WipeUout

Well that is reassuring! Thanks for the details. I might seriously consider going for a crystal light

Yeah great, but this is until some update screws PimaxXR since it is not supported anymore by @mbucchia... Pimax needs to support OpenXR natively without the need for this PimaxXR runtine from a third party. @mbucchia created this workaround for free and updated it 15 times, but not anymore. Feels like we have a Damocles sword over every DCS Pimax users.

I have an extra cable and it does not go away. The issue is only with the 90hz refresh rate, everything fine using 75hz or 60hz, no blackout whasoever.

SteamVR is not used. PimaxXR is used instead which is an extra piece of software needed to avoid the ineficient SteamVR.

No change with the provided firmware, still having the blackouts. Now changing refresh rate and back to 90hz does not fix the issue anymore. Any idea?

I already have the 2.1.255.299 firware version. I will flash anyway it with the file you posted and see if it changes anything. Thanks for the support!

Hopefully Pimax will make it work better and also with OpenXR runtime. The present Pimax implementation of FFR through their software only works with SteamVR on my 8KX, impossible to make it work using OpenXR as a runtime.

FFR also provides huge performance boost, not the OpenXR Toolkit FFR but the Quadviews FFR. Sure you have to turn the head around but if the HMD is less heavy, then it is more tolerable. I use FFR with my Pimax 8KX and see my GPU frametime drop by 1.5ms to 2ms compare to FFR with OpenXR Toolkit!

The 5090 might be close to impossible to get early on, or at a very high price. I think that your option 3 is farther in time. Consider a 4080 for your son? Price is not so bad, performance is excellent for VR. If cost is an issue, got for a 4070Ti Super which is close to 4080 performance with a lower price around 800$. You could get two of those cards for the price of a 4090... just saying.

I noticed that majority of people going back to 2D is related to performance/quality and this is a main issue with VR. Unless you can drive that HMD with lots of power, the experience can be disapointing on the long run with endless attempts to squeeze performance by changing this and that setting. My setup is now pretty much the most powerfull I can wish for and yet, I could use even more power to fully exploit my 8KX with the best possible image this HMD can provide. The day I can sim without FFR, supersample to 2.0, widest FOV, every setting maxed out and keep a constant 90 FPS is the day I will see the full potential of the 8KX realized. Maybe with the 6090. As I always say to people, with VR you are in the simulation, not looking at the simulation. For me there is no going back to 2D. I just hope VR gets more accessible in the future, it is way too expensive now to get a decent experience.

In this world of viral news and "I want to know now!", too many people get excited too quickly. Coming from the defense industry and military before, the litigation process can be very long and usually there are several steps companies will take to try to resolve issues such as trying to solve it directly, then going through mediation and then maybe arbitration and then the courts. Be patient guys. Meanwhile, we have a great sim and several modules that might not all be fully completed but still a lot of fun to enjoy!

Also HTC controlers work fine with Pimax using lighthouse. I bought two used ones on amazon and they work great with my 8KX.

I had this issue a few times and not sure what is causing it. It only happens when the HMD is running at 90hz and seems to be a software issue. Here is the problem: Image would blackout very briefly every few seconds at different intervals and once in a while, the screen would go white very briefly as well. The problem happens both using OpenXR or SteamVR in all my VR applications, but significantly more frequent in DCS. I tried many different things, including re-installing Pimax client, OpenXR-toolbox, PimaxXR, NVIDIA driver, etc... and even changing the HMD cable with not effect. Only solution working so far is: Change HMD refresh rate to 60hz or 75hz, run DCS a few minutes and then exit, reset HMD refresh rate to 90hz, reboot and it should clear the issues.

I'm with you. The 8kX's potential is amazing and I think that even with a 4090, this HMD is not at the limit of quality it can output. I tried many HMD including the Aero and I would never trade my 8kX for it.

The only possible advantage would be if you move from a 4 stick config to a 2 stick config. Using 4 stick can be very demanding for the mobo memory controller and can cause crashes in DCS, always more safe to use only two sticks. If your firend is proposing 2 sticks of 16GB and you are using 4 sticks of 8BG, then it might be a good move.

My Pimax 8KX runs pretty acceptable at 60 or 75hz but so much better at 90hz. What made a big difference was also to use Quadviews which seems to process frames in a more stable way. Using Quadviews made 60hz and 75hz much better than before. Seems that with Quadviews, the spacing between frames is more uniform creating a much better experience. I must also admit that simming at 60 or 75hz during long period of time is difficult compared to 90hz. With a 3080, you will not be able to sustain 90hz in all scenarios and at one point, have to compromize too much on quality. Personal taste and tolerance play a big role here also.

8KX, 4090, i9-13900K, 64GB RAM DCS MT Textures High/Terrain texture High for Caucasus, Nevada and Middle-east Textures High/Terrain Low for other maps DLAA + DLSS Performance Shadow low or med for Caucasus, Nevada and Middle-east, else flat Water Med Clouds Ultra for Caucasus, Nevada and Middle-east, else standard. Keep off: Traffic, Heat blur, Lens flare, Secondary blur/shadows, SSAA, SSLR, SSAO, Aniso Filt., Cockpit Global Illumi., V-synch Forest visibility 100%, detail factor at 1.0 in Caucasus, Nevada and Middle-east, else 0.1 Scenery detail at 1 in Caucasus, Nevada and Middle-east, else 0.5 Preload at max LOD keep at 1 Gamma 1.3 (To reduce haze, must be used in conjunction with max backlit in pimax client) but for night mission, crank up. PD =1.0 Pimax Client Refresh 90hz Backlit 100% FOV Normal Render Quality 1.0 FFR off OpenXR CAS Sharpen at 100%. Don't use "sharpen_focus" in Quadview, CAS in OpenXR is faster. Everything else at off/default PimaxXR Enable quadviews Do not enable turbo mode as this will disable frametime reporting in OpenXR which is very usefull to check performance. If you want to use turbo mode, use it in OpenXR instead. Quadview I use the following config file: _________________ # These settings are for all headsets and applications smoothen_focus_view_edges=0.3 sharpen_focus_view=0.0 [app:DCS] # The settings are specific to the app "DCS World". turbo_mode=0 peripheral_multiplier=0.3 focus_multiplier=1.8 horizontal_fixed_section=0.45 vertical_fixed_section=0.40 _______________ Note: if you enable turbo mode in Quadview, it will prevent OXRTK to report proper Frametimes with the FPS counter. FPS counter is very usefull to check performance variation when changing settings. You can enable/disable turbo mode within OXRTK without need to modify a file or exit the sim. Process Lasso For DCS, only use P-Cores + High priority class Pi_server, High priority class Additional tips and notes: Setup two saved settings in DCS: "Setting 1" for low demand maps, "Setting 2" for high demand maps. Acceptable AA option varies quite a lot from person to person. For me, using DLAA/DLSS combination is great and I do not mind the small smearing. Shadows can be improved a lot with mod "https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3329503/". Quadviews high res box (45% x 40%) may seems small but with the wide FOV of the 8KX, this will give you a resonable size with tremendous uplift in performance, over 30% in my case! In VR, clouds are a significant performance hit and horrible at any setting except tolerable at ultra setting. If you play a mission that has lots of clouds, you must keep ultra setting compromise elsewhere such as the "fixed_multiplier" down to 1.6. in quadviews or lower HMD refresh rate. You always have to option to lower the HMD refresh rate to 75hz or 60hz and keep same settings on any scenario but for me, 75hz and 60hz cause some flickering sometimes. With these settings, you should get a super smooth experience with excellent clarity. If not, then your windows/BIOS/NVCP maybe the issue. A windows fresh install, though requiring lots of work, can cure a lot of performance problems. If you use 4 x memory sticks on an MSI mobo, make sure your BIOS is up to date as it can cause crashes because of the stress imposed by DCS on the memory controller. Keep overclocking low, the i9 13th gen will not be the bottleneck in your system.

Since 2.9.3, I also had crashes and occasional stutters lasting about a minute. Crashes were resolved by a BIOS update (MSI MPG Carbon). Memory management was not optimal and DCS is quite demanding from your memory controler specifically if you use the four memory slots (4 x stick of RAM). Stutters were resolved by using process lasso, removing use of e-cores for DCS, pi_server, and setting high priority for those two. The sim has never been so smooth and stable.

Try VR-ROCK, nice fit and relatively cheap. Go for the 15mm foam also, much more confortable. DLAA+DLSS still my favorite but there are some smearing even at 90hz.

I used to set DLSS/DLAA at Perfromance but with the latest 2.9.3, I am using DLSS/DLAA at quality with very sharp results and practicaly no more smearing. Big advantage with the combination DLSS/DLAA is the improved framerate instead of a big hit with MSAA and still some shimering. I run my 8kX at 75hz. I need to try again TAA with 2.9.3.

My test track (FA-18C over Caucasus) is 10 FPS better. Only thing is that for all my tracks with FA-18, there is a horrible shaking of the airplane, because of the new flight model I guess. Other than that, also seeing reduction in CPU frame time of about 0.26 ms, which is not negligible. Welcomed improvement, thanks ED!

I use the DLSS/DLAA combination only. The MFDs are the main issue for me but tolerable, the smearing is not a problem (very much personal tolerance here). DLAA alone without DLSS is a 2ms hit on my GPU frame time, not good. As for TAA I have two issues. It does look nice with a bit of sharpening but air targets disapearing is a problem. Second issue is with movement in general, it makes the image a bit blurry.

What would be realy nice is the ability to switch off the changing/fading high altitude clouds. As an example, being able to have a clear sky that does not change would be great as this is often the case in the middle-east.

@bandit648, first many thanks for this outstanding mod! Second, is it possible to change the transition time to even greater value such as 60 minutes?

I use only one lighthouse and only on channel B. The behaviour and sensitivity of the tracking varies quite a bit and finding the best location for the lighthouse takes a lot of trial and error. I have my lighthouse on a tripod at about 2.5m from the ground and about 3.5m away from my head. When I start Pimax client, everything is grayed out and it goes into connect / disconnect about three times before I start seeing the lighthouse flashing green. Once it is flashing, while seated in my sim pit, I do the "Pimax Dance", or rotate the HMD 180 degrees from the lighthouse and out of sight and then back facing the lighthouse and the tracking starts. After that, I have to be very carefull not to grab the HMD from the side as I loose tracking easily. Other than that, it is very precise and creates quite well the illusion of being physically in the cockpit. As you said, oncer it's all fine, there is nothing like an 8KX to provide this intense level of immersion. Give it another try...