I don't have an Oculus, I have a Lenovo Explorer but it's still VR. I love it!
Cons- game is not quite as "pretty" due to lower resolution.
less periphrial vision, but not a drawback, just a fact
if you want to take notes or use keyboard you have to lift it up but with VoiceAttack that issue has been negated for me
if you're in a dogfight it's a little harder to see your 6 because you have to actually look straight behind you because of actual 1 to 1 tracking. I'm an old man so that is harder to do than when I was younger. But I sit in a swivel chair so that helps a lot. This is the only "con" that I even really notice any longer and it's not a bad one, I just am trying to mention any that I can think of for me personally.
possible minor motion sickness for a week or two until you get used to it, especially when on the ground or flying low. The first time I flew in VR, I flew flat and level and just enjoyed the view and then did a slow left banking turn. I immediately thought I was going to fall out of my chair because it felt as though the chair was leaning because of the immersion, and right after that I felt a tiny bit queasy and had to look at the plane dashboard to make it go away. Now I never get any of that, it's kinda like seasickness, it goes away. I was practicing my Huey last night under 100 feet and no problems..just great fun. I was taking some ground fire and the rounds were coming right at my head, not at a screen, pretty awesome!
relatively small "sweet spot", that area of your vision where everything is the clearest. In your cockpit, if you want to look at something that is to the left or right, you have to move your head to look at it, you can't just turn your eyes. But this is probably the least of the drawbacks as it's something you get used to almost immediately.
Pros- IMMERSION!!!!!!! When you're in a cockpit you are in the plane or chopper. It can't be described, you just have to experience it. The first time I sat in a cockpit in VR I spent 10 minutes just looking around the cockpit and tarmac muttering "oh my gosh" to myself.
depth perception. When air to air refueling the big ol tanker is right there and you can feel where you need to be and what your closure rate is. Same with landing on a carrier or in a chopper.
IMMERSION!!!!!. One of my favorite things now is to fly on a partly cloudy day, watching the clouds go past you and fall beneath you as you climb, the feeling of speed and height is so cool now.
And did I mention IMMERSION!!!!!!? One time I had my hand resting on the armrest of my chair while I was lowering the canopy on my F-18 and I instictively jerked my hand into my lap because I was afraid the canopy was going to close on my hand, that's how real it is.
Long story short, I'll never fly with TrackIR again, the VR, even with it's shortfalls, is just so enjoyable. I have heard of some guys trying VR and going back to TrackIR, but those cases are just a fraction of the people who, once they try VR, say the whole game has changed for them. When I put my VR on and my headset on my ears, all outside stimulus is gone and I'm in the plane, it's great. If you get it I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
The difference between a Rift and my Lenovo is you will have 2 or 3 external sensors you will need to set up to track your movements whereas my Lenovo doesn't need any external sensors, just a well lit room, to properly track head movements. Not saying that's any better or worse, just the way the unit works. And my Lenovo Explorer WMR unit goes for $118 on Amazon right now. Again, not trying to tell you what to buy, just pointing out the differences. I'm sure you will LOVE your Rift. I would love to be online with you when you first get in a cockpit in VR and hear your reaction.
