Nephilims Virtual Simulator..

Document the build progress for your screen or computer setup.

Postby BHawthorne » Fri Sep 26, 2014 7:52 am

Hrrm, I'll have to think about that question. I like some of the feedback type of add-ons though. I have a friend that uses a real g-suit leggings that inflates then g's are pulled. Also he's tied in seat feedback by hacking a seat massager. Neither of those things are actual products though. Those are more DIY. I think my next big thing is going to be making a sim tub though. I'm batting around ideas on that. Probably will end up doing one of the A-10C tubs because of my Warthog controller. I already have a ACES II replica kit to use with it. There are a bunch of tub designs available over at the ED forums, but again it's more highly DIY stuff.

I don't recall, do you have the Cougar MFDs? Have you put mini displays behind them to enable them as screen bezels? I have a set of them. I've also pondered that as part of the sim tub build.

When I think about it, it is a good point of interest for me though. There should be more peripherals that give feedback to the player.
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Postby The_Nephilim » Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:36 am

Yes I hgave the Cougar MFD's and use them in F4 BMS and DCSW.. Here is my current rig and goodies:


1. Coolermaster HAF 932 AMD Edition
2. Intel i5 3570K @ 4.4ghz
3. Asus P8Z68-V Gen 3 motherboard.
4. Coolermaster 212+ Heatsink and fan
5. 3 Acer X1261P DLP PRojectors..
6. Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar
7. Thrustmaster Cougar MFD's
8. eVGA 590GTX
9. nVidia 3D Vision 2 Kit
10 Creative 7.1 Speaker system.
11. Buttkicker Simulation (in the Works)
12. 4'x10' Curved Screen
13. TrackIR-4

I have for a long time wanted to do the MFD's with a real screen but I am only gonna be able to do it with F4 currently. If I did that I would need a secondary computer to run it in a Client/Server setting to run the MFD's in F4.. With DCSW it is possible but not on a 2nd PC and with nVidia 3D Surround I can not add a 4th monitor and have the 3D work I already tried it..

Other then a Buttkicker and a G-Suit/Seat solution I don't believe there is much more to get either but was wondering if possibly I missed a gadget or 2..

I am awaiting EDGE to come out and see what video card I am going to upgrade too which I will need 2 of.. other then that I am good but I am waiting for the Buttkickers to come back in stock and grab that for sure..

Well back to some MiG-21 Training.. ;)
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Postby BHawthorne » Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:16 pm

Pretty solid hardware. 3570K can keep up with the latest i7's no problem with that OC. GTX590 is starting to show age but can hold it's own. I've never tried a dual-GPU card before. Pondered at GTX690 for a bit. Would be much like 2x GTX770. I might do GTX970 once pricing and supply settle down a bit. For now my GTX770 is doing good on my Nvidia rig. I'm sort of interested in some of the new 900-series features like multiple DP ports finally on a Nvidia card. I still have this irrational wish that someone would make a LED-laser projector that is 1080p and 0.49:1 lens throw with DP port in it for an $800 price point. That would solve all my nitpicks I have with current projector technology.
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Postby The_Nephilim » Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:58 am

yes I went with the 590 as it solved my DVI-I port problem vs getting 2 cards.. the 980 out now has 1 DVI-I port and 3 DP I am going to give that a go as I have VGA Connectors on my Projectors and I think I can use an active DP to VGA Adapter and get 3D Surround to work..

Laser Projector that sounds cool ;)
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Postby BHawthorne » Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:15 am

With the new Nvidia chips being so energy efficient, I fully expect there to be a 990 dual GPU based on the GM204 within the next year. I'd prefer waiting till 20nm though. 900-series is still pushing 28nm tech. Also, a lot of promised tech is missing from 900-series, like the ARM processor they promised integration of to help with computational work.
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Postby matnor » Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:43 am

My head is melting... I've been reading posts all over the DCS forums and this thread. I must say, I'm PRETTY confused on where to start. The more I read, the more I get confused because each installation is so special. In my case, I don't know where to start:
- Is it the NTHUSIM calibration I have done wrong?
- Is it the DCS World settings that is wrong (viewports/cameras and or FOV settings)?
- Is it the projector setup?

Please see the attached picture of my grotto, sorry, my simulator room.

I get a distorted view when running DCS World. Objects appear closer than they are. I mean, anything I view in to the right and left is stretched out. I know, this is related to the flat plane of the rendering engine. But, how can I counteract it? With NTHUSIM? Or what?

I believe I have setup everything as I should. I've tried 3 cameras setup and 1 camera setup. I believe I have setup FOV for 140 degree, but it seems stretched anyway.

Would you like to share you DCS World settings with me?

I would like to note that the edge blending works perfect. With calibration I'm not disturbed by the edge right in front of me. I will build a HUD mockup so It will be even less disturbing after that.
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Postby BHawthorne » Tue Nov 11, 2014 1:19 pm

The physical layout of the screen looks fine. In fact, this is the exact same layout I used with my 2013 screen. The distortion is occurring primarily because of the flat camera mechanics. To counter that, we could do camera slices similar to how people do in FSX and P3D. You could do a camera for every 30 or 45 degrees to help un-distort things. At issue is the more cameras you use the more bogged down DCS can get with processing visuals. It's a balancing act as to just how much you want to correct the distortion vs how much processing you want to force on the CPU and GPU.

How-To for DCS World LUA scripting for cameras:
http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=89282

-Brad
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Postby matnor » Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:32 pm

Thanks Brad,

I've tried the cameras, but I suspect there is something I need to tweak because I get the "broken" horizon effect when pitching up and down (with the aircraft). Is that something that I have to live with? Or is it something I can tweak with the cameras to minimize this effect?

I will head over to DCS forum and write a post over there as well.
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Postby BHawthorne » Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:43 pm

If you can please post a photo of the issue. I should be better able to diagnose the issue that way.

-Brad
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Postby The_Nephilim » Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:43 pm

Well today went to microcenter and bought a 980GTX really killer card only 1 small problem.. my car is having some issues, I thought initially it was the Oil Pump but further investigation leaned towards the oil sending unit which I replaced this afternoon..





I took the car for a spin but tomorrow is the big test as I have to take my nephew to work and round trip is about an hour. I am expecting the needle to drop on the last leg and towards the top of the hour on the way home.. I took it for a quick test tonight and it did not drop once and was even registering higher pressure then before..





So maybe by chance it was a bad oil sending unit and I got off lite.. You may ask why have I not installed the card well thing is if I need to change and oil pump I will need that money I bought the card with to do the oil pump, I may do it myself if need be.. but with the cold not really looking forward to doing that job..





So hopefully I fixed my troubles and I can install the card tomorrow.. I did have a Bulb blow out too and I ordered another one which I am hoping will be here by the end of the week..
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