Ah, but they are making similar mistakes to what FDev did with Elite Dangerous. Canopy views are optimized for nostalgia, instead of VR visibility. Lots of bars. Added to that, the radar looks 2D.
But hey, hopefully the multiplayer aspect at least remains popular longer than EVE Valkyrie.
Well, itās supposed to immerse you in the Star Wars ships - if that is how their cockpits look, then it should be like this. It would be odd if you had almost free 360 vision.
In ED the view is one of the criteria to choose a ship - for long-range exploration the Anaconda offers a very good package, but the view is a weak point, when compared to e.g. the ASP X. Same goes for real life cars.
Where I am with you is the instruments panel - it does look 70ās Sci-Fi, all a bit clumsly & cheap. That would have deserved an overhaul, to make them look a bit more sophisticated while keeping the same general main shapes & button layout to not completely make them unrecognizable.
We still need a space sim game actually made for VR. By gamers, for gamers, like Descent Freespace wasā¦
The equivalent of VTOL VR to DCS. HUD and cockpit switches are big and simple, designed for VR in the first place, instead of being forced to simulate a real design.
In fairness to Squadrons, although the cockpits are traditional (little choice there I guess), the readouts look large and easy to read. Always been of slightly less concern to Pimax users of course 
Iām sure there may be options to turn off the cockpit and only show the HUD display. Most sims and space games have had that option over the years anyway. Unless it would be considered a ācheatā feature and not included. I would hope not.
The potential looks good indeed 
Large displays for VR is one thing. Those things are HUGE.
If there are any compromises to be hoped for, it is that the instruments and canopy bars are smaller in VR.
I suspect however, that the game designers will again prove to be too proud to let us turn off their āimmersiveā shiny canopy obstructions.
I like your analogy between DCS and VTOL VR though. At least we have DCS though. In the VR space sim department, we nearly had Elite Dangerousā¦
They need to be clear on the lowest res VR headsets, PSVR etc. Itās not catering for Pimax users 
One day there will flight sims and space games that combine the VR design of VTOL and the huge depth of simulation like DCS. One day. Will require development teams who can identify clear commercial incentives to do so, and weāre not there yet.
The steps down that path are slowly being made though, as VR takeup increases, and certain VR stalwarts, naming no names, start to fall by the waysideā¦
Think about just how large those instruments are when scaled up to VR. Even on a PSVR, they are oversized enough to seem really silly.
I agree that VR apps seem to be going down an incremental path so far. Itās a very slow incremental path though. As things are going now, Star Citizen will probably reach that maturity at the same time.
So much for crowdfunding on the VR software side.
Hehe I guess, Squadrons is all work in progress so weāll have to see nearer the time.
On the latest update video there is a glimpse of one of the all new SC cockpit HUDs, looks very nice imo. Was noted that all buttons and switches will additionally be interactive, VTOL style, which implies another step on the road to VR support.
Combined with the incoming atmospheric dynamics / wing lift / thruster curves / VTOL changes / reactive damage models / enhanced turret and targeting computers / signature+stealth changes, Iām looking forward to Julyās update. A lot of interesting things there. Iām sure it will be full of bugs, but good steps forward.
Now I am interested. I really hope this means hand tracking + HOTAS .
This ! Being forced to use your VR controllers to switch the interactive buttons is a bummer when you use a HOTAS.
The issue here obviously is the lack of handtracking on effectively ALL mainstream PC VR headsets so far. IIRC Oculus has it only enabled on the Quest, its golden boy, while the ugly duckling Rift S is left to die (while featuring better hardware for the job). And hardly naybody has the Vive Pro Eye, so sadly one has to ask why would a dev even consider to go down this path today with no base and high degree of uncertainty whether this will change in the coming 2-3 years.
Unfortunately yes, using the combination of both is a downside of the Index controllers (eg in DCS), seeing as they attach to your hands. But it is just about possible to find one on the desk, make the change, and put it down again without crashing 
I use them with magnetic chair mounts to play VTOL VR, works well by providing precision and hand rests, given the game doesnāt have hardware HOTAS support.
I wonder if a Tobii unit could provide both eye and handtracking (assuming the system could not be VR-exclusive)ā¦
Just had another thought on this. SC supports FOIP (Face Over IP, no less) - just with a webcam, it maps your facial movements to your characterās face for in game conversation or ship to ship calls. Varies between frighteningly realistic, and just frightening 
But if the same system could also track handsā¦ 
Iām looking forward to playing Squadrons. I was a big fan of Xwing. I had many hours of fun.
there was a descent VR game being made that the dev pulled from early access because their feelings were hurt and the found a publisher that provided them $$ to work in secret and probably ensure a pancake port.
I wonder how itās doing?
I yeah and of all the franchises of yesteryear that deserve a modern remake in VR Freespace is one of them.
Honorable mentions would go to
yeah every update they do, iām like. you may as well just announce it already. We all know that you are working on VR support.
I mean why else would they be wasting so much time and effort in
Tell you the truth Iām almost insulted that they think our intelligence is so low as to not realize the extent to which they are putting systems into place for VR.
The only reason i can think of why they havenāt announced it is because there are so many VR haters out there that if they announced it they would lose their collective shiiit for adding what they see as a useless VR gimmick (their words not mine) instead of just completing the game.
god i hope no not. that game was shallow AF.
Thereās also Overload (made by the people behind the original Descent actually)ā¦
Thereās also an old demo for the game.
Because it sounds like that as much as the will exists, itās nowhere near ready. I posted this VR update on here recently, itās from March after Alyx was released.
There are many, many design obstacles to be overcome. As the dev says, nobody wants to see players teleporting around the universe. Smooth integration of ship and FPS control in VR, and on an equal footing with non-VR users, is not a simple thing.
At least the attitude is, when we do it, it has to be done properly. No half-assed implementations, or just giving up completely like FDev.
Right now thereās so many gameplay features that need to come first, so implementing VR before any of that is even done would be a huge waste of resource. So it wouldnāt make sense until the game is at least feature complete and closer to beta. And the Pimax 16KX will be out by the time that happens (yes, that long ).
There is a new Wing Commander, itās Squadron 42. And far more likely to get VR before SC because itās a fixed SP environment.
I believe Mechwarrior 5 was supposed to have VR support from the early demo, but it was dropped. Now itās āmaybe in futureā.
descendant studios is now being sued by that publisher
