PixTV - Episode Four - Next Level Racing Motion v2 Review
Channel: Project Immersion
Date: 2016-03-28

Welcome to Episode 4 of Project Immersion TV. Today I’m going to be talking about the long awaited Next Level Motion v2, finally released in the middle of February 2016.

In this episode I’m going to take the unit through its paces, show you how tuneable it is via the options in the software and sim profiles. On top of that, I’ll be showing you what it looks like when racing from the subtlest of profiles to something quite violent so that you can see and hear what it sounds like too.

In summary, the Next Level Motion v2 is compact and relatively quiet, it’s not totally silent though. 

It’s all contained within one unit, no external power supplies or control boxes are required so cabling is minimal and easily tidied out of the way. 

Side panels are included that are tailored for adding the unit to the Next Level GT Ultimate range of seats, but there are no rubber grips on the bottom so make sure you have it attached to the wheel stand to prevent slipping!

Half an hour installation time to add to a Next Level rig! You need muscles though as it weighs a tonne, well 21Kgs, so reassuringly heavy and this shows how solid it is!

Your whole body is moved to simulate the G-forces that would be applied to you if you were in a real vehicle, but the wheel, pedals and screen cannot be moved with this solution. 

Adaptation for your brain is instant, as soon as you start your brain gets it!

Tactile feedback is already included and part of the solution through the 2 motors and 2 DoF and you can easily add a Buttkicker to the platform easily on the included post.

It takes a while to understand what is what with the profiling software, and which effect controls which movements. It’s not always the obvious one! Speed, intensity of effects and extent of motion is fully customisable once you have grasped it!

Some of the early firmware updates have needed the custom profiles to be started from scratch, which takes away the racing time. That said, things are now getting to the point where they are pretty good out of the box and only minor changes are needed to suit the person, vehicle and track for each title. 

ForceSeatPM is a simple software interface with half a dozen sliders that you can use for ease of adjustments once you grasp what each effect does and how it is interpreted by the platform.

It could be argued that a DIY system is less than half the cost, which is great if you have a lot of engineering experience, can provide your own hardware support and want to use open source software the community itself supports AND have a lot of time to invest. The Next Level v2 comes with 2 years warranty in the EU, email based support, professional level software and you can be up and running in the time it would take to have a single GT3 race around Brands Hatch Indy!

So, thumbs up to Next Level for developing this great platform with MotionSystems EU to deliver probably the most compact motion platform out there that will fit under most racing rig seats and increase the racers immersion instantly.




My Rig: 
• Next Level GT Ultimate v2 Racing Cockpit
• Next Level Motion v2
• Fanatec CSW v2
• Fanatec CSP v3 + 2x Dampers
• CSS SQ v1.5
• CS Handbrake
• Buttkicker Gamer 2 with Simvibe
• SLI Max Manager

My FOV:
• Screen: Samsung UE65JU7500
• Screen Qty: Single
• Screen Type: 4K Curved TV Screen with a 165" (420cm) radius
• Screen Diagonal: 65" (165cm)
• Screen Width: 56.3" (143cm)
• Screen Height: 32.2" (84cm)
• Screen Ratio: 16:9
• Distance from eyes to screen: 27" (68.5cm)
• Mathematical vFOV: 61°
• Mathematical hFOV: 93°
• Eye height /Horizon on screen: 16" (40.5cm) 

FOV Calculator: http://www.projectimmersion.com/fov
More information can be found on my website: http://www.projectimmersion.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Project-Immersion-149922472032724