Microsoft
Microsoft Flight Simulator has delivered a free VR-enabled update.
In addition to Windows Mixed Reality headsets such as the HP Reverb G2, it supports OpenXR compatible VR headsets, including Oculus and SteamVR (Valve, HTC).
Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) is the first new work in 14 years of the long-established series that has continued since 1982.
AI processing of satellite photographs, aerial photographs, Bing map map data, etc. can be used to reproduce every building and individual tree on the earth, and the direction of wind, humidity, and airflow for each fine grid in the air. -It is also an ambitious long-term project with the goal of global simulation that goes beyond the behavior of the aircraft, such as having data such as clouds and reflecting the actual weather in real time.
After applying the latest update 1.12.13.0, VR support will be available to switch to desktop mode at any time during the game. The update is about 15GB depending on the environment.
At the time of development, we were beta testing from a Windows Mixed Reality headset, but any OpenXR compatible VR headset can be used with Valve, HTC (SteamVR), and Oculus (Rift, Quest).
The required specifications are GPU GTX 1080 or higher, RAM 16GB or higher, etc. at the time of testing. However, while MSFS requires high definition, ultra setting, and high frame rate, the required performance becomes uncertain, but if you decide what to prioritize and make a compromise, you can play as much as you can with the old generation GPU, etc. Since there is a wider range of settings, performance, and experiences than PC games, it is difficult to decide that it is OK if it is more than that.
Microsoft
Good compatibility with VR as a game. Due to the nature of a flight simulator, you can look left and right from the cockpit, or you want a high-definition monitor with just the instrument panel.
Enthusiasts use huge ultra-wide monitors and introduce tools that replace camera operations with face orientation, but with VR, you can naturally look at the inside of the aircraft from the window, left and right, up and down instrument panels, and turn around. Since the quick access window can be freely placed in the space, the small window that was opened and closed or moved to the side so as not to block the view can be placed outside the front view.
There is a possibility that the problem of “I want as many ultra-high resolution monitors as possible to fully enjoy the flight simulator, but even one 4K monitor can be used with a high-end GPU to move smoothly with the current full settings” can be finally solved. Although it is compatible with VR, the current hardware has a narrow viewing angle, the range that can be seen without moving the head is narrower than the wide range of a single monitor, and the resolution is relatively low, which is a trade-off.
MSFS itself does not yet support multi-angle multi-monitors (the three-screen setups we see today are recognized as a single virtual ultra-wide screen), leaving plenty of room for future development.
According to development manager Yog Newman, Microsoft Flight Simulator was conceived as a long-term project of 10 years from the beginning. Immediately after the release, we have already formulated an update plan for up to 5 years, and will continue to evolve with advances in hardware and the addition of data sources. VR support is also at the stage where the first step to progress with the improvement of the performance of new generation GPUs and headsets in the future has begun.
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