4 replies to this topic

[dJellyfish]

I've always been a huge fan of simulators, and I have always dreamed of having a simpit of my own. For years I've drooled over the simpits I've seen others make, but I've never had the time, space, or resources to build one worth having. However, with the Oculus Rift on the horizon, simpits will no longer need to be impressive to provide excellent immersion. It is with this in mind that I've set out to create what I would consider to be a truly practical simpit.

• It's collapsible - set-up/tear-down takes about 5 minutes
  
• It's transportable - you can easily move it into the corner (or even another room)
  
• It's flexible - supports layouts for both mech sims and flight sims (haven't tested racing sims... yet)
  
• It's easy to assemble - I got most everything through amazon prime, and once you have everything you can put it all together in a single evening
  
• It's affordable - the whole thing costs less than one of the cheaper Macbook Pros - most of the expense is in the computer and controllers; but it also includes IR tracking and vibration feedback, and even money set aside for the Rift when it's released. The cost is about on par with many of the more affordable DIY simpits, but this one doesn't have the same required expenses in time, effort, and resources.

The Simpit
The armrests on the chair lift up to ease entry/egress, and I move the control platform into/out-of position whenever entering/exiting the chair. The platform straddles the edge of the chair when in use and makes you feel nicely "locked in". I'm working on a track to ease movement, but it's not fully tested. The cables are attached to points on the rig via velcro cable ties, preventing them from getting in the way when entering or exiting the pit.




The Room

Spoiler

This is my Theater room with a 47" HDTV, 5.1 surround sound system, a small tray table (which positions excellently as a pit side drink table), and a sectional couch which spans the room. The collapsed pit takes up the space of a medium-sized ottoman, and the controllers all fit inside one of the entertainment system cabinets (as pictured the controllers are not put away).

The Seat

Spoiler

The seat is an X Rocker II Video Game Chair with speakers and a subwoofer. I've replaced the chair's subwoofer with a bass transducer from an old Aura Interactor to allow for rumble feedback. It was a direct swap as the woofer and the transducer are the same size and bolt pattern, and the amp line threads easily through the subwoofer's exhaust port. The chair sits on a foldable wooden platform with shock padding to restrict the vibrations to the chair, and I use doorstops to hold the chair in the configured position/recline. I place the audio controls to the left side of the chair and transducer controls to the right, allowing me to easily adjust settings between matches. I've also placed a plastic hook on the side of the chair's headrest for holding the headset (+DelanClip) when it's not in use.

The Controls Platform

Spoiler

The frame of the controls platform is an adjustable laptop table with 2 adjustable arms. This perfectly straddles the chair when in use, allowing for greater stability due to the legs having contact with the chair. I use power-grip tape to secure the controllers to their configured position, so nothing slides around when I'm in the heat of battle.

The controllers I'm using are a Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS, a Perixx gaming mouse with mouse pad (as zero-order devices rule MWO, and I haven't yet committed to creating a zero-order flight stick), an Apple Wireless Keyboard with color coded key overlays (for chat and the few functions I do not have mapped to the controllers), and a DelanClip IR with PS Eye camera (neither pictured, but I can't wait for MWO to support IR tracking). There's also a USB hub with grip padding added on top to provide a stable surface for the IR Tracking camera (or my mobile phone, so I don't forget the world outside), and I have a small cable box to store cables with grip padding on top to provide a stable surface for the keyboard.

The Pedals

Spoiler

I'm using Saitek Rudder Pedals with toe brakes. Velcro holds them to the wooden base, and wheel chocks allow for angle adjustments of the base to comfortably match the seating position. The cables wrap around a catch to prevent them from sliding into the way of forward pedal movement.

The Computer

Spoiler

The computer consists of a MicroATX tower with an i5 4750 3.2GHz quad core CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB Hybrid Drive, and a GeForce GTX 650 Ti with 2GB. (I know, the case isn't perfectly sealed in this picture...)

I also have an inexpensive USB soundcard which supports sending the same audio signal to multiple devices simultaneously, because Windows 7 doesn't allow for it. This is needed in order to support rumble feedback. I also have a Razer Tiamat 7.1 Headset (which is fantastic once you configure your audio channels properly).

Both my simpit and this thread are a work in progress. I know this is not nearly as impressive as other simpits out there **cough** FOUST **cough** Turbo Corvair, but I'm building this for practicality and eventual Rift use so it's hardly in the same league... but what do you guys think?

Edited by dJellyfish, 30 April 2014 - 12:25 PM.

[Spawnsalot]

Very nice! Yep... totally not jelly or anythinGIVEITTOMENOWINEEDIT!!!!

[Reno Blade]

Very nice!
If you mind some questions:
How is the feeling of the chair so low on the ground compared to "upright" sitting in a "normal" office chair on a "normal" table?

If I understood it right, you are using a headset (7.1) and did something with the chair sound boxes?
Don't you use the 5.1 sound of your sound system in the room for playing, or are you using both?

How is the heat on your PC in that little space?

What (and where) is a toe break on the peddals?

[dJellyfish]

Sitting in the chair feels like being in a cockpit and is similar to sitting in a low sports car. The chair is at a slight recline allowing me to face the TV comfortably, and the pedals are angled to keep my legs bent so that engaging the pedals feels natural.

When it comes to audio, I have the option of using the 7.1 headphones (required when on Team Speak) or the 5.1 sound system (complimented by the chair's 2.0 audio speakers located at either side of the headrest)... or all at the same time! The chair came with a built-in subwoofer, but I've replaced that with a bass transducer out of an old Aura Interactor (it was a direct swap as the woofer and the transducer are the same size). The bass transducer creates vibrations based off of low frequency sound and it's mounted directly to the chair's frame, making the whole thing rumble... so simply walking in a mech feels excellent and you really feel it when you're taking fire.

The PC's vents are all facing the open area and the cabinet is mostly empty when the machine is on (because the headset is in use), so it bleeds heat pretty well. I've had MWO crash on me a few times, but I haven't been able to directly correlate that with heat... and I've played other games for 3 times as long without experiencing any crashes, so I chalk the crashes up to cryEngine inefficiencies.

The rudder pedals pivot forward to engage toe brakes (a common function in aircraft). In MWO I've got these mapped to engage/disengage Arm lock (left pedal), and center the legs to the torso (right pedal).

[Loc Nar]

Nice setup man, it's always a pleasure to see a new build join the club. I can appreciate and relate to attention to (the *appearance of) simplicity of overall build to maintain some semblance of still having an apartment/house.

My pit also has the sub built into the seatbase (seatbass? ), and agree entirely. I was going to add shakers to mine, but once I felt how much tactile response I got from the sub alone it's extraneous. My audio solution is not far off from yours, and use speakers/sub for game sound and headset for comms.

This is an area where lazy development kinda works to our advantage btw... at least on my machine. If I start the MWO client running through speakers, it stays on speakers even when the audio is switched to headset. Keeps MWO's distorted/clipped 40-60Hz rumblemud out of the comms and keeps the subs tactile. Also helps create the illusion of MWO sounds coming from outside the cockpit while inside sounds like coms are unfiltered.

Hope to see this pit and thread grow, see you on the battlefield. o7