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So… this is news to me, because I don’t have a headset, but I can set my Pro glasses into (side by side) mode by pressing the small button longer. Some games, like , can do this as well without fiddling around with Reshade. I didn’t really expect it but it just works. This way I even get 3D on foot, which is not supported for VR in Elite Dangerous Odyssey at all! Side by side Crosseye mode (right eye left, left eye right) though? Add some head tracking to the mix, which is totally possible, and I get a very nice VR-like experience even on foot in Elite Dangerous – and on Linux PC!

This is the SBS version that does REQUIRE VR/XR glasses and mebbe something like xr-video-player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEtRijojBx8

This is the MONO version that does NOT require VR/XR glasses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYPTk1vygM4

The FOV is somewhat cramped. No idea if this can be tweaked any further but I’ll fiddle with the settings on my next test. Mebbe this can be tweaked (or I use Desktop to zoom in somewhat).

Update: I got the aspect ratio somewhat under control. It’s not perfect but much better and an odd combination of window mode and resolution and upscaling, that somehow affects the HUD only but make no sense to me at all. At this point I think it’s simply a bug of Elite. It’s like the HUD doesn’t get the memo to scale up after the intro played. I’m also not sure if this is a side effect of gamescope but I can totally live with this result (though it does start to stutter somewhat on foot but recording this at the same time somewhat overwhelms my rig anyway). These are my gamescope settings with Steam:

SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 obs-gamecapture gamescope -h 1080 -w 3840 -H 1080 -W 3840 --max-scale 2 -f -e -- %command%

Max-scale is probably not needed but it was started with this so I won’t omit it now. The ingame settings are 1280×960 and windowed with _NO BORDER_. Every other mode broke the aspect ratio even more! That is also true for 1920×1024, which would have made _some_ sense to me at least, but this did also NOT work FOR ME. This results in a pixelated HUD which is worked around with upscaler INTERNAL or AMD CAS cranked to x2 – AMD FSR did NOT WORK. If someone could enlighten me on this: Bring it! YMMV.

New footage with better aspect ratio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qdvfdpTy_k

New footage with better aspect ratio framepacked, which MAY just work with VR (or fall back to anaglyph) – the YT FAQ is very thin on 3D content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWYYJTqnpz8

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My got an awesome upgrade today. It’s a pressure activated heating mat for the seat usually used in cars (12V are 12V 🤷). For the record: I have to heat full power to get my cave to 18C during the wintertime wasting a lot of energy. This doesn’t make much sense so I’m really happy with my solution that I also have in use for my office chair for years now 👌

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Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown by Bandai Namco Studios Inc.Bandai Namco Studios Inc. (エースコンバット7 スカイズ・アンノウン｜バンダイナムコエンターテインメント)
『エースコンバット7』バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト

A jet next to a huge explosion in the sky. Two smaller images depict the perspective of the pilot and the player sitting inside a ViperPit playing the game with XR glasses.

Got some help carrying the from the basement into my man cave today and since I got the peripherals operational again already, and got Ace Combat 7 on a sale, which seemed to be a good fit, I decided to play that first:
https://makertube.net/w/wiKFYNPaKhhCmrrz3aGLYb / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEPK0lHX_3s

Little did I know what a pain in the neck it would be to get this running. No, Linux wasn’t the problem. That was just Press Play, as usual.

There is however no settings menu for joysticks so any mapping has to be done by manually editing the `Input.ini` of the game in an text editor, which is a guessing game. Head tracking is also a no go. I pulled the old trick to map the head tracker to a virtual XBOX controller but the game comes with an annoying deadzone where the camera snaps to the center.

Ah well, got it all working okay-ish in the end and enjoyed some pew pew in the skies. There seem to be plenty of mods too so trying that will be next 🤘

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Steam Deck with various controllers

Today we player all together on the 50″ TV in the living room from the [Linux powered] Steam Deck. We used the Viture USB-C adapter, so the Steam Deck didn’t discharge, attached an OTG cable and an ancient USB hub so we could connect our zoo of accumulated controllers. This way we could all play together the Windows game GoGo Town in early access 😁

Whole family playing together over one Steam Deck
Whole family playing together over one Steam Deck

What a time to be alive.

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https://makertube.net/w/bufv9BJv2vcXDb3KUaksB7 / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpP7KS1fbrY

`@ozoned` interviewed me on my home cockpit on a live stream via his instance at https://stream.ozoned.net/. This is a more condensed version of the stream that is still just 1h shy. We’re going over almost every feature of my Primary Buffer Panel and I explain how everything works. I also decided to add various photos, slideshows or video snippets during the talk only sections so things don’t get too boring. Sometimes that even complements the talks 😄

Ever wondered how to start your own DIY / on? It’s easy. Just watch this stream 🤓

Dedicated project website: https://SimPit.dev

Check out the original recording if you want to see more or the full stream with more [dirty] details: https://video.thepolarbear.co.uk/w/9zNcweVw2fxxpSrmBnaQJa

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So I started taking a closer look at the various panels I got with the old , which is a challenge in itself, since not everything has a handy badge telling me what it is. It’s also not like I’d have a clue in the first place. Figured out that this one apparently belonged into a but I don’t know the exact model yet. It was installed in the rear cockpit on the left side of the front panel and operated by the Weapon Systems Officer and is apparently no longer in use since ~1990. It’s safe to assume that this thing did see action and was closer to space than anything else I own.

Side view of the buttons array
Side view of the buttons array

Next was finding out how this thing is wired to see if I can convert it into a button box for PC gaming. The segment displays look pretty straight forward and I’ll definitely need some multiplexers to drive them but that has a low priority. The switches can easily be checked with a meter but thanks to @kranfahrer@mastodontech.de I was able to track down some wiring diagrams as well. Turns out these are not also very old but apparently rather pricey too? Someone mentioned an eBay offer for whopping 300 USD for a single button – which is insane to me 🤯

Backside of the Tornado WCP showing beautiful cable lacing.
Backside of the Tornado WCP showing beautiful cable lacing.

Speaking of wiring: The backplate may be missing but some of the original cable management is still in place. This is where we can see the rather beautiful cable lacing, which is used in avionics for bundling together wires with waxed nylon or linen cord in an environment with lots of shaking and vibrations. No I didn’t know this before and would probably have ignored it but A Hornet’s Nest just released a video about Cockpit Cable Management where he talks in detail about this technique. Great channel!

The lamp used in one of the buttons is not even LED yet
The lamp used in one of the buttons is not even LED yet

Another question was for what voltage the lamps are designed for. Each button comes with at least one lamp. This is a rather old fashioned and not a LED yet (and in fact LED replacements are rather expensive even). This specific one is the model OL387 rated for 28V DC and 40mA. Apparently this all is up to military spec MIL-S-22885 and bright enough to still be readable in sunlight and comes with high duty cycles before it needs replacements – so it will probably last a lifetime in my man cave 🤓

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🔥 Hell Yes! added UDP support for native under and I can finally talk about it 🤓 Yes! Yes! 🚀

🎥 I was to happy about it that I even did a recording while I had a bad cold and was hoarse just to show it off: https://makertube.net/w/wo4zAJiTFLeg8t2o93MLpL or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgOkGwMShT0

✍ Took a while but it’s now in the open beta for 7.50 https://steamcommunity.com/games/392160/announcements/detail/4485117301459255318

It’s great to see another company embracing open standards and care for their niche gamers too ❤️