUR IRC CHANNEL! irc.synirc.net #flightsim Connect with http://mibbit.com if you don't want to be a constant idler, but I bet we'll convince you to stay!
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# ? May 23, 2013 16:43 |
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Are we still recommending gex when active sky now comes with textures as well?
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# ? May 23, 2013 17:00 |
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I fixed it.
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# ? May 23, 2013 17:57 |
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X-plane 10 is also a very viable option. I could write up a quick blurb or so about it for the OP, if that's something that you'd toss in there.
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# ? May 23, 2013 18:00 |
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Does X-Plane 10 still require the USS Enterprise's computer to run? I enjoyed 9 but when trying out 10 last it STILL ran sub 1fps. This was about a year ago now though.
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# ? May 23, 2013 18:18 |
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The bigger problem I had noticed before (but is resolved now) is that the sim wasn't 64-bit, so it didn't use all the RAM available on the machine. Performance went way up since I got the 64-bit installer and run it natively now. YMMV.
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# ? May 23, 2013 18:20 |
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Dark_Swordmaster posted:Does X-Plane 10 still require the USS Enterprise's computer to run? I enjoyed 9 but when trying out 10 last it STILL ran sub 1fps. This was about a year ago now though. I'm running an overclocked i7 at 4.2ghz, 8 gb ram, and a GTX 670. The sim runs tons better than FSX ever did for me with many of the options way way up there.
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# ? May 23, 2013 18:35 |
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Is there any reason you're still recommending FSX over Prepar3D? FSX running like literal poo poo is why I stopped flying.
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# ? May 23, 2013 18:41 |
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Xplane crashes like crazy for me in the payware 727 with stock settings. If someone writing up xplane wants to cover how to fix crashes to desktop or delve into settings that would be amazing
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# ? May 24, 2013 16:26 |
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I used to work with the creator of Squawkbox. He did a big release around before Flight Sim X came out and had a bunch of people, including a few Microsoft peeps come to his launch party. He made Squawkbox to teach himself some programming techniques, and it just blossomed from there. He's a really awesome guy, works for Hothead games now making mostly iPhone games.
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# ? May 25, 2013 04:26 |
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I bought a new headset and the headband part is a bit too thick for my TrackIR clip. I managed to just about squeeze it on but after a while it popped off chipping a tiny bit of plastic in the process. It still clips together but I don't want to try that again. How am I supposed to sperg now?
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# ? May 25, 2013 13:44 |
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I had a rough day flying yesterday
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# ? May 26, 2013 12:40 |
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Megadyptes posted:I bought a new headset and the headband part is a bit too thick for my TrackIR clip. I managed to just about squeeze it on but after a while it popped off chipping a tiny bit of plastic in the process. It still clips together but I don't want to try that again. How am I supposed to sperg now? My Track clip Pro is held together with hot glue. I sent Naturalpoint my shipping invoice, a photo of the broken clip (mine broke at the movable joints, not the clip), and asked them if they could help me out. They sent me a new Track Clip pro no questions asked, and I didn't have to return the old one. The hot glue is still working fine so I'm milking the old clip for as long as I can keep it held together.
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# ? May 26, 2013 19:26 |
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Kilonum posted:I had a rough day flying yesterday So a normal day for you?
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# ? May 26, 2013 20:17 |
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SocketSeven posted:My Track clip Pro is held together with hot glue. I sent Naturalpoint my shipping invoice, a photo of the broken clip (mine broke at the movable joints, not the clip), and asked them if they could help me out. They sent me a new Track Clip pro no questions asked, and I didn't have to return the old one. The hot glue is still working fine so I'm milking the old clip for as long as I can keep it held together. I'll have to remember that when I replace my current one (being held together with duct tape and recycled chopsticks) and the new one breaks. It's always at the joints. ALWAYS.
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# ? May 26, 2013 20:40 |
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Last mission of my SF2 campaign, My F-86 got a little shot up But at least I landed safely
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# ? May 26, 2013 22:08 |
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I enjoy SF2 well enough after buying it on a recommendation from IRC but I wish it didn't make the venerable Il2 appear practically modern.
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# ? May 27, 2013 09:13 |
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Kilonum posted:Last mission of my SF2 campaign, My F-86 got a little shot up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_VJYeCeMaw&hd=1
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# ? May 27, 2013 09:21 |
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Ha, what a shame. That looked really survivable until the huge explosion.
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# ? May 27, 2013 17:57 |
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The Ferret King posted:That looked really survivable until the huge explosion. If the current thread title didn't already make me giggle every time I see it, I'd suggest this as prime material.
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# ? May 27, 2013 19:31 |
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The Ferret King posted:Ha, what a shame. That looked really survivable until the huge explosion.
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# ? May 28, 2013 08:51 |
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FSUIPC should be in the OP in my opinion. Everything by PMDG should also be in there.
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# ? May 28, 2013 09:42 |
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Insert name here posted:I was laughing for a good five or so minutes afterwards because I totally didn't expect my plane to just spontaneously explode. I'm glad I had enough foresight to hit the record button to capture this moment.
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# ? May 28, 2013 11:03 |
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Insert name here posted:Worked better than mine at least: That's some serious Looney Tunes poo poo. *tink* *KABOOM* I still have yet to master the AIM-9 in the F-100 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sy2q4oDc10&hd=1
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# ? May 31, 2013 04:50 |
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What title is that? One of the "wings over ____" series? I loved Wings over Europe, but that was a few years ago. Have an old-rear end video of me landing an F4 phantom with a section of wing absent. I have no idea how this didn't explode on contact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8j_pGfRjjI Also, it got alot of negative votes because people thought they were going to see a real F4 land without a wing.
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# ? May 31, 2013 11:59 |
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Falken posted:What title is that? One of the "wings over ____" series? I loved Wings over Europe, but that was a few years ago.
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# ? May 31, 2013 13:11 |
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Any thoughts on the Oculus Rift replacing TrackIR for sims?
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# ? May 31, 2013 17:18 |
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Meiwaku posted:Any thoughts on the Oculus Rift replacing TrackIR for sims? There are some issues with that. Firstly, the low resolution on the current devkit makes distant objects less than clear, and it would make it nearly impossible to read the instruments in a virtual cockpit. That will be better with the consumer version, but it still may not be ideal. You could design around some of it with a clever UI. The other problem is that of finding your way around the controls. Flying a Piper Cub with a stick and pedals, etc. would be fine, but for more complex stuff, I find myself reaching for the keyboard and mouse and having to actually look at what my hands are doing pretty frequently. Again, you could design a sort of specialized "virtual" interface for lesser used functions. (Some people are doing stuff like a floating radial menu that you operate with your face, for instance.) In fewer words, I think you could design or modify a sim for fairly painless Rift integration, but it'll present some significant hurdles.
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# ? May 31, 2013 17:29 |
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The current Occulus Rift is what, 800x600 right? I would want to wait for at least the 1024x768 or 1366x768 version before buying in to that technology, preferably 1280x1024. 800x600 was barely acceptable for 3D games in the 90s, there's a reason why the industry standardized on 1024x768 and not 800x600 even when hardware could barely support it.
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# ? May 31, 2013 18:33 |
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It's currently a 1280x800 display in there, which means 640x800 for each eye. This is exacerbated by a few factors, too: 1) Your face is all up ons 2) the optics of the Rift stretch what little resolution is there all crazy over your periphery in a non-linear fashion and 3) the image doesn't even fill up the display... the edges aren't used (this is due to a last minute change in the current kit and won't be as much of an issue later). So yeah, pixels the size of small dogs of varying apparent size. edit: I'm really tired right now, so this didn't come out as clearly as it should have, but I think you get what I'm saying. Shart Carbuncle fucked around with this message at 18:44 on May 31, 2013 |
# ? May 31, 2013 18:41 |
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Falken posted:What title is that? One of the "wings over ____" series? I loved Wings over Europe, but that was a few years ago. Jesus christ people get mad at stupid poo poo. Why did I read those comments
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# ? May 31, 2013 20:04 |
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Occulus Rift doesn't have 6DoF. Now if there was a way to somehow bastardize TrackIR and the Occulus Rift, then you've got my interest.
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# ? May 31, 2013 21:26 |
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Occulus would be a nightmare in DCS. You'd need virtual hands to to flip cockpit switches, because you have no way of looking at your controls, or telling where your real hands are. I really want it to work, but I still can't believe that the occulus will be anything but a toy that very few people have. I'm hoping I'm wrong.
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# ? May 31, 2013 21:57 |
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SocketSeven posted:Occulus would be a nightmare in DCS. You'd need virtual hands to to flip cockpit switches, because you have no way of looking at your controls, or telling where your real hands are. I'm seeing a crossover between OctoDad (http://www.octodadgame.com/) and DCS A-10 here.
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# ? May 31, 2013 22:31 |
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Flagrant Abuse posted:Close. Strike Fighters 2, which is basically just WoX with Vista/7 compatibility and slightly better graphics.
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# ? May 31, 2013 22:49 |
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Insert name here posted:Also no multiplayer. I heard the WoX MP was buggy and lovely and no one played it anyway and that's why it was removed but it's a shame because I'd love me some SF2 multiplayer. That and Microsoft dropped DirectPlay from DX10+ (WoX is DX9, SF2 is DX10) and TK didn't have the time or money to spend on recoding multiplayer. And speaking of SF2, new patch dropped on Wednesday. Changelog from the previous patch: * Expansion Packs can now be installed on any SF2 install. * Minor tweaks to improve performance. So now you don't need SF2:I for Expansion 1 or SF2:E for Expansion 2.
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# ? Jun 1, 2013 05:27 |
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Wikipedia Brown posted:It's currently 640x800 for each eye. This is exacerbated by a few factors, too: Yikes, yeah 800x640 is just too small for each eye. I will wait until they make it up to 1024x768, I think. I don't own one, but do the stretched pixels in the edges really matter? Your eyeballs are effectively fisheye lenses as well, but your brain does postprocessing and makes your vision look "flat", so I would think that the stretched pixels at your perhipery would be "auto adjusted" during normal use (unless you're "looking" for it). I'm really curious. Are there any Occulus Rifts on display anywhere in the DFW area? I'd love to see a tech demo somewhere... any idea if they're going to be at Quakecon this year?
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# ? Jun 1, 2013 05:44 |
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# ? Apr 26, 2024 04:20 |
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And on the Oculus Rift, Andrew Reisse was run over and killed. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=9122999
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# ? Jun 1, 2013 06:26 |