Low End VR review

Ok...

 

I absolutely don't profess to be an expert on VR or DCS in general only playing DCS for a few months, and having my Occulus Rift for a few days.

 

So as you can see if you look at my system specs, I'm pretty much at the bottom of the food chain for both DCS and especially VR. I'm running a 2014 model gaming laptop with a NVIDA 980M (thats M for MOBILE) graphics card. Overall this actually runs DCS reasoanbly well conventionally speaking, I usually was getting 40-60fps in most planes and situations with medium/high GFX and 1080p res. Spec wise with a 10% OC on my system, as near as I can tell its benching around what a GTX970 or GTX1060 might work like.

 

For VR its less impressive... At least graphically speaking, probably a function of both the low res Occulus and having to use lower settings for the VR. I'm running what I'd say are medium/low settings. Medium textures, medium water and AA at 4. Otherwise most things are turned down or off. I do have shadows on for both terrain and in general. I'm generally having no issues on at least smaller missions or dogfights keeping 45FPS with things running smooth. Even with a few settings turned up it generally keeps at 45 or a bit higher in less challenging environments, but cities, landing on carriers or low level mountain flying it starts getting dips to the 30's and even 20's but with medium settings these areas are generally fine at 45fps (with Async time warp turned off I believe since I can see frames above 45 as well). I'm just now starting to work out best settings for this, but overall its pretty playable, I'm just mainly trying to see what settings I can use to get better clarity at this point without killing fps too bad.

 

That being said, Holy cow, its addictive and immersive! TrackIR doesn't even hold a candle to it, just moving my head around with the 1:1 tracking, looking around my instrument panels or checking my 6 feels like I'm in a real plane. Wearing a smudged flight helmet that my squadron mates glued a screen door panels to and smudged perhaps, BUT it feels real. fyling and landing the Harrier is now super immersive and landing is sooo much easier with depth perception. And Helicopters! Holy cow, 1000% easier to fly/land with that depth perception. I think part of the reason I'm generally better with the lower graphical performance is that I never had much to begin with, no 4k monitors at 144hz refresh rates etc. When compared to 17" 1080p screen, it looks less good for sure, and yup you need to have labels on to see anything in the distance but its not "that bad".

 

So there you have it, you don't need a 1080ti to run VR (I'm sure it runs a shitload better though). Even a modest card works ok, and the immersion IMO is worth it. Also, there are other VR games that work quite well/fluid with my card (even other sims), though I'm sure they are less tasking.

Yes it is great hopefully DCS VR will get a decent shot of performance soon with the forth. Comming update.. :thumbup:

I'd turn off AA get pixel density as high as you can. Check out the shader mod. Ditch the shadows and trees, learn to love the desert.

 

Key is to habituate to the screen door, look through it, convince yourself it's not there.

 

Nothing is ever enough, watch your wallet. But yeah I've been doing flight Sims since the late 80s and VR is a game changer

Hi,

I have a Lenovo explorer attached on AMD fx 8350, 16gb ddr3 and AMD MSI R9 390, without VR is quite stable around 60fps+, however with VR i am happy in multiplayer if i can get stable 30fps,

once you try VR its hard to go back, except from time to time i can play with virtual desktop with open-track in cinema mode with good fps just so i dont need to attach track ir, I know that people play Falcon BSM in some kind of Sphere projection, I haven't tried this yet, maybe its an option too as in the end its 2D.

 

On multiplayer server, performance is the same if its 20+ players or just 1, usually its locked at 30fps

if its a night mission i turn off shadows, texture to high, distance is to mid, no AA ( i do actually set it on a graphic card settings and keep in game off)

Pixel density is actually a bit less than 1.0, i keep each eye at 1440x1440

 

In single player I can get a bit better performance, even stable 60fps+ in quick missions like Mig29 dogfight that is over the sea, in the other hand, F18 cockpit, carrier and static carrier objects together in single player can drop fps below 30 (if you turn off shadows than its 30-35)

 

Also i do not use Asw (at least not for DCS)

And have partially applied shader mod so i pass the ic test and can join multiplayer servers.

 

... in the end, since i enjoy this VR experience so much i will build a new desktop PC with

I5 8600k and GTX 1080ti, resistance is futile.

Hi,

I have a Lenovo explorer attached on AMD fx 8350, 16gb ddr3 and AMD MSI R9 390, without VR is quite stable around 60fps+, however with VR i am happy in multiplayer if i can get stable 30fps,

 

,...

 

... in the end, since i enjoy this VR experience so much i will build a new desktop PC with

I5 8600k and GTX 1080ti, resistance is futile.

 

 

9700k (plus) and GTX 2080t, 32GB RAM, SSD,.. resistance iiisss futile. :D

Fixed it for you. ;) :thumbup:
Edited January 7, 2019 by FragBum
<edit> is well is

And have partially applied shader mod so i pass the ic test and can join multiplayer servers.

 

How do you partially apply it?

How do you partially apply it?

 

It one of the sticky pages in this section of the forum , cant recall exactly

 

however this is the list of files i have copied

 

 

So I'm on steam (stable) at the moment, and not particularly looking to switch over to standalone. One of the "features" of steam is the autoupdates, which presumably will break the shaders once its done. To unistall can I use the verify integrity of game files button in steam?

 

With regard to shader mod, I'm looking at this guide to install it.

https://forums.mudspike.com/t/dcs-vr-shaders-mod-now-with-instructions/6434

 

Is this still the way to do it?

 

Which directory should I back up?

Hi, I do not think that there should be much difference in stand alone and steam version of the game. Stand alone does auto update too, however if you already have purchased modules in steam these will not work in steam and other way around.

I did a copy of original shader folder but if the steam breaks it, there should be some kind of repair (like in stand alone) and then simply add a new version of mod. ( or you can copy the original back)

It one of the sticky pages in this section of the forum , cant recall exactly

 

however this is the list of files i have copied

 

 

 

Volume in drive C has no label.

Volume Serial Number is 6044-4F85

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders

 

07.01.2019. 19:17 <DIR> .

07.01.2019. 19:17 <DIR> ..

04.01.2019. 09:42 <DIR> deferred

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> enlight

07.01.2019. 19:17 0 list.txt

04.01.2019. 09:42 <DIR> MaterialFactory

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> metashaders

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> model

1 File(s) 0 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\deferred

 

04.01.2019. 09:42 <DIR> .

04.01.2019. 09:42 <DIR> ..

21.12.2018. 15:37 5.043 bloom.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 2.213 blurCompute.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 14.088 Compose.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 7.275 histogramCompute.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 3.481 ResolveDepth.fx

21.12.2018. 15:13 6.422 Tonemap.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 1.217 _HMD.hlsl

7 File(s) 39.739 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\enlight

 

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> .

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> ..

31.08.2018. 21:31 4.150 sun.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 25.894 water.fx

2 File(s) 30.044 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\MaterialFactory

 

04.01.2019. 09:42 <DIR> .

04.01.2019. 09:42 <DIR> ..

0 File(s) 0 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\metashaders

 

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> .

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> ..

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> grass

0 File(s) 0 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\metashaders\grass

 

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> .

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> ..

31.08.2018. 21:31 22.652 grass.fx

31.08.2018. 21:31 18.757 grass2.fx

2 File(s) 41.409 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\model

 

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> .

21.12.2018. 15:43 <DIR> ..

04.01.2019. 09:43 <DIR> functions

31.08.2018. 21:31 2.003 mirror_material.fx

1 File(s) 2.003 bytes

 

Directory of C:\Users\bpremus\Desktop\DCS VR Shaders performance mod for 2.5.4.25729 (1)\Bazar\shaders\model\functions

 

04.01.2019. 09:43 <DIR> .

04.01.2019. 09:43 <DIR> ..

0 File(s) 0 bytes

 

 

 

 

 

OK ...thanks!

Ok...

 

I absolutely don't profess to be an expert on VR or DCS in general only playing DCS for a few months, and having my Occulus Rift for a few days.

 

So as you can see if you look at my system specs, I'm pretty much at the bottom of the food chain for both DCS and especially VR. I'm running a 2014 model gaming laptop with a NVIDA 980M (thats M for MOBILE) graphics card. Overall this actually runs DCS reasoanbly well conventionally speaking, I usually was getting 40-60fps in most planes and situations with medium/high GFX and 1080p res. Spec wise with a 10% OC on my system, as near as I can tell its benching around what a GTX970 or GTX1060 might work like.

 

For VR its less impressive... At least graphically speaking, probably a function of both the low res Occulus and having to use lower settings for the VR. I'm running what I'd say are medium/low settings. Medium textures, medium water and AA at 4. Otherwise most things are turned down or off. I do have shadows on for both terrain and in general. I'm generally having no issues on at least smaller missions or dogfights keeping 45FPS with things running smooth. Even with a few settings turned up it generally keeps at 45 or a bit higher in less challenging environments, but cities, landing on carriers or low level mountain flying it starts getting dips to the 30's and even 20's but with medium settings these areas are generally fine at 45fps (with Async time warp turned off I believe since I can see frames above 45 as well). I'm just now starting to work out best settings for this, but overall its pretty playable, I'm just mainly trying to see what settings I can use to get better clarity at this point without killing fps too bad.

 

That being said, Holy cow, its addictive and immersive! TrackIR doesn't even hold a candle to it, just moving my head around with the 1:1 tracking, looking around my instrument panels or checking my 6 feels like I'm in a real plane. Wearing a smudged flight helmet that my squadron mates glued a screen door panels to and smudged perhaps, BUT it feels real. fyling and landing the Harrier is now super immersive and landing is sooo much easier with depth perception. And Helicopters! Holy cow, 1000% easier to fly/land with that depth perception. I think part of the reason I'm generally better with the lower graphical performance is that I never had much to begin with, no 4k monitors at 144hz refresh rates etc. When compared to 17" 1080p screen, it looks less good for sure, and yup you need to have labels on to see anything in the distance but its not "that bad".

 

So there you have it, you don't need a 1080ti to run VR (I'm sure it runs a shitload better though). Even a modest card works ok, and the immersion IMO is worth it. Also, there are other VR games that work quite well/fluid with my card (even other sims), though I'm sure they are less tasking.

That is a really nice and reassuring heads-up. I have put off buying a VR based on my graphic (GTX 1060 6G). Not in the league of GPU cards recommended by DCS. Have always assumed it would perform terrible and woukd be a waste of fund to get VR headset not being able to use it.

A first hand experience like yours is a long-sort-after golden information. I guess I restart my search for a decent VR headset again.

 

Thank you Harlikwin.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Eaglewings

That is a really nice and reassuring heads-up. I have put off buying a VR based on my graphic (GTX 1060 6G). Not in the league of GPU cards recommended by DCS. Have always assumed it would perform terrible and woukd be a waste of fund to get VR headset not being able to use it.

A first hand experience like yours is a look-sort-after golden information. I guess I restart my search for a decent VR headset again.

 

Thank you Harlikwin.

 

No worries. There were a few other guys that posted "encouraging" reviews with lower end cards. This is also with "Stock" everything on steam 2.5.3 (still don't have 2.5.4 which maybe improves things?), I also haven't done the shader mod, but I'm thinking I'll need to. Your 1060 should also be better than my 980m, especially if you can OC it a bit.

 

That being said, I'd say have low expectations (I did), it works, but barely with DCS. My plan has been to buy a decent desktop in a few months and I was committed to doing VR with it, so this is more like "preview" for me to see if I liked it, and I generally do.

 

I've now had more experience running some more demanding missions and have had to turn down my optimistic settings based on single plane flight, and depending on the scenario and plane I'm typically seeing 30-45fps, sometimes it does dip lower though, which sometimes sucks and other times seems ok, so I'm not sure how accurate the frame counter actually is.

 

I think the best plane so far tested is the F5 in a 1 on 1 dogfight, and the worst is the mig-21. I've done limited 1 on 1 and 2 on 2 dogfights with both and the F5 is the clear winner framerate wise hanging pretty well at 45, while the mig is a dog and struggles to keep in the 30's. The F18 and harrier are somewhere in between. I haven't done any air to mud yet but I get OK frames flying through the mountains at low level though having trees "magically grow" right in front of me is a bit immersion breaking. With the harrier and hornet you do have to lean in significantly to actually read the MFD's.

 

"The other russian" flight sim works better (like I can run on their mid-high settings, which still don't look great but frames hover more near 45). So if you play that it might be a good backup.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Harlikwin

"The other russian" flight sim works better (like I can run on their mid-high settings, which still don't look great but frames hover more near 45). So if you play that it might be a good backup.

 

As is DCS 1.5 . I still have it on my pc as a backup for VR . (Next month) Fortunately , i have FC3 and the L-39 on it as well as the freebies .

 

Before writing this post I found this , so apparently it is still available :

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/downloads/world/dcs_158/

 

But i have no idea if the entire stable of 1.5-compatible aircraft is still available . I do expect i would have to give up my mistress Hornet , as her release was post-1.5 .

One thing that would be good would be general optimization guides, and these may be headset specific. I've found some, but I think they may be out of date. I.e. the suggestion in the VR Quality/Performance Balance thread was 1.2PD and 2xMSAA for best looks vs performance. I can run MSAA that but it lowers the frames somewhat (not massively as others suggest) and I can't tell much difference visually vs just 1.2PD. And others have just said bump up PD as much as one can. (I get that PD basically=super sampling). The annoying thing with setting PD is that it requires a reboot of DCS, while most other settings don't.

 

Its also somewhat frustrating being able to fly some missions (Like my harrier MAV practice mission in NTTR near creech) at a rock solid 45fps, with maybe a tiny dip when I Mav a BTR, or a 1 on 1 with F5's int he caucus. And then doing a Mig21 mission (also caucus), 2 on 2, and getting 30ish fps, with dips into the 20's. I don't think the rendering load is all that much heavier in terms of objects for the mig missions vs the F5, so it might be the cockpit?

 

Also some of the optimization programs (Razer Cortex) suggested seem to make my performance worse.

 

Can't tell if full screen makes a difference either (alt-enter)

 

Also I can't get the occulus tray tool to import anything from steam.

 

One thing that I have noticed in more than one plane and repeatably, is that when checking my 6 everything looks blurry, move head forward and it looks more clear.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Harlikwin

As is DCS 1.5 . I still have it on my pc as a backup for VR . (Next month) Fortunately , i have FC3 and the L-39 on it as well as the freebies .

 

Before writing this post I found this , so apparently it is still available :

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/downloads/world/dcs_158/

 

But i have no idea if the entire stable of 1.5-compatible aircraft is still available . I do expect i would have to give up my mistress Hornet , as her release was post-1.5 .

 

I guess I could get it, but I don't have any 1.5 planes and I don't think its supported. I'm also on 2.5.3 still as 2.5.4 hasn't hit steam stable yet (this weekend maybe). So maybe VR will get better, IIRC some folks reported improvements.

So maybe VR will get better, IIRC some folks reported improvements.

 

Let us hope ! Kinda waiting for Vulcan to see what happens . On the one hand it may make moot a planned cpu upgrade , and on the other it may require a (nother!) Gpu . Sure would be nice if i could save some money for a better simpit instead of pc upgrades !

 

Not crazy about the latest vr optimizations . The smaller sweet spot negates one of the Rift's advantages . Still , i'll need all the frames i can get with a 1070 and lots of aa . (I hate shimmering !)

Well, my current setup is very much a stopgap measure until I can get a desktop rig later this year. But I also wanted to share my experiences with "low end" VR with folks with not so deep pockets like the 2080ti crowd.

 

I've found that keeping most settings to low or off, (textures at medium, or even high) DDI's at 1024 and 1.2PD. And also reducing the "resolution" of the mirrored window gives me fairly stable 45fps with many planes (not the mig21), and "light" scenarios (haven't really tried anything heavy yet). I'm noticing my GFX card is running at about 70-80% utilization in these cases which I think helps the stability for frame rate. I'm slowly upping the settings and then slowly testing them for general use, but even with the current settings its "usable" if not "pretty". Also, the NTTR map seems to work better than the caucus for its lack of trees. Haven't tried PG yet. The main issue VR wise I think is the limiting resolution of the rift more than anything else, I tried cranking up some settings to see how "nice" it could look, and the answer is not that much better. I do think the next generation of headsets with improved res (pixels per degree) will be what the game truly needs, but those will also have much higher GFX requirements.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Harlikwin