Video games and other things to pass the time!

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Anyone play Star wars on line (SWOTOR).

think I am close with the video settings so they are not all washed out or too contrasty like the first few I recorded. May do some more flight sim videos later to see how much better they look now.

 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
So this year instead of building a new quad over the course of the year I am going to be building a new guitar. The body I will use arrives tomorrow according to the tracking so I may just start a thread in the non RC part of the forums in case anyone might be interested. I doubt Ill have the cash to get all the parts to build it in time to compete in the Great Guitar build off 2021 sponsored by Crimson Guitars and other various companies but I have an idea in mind and might actually be able to do a respectable build with what I learned watching Crimsons Channel for the last year or more.

Maybe save my 10,000th post to kick that off hehe.. man I spend FARRRR to much time here...
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
So this year instead of building a new quad over the course of the year I am going to be building a new guitar. The body I will use arrives tomorrow according to the tracking so I may just start a thread in the non RC part of the forums in case anyone might be interested. I doubt Ill have the cash to get all the parts to build it in time to compete in the Great Guitar build off 2021 sponsored by Crimson Guitars and other various companies but I have an idea in mind and might actually be able to do a respectable build with what I learned watching Crimsons Channel for the last year or more.

Maybe save my 10,000th post to kick that off hehe.. man I spend FARRRR to much time here...
10,000 man, that's a lot! I'll be eager to follow along on your guitar build, although it's too bad that means there won't be another quad in the works... :confused::LOL:
 

Phin G

Elite member
I was having a chat with @PsyBorg and @cranialrectosis in PM about the video games we've been playing, so I thought I'd resurrect this thread and sort of describe my latest pandemic driven renewed interest in PC gaming. Mostly with the release of the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, and their announcement that it would be updated to support VR in January 2021, I decided to embark on a VR journey. Up to now, my only exposure to VR was with those Google cardboard VR goggles I picked up at trade shows / vendor give-aways. I enjoyed a few youtube 3D videos, and such, but figured wow, with MSFS and VR, I might actually get a better idea of what it's like to sit in the pilot seat of various planes without having to pay for flight lessons, fuel, access to planes, etc!

I had a bit of a budget, and it had to work with the three year old desktop computer I built based on on an Intel i7/7700K CPU, and Nvidia 1080ti video card. It was pretty swell at the time, but a little long in tooth now. I wasn't ready to spend a ton on goggles, since I wasn't sure if I would even like VR, so I went with the cheapest that seemed like it would work. I went with the Oculus Quest2 64GB model for ~300USD, along with the $50 "Elite" headstrap, and a $80(!) USB C link cable so I could connect it to my computer and mostly use it not as a standalone VR headset, but a tethered one.

Already, this was hitting my budget limit (I didn't want to spend more than one of those new PS5 or XBox SeriesX consoles) without accounting for any software I would need to buy.

It actually took quite a bit more software configuration than I would have expected to get everything working, but it's safe to say I'm glad I went through the effort. As a hedge, I also looked into setting up an inexpensive headtracking system in case I couldn't get my "VR legs" under me so I could fly, etc without getting motion sickness. I setup a headtracking system around a used XBox Kinect and PC USB interface that can be bought off eBay relatively cheaply these days. That took even more software fiddling with OpenTrack, but while flying with that is more comfortable than under a hot VR goggle, it's just not as immersive.

Here are some videos I shared recorded off the goggles -- one nice thing about standalone goggles with 64GB of storage, you can use that to record videos if you don't plan to use it to store software!

Flying a Savage Cub in MSFS around my hometown of Boston:

Splurging on Star Wars Squadron, so I can fulfill my childhood fantasies of being a X-Wing pilot:

I have to say that flying a lot with FPV meant that getting acclimated to VR flying wasn't all that hard. The biggest difference I notice is when I look sideways in a plane at altitude, while banking, I kind of get that stomach dropping sense / feeling of vertigo!
Just got squadrons and it is amazing
 

Phin G

Elite member
Anyone play Star wars on line (SWOTOR).

think I am close with the video settings so they are not all washed out or too contrasty like the first few I recorded. May do some more flight sim videos later to see how much better they look now.

Im more of a star wars battlefront 2 guy
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
10,000 man, that's a lot! I'll be eager to follow along on your guitar build, although it's too bad that means there won't be another quad in the works... :confused::LOL:

hahah sez the man with 9200 posts.. I have done enough quad builds no one ever looks at here. With the new laws to be honest I am losing interest. With the influx of lesser intelligent beings entering the hobby I'm even less motivated to show them how they too can further progress the hobbies demise to be quite honest. Not to mention more and more of what I see perpetuating even here on our family forum pisses me off.

Even the pro pilots are going the way of the DJI and telling everyone they too can build and fly quads just by using DJI digital gear and stock betaflight settings. Too many people selling out and even more people degrading what the hobby is about.

The guitar build will be a change up to see if the want to fly returns after a time away. I have an unfinished 3 inch build that has not been touched since mid November. Just cant find the motivation to add the receiver and put it in the air right now.

EDIT: email says the guitar body is out for delivery!!! See if Santas sleigh can make it over slushy roads to get it here or if his elves use a drone to deliver it o_Oo_O:censored:
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
hahah sez the man with 9200 posts
Pot calling the kettle black I guess... :ROFLMAO:
With the new laws to be honest I am losing interest. With the influx of lesser intelligent beings entering the hobby I'm even less motivated to show them how they too can further progress the hobbies demise to be quite honest. Not to mention more and more of what I see perpetuating even here on our family forum pisses me off.

Even the pro pilots are going the way of the DJI and telling everyone they too can build and fly quads just by using DJI digital gear and stock betaflight settings. Too many people selling out and even more people degrading what the hobby is about.

The guitar build will be a change up to see if the want to fly returns after a time away. I have an unfinished 3 inch build that has not been touched since mid November. Just cant find the motivation to add the receiver and put it in the air right now.

EDIT: email says the guitar body is out for delivery!!! See if Santas sleigh can make it over slushy roads to get it here or if his elves use a drone to deliver it o_Oo_O:censored:
Yeah, it’s all become about the money, views, and sponsorships sadly. And the changes on this forum reflect that change in audience.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
@PsyBorg
DO your 10,000th message the second the Perserverance rover lands on mars. Apparently there is a live stream of the rover on Youtube. Now you have a killer thing to brag about! :)(y)

That would be dependant on the UPS guy getting here and me beinag able to record an unboxing before the actual landing which in reality at best case would be 12 minutes late anyways hehe
 

Phin G

Elite member
This thread is about all your favorite pastime when you can’t fly or build... I like to play video games and design lightsabers and crap like that.
Su cuy gar; i am currently in the process of making a lightsaber. I am basing mine of of Ahsoka Tano's one (i love her). I am going for a metal bar and 60cm and 40 cm blades on a 15/16 cm and a 10/ cm hilt. I may post a build thread
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
VR biking on a smart trainer to get back in shape this winter. Hills make it harder to pedal on the way up, and easier on the way down. You drop your own bike in, so you are training on what you ride in the real world. WAY better and cheaper than all that Peloton junk that they peddle. Plus, you are riding with other real people all over the world in this virtual reality at the same time.
I missed 6 months of riding last year from July to December due to Lyme's Disease and severe stenosis in my neck. Been hitting it since mid December to get ready for clean dry roads and trails later this year and have 736 miles in since then. Also taking part in a Virtual Great American Bike ride starting in DC and ending on the west coast starting a month from now. My online player is just a tad bit more fit than me, but similar in build. And the weather??? WAY BETTER THAN RIDING IN SNOW! Lots of virtual worlds including some very good replicas of real world race circuits and monster climbs.
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Cheers!
LitterBug
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
So how do they deal with the guy in front of you rippin a good fart? Can you get the full effect or is the tech not that good yet? Do they draft properly?
Funny you should ask as I ripped a few on my ride today! Currently riding a high race recumbent with a nice size fan blowing up at an angle to keep me cool. So It was giving me a full hit of my own phartz. LM@O
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The drafting is kinda there, but not very well modeled. Some of that can be attributed to differences in trainers and settings. The overall training effect is pretty close to real world riding, maybe a bit harder per mile.

Cheers!
LB
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
HAHAHA you look like a stoner outta the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High after waking up the next day from a party where someones daughter used you as a doll for hair design. The only thing missing is multi colored rubber bands for each spike. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

EDIT: Darnit... now I gotta watch shrek again at 1 am...
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
HAHAHA you look like a stoner outta the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High after waking up the next day from a party where someones daughter used you as a doll for hair design. The only thing missing is multi colored rubber bands for each spike. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

EDIT: Darnit... now I gotta watch shrek again at 1 am...
That was after a very HOT, long , hilly ride. My hair gets sucked out of the vents in my helmet, and the salty sweat acts like product to mold it in place. I was bordeline dehydrated at that point.

This is also my tinder profile pic. Any wonder I have never gotten any hits... LOL
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
That was after a very HOT, long , hilly ride. My hair gets sucked out of the vents in my helmet, and the salty sweat acts like product to mold it in place. I was bordeline dehydrated at that point.

This is also my tinder profile pic. Any wonder I have never gotten any hits... LOL


Uhhhm.. dontchu have a better half already? Or have I missed life again?