Enjoy your favorite combat jet and attack helicopter right inside Digital Combat Simulator.
Here are the 4 best VR headset for DCS world . We ranked them based on price, field of view, resolution and overall comfort level.
Let's check them out
Top DCS VR Goggles
Oculus Quest 2 - Best Overall Comfort
Facebook's Oculus Quest 2 is one of the most mainstream VR headset for a good price just under $300 to enjoy flying high speed fighter jets inside DCS.
Wireless - Connect to PC via Oculus Air Link or physical link cable, and it works perfectly inside DCS.
Faster Setup - Switch on the VR mode inside DCS, and you are good to go
Customizable - Get an aftermarket headstrap for better comfort when flying a VR combat mission, and some have built in battery to make the headset run longer
Specs:
- System: Android source code
- Memory: 6G
- Position Tracking:
- Field Of View: 104°
- Weight: 126g
- Hard Drive: 128Gb or 256Gb
- Screen Resolution: LCD 1832 X 1920 per eye
- Refresh Rate: 120 Hz
- IPD: Manual (1, 2 and 3)
- Graphics: Adreno 650
- Connection: Wifi, USB-C and blutooth
Pros
- Affordable for mainstream users
- Connect via Air Link
- Very easy to setup
- No wire
Cons
- Mandatory credit card info to login
- Shallow FOV for situational awareness inside DCS
Varjo Aero - Best Resolution
Varjo Aero is checks all the boxes for a high visual fidelity for VR headset for DCS and other VR development work.
Human Eye Sight Resolution - Up to 35 pixels per degree, and up to 2880 X 2720 per eye. See MFD and targeting pods clearly inside the cockpit to scout targets
Top Training Quality - It blows Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro out of the water
Content Streaming - Stream VR content from the cloud as Varjo Reality Cloud becomes available
Specs:
- System: Android source code
- Position Tracking: SteamVR
- Memory: 6G
- Field Of View: Horizontal: 115°, Diagonal: 134° at 12 mm eye relief
- Weight: 487g
- Hard Drive: 128Gb or 256Gb
- Screen Resolution: LCD 2880 X 2720 per eye
- Refresh Rate: 200 Hz
- IPD: Automatic 57 - 73mm
- Connection: Wifi, USB-C and blutooth
Pros
- 20 20 alike resolution
- Auto IPD
- Foveated rendering
- No annual subscription
- Lightweight, less strain on neck
- Active cooling to keep it running longer
- Reduced headache running at 200hz
Cons
- Expensive
- No camera
- Requires SteamVR tracking
HP Reverb G2 - Best Comfort
HP Reverb G2 blows HTC VIVE and Oculus out of the water with clarity and resolution at the time being.
This is a CES 2021 and RedDot 2021 winner product and it's now available for purchase.
It's important to glance at the MFD with clarity and not have to zoom in.
Put this on and take the Apache for a long ride without discomfort. The cable is much lighter and when it's paired with HOTAS controller, the immersion is insane.
Specs:
- Position Tracking: Camera
- Field Of View: 200° Horizontal, 135° Vertical
- Screen Resolution: 2160 X 2160 per eye
- Refresh Rate: 90 Hz
- IPD: Mechanical
- Connection: Wifi, Fibre Optic Cable
Pros
- Clean close up view on MFD
- Upgrade from Oculus Quest 2
Cons
- Not much
- Refresh rate can be higher
PIMAX 12K - Best Field Of View
PIMAX 12K offers the widest field of view experience for DCS pilots to experience the cockpit and maximize situational awareness for carry landing and aerial dog fights.
The pilot can glancing around with your eye balls to see other gauges during flight without having to turn the head back and forth.
Tobii Eye Tracking - Foveated rendering only sharpen the part of the image to reduce graphics computing power on the rest of the screen
200° FOV - Up to 12K resolution using QLED display with a whopping 200 Hz refresh rate for fast moving VR combat experience
Auto IPD - It automatically recenter the lens to the position of your pupil for maximum visual clarity on its own. It saves time putting it on yourself and setting it up for others
Specs:
- Position Tracking: SteamVR
- Optics: Bionic lens system
- Field Of View: 200° Horizontal, 135° Vertical
- Screen Resolution: QLED 12K per eye
- Refresh Rate: 200 Hz
- IPD: Automatic 57 - 72mm
- Connection: Wifi, Fibre Optic Cable
Pros
- Widest FOV to fly and pay attention to the gauges
- Auto IPD
- Foveated rendering
- Bionic lenses
Cons
- Expensive
- Bulky
- Facial tracking may invade personal privacy
What To Look For
Comfort
The weight of the headset matters lot for long period of use for DCS pilots who like to fly fast and perform complex aerobatics.
The lighter the headset, the easier it is to wear and experience VR for a long period of time. The heavier it is, the faster the user will strain the neck and may also lead to motion sickness.
Learn more: How to reduce VR motion sickness
Resolution & FOV
As VR technology improves, field of view and resolution will continue to improve, and this is a key feature for smooth VR flying experience inside FS2020.
Most VR headsets use Fresnel lenses, and only the center of the lens will give the user the highest clarity. Therefore proper IPD setting is important for both eyes to see the highest quality image as much as possible.
IPD
New VR technology is pushing towards automatic IPD adjustment as soon as the user puts on the headset.
This means easier adjustment for yourself or when setting up VR for others.
Foveated Rendering
Foveated rendering sharpens the image based on where the eye is looking while reducing computing power on rest of the screen.
This will make VR headset run a lot efficient and also provide depth of field experiences for user who may wear bifocal or non-progressive corrective lenses
Refresh Rate
Anything at around 90 hz, 120 hz or 200 hz is a good starting point for a modern VR headset. The higher refresh rate and higher FPS (90FPS or higher) can reduce motion sickness, and provide good low level VR flying experience.
The lower the frame rate, the worse the experience. In addition, an optimized computer can support the hardware is also helpful.