Virtual Reality

[Jade_Monkey]

1 hour ago, Eldur said:

Also noticed the menu being like 5-10cm in front of me after recentering which probably causes those issues in the first place, 

Yeah. The menu is WAY too close to the eyes in most cases, it needs to be further out. Maybe putting a slider in the settings to customize it would help everyone have it at a comfortable distance.

[YoYo]

1 hour ago, Eldur said:

VR seems kinda broken still to me. In both modes (OVR and OXR) the menu is weirdly floating against my head movement. When looking to the right, it moves to the left and the other way round, same with up and down. I also have that x-eyed overlap issue as if there was a software IPD slider that's set way off. 

All things are bugs, reported earlier.

[iflyflightsims]

On 6/26/2026 at 11:52 PM, YoYo said:

The game requires significant and crucial VR optimization. This applies especially to cities, but also to AI bomber formations (the next step).

Regarding cities, I believe there may be a problem with the LOD of buildings and optimization of building clusters. This means that flying over a city triggers a slideshow. Personally, at such moments, my frame rate drops by more than half (from 72 to 40-30 FPS), making the simulator unplayable in these areas. I'm not even talking about air combat or bombing, just the buildings themselves. There's no such problem in IL-2 BoX; even large European cities (Paris) generate maximum FPS (72 for me). In IL-2 Korea, even medium-sized villages cause a significant FPS drop. Compared to other simulators like MSFS or DCS, large cities deliver maximum FPS for me. In DCS, a city like London (from WW2) gives me a constant 72 FPS, even though it's much more detailed; Dubai and Cairo, Las vegas have the same max FPS. So something is seriously wrong with the optimization in IL-2 Korea of cities and larger villages.

Honestly, I can't even imagine flying multiplayer over cities in IL-2 Korea, because it would be simply unplayable.

I urge you to bring the optimization up to IL-2 BoX FPS standards as one of the top priorities for the 1CGS team.

There's a lot of complaining about the optimization in IL-2 Korea, and practically everyone agrees. Here are some examples of places where frame rates are cut in half. Let's take Seoul as a benchmark. It's practically impossible to fly here, let alone use the airport:

I should add that I'm using an RTX 5090, an i7 13900 CPU, and 64 RAM. So everything should run flawlessly on that hardware. Since I'm seeing drops of 50% or more in VR, what about on other hardware (and I'm using medium settings in IL-2 Korea)? Releasing a game where the minimum specs are essentially an RTX 5090 for VR, and it's still very far from ideal, isn't a good idea so pretty please - fix optimalizations as soon as possible. Thanks!

I agree with the above. A 4090 or 5090 that isn’t limited by 16GB of VRAM will have a much easier time running this game in VR, but the frame drops even on a 5090 are concerning. 

My VR test headset: Pimax Crystal Super 57 PPD QLED (3840x3840 per eye)
Nvidia RTX 5080, i7-14700K, 96 GB DDR5 RAM 6400MHz

In 2D, I can max everything on my 1440p monitor and rarely dip below 90 FPS except on the Black Sunday mission where it dips into the 60s.

Graphics Settings Menu: VR Optimized setting does not appear to affect any of the graphics settings besides terrain roughness. I tried enabling the VR Optimized preset, lowering graphics settings, using DLSS Ultra Performance instead of Quality, and using the “Balanced” preset while turning everything down.

Best I could achieve doing any of that was 35 - 40 FPS in the main menu, 45 - 55 FPS in typical scenarios, and 30 FPS in the Black Sunday mission. Frequent “out of VRAM” warnings.

To reach 72 FPS, I had to lower the headset resolution to 50% in addition to the above, but it still dips into the 60s over cities and on runways, into the 50s when there are particle effects, and into the 40s on the Black Sunday mission.

Just noting that anything below 72 FPS on this headset results in stuttering because it is below the minimum refresh rate. I hope that with some optimizations, VR can be playable on a 5080.

[GiftGruen]

Yeah - had my first test flights today with Korea and the Mig15.

My rig is quite good, including a 5090. VR equipment is Pimax Crystal Light.

Starting from Pimax Play wirh the settings I use for IL2 BoX - I first recognized that having 100% resolution factor in Korea inGame settings gave me some huge resolution (8kx8k) so immense stuttering, already menus hardly managable.

Reduced this to somewhat match the effective IL2 BoX InGame resolution and now it‘s playable, but still dropping fps in ‚complicated‘ situations.

So, first impression: VR performance is quite a bit worse compared to IL2 BoX. To be honest I hoped that a ‚modern‘ engine would rather be better / more performant.

However - yes - we are in early access so let‘s give the Devs some time to do magic things 😉

 

Edited July 3 by GiftGruen

[YoYo]

Of course, it's been reported several times that terrain isn't always rendered the same for the right and left eyes. In my opinion, this primarily affects trees and sometimes the terrain itself (the so-called: mesh). However, since there weren't any examples, I specifically took a screenshot directly from VR, from both the right and left eyes, when this occurred. I think this is a perfect example of this problem (the image shows a capture of the same moment when the right and left eyes see something different, which unfortunately looks very bad in VR). Interestingly, there was no such problem in IL-2 BoX.

I request that you focus on resolving the issues in VR, as without it, we can't enjoy the new title, and additional content becomes secondary. At this point, technical solutions and optimization are more important. Thank you. 👍

[TCW_Brzi_Joe]

Centering in VR does not put me to center of cockpit; it centers my left eye to middle point, and my virtual me is too much right.

When I make my mirror view to be from right eye, then my right eye will be in middle after recenter.

Unfortunately mirror view with booth eyes do not put me in middle.

[Hatredy]

How do I zoom the external view in VR for spotting and how do I raise the pilot seat position? Particularly in the F86, the pilot shoulders feel like they are at ear level.

[YoYo]

Zoom level 1 to 4 and F10 for the save new pilot head position.

[robzerg]

On 7/4/2026 at 10:16 PM, YoYo said:

Of course, it's been reported several times that terrain isn't always rendered the same for the right and left eyes. In my opinion, this primarily affects trees and sometimes the terrain itself (the so-called: mesh). However, since there weren't any examples, I specifically took a screenshot directly from VR, from both the right and left eyes, when this occurred. I think this is a perfect example of this problem (the image shows a capture of the same moment when the right and left eyes see something different, which unfortunately looks very bad in VR). Interestingly, there was no such problem in IL-2 BoX.

I request that you focus on resolving the issues in VR, as without it, we can't enjoy the new title, and additional content becomes secondary. At this point, technical solutions and optimization are more important. Thank you. 👍

I notice in your images an effect I see at low level when flying over forests where small groups of trees pogo up and down in height; it looks like at certain angles the trees suddenly move down by around 5 metres, then bounce back up again.

[YoYo]

1 hour ago, robzerg said:

I notice in your images an effect I see at low level when flying over forests where small groups of trees pogo up and down in height; it looks like at certain angles the trees suddenly move down by around 5 metres, then bounce back up again.

Correct, like mesh fluctuation.

[m00se]

Im quite new to flight sims ..been a couple of years and always in vr ...since korea has low framerates for vr i thought i would give my dalenclip a dust off..Whiles its ok doing ground targets ..dog fighting is so hard ...i put a few bot planes in the air on easy and try headtracking. Most times i either crash or get shot down ..nearly all times result in no kills ..i put vr on and instantly pick and choose my kill ..i know where i am relative to the plane ,,feel if its gonna stall and my gunsight is steady..i have tried many different configs over the past few weeks (i started using in TAW in great battles for cargo runs)..Its frustrating because korea looks biblical on a monitor but sadly vr is not optimised yet ..it would seem..This is a bit of a rant but surely im not alone in this going from vr to headtracking ...I just have no idea how you guys do it .(i know people will say practice but its a hard pill to swallow starting all over again )..

[Husar]

4 hours ago, m00se said:

Im quite new to flight sims ..been a couple of years and always in vr ...since korea has low framerates for vr i thought i would give my dalenclip a dust off..Whiles its ok doing ground targets ..dog fighting is so hard ...i put a few bot planes in the air on easy and try headtracking. Most times i either crash or get shot down ..nearly all times result in no kills ..i put vr on and instantly pick and choose my kill ..i know where i am relative to the plane ,,feel if its gonna stall and my gunsight is steady..i have tried many different configs over the past few weeks (i started using in TAW in great battles for cargo runs)..Its frustrating because korea looks biblical on a monitor but sadly vr is not optimised yet ..it would seem..This is a bit of a rant but surely im not alone in this going from vr to headtracking ...I just have no idea how you guys do it .(i know people will say practice but its a hard pill to swallow starting all over again )..

TrackIR is great for SA , I use both VR and TracIR, TrackIR need to be configured correctly, look for other players profiles, Requiem has good one, dig old forum to download it.

[Drewm3i-VR]

On 7/7/2026 at 2:51 AM, m00se said:

Im quite new to flight sims ..been a couple of years and always in vr ...since korea has low framerates for vr i thought i would give my dalenclip a dust off..Whiles its ok doing ground targets ..dog fighting is so hard ...i put a few bot planes in the air on easy and try headtracking. Most times i either crash or get shot down ..nearly all times result in no kills ..i put vr on and instantly pick and choose my kill ..i know where i am relative to the plane ,,feel if its gonna stall and my gunsight is steady..i have tried many different configs over the past few weeks (i started using in TAW in great battles for cargo runs)..Its frustrating because korea looks biblical on a monitor but sadly vr is not optimised yet ..it would seem..This is a bit of a rant but surely im not alone in this going from vr to headtracking ...I just have no idea how you guys do it .(i know people will say practice but its a hard pill to swallow starting all over again )..

I agree--would never go back to flat screen (would rather not play sims lol).

[Husar]

48 minutes ago, Drewm3i-VR said:

I agree--would never go back to flat screen (would rather not play sims lol).

I choose more often 2D for  comfort and best clarity in distance , system performance and responsiveness (165hz at 165fps) since I don't have best VR headset and 5090 just a quest 3 and 5070ti I do play in VR sometimes like a single player mission or campaign.

Edited July 10 by Husar

[dgiatr]

On 7/7/2026 at 9:51 AM, m00se said:

Im quite new to flight sims ..been a couple of years and always in vr ...since korea has low framerates for vr i thought i would give my dalenclip a dust off..Whiles its ok doing ground targets ..dog fighting is so hard ...i put a few bot planes in the air on easy and try headtracking. Most times i either crash or get shot down ..nearly all times result in no kills ..i put vr on and instantly pick and choose my kill ..i know where i am relative to the plane ,,feel if its gonna stall and my gunsight is steady..i have tried many different configs over the past few weeks (i started using in TAW in great battles for cargo runs)..Its frustrating because korea looks biblical on a monitor but sadly vr is not optimised yet ..it would seem..This is a bit of a rant but surely im not alone in this going from vr to headtracking ...I just have no idea how you guys do it .(i know people will say practice but its a hard pill to swallow starting all over again )..

Never go back again to 2D, prefer not to fly Korea if it's not in Vr. Much better to stick with Great Battles in Vr.

Just wait to see...not very optimistic to be honest....no quad views, no dfr,no ffr,  no open xr toolkit optimisation , high cpu loading, low fps, no modern vr optimisation techniques,  e.t.c...OK as a permanent Vr user buying Korea might consider it like a kind donation to Devs. Probably we, Vr users, are on the dark side of the cost-benefit analysis . . 

Edited July 10 by dgiatr

[YoYo]

5 hours ago, Drewm3i-VR said:

I agree--would never go back to flat screen (would rather not play sims lol).

No offense to anyone, 2D is like kindergarten for me . I also can't imagine playing without VR from long time in simulators. There's no better immersion than VR; no cockpit or others "wonders" can match the sense of space and 3D effects. VR also triggers natural reflexes. A real MiG-29 pilot who flew DCS on a flat screen once tested VR at my house. He then immediately bought VR because he said it made him feel like he was in the military and actually flying again. I have many such examples, for example the father of one of my friends, while flying a UT-2, wanted to get out of it in VR . However, of course, the barrier is the price (not only headset) and configuration of all this in VR software, because these are not plug and play devices and these are days of testing, trials, playing with settings and experiments with resolution. Long story ...

Edited July 10 by YoYo

[Jade_Monkey]

+1 for not going back to 2D. I'd also rather not fly at all, hence why I'm trying to push for better VR optimizations and performance.

[Drewm3i-VR]

6 hours ago, Husar said:

I choose more often 2D for  comfort and best clarity in distance , system performance and responsiveness (165hz at 165fps) since I don't have best VR headset and 5090 just a quest 3 and 5070ti I do play in VR sometimes like a single player mission or campaign.

To me there are no sims without VR, and no VR without sims: it is a perfect use case. I have a 4090 laptop GPU and as Quest 3 as well, which works great in Great Battles (especially online).

[Husar]

On 7/10/2026 at 5:16 PM, YoYo said:

No offense to anyone, 2D is like kindergarten for me . I also can't imagine playing without VR from long time in simulators. There's no better immersion than VR; no cockpit or others "wonders" can match the sense of space and 3D effects. VR also triggers natural reflexes. A real MiG-29 pilot who flew DCS on a flat screen once tested VR at my house. He then immediately bought VR because he said it made him feel like he was in the military and actually flying again. I have many such examples, for example the father of one of my friends, while flying a UT-2, wanted to get out of it in VR . However, of course, the barrier is the price (not only headset) and configuration of all this in VR software, because these are not plug and play devices and these are days of testing, trials, playing with settings and experiments with resolution. Long story ...

I've owned several VR headsets since 2016, but I still can't figure out why flying in VR in Flying Circus or Great Battles feels like I'm piloting a large toy airplane made of solid plastic. I think it's because the aircraft feels completely rigid—there's almost no vibration, shaking, or subtle movement that would make it feel alive.

When I fly the Heatblur F-4 Phantom II in DCS, that feeling completely disappears. The aircraft constantly communicates what it's doing through small vibrations, buffeting, and cockpit movement, making it feel like a real machine rather than a static object. Because of that, I actually prefer flying in VR over 2D in DCS. In Great Battles, and now in Korea, camera shake is available in 2D, but since it's implemented as a full-screen effect, it's disabled in VR. I really hope the developers consider adding a VR-specific implementation with subtle cockpit vibrations and airframe movement instead of screen shake. I think it would make a huge difference to immersion and make the aircraft feel much more alive.

[GiftGruen]

That's somewhat true for sure, but aren't vibrations rather 'felt' than 'seen' so you could use a buttkicker / hapticpad to have this level of immersion ?

Afaik this works quite well with IL2.

[Talisman]

1 hour ago, GiftGruen said:

That's somewhat true for sure, but aren't vibrations rather 'felt' than 'seen' so you could use a buttkicker / hapticpad to have this level of immersion ?

Afaik this works quite well with IL2.

Very much agree.  I use a HF8 in conjunction with Simshaker-Wings.  Brilliant!  Great for Flying Circus, IL-2 GB/Korea.  (I use Simshaker for Aviators software with HF8 for DCS.)

Happy landings,

Talisman

[YoYo]

8 hours ago, Husar said:

I've owned several VR headsets since 2016, but I still can't figure out why flying in VR in Flying Circus or Great Battles feels like I'm piloting a large toy airplane made of solid plastic. I think it's because the aircraft feels completely rigid—there's almost no vibration, shaking, or subtle movement that would make it feel alive.

When I fly the Heatblur F-4 Phantom II in DCS, that feeling completely disappears. The aircraft constantly communicates what it's doing through small vibrations, buffeting, and cockpit movement, making it feel like a real machine rather than a static object. Because of that, I actually prefer flying in VR over 2D in DCS. In Great Battles, and now in Korea, camera shake is available in 2D, but since it's implemented as a full-screen effect, it's disabled in VR. I really hope the developers consider adding a VR-specific implementation with subtle cockpit vibrations and airframe movement instead of screen shake. I think it would make a huge difference to immersion and make the aircraft feel much more alive.

But you do have vibrations in the IL-2 Korea. The main panel can bounce, you get vibrations in the cables, and the lamp covers bounce slightly, etc. The cockpits are alive here, and it adds a cool effect, but it's still just one of the features. I wouldn't link the vibration effect to flying in VR or 2D, as those are completely different things. It's nice to have, but not necessary.

However, to actually experience vibrations, it's worth looking into external hardware, such as bases with Force Feedback, which are becoming increasingly popular (it's great that it's back), as well as a rudder, which can also have FF (WinCtrl for example). I personally bought an FFB base two weeks ago (Moza AB9), and it's currently awaiting additional components. I'm very curious to see how it will function in the IL-2 Korea.

[Husar]

6 hours ago, YoYo said:

But you do have vibrations in the IL-2 Korea. The main panel can bounce, you get vibrations in the cables, and the lamp covers bounce slightly, etc. The cockpits are alive here, and it adds a cool effect, but it's still just one of the features. I wouldn't link the vibration effect to flying in VR or 2D, as those are completely different things. It's nice to have, but not necessary.

However, to actually experience vibrations, it's worth looking into external hardware, such as bases with Force Feedback, which are becoming increasingly popular (it's great that it's back), as well as a rudder, which can also have FF (WinCtrl for example). I personally bought an FFB base two weeks ago (Moza AB9), and it's currently awaiting additional components. I'm very curious to see how it will function in the IL-2 Korea.

Not in jets and in mustang animation are constantly the same not changing with bank, G- load. I'm speaking about visual effects not a physical shaking.

[WWGeezer]

We have a number of members in our Squad ( Wingwalkers) that fly with VR.  A mix of Quest 2, Quest 3, HP Reverb and BigScreen Beyond 2 users

The members with BSB2 have high end rig's with top of line graphics cards.  Their set ups run well at the highest settings for the Great Battles series.  After experimenting for several weeks now (lowering everything, changing resolution, etc) they are really struggling to get this sim to fly.  Very low frame rates, agonizingly low when they get close to the ground at villages.

Trying to figure out if it is compatibility with that headset.   Anyone out there flying with BigScreen Beyond 2 and having success?  If so can you share your settings for both the headset and the game here or in the tutorial section?

[YoYo]

58 minutes ago, WWGeezer said:

We have a number of members in our Squad ( Wingwalkers) that fly with VR.  A mix of Quest 2, Quest 3, HP Reverb and BigScreen Beyond 2 users

The members with BSB2 have high end rig's with top of line graphics cards.  Their set ups run well at the highest settings for the Great Battles series.  After experimenting for several weeks now (lowering everything, changing resolution, etc) they are really struggling to get this sim to fly.  Very low frame rates, agonizingly low when they get close to the ground at villages.

Trying to figure out if it is compatibility with that headset.   Anyone out there flying with BigScreen Beyond 2 and having success?  If so can you share your settings for both the headset and the game here or in the tutorial section?

Let's be honest, there are no magic tricks, and even DLSS won't help much over cities (unless you experiment with presets other than M in Nvidia drivers; someone here reported having quite good results with K). Personally, I suggest waiting for the patch. It's supposed to bring something positive in terms of optimization. You can try to lower the image resolution in VR if someone is willing to accept it. For now, I propose my approach - I avoid cities and larger villages like the plague .