Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/07/review-star-wars-squadrons-with-a-vr-headset-and-full-hotas-is-a-thing-of-dreams.html
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2 Likes
I don’t think “HOTAS” is the sort of generally recognized acronym that doesn’t require spelling out at least once.
13 Likes
If you’ve got a HOTAS setup and Link, I hope you’ve also discovered Vox Machinae. If you haven’t, you’re welcome!
2 Likes
Hands On Throttle And Stick:
8 Likes
Love the game and I’d love to see a VR review without oculus.
You should check out flying an FPV drone. No Empire to fight, but flying a real drone adds some adrenaline to the whole issue.
2 Likes
On PS4 VR its perfect no frame drops. In the support crafts I actually tried getting up in setting in the back.
1 Like
The lack of support for older, non-HOTAS joysticks makes the VR less useable, unfortunately. My joystick doesn’t have enough of the buttons they expect (despite having something like 13 buttons), so I have to supplement with the keyboard (like in the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter days), but having the VR headset on makes that more difficult since it’s only by touch rather than sight. So I have to either shell out for a price-gouged HOTAS stick, wait for a reasonable HOTAS stick to get in stock in a month, or play without VR for now.
There’s also a bug with changing your character name in VR. You have to switch out of VR, change the name, and then go back to VR.
But it is a fun game and does take me back to the good ol’ days of Star Wars flight sims. I appreciate that they’re using ships that were created in previous video games like the cargo freighters.
I’d love to get a mission editor/creator to really feel like its a full successor to the old flight sims.
Many people have refunded the game because of poor HOTAS support. Not to mention the support for pedals.
Many Bothans.
10 Likes
I still might get this for the PS4… not sure… or ask for it for Christmas.
I’ve been dreaming of a setup like this since Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.
God knows clocking Tie Fighter back in the day was very rough on the old mouse!
1 Like
Oh. My. GOD. Yes 
!
Scroll…scroll…scrollscrollscrollscroll! And with an old-school electromechanical mouse, at that. Attacking Calamari cruisers with a basic TIE Fighter could get rough indeed, and I actually broke a few mice with the game.
Screw A-Wings, I want a crappy TIE.
1 Like
TIEs and X-Wings are tractors in comparison to an A.
I’m completely aware; it was the same in TIE Fighter, as well. I DID specify “crappy” =) .
I beat TIE Fighter with the basic TIE, whenever possible (generally the bomber missions really needed a TIE Bomber). Hell, these TIE fighters have freakin’ SHIELDS o.o’ .
The original Star Wars arcade game was my fave. They have come a loooong way!
4 Likes
I’m skeptical about how good this game is. I’ve got starbwars Battlefront I, and Battlefront II and the flying parts of the game are garbage. I can’t imagine it being as good as other flight games out there. Also, EA’s servers go out once a month.
I have it running on a janky old HP WMR headset with the cheapest HOTAS I could find (thrustmaster t.flight one) and it works great and is fantastic. (Though as Jason notes, takes a while to get the hang of which button is which without being able to see them)
2 Likes
I’ve been looking forward to a game like this for many many years, so thanks EA. And I love it. Oddly enough, by default, roll is bound to rudder and yaw to flight stick. This should be the other way round. Luckily, it took only a minute to reverse them in the controls settings. Also oddly enough, why didn’t they give this game the more appropriate name ‘Star Wars Sounds In Space’?
1 Like
Honestly the heat/weight of the Quest is the big problem now
