Direct Drive wheel necessary when already running VR & motion?

phil beatonphil beaton Member
in General Discussion / News and Announcements

Hi there, I'm just wondering if it's really necessary to include a direct drive wheelbase into the mix if I'm already running VR & motion, or is there already so much going on that the extra bits of information felt through the DD wheel will just end up being lost in the already chaotic madness? I feel like I could easily get by with a CSW 2.5 just fine under these circumstances. I realize that this is an extremely niche question and not many people will have concrete answers, but even your opinions would help.

I feel like the extra $1000 for DD would probably bebetter spent on VR instead. If I'm already getting tossed around in my seat (via motion) will I really notice enough minute vibrational changes in surface texture to justify the extra cost of the DD wheel? Something tells me my brain might be a little preoccupied with the VR & 3M to notice the fine details in the wheel.

I'm all for immersion, but not if it costs an extra $1000 for things I may barely notice under these circumstances.

Comments

  • Austen ChenAusten Chen Member

    I have an Oculus CV1 and I came from CSW v2 to a DD1. While I do consider the CSW v2/2.5 to the the best non-direct drive base out there, it’s got nothing on a direct drive. The way it communicates when you hit a bump or when the car starts to loose grip, the feedback it gives you it’s really the closest thing to driving a real car.

    Best way I can describe it is: imagining hopping a berm on the right side of the car. In a CSW, the left belt will pull on the wheel to the left, so your left hand is being jerked down, to simulate the bump/berm you just ran over on the right side. With a direct drive, the motor will act and simulate the feel from the right side like someone just punched your right shoulder.

    And if you tell me that if I can choose between a motion rig or a better VR headset, sans budget, I would pick the headset over motion rig. Having a motion rig is definitely on the bottom of my list, it’s same with you having a direct drive is not high on your list

    So it’s really a personal preference and priority.

  • Gagaryn .Gagaryn . Member

    Yup, in order of immersion and usefulness, i'd choose VR over flatscreen first, DD over CSW next and motion over a static rig last.

Sign In or Register to comment.