![]() Oculus and Windows Mixed Reality devices let you easily access your Windows desktop, so you could always start the game that way too. I would have liked to see a shortcut for headsets that lets you launch directly into VR mode. Switching between the game's 2D and VR modes is pretty simple: hit Control and Tab at the title screen, or click the VR mode option in settings. You can even break the game's reality a bit by sticking your head completely through the plane's window for a literal birds-eye view of the world. To take in the scenery, I just look out the window - something that's particularly helpful when landing and navigating tricky terrain. Instead of using my Xbox gamepad to switch between different camera views, I could just lean into panels and dials to see them more clearly. I went into the game without any real-world flight knowledge, but the VR experience still felt like a revelation. "It's just so close to reality, it's kind of shocking," he said. Everything, from the way he's situated in the cockpit, to how he looks out the window to check traffic, works the way he expects. ![]() But since the game was complex enough already - especially considering how it taps into Microsoft's Azure cloud and Bing maps - they only began concerted VR development in June 2019.Īs an experienced pilot himself, Neumann says the VR mode is so accurate it makes it tough for him to go back to the 2D version of the game. Oculus headsets are officially supported as well, so I'm hoping Asobo sorts out the Link issues soon.Īccording to Jorg Neumann, Microsoft's head of Flight Simulator, the company has been considering how virtual reality could play a role in the long-running franchise's reboot since 2016. ![]() Originally, the companies planned to make VR exclusive to the Reverb G2. Microsoft and Asobo also deserve credit for opening up the game to every OpenXR headset (which includes most SteamVR models). These are early days for Flight Simulator's VR mode, so I'll temper my judgement. At that point, I just gave up and plugged in HP's recently released Reverb G2. After restarting the game (a process that typically takes around two minutes) and rebooting the Quest 2, it refused to launch in VR mode altogether. When I launched it on an Oculus Quest 2 running over Oculus Link, everything ran fine for a few minutes, but eventually several distorted in-game windows crowded the virtual cockpit. I suppose that makes sense: in a way, dreams are the original virtual reality.Īs wondrous as the experience is, though, it's clear that Flight Simulator's developer Asobo is still getting a handle on virtual reality. I've spent so much time flying in VR, I've started dreaming about my adventures - gliding across the Balkans with picture perfect coastal towns beneath me, or landing on a lonely strip of land in Patagonia. Now, whenever I close my eyes, I see myself in a cockpit, with the horizon in the distance and the world far below me, slowly passing by. It never really grabbed me, though, until I slapped on a headset to try out Flight Simulator's new virtual reality mode, which launched this week. ![]() I've played the game off and on since its release, and like Engadget's Jessica Conditt, I've found it to be a chill and meditative experience. I'm not a hardcore "simmer," as devoted fans of the series call themselves. I've made peace with the fact that I'll never be anything more than a casual Microsoft Flight Simulator player. ![]()
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