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Post by ScottB on Feb 19, 2015 16:27:04 GMT
I saw this on the Orbx forum and was wondering what everyone's thoughts are. I would love to have one if I could afford it! You guys have probably already seen the website, and many more like it. Just thought I'd pass it along though. I like the Avenger... who wouldn't? Scott
www.simpit.co.nz/
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Post by MarkH on Feb 19, 2015 18:42:02 GMT
Holy cr*p, I had not seen that! Yes, the Avenger seems the one to go for. When I saw the reasonable-ish price, I thought I would click on the 'Titan HD+' as well. Ha ha, a little out of my price range! Mind you, the Avenger sems to be just the screen, so presumably you have to figure in two or three HD projectors and their warping software on top of that
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Post by ScottB on Feb 20, 2015 0:22:50 GMT
Hmmm...I completely missed the pricing, I got caught up in the videos and technology. I'll check it out. Man, with the right instrument panel, gauges, controls and focus on one aircraft, that could really be something! I've toyed around flying a few of the FSX aircraft without the virtual cockpit (just the scenery on the triple monitors) and it feels a little "off". That is, it was more difficult to gauge the flare on landing. But I think the Avenger could work with a proper "physical" instrument panel and aircraft nose... if that makes sense. I believe the 747 cockpit builders can get by with no virtual cockpit due to the shear size of the aircraft their flying but, not sure how it would pan out with smaller GA stuff. Even so, it would still be pretty darn impressive with the virtual cockpit in place, along with TrackIR.
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Post by ScottB on Feb 20, 2015 0:28:33 GMT
Haha... pricing was right in front of me! Not sure how I get by day to day! :-)
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Post by MarkH on Feb 21, 2015 16:40:23 GMT
I am seriously thinking about ordering the DIY version of the Icarus Avenger. From talking to the guys this is the preferred 'international' option to save on shipping. You just get the screen and plans for local fabrication of the frame. Of course the two HD projectors would be the main cost. My main reservation (okay, my other main reservation apart from not having £2K spare) is that my Elite yoke is too big so I would need to sit too far away. I suppose I could find a way to extend the shaft and cut a little hole in the screen.
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Post by ScottB on Feb 22, 2015 0:45:17 GMT
Do you have any idea if there would be a considerable performance loss with FSX (or P3D) due to the resolution? I'm a lot fuzzy on HD projectors with FSX. I assume it's like two 1080p monitors? If so, seems like it would be even less demanding than three regular monitors.
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Post by MarkH on Feb 22, 2015 8:53:10 GMT
Do you have any idea if there would be a considerable performance loss with FSX (or P3D) due to the resolution? I'm a lot fuzzy on HD projectors with FSX. I assume it's like two 1080p monitors? If so, seems like it would be even less demanding than three regular monitors. You are right, the resolution is lower and hence performance should not suffer on that score. Of course there is a question of how good it will look because you will lose sharpness, just like running a big TV instead of a monitor. We have to hope that the massive improvements in the field of view are enough compensation for that. The only nag I have about performance is that they say it works best 'with three windows'. I am presuming this means three separate 3D windows instead of one stretched across the display, and I am pretty sure that would impact performance. That said, the aspect ratio (3:1) is still less than most ultra-wide displays (5:1 is typical, mine is 4:1) so a single view would still work.
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Post by MarkH on Feb 27, 2015 19:20:49 GMT
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Post by ScottB on Feb 28, 2015 0:47:27 GMT
That technology is calling your name!
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Post by MarkH on Mar 2, 2015 19:30:29 GMT
Here's a clip of the Icarus Avenger using TrackIR too. In space!
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Post by ScottB on Mar 4, 2015 0:44:08 GMT
Pretty darn impressive! I'm very tempted to try it. Where do you think the TrackIR camera is positioned?
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Post by MarkH on Mar 4, 2015 8:14:30 GMT
Pretty darn impressive! I'm very tempted to try it. Where do you think the TrackIR camera is positioned? I guess it's behind him somewhere. If you look at the frame design (not seen in this video) there is a vertical post right behind the chair, which looks like it carries the cables down from the projectors. The camera's probably mounted on there. I note he is also using the active target for the TrackIR, which presumably means having the screen in the camera's line of sight is problematic.
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Post by brantleycmd on Mar 17, 2015 18:12:18 GMT
Holy cr*p, I had not seen that! Yes, the Avenger seems the one to go for. When I saw the reasonable-ish price, I thought I would click on the 'Titan HD+' as well. Ha ha, a little out of my price range! Mind you, the Avenger sems to be just the screen, so presumably you have to figure in two or three HD projectors and their warping software on top of that I saw a video, maybe it was one you posted actually, of a time lapse of someone configuring warping software. Is that a terribly difficult task? I feel like the solution with two short throw projectors creating a 180 degree visual might be a good solution. It is certainly what appeals most to me personally. I don't know, I've seen so many solutions, but have no idea what to shoot for. I also think it was a video of yours where there was some sort of curved plastic material placed in front of three screens IIRC. That is something I found to be cool as well.
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Post by MarkH on Mar 17, 2015 18:53:32 GMT
a time lapse of someone configuring warping software. Is that a terribly difficult task? I don't know, I haven't done it but it looks somewhat involved. I'm sure there is a methodical approach to the warping and I notice he used a laser for reference. (I also checked and you can get those laser levelling tools cheap in DIY stores.) The other thing you mention sounds like maybe a fresnel lens. You used to be able to get those off old back-projection TVs but I guess nobody has those any more! I don't know if you can buy them anywhere.
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Post by brantleycmd on Mar 19, 2015 15:39:01 GMT
a time lapse of someone configuring warping software. Is that a terribly difficult task? I don't know, I haven't done it but it looks somewhat involved. I'm sure there is a methodical approach to the warping and I notice he used a laser for reference. (I also checked and you can get those laser levelling tools cheap in DIY stores.) The other thing you mention sounds like maybe a fresnel lens. You used to be able to get those off old back-projection TVs but I guess nobody has those any more! I don't know if you can buy them anywhere. I'm probably getting ahead of myself. I have a bunch of ideas and no starting point. Currently I am upgrading my PC and have purchased a display splitter for a 3 screen set up. I have three 24" monitors, so I'm going to start with that. My yoke, throttle quad, and rudder pedals should be coming in any day now. As far as I'm concerned, that in and of itself is more than I have ever had in a home flight sim experience. So I am pretty excited for that. I think my next step is going to be figuring out how to make different panels. I have some electrical experience, however I have no idea how to interface with the pc. Any resources on the subject that you know of? More than anything having functioning switches and buttons would probably be the coolest thing I can think of.
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