VR in 2.5

1080ti

I've had VR performance problems for a while, but then I like to play the MBot missions and they are very busy. I concluded that the problem is that the CPU is throttling the GPU. What lead me to conclude this is that I get really bad frame rates in places (like < 25 fps with loads of judder), but as soon as I pause the mission and look around paused it shoots up to constant 90 FPS (which is the cap). Then I unpause and it drops back down into the twenties. Conclusion: the graphics card can render it all just fine, but because DCS is (as I understand it) essentially single threaded, the whole thing is blocked up on the CPU trying to run the simulation for all the planes.

If you look at the GPU and CPU utilization when playing DCS in VR you will rarely see the GPU beyond 50-60% utilized and the CPU rarely beyond the same and FPS will be 35-45 in game. There is a lot more hardware in my system to use that the sim simply ignores for whatever reason. It's been that way from day one. There must be some reason for it that I don't know but throwing hardware at this is not the solution since it doesn't use it anyway beyond a certain point. I see little difference in performance between my 1080 and 1080ti in VR. The problem got much worse after the most recent version of 2.5.

How did you unlock the vsync to the headset? Your screenshots are showing high FPS in VR, so far I haven't been able to get out of 45 FPS. I don't think my card is capable of running much higher than 45 FPS, but it certainly feels like it is locked in place.

 

How are you getting 93 FPS or 317 FPS? You're not locked to Vsync of HMD which is usually 45 or 90.

Vsync in the headset you can't modify. In his screenshots Murderone is simply not having his headset on the head, so no picture in rift and FPS are the ones of the monitor display.

To Digitalengine : it seems that external settings don't work in DCS if DS is on, they work if DS is off (I've not tried).

Ctrl+1 used to put rift in mode 90fps ASW off (so if your gpu can render 73fps you have 73fps) but this mode doesn't seem to work properly (ASW seems impossible to shutoff).

Jonx, as ASW seems to be locked, when your GPU render 45fps it don't go further until it can render 90fps, so depending on your settings GPU can be Under-utilized. (with my settings I have 45 fps with beyond 90% load on my 1080Ti)

I thought, or have read that the Nvidia CP option do not effect VR (or at least SteamVR)?

Specifically the FXAA function.

 

What does this do in VR?

 

Do not understand how this should affect VR performance, but certainly should give it a try, Along with the other suggestions. Certainly couldn't hurt.

Turning off Anti Aliasing features in game and applying them through Nvidia control panel works on mine. It smooths out the jagged edges on a lot of things and doesn't effect FPS. I'm pretty sure it is doing this post rendering. Screenshots do not have the effects applied, so a plane is jagged and looks different than what I'm seeing in the HMD. I only have the Steam version of DCS.

CTRL+1 on the numberpad either activates or deactivates ASW I can't remember. ASW is a technology for Oculus Rift that will interpolate every other frame and inject it in order to simulate 90 FPS. In order for this to work your video card must be able to maintain at least 45 FPS. ASW has terrible effects on this game, so I am assuming that CTRL+1 turns it off. I use a Tool Tray program called Oculus Tool Tray that forces DCS to load with ASW disabled.

I don't know how the different texture res would effect VR either. I have all my visuals set to high on textures and those things. I needed an SSD so the constant loading wouldn't cause pauses.

You actually want to leave ASW alone (on).

The frame rate numbers alone don't tell the entire story of what's going on.

https://developer.oculus.com/blog/asynchronous-spacewarp/

You don't 'want' to leave it on when it causes artifacts, screen tearing and glitches, no.

You don't 'want' to leave it on when it causes artifacts, screen tearing and glitches, no.

I'm curious about how ASW specifically is causing all that for you.

I'm curious about how ASW specifically is causing all that for you.

Pitots, gun sights through props, rotor blades, etc. Turn off ASW and it all goes away.

If you look at the GPU and CPU utilization when playing DCS in VR you will rarely see the GPU beyond 50-60% utilized and the CPU rarely beyond the same and FPS will be 35-45 in game. There is a lot more hardware in my system to use that the sim simply ignores for whatever reason.

Yeah as I say, I think DCS is essentially single threaded, so it doesn't make good use of multi-cores. So if you have (for example) 4 cores then what you'll see is around 25% CPU utilization across all 4 cores. However what it's actually doing is that it's essentially only using 1 core, but it's splitting the time slices between the 4 cores so you see 25% on each rather than just 1 core with 100%. At least on my machine the whole thing is then totally CPU limited (hence the very low GPU utilization) ... until you pause the simulation which takes a lot of the load off the CPU.

Try this: when you see your framerates drop try pausing the simulation (Pause key) and then look around. I find at that point I get a solid 90 FPS until I unpause again.

Vsync in the headset you can't modify. In his screenshots Murderone is simply not having his headset on the head, so no picture in rift and FPS are the ones of the monitor display.

 

To Digitalengine : it seems that external settings don't work in DCS if DS is on, they work if DS is off (I've not tried).

Ctrl+1 used to put rift in mode 90fps ASW off (so if your gpu can render 73fps you have 73fps) but this mode doesn't seem to work properly (ASW seems impossible to shutoff).

 

Jonx, as ASW seems to be locked, when your GPU render 45fps it don't go further until it can render 90fps, so depending on your settings GPU can be Under-utilized. (with my settings I have 45 fps with beyond 90% load on my 1080Ti)

You're right. I loaded DCS without the HMD on and it was showing the games FPS as though it were on monitor. As soon as I put my finger over the sensor to turn on the HMD it instantly dropped to 45 FPS. Is ASW stuck on even when you have it off in the Oculus Tool Tray?

When I don't force that to turn it off, aircraft blink on and off when they're close to me. If I force it off they don't blink, I thought it was being caused by ASW trying to interpolate missing frames in.

I'm curious about how ASW specifically is causing all that for you.

When it's on for me, it's like it is trying to interpolate every other frame with everything but the aircraft models themselves, so when I'm near aircraft, they are blinking on and off, so it looks terrible. If I load the game with Oculus tool tray having a DCS profile that forces ASW off the planes don't blink.

I'm curious about how ASW specifically is causing all that for you.

ASW works by interpreting what is suppose to be in future of the frame as it was left out from rendering pipeline.

That means that the ASW is generating false frames between actual frames as VR is about time sensitive rendering. If you can't draw a frame in given time, ASW draws it by looking what was the last few frames and then invents a new frame based that.

That causes when you are below 45 FPS; the straight curves/lines becomes "warped" like you would melt a plastic and it warps like a sheet of fabric. Instead dropping frames and causing "slideshow", you get smooth rendering but all is like warped.

The problem is as well when the objects would need to be drawn top of each other, like cockpit and the terrain. So the terrain will "melt" with the cockpit partially.

Try this: when you see your framerates drop try pausing the simulation (Pause key) and then look around. I find at that point I get a solid 90 FPS until I unpause again.

Look my signature for the specs I have built (I have multiple similar setups build, tested and then sold as all had the same low FPS for DCS in VR). I get in the menu!!!! only a 32-35 FPS.

If I disable VR and hit all maxed out for 4K, in menu I get 2250 FPS (that seems to be a limit for it). If I go to fly, I get over 250 FPS easily, never dropping below 170 FPS. That is 4K all maxed out. But turn VR On and I have probably once or twice experienced a 90 FPS, likely it was in DCS 1.5.0 or something with created single Su-25 flying.

I haven't tested the pause, need to do so as I am interested that what really is requiring so much in DCS. As the player aircraft simulations shouldn't be so heavy. Neither should the ground units be at all heavy for their simple actions (just spawning a 4 ground units sitting still in default settings as target practice makes FPS drop seriously).

I just can't really get my head around what is so CPU heavy in DCS, as I have seen far more complex calculations done without problems on CPU.

Some can get with even lower spec PC a better FPS in VR, but many doesn't get even that 45 FPS and far from 90 FPS. There just seems to be some magical combination that is limiting (or not) the DCS performance even when you should use equal or even better computer.

There are also some populated areas of maps that lock you down in VR to 45 FPS, even though you have turned ASW off.

Fly around NTTR and observe this.

Turning off Anti Aliasing features in game and applying them through Nvidia control panel works on mine. It smooths out the jagged edges on a lot of things and doesn't effect FPS. I'm pretty sure it is doing this post rendering.

...please let us know how you managed this to work. I am on a 1080Ti and any AA in CP has no effect what so ever!

...please let us know how you managed this to work. I am on a 1080Ti and any AA in CP has no effect what so ever!

That is correct.

I play only in VR with 1070 and Oculus rift.

I keep PD = 1 and MSAA 2x, without use of Nvidia control panel or Oculus debug tool.

With all settings set to high except shadows, I manage to keep 45 fps solid in nearly all the situations, but I play only in caucasus, so no low Flying over Las Vegas. I think the graphic is fine with these settings and the game is fully playable.

Vive pro has a higher native resolution than Oculus / Vive standard, so if you keep PD = 1 you have the same pixel count that I have with PD 1.2 - 1.5 (I don't know the exact calculations, please focus on the concept...).

I imagine a 1080ti could manage, but raising PD in Vive pro is surely very demanding.

Consider that I'm thinking of buying a next generation VGA - when it will be presented - to change my 1070. I bought a 1070 to upgrade an old 550ti, and this would be the first time I buy two subsequent generation of VGA. And I'll do it just for DCS and Oculus rift. But VR has changed everything, I cound't go back to a flat 2d monitor for any reason!

That is correct.

You guys are right, it must have been the placebo effect. Changing so many damn settings I must have convinced myself I was seeing a difference. I wonder if the tweaking of ANY of those settings in Nvidia control panel did anything, they don't appear to have any effect at all now when I go in and turn them off 1 by 1. I followed a guide I found either here or on steam. So I guess that means there's really no way to adjust settings for VR? Now I feel like I wasted so much time following useless guides.

I play only in VR with 1070 and Oculus rift.

I keep PD = 1 and MSAA 2x, without use of Nvidia control panel or Oculus debug tool.

With all settings set to high except shadows, I manage to keep 45 fps solid in nearly all the situations, but I play only in caucasus, so no low Flying over Las Vegas. I think the graphic is fine with these settings and the game is fully playable.

Vive pro has a higher native resolution than Oculus / Vive standard, so if you keep PD = 1 you have the same pixel count that I have with PD 1.2 - 1.5 (I don't know the exact calculations, please focus on the concept...).

I imagine a 1080ti could manage, but raising PD in Vive pro is surely very demanding.

Consider that I'm thinking of buying a next generation VGA - when it will be presented - to change my 1070. I bought a 1070 to upgrade an old 550ti, and this would be the first time I buy two subsequent generation of VGA. And I'll do it just for DCS and Oculus rift. But VR has changed everything, I cound't go back to a flat 2d monitor for any reason!

I also average about 45 FPS everywhere on a 1060 6gb card. I think it is absolutely playable and very fun at 45FPS.

It is 45 fps in Oculus rift because if you can't hit 90 fps then ASW takes over and locks the frame rate at 45, but the same the game looks smooth, because of ASW. I'm fine with it.

I have a Vive Pro with i7 & NVIDIA 1080. Currently getting 45 FPS with PD 1.0, high texture/terrain, medium water, low shadow. I need MSSA 2x otherwise the shimmering is very noticeable. The graphics also seem to pop more with MSSA on. Raising PD to 1.2 makes the graphics/texts sharper but it judders too much when flying low.

I’m ok with 45 FPS for now but it’s not ideal when I can get above 90 easily in 2D. I would pay for the next gen card if it would give me 90 FPS consistently.

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I agree with the above poster. MSAA off with deferred shading. I get pretty solid vr performance, and definitely no disadvantage with MSAA off. In fact, I'm not running any in game AA.

Do you happen to use super sampling from the oculus tool or is that turned off due to using the in game option?

Vive pro has a higher native resolution than Oculus / Vive standard, so if you keep PD = 1 you have the same pixel count that I have with PD 1.2 - 1.5 (I don't know the exact calculations, please focus on the concept...).

Vive Pro native resolution is equivalent to a Rift at 1.3. A question for the OP, how is the screen door effect in the Vive Pro in comparison to your Rift?

Hello sorry for the late answer, just open up your steam vr software then:

Settings -> Developer and then uncheck "Advanced Supersampling" checkbox

now move to your main steam folder -> config folder -> steamvr.vrsettings file, open it with Notepad and you should find these lines

{

"GpuSpeed" : {

"gpuSpeed0" : 911,

"gpuSpeed1" : 909,

"gpuSpeed2" : 910,

"gpuSpeedCount" : 3,

"gpuSpeedDriver" : "397.31",

"gpuSpeedHorsepower" : 910,

"gpuSpeedRenderTargetScale" : 2,

"gpuSpeedVendor" : "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti", ---this is your GPU

"gpuSpeedVersion" : 2

},