Best Simulation peripherals? Driving, flying, etc.

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atarumoroboshi18

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 9, 2013
Messages
254
So, what are your go to devices for games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Elite Dangerous, Assetto Corsa, etc. Steering wheels, flight sticks, and any other devices you can think of.
 
My current setup consists of a Oculus Quest 1 running wireless using Virtual Desktop via it's own 5GHz Wi-fi channel from my PC (i9 10850K, 2080Ti, 64GB RAM, 2TB nVME, etc). I've got a Fanatec CSL Elite PS4 Edition wheel base with the P1 leather/Alcantara wheel. Pedals are a set of CSL Elite pedals with the Load Cell. Paid $700 for all the Fanatec stuff plus a GT Omega stand back in October locally and it was all a month old, receipt was from September 2020, yeah, score. All of this is then loaded on to a DOF Reality H3 Motion Platform with motion dampeners. Have the SRS Shake Kit as well. Using some old Acura seat. Bought it locally used like 2 months ago for $1,500. Couldn't believe my luck with this stuff.

Don't use anything for flying except for a wireless controller but even then it's pretty awesome in VR and motion, Flight Simulator is AMAZING...my GOD the graphics are sickeningly gorgeous.
 
This plus my Valve Index:
sim-chair.jpg


There's a thread here describing how I went about making it. The only real change has been swapping out the Rift/Vive setup over to an Index.
 
... Sitting, a vibrator depending on your gender.
It could help with all walks of life ;)
 
Elgato stream deck xl to use as button box for all different games. Simucube 2 for racing, huesinkveld pedals for racing. im in the market for a honeycomb flight yoke right now but that may be a bit.
 
I have 4 different wheel setups and 2 flying.
I have a fully portable setup using a steelseries srw-s1 wheel, which is pretty cool in that it uses sensors to detect steering rotation and has hand brake/throttle, meaning you don't have to mount it to anything and just hold it in your hands and steer. It's far more accurate than I expected and works decently well. It's small enough it fits in my VR tote with my quest 2, and coupled with my Asus g14 makes a fully portable setup that you can take anywhere. Good enough to have fun in VR, can be had nib for about $50 on ebay and far better than keyboard or joystick.
I have another srw-s1 that broke (my fault) that I repaired and mounted to an old logitech g25 using an adapter, so basically a littler larger setup but has full force feedback and just needs a solild surface (table/desk) to mount to and an outlet. Uses the hand throttle/brake on the srw-s1. You could actually do some serious racing with this one in a pinch but takes up a little more room.
Then I have a logitech g29 wheel and pedals set with a playseat. Folds up and is fairly portable in that it'll fit in the trunk of a car, gives the full experience, this is the setup my kids play on or is backup.
My main setup is an accuforce pro v2 direct drive with f1s steering wheel, thrustmaster t3pa-pro pedals with ricmotech load cell brake and a g29 h-pattern shifter. No plans to upgrade anything on this, works great and reliable. I run a Samsung Odyssey+ headset with a home built cockpit made out of 2x4's and a minivan seat.

Seems like a lot, but I've had my logitech g25 for like 15 years, and got the g29 about 5 years ago, then the accuforce 2 years ago. I run mostly endurance races, so the stuff gets worked pretty hard. The most abuse was a 4 hour stint at the nurburgring (don't recommend). I can tell you that honestly I'm just as fast with the g25 and old pedals as the fancy stuff. It's more fun and immersive, maybe a little more consistent, but doesn't make a big difference in terms of speed or anything - just more fun.

For flying I have an old Thrustmaster t-flight hotas and rudder pedals. But I mostly just use my xbox 360 game pad (also fits in my VR tote so I have portable driving and flying) as I'm not as into the flying as driving.
 
bobzdar said:
I have 4 different wheel setups and 2 flying.
I have a fully portable setup using a steelseries srw-s1 wheel, which is pretty cool in that it uses sensors to detect steering rotation and has hand brake/throttle, meaning you don't have to mount it to anything and just hold it in your hands and steer. It's far more accurate than I expected and works decently well. It's small enough it fits in my VR tote with my quest 2, and coupled with my Asus g14 makes a fully portable setup that you can take anywhere. Good enough to have fun in VR, can be had nib for about $50 on ebay and far better than keyboard or joystick.
I have another srw-s1 that broke (my fault) that I repaired and mounted to an old logitech g25 using an adapter, so basically a littler larger setup but has full force feedback and just needs a solild surface (table/desk) to mount to and an outlet. Uses the hand throttle/brake on the srw-s1. You could actually do some serious racing with this one in a pinch but takes up a little more room.
Then I have a logitech g29 wheel and pedals set with a playseat. Folds up and is fairly portable in that it'll fit in the trunk of a car, gives the full experience, this is the setup my kids play on or is backup.
My main setup is an accuforce pro v2 direct drive with f1s steering wheel, thrustmaster t3pa-pro pedals with ricmotech load cell brake and a g29 h-pattern shifter. No plans to upgrade anything on this, works great and reliable. I run a Samsung Odyssey+ headset with a home built cockpit made out of 2x4's and a minivan seat.

Seems like a lot, but I've had my logitech g25 for like 15 years, and got the g29 about 5 years ago, then the accuforce 2 years ago. I run mostly endurance races, so the stuff gets worked pretty hard. The most abuse was a 4 hour stint at the nurburgring (don't recommend). I can tell you that honestly I'm just as fast with the g25 and old pedals as the fancy stuff. It's more fun and immersive, maybe a little more consistent, but doesn't make a big difference in terms of speed or anything - just more fun.

For flying I have an old Thrustmaster t-flight hotas and rudder pedals. But I mostly just use my xbox 360 game pad (also fits in my VR tote so I have portable driving and flying) as I'm not as into the flying as driving.
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Four hours of Nurbergring sounds like an enduro for sure. Man the elevation changes and narrow course with those speeds just grind on the nervous system.
 
kaneO said:
Nice set up!e
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Thanks! Still enjoying it with my Valve Index - just wish newer, more capable, and cheaper VR HMD tech would hit! Maybe in the next year or two…. Quest 2 just doesn’t seem that big a jump. The Varjo XR3 has raised the bar as to possibilities… Hoping some of their tech/improvements trickle down to what’s offered by the other players at a more palatable price eventually.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
There's a thread here describing how I went about making it. The only real change has been swapping out the Rift/Vive setup over to an Index.
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For people with the tools/ability, that solution do look like an incredible quality/price (the part with the seat controls is particularly nice, that a lot of gaming chair by dollar) and everything seem heavy/rock solid.

In a certain way VR help to keep the cost down at equal experience as well (a giant projecting or 3 screens setup or a tv that follow movement your movement) and is perfect for sitting simulation scenario.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Thanks! Still enjoying it with my Valve Index - just wish newer, more capable, and cheaper VR HMD tech would hit! Maybe in the next year or two…. Quest 2 just doesn’t seem that big a jump. The Varjo XR3 has raised the bar as to possibilities… Hoping some of their tech/improvements trickle down to what’s offered by the other players at a more palatable price eventually.
Click to expand...
I just received my first VR tech a quest 2 a couple of days ago can't wait to fully test it out.
 
kaneO said:
I just received my first VR tech a quest 2 a couple of days ago can't wait to fully test it out.
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Stand alone it's pretty damn good... quite impressive. But if you have a beefy enough PC/GPU to drive it well tethered using some of the latest, more robust VR titles, it becomes pretty mind blowing. Especially for some of the bigger sims like MS Flight Simulator 2020.
 
If you want the best simulation peripherals, cost be damned, I'm sure there's plenty of industrial-grade stuff that fits the bill, mil-spec parts, metal construction, beefy FFB motors if applicable, the works... but then you're paying more than a used car on sim gear.

Or you could try to adapt used vehicle parts, like how I have this A-10A throttle quadrant sitting around that I seriously need to build up a base and wire up a controller and some sensors to. The real deal's quite a step above the TM Warthog throttle, let's put it that way.

The tier below that would be high-end sim peripheral brands, stuff like VKB, Virpil and RealSimulator on the flight side, Fanatec and anyone else with a direct-drive wheel base (possibly OpenSimWheel-derived) and load-cell pedals for the driving side.

As for what I use, the bulk of it isn't even made, let alone sold, any more: a Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar with a RealSimulator FSSB R2 stick mod, a TM Warthog grip (might replace that with a RealSimulator one later, the TM one's got some annoying shaft play that's very evident on force-sensing bases), and some Hoffman Simped/vario pedals (no toe brakes) that plug directly into the Cougar stick base instead of tying up another USB port and coming up on a separate DirectInput ID.

That stuff would've been considered top-of-the-line back in the mid-2000s, but as of 2021, is probably regarded as merely mid-range. The kinda quality you used to have to pay up for to get a U2-NXT or Evenstrain to replace the crappy pot metal gimbals every stock Cougar base ships with can now be had in a typical VKB or Virpil stick, and now with adjustable cam profiles and dampers. FSSBs are still largely their own segment, great for space sims and fly-by-wire jets like the F-16, frustrating if you're flying old warbirds or a helicopter where you want lots of displacement and force-feedback (the ol' MS SideWinder Force-Feedback 2 still comes in handy there).

For racing stuff, it's just a base Thrustmaster T300RS wheel with the two-pedal set. I contemplated getting the load cell pedals and the H-shifter, but all of that totals out to an amount I'd rather spend on fixing up my real project cars, so I ironically don't use it much.
 
I user a Thrust Master 2. I had to find a hacked work around, FU M$! But it works wonderfully for my IL2 sim fun.
 
For the utimate geek there is now a trend of 3D printed physically acurate controls. Only for the purist as they are for ones favorite always used setup, plane/car etc.. but for those who do it, apparently the moment you reach over in VR and the control is ectactly where you see it... is quite awesome.
 
In or out of VR, I use a G29 on a fairly decent folding stand for car sims. For flight/space sims, I am currently using a Virpil CM3 throttle, and Con Alpha, with a VKB T-rudder using Monstertech chair mounts. That changes regularly though. I have gone through most things made by Gravis, CH, Thrustmaster, VKB, and Logitech.

Was eying some Winwing stuff but my current setup is really just working for me right now. And well, now that I am thinking about it, I have spent way too much gun and ammo money on flight controllers.
 
Yaw2 Pro Motion Chair
http://yawvr.com

A little pricey at $2100-3000 depending on options, but the dealbreaker for me is the $750 shipping from Hungary. If they ever get stateside distribution I'll jump on it.
 
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