Oculus Quest: Guide to use and optimize USB Link for DCS

Hi,

I checked some documentation about how the distortion is applied in the Link pipeline.

You can read in many places that "Low" is the best setting, however it's more complex than this. The distortion pass has been added before compression on purpose for increasing the pixel density at the center, while decreasing pixel density on the edges.

 

This means it actually improves the perceived image quality for low encoding resolutions.

So unless the encoding width is set to something very high, setting distortion on "Low" will decrease perceived quality in the center (and improve in the edges).

 

Is there a rift app for testing perceived resolution? Such as something with resolution scale bars.

Galinette, I got the recommendation from Oculus' own release notes for the software version 12, so you should ask them which setting is correct and which setting does what.

I link to that very page in the references in the last page of the guide.

You can read for yourself here:

https://forums.oculusvr.com/community/discussion/83561/oculus-link-resolution-with-v12/p1

Oculus Tray Tool seems to more or less follow the same recommendations.

But you can always change the settings to your own liking.

PS:

Upon re-reading your comment, it falls in line with Oculus' recommendations:

On low (normal) resolution use "Default".

On medium resolution use "High" and increased pixel density.

Only on high resolution you should use "Low" and an even higher pixel density.

Issue: Oculus Tray Tool not starting up with Windows

I got an issue with Oculus Tray Tool no longer starting up with Windows after the new Oculus software update.

It seems to be an old bug, but it can be fixed:

The developer said, you need to go into settings and switch startup with Windows off, then on again.

I did this, and it starts up again as it should, and works fine with the new version 18.

In other news:

Oculus are planning some prefix settings for Resolution, Pixel per Display override (PD) and Distortion Curvature, so you might not need to set them in tray Tool, unless you want special settings adapted to your own setup.

It's in the current v19 beta, so I guess it could release with next major version.

https://forums.oculusvr.com/community/discussion/90944/v19-ptc-pc-software-release-notes/p1

Yes, I have installed v19 and had to fiddle a bit to make the new “advanced” graphics properties to appear (essentially log out and back in on oculus app). I ran without OTT with link on balanced and the quality is good, with in-game vr ss at 1.8. Curious to know what are your findings with the new settings.

Yes, I have installed v19 and had to fiddle a bit to make the new “advanced” graphics properties to appear (essentially log out and back in on oculus app). I ran without OTT with link on balanced and the quality is good, with in-game vr ss at 1.8. Curious to know what are your findings with the new settings.

Check. :thumbup:

I will wait until v19 is finally released and then test it.

I suspect that I will want to keep OTT if it keeps working, unless Oculus provides manual settings for Link as well, because Oculus recommends lower PD settings than what OTT recommends (and than what I use).

According to their v12 recommendations they use Resolution 2912 and PD 1.2 for RTX 2070 GPUs and up.

I use OTTs recommended settings of Resolution 3648 and PD 1.3 for my GTX 1080TI (RTX 2080+ equivalent)

I use the same PD in DCS and the same resolution in SteamVR and both results in a very good and clear picture quality.

HL: Alyx in SteamVR runs the maximum 72 FPS with these settings, DCS around 30-36 FPS and up.

Check. :thumbup:

 

I will wait until v19 is finally released and then test it.

I suspect that I will want to keep OTT if it keeps working, unless Oculus provides manual settings for Link as well, because Oculus recommends lower PD settings than what OTT recommends (and than what I use).

 

According to their v12 recommendations they use Resolution 2912 and PD 1.2 for RTX 2070 GPUs and up.

I use OTTs recommended settings of Resolution 3648 and PD 1.3 for my GTX 1080TI (RTX 2080+ equivalent)

I use the same PD in DCS and the same resolution in SteamVR and both results in a very good and clear picture quality.

HL: Alyx in SteamVR runs the maximum 72 FPS with these settings, DCS around 30-36 FPS and up.

Oculus has to be very conservative with recommendations. Just imagine what would happen if their recommened settings would cause slutters in 1% of games. Tech resources and forums would be flooded with "oculus killed link performance!!11"

Oculus has to be very conservative with recommendations. Just imagine what would happen if their recommened settings would cause slutters in 1% of games. Tech resources and forums would be flooded with "oculus killed link performance!!11"

I wish they were as careful with releases. ;)

Problems have been reported before.

And immediately after release of v19 firmware reports are beginning to appear from people who get their headset "drowned" by a mysterious "device error log", that writes 60+ lines every time they try to use their headset.

Reboot or even total factory resets don't help, it seems.

I'm a little vary of testing v19 right now.

(Edit: Issue might be related to Oculus Browser needing update.)

But otherwise you are of course right.

I am happy that they are starting to implement better Link graphics settings.

What I wish for is just that they also make an advanced settings section, on your own responsibility of course, where you manually can set and tweak Link resolution, PD and ASW, as you want it.

Maybe even with per game profiles.

OTT has that, and for instance SteamVR has that kind of settings as well.

I wish they were as careful with releases. ;)

Problems have been reported before.

 

And immediately after release of v19 firmware reports are beginning to appear from people who get their headset "drowned" by a mysterious "device error log", that writes 60+ lines every time they try to use their headset.

Reboot or even total factory resets don't help, it seems.

I'm a little vary of testing v19 right now.

(Edit: Issue might be related to Oculus Browser needing update.)

 

But otherwise you are of course right.

I am happy that they are starting to implement better Lini graphics settings.

What I wish for is just that they alsi make an advanced settings section, on your own responsibility of course, where you manually can set and tweak Link resolution, PD and ASW, as you want it.

Maybe even with per game profiles.

OTT has that, and for instance SteamVR has that kind of settings as well.

That is provided in the Oculus Debug Tool isn't it? Not a game profile though, but global setting.

That is provided in the Oculus Debug Tool isn't it? Not a game profile though, but global setting.

It's only partly provided.

Pixel Density doesn't stick when set there, so you will need to do it every time you boot up your pc.

Resolution does stick, but I don't know about the other settings.

In the new v19 software, Oculus has added an extra Link quality related "Graphics Preference" option, under the Devices -> "Oculus and Touch" menu.

It contains four options:

"Automatic"

"Prioritise Quality"

"Prioritise Performance"

"Balanced"

Default it is set to "Automatic".

I tested out "Automatic" with my manual settings as described in the guide (Resolution 3648, PD 1.3, Distortion curvature Low) and then "Prioritise Performance" with Oculus Tray Tool switched off.

In windows there didn't seem to be much difference, however DCS seemed a bit more blurred in the distance when using "Prioritise Performance" alone.

I checked with Oculus Debug tool also, and it said that Resolution and distortion curvature stayed set as I had set manually, however Pixel Density was still at 1.0 with the "Prioritise Performance" setting.

So it seems that only when using Oculus Tray Tool you get the Pixel Density set higher.

So eventually I decided to keep my manual OTT settings, which still works when keeping the "Automatic" setting in "Graphics Preference".

But feel free to experiment for yourself how it works for you.

At least it's an improvement that people can take an easier approach and at least get somewhat better quality with a simple setting.

I'm pretty sure that these new settings only affect link related stuff (encoding resolution and curvature)

I'm pretty sure that these new settings only affect link related stuff (encoding resolution and curvature)

It looks like it.

But then they are not really of any use, because you could do this with debug Tool already.

Oculus Tray Tool is only really necessary because you can't set Pixel Density via Link without it.

Debug Tool only sets it temporarily, on next reboot it's gone.

So if you want it to just be set in the background, you need OTT to set it at every bootup.

Since the last small update (third after v19), motion on my link is way too sensitive. I mean, my view is shaking like crazy and using zoom gives me a headache. No, I don’t have Parkinsons before it is asked. I am using ASW and keep a constant 36fps. I am suspecting my usb port but don’t know how to test it besides the standard oculus test (result was 1.7 Gbps).

Any tips on how to smooth head motion tracking on Quest?

Hello everybody,

New in that forum, I first thank the contributors for this amazing source of information.

I'm playing DCS since a couple of years but I recently bought a oculus Quest to test VR in DCS.

And I have some remaining questions for those who could help me.

First of all, I applied your recommendations and installed OTT (using GTX1070+ setup). With my PC i'm able to obtain 36 fps most of the time with the Mirage 2000 which is not the same story with the F18 and less with the F16 (on he runway i'm closer to 20 fps when I have chance).

My first question : Is it normal or not?

The second question is about the quality of the VR. It seems blurry, pixellized and far from the quality of what is rendered when I capture a video. I'm waiting for lens adaptor from VRoptician adapted to my far correction and hope that it will solve the blur, but I'm pessimistic concerning the pixellization, the aliasing, the stuttering...

The cable I use is Adeqwat USB-C 5Gbs.

All your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Many thanks

i7-9750H 2,6GHz, GTX1660Ti, 16Go.

Hi. It takes some tweaking to get a decent performance. How decent? With a cou running at 2.6GHz like you seem to have and a 1070 I wouldnt be too optimistic. But try this guide and focus on reducing shadows (or even disabling them) and msaa, spend whatever is left on super sampling via OTT. Also try out the shadder mod and look in the forums how to disable xbox game bar stuff. Unfortunately the game is poorly optimized, it has been for half a decade and, even with high end systems it rarely gets a stable 90 fps on all conditions (with 1080ti and 3700x I aim for 45 fps). Good luck!

Does the link cable also charge the headset whilst you're using it, so there's no danger of it going flat during long sessions?

Does the link cable also charge the headset whilst you're using it, so there's no danger of it going flat during long sessions?

If you use an aftermarket with a separate ac adapter yes. If not, just usbc, then it slowly drains. how slow? I find if at 100 it will work for a whole day on dcs (+6hrs). The issue is only when the darn thing turns on by itself (light sensor triggered) and discharges. Several times I had to wait 15-20 min to give it some juice and then play for 1.5 hrs. Now I installed a magnetic adapter and use a sepparate usbc ac/dc cable to keep it 100% when my pc is off.

Ok, thanks for answering. That seems like a pretty good battery life anyway. My sessions are never that long.

Ok, thanks for answering. That seems like a pretty good battery life anyway. My sessions are never that long.

My play sessions are 3 hrs avg and I always have some juice to spare, with some 1-2 more hours between menu, mission editor, windows etc. If you config your usb to deliver power when pc is off then you can always make sure it will be 100%, except when you forget it on or block the light sensor :megalol: