BigBANGtheory

I can't overstate how impressed I am with the Apache module warts and all tbh, I've noticed the same issue as @schoolio64D and thought it was off but I've no doubt it can't be adjusted. Thanks for reporting it and look forward to the flight model improvements.

what a nice end to the week roll on June/July

I'd agree with @Turd Ferguson comments above, I installed the damper kit myself yesterday replacing the K-51 DIY damper mod

Some initial thoughts and mounting for those interested as I go through my journey of getting it setup:

I don't see how that can be true as Somnium are manufacturing their own lenses i.e. its custom to the VR1, but if you're interested the CEO is very active on Twitter and Discord easy enough to ask him

So when I 1st tried the Crystal the picture was amazing but the performance was dreadful, now I've got it setup properly its simply a stunning experience. Coming from an HTC Vive Pro 2 originally with a 3080 now 4090 I was expecting the Crystal to be better of course but actually seeing it and with decent frame rates I'd say its exceeded my expectations. The only thing I'm a bit meh about is the horizontal FoV (vertical has improved a lot for me of the VP2), however I am hoping/expecting the new wider FoV lenses to get that right as its nowhere near the advertised values. I don't know what experience you saw but for me I can sit in the Apache (still needing optimisation imho) and without moving my head or body, just my eyes I can see/read every instrument clearly whilst very clearly seeing objects through the window. This is the 1st time I've been able to do that in DCS... whilst keeping obviously decent framerates in flight especially close to the ground which obviously in a heli you can do at 5-10m Alt. If you are not seeing that then imho: 1. Something is not setup correctly, HAGS in particular kills framerate in DCS. In fairness this isn't an easy process there is quite a lot to go through but if you lookup TallyMouse on YouTube he did a really good video recently that walks you through it. 2. Your PC needs more oomph, my PC for reference is 7800X3D/4090/64GB DDR5 CL30 6200

if price is a concern with the height adjustable desk you can try what I did... 1. Buy a decent used/2nd hand height adjustable desk system i.e. the base and electrical parts (I used a product from ConSet) but you can get these from used office furniture places 2. Unscrew and throw away the crappy desktop surface that comes with it, so it doesn't matter if its marked/damaged in anyway 3. Attach your own new desktop, you can get kitchen counter tops cut to size or in my case I bought someone's damaged old oak dining room table, chopped it to size with a circular saw, sanded it down and re-varnished it result = huge, rock solid sit/stand computer desk with a 1 inch think solid oak desk which cost £350 I use Virpil desk mounts with it though if you want a center mount joystick on the 200mm extension its right on the limit and likewise the Warthog or CM3 throttle has to be about as far back on the mount as it can go.... but it works well and is stable tbh I think the only way to improve on that configuration is to opt for the MonsterTech chair (and obviously simpits but you need the space for that)

but the YT video you posted at the start @HC_Official then goes on to explain in his next video how to essentially fix the issue by disassembly and the application of Nyogel 767a grease around the clutch rings: Now I fully agree if people are of the opinion "but its a super expensive product I shouldn't have to do this..." but if it works (spoiler alert I think it does) then go for it. What I would say is a genuine ball ache though is if you want to move from a deadstick heli configuration to jets and space sims because I've found it better to disengage the cams completely rather than live with a de-tensioned spring so in that situation you can't quickly loosen the clutches and tighten the springs. I'm still experimenting though so more for me to learn as well.

I would like to apply your dampening mod to my virpil pedals @K-51 I'm based in the UK fyi

So what is the word on that? I saw something about moving to a Vulkan based rendering engine some years ago but not heard much since though I may have missed it...

well we have some early numbers in and there is a sizable jump in VR personally, I would still advise waiting for RDNA3 because once you strip away all the Nvidia propriety tech (which DCS doesn't use anyway) their top card is possibly faster and cheaper. Nov 3rd is only 2.5weeks away now and I'm sure Nvidia is desperately trying to restock the 4090 whilst they hold an uncontested lead in the GPU market.

You're ok for now, you can't buy em even if you want one

I looked at getting a Founders Edition but there were non for sale, usual Nvidia drip feed of product and no way to pre-order not exactly a customer friendly experience but I guess it will pickup in a few weeks and it gets ever closer to the AMD launch

Of course what we have to keep in mind is that DCS does not benefit from DLSS in anyway shape or form and its heavily CPU bound, where VR users do gain imho is all we really need is 90fps at above 4k resolutions with as much graphical fidelity as we can get. The other missing link in all this is where we expect the top end RDNA3 to land, it could beat the 4090 on pure rasterization performance and it's known to be much cheaper to produce than the 4090 (AMD might price it high though). I've heard mixed reports about AMD's VR performance, I know they had an issue with the Quest2 and compression didn't they but apart from that what are peoples experiences and confidence level in a high end AMD GPU for VR?

Where are you getting those numbers from? They simply do not align to anything I've seen even the most conservative estimates put it around 50% gain even from people dead set against Nvidia as a brand. ..and a 3090Ti being 25% faster than a 3080Ti, well I'll just leave this here to muse over: I'm guessing (I don't know) the 4090 review embargo lifts at 9am PDT today, so I'll gladly come back this afternoon and eat my preverbal hat if I'm wrong. Nor am I advocating the 4090 its a very expensive GPU that should probably cost a great deal less but I'm reading some very odd comments in this thread regarding performance unless you've got some very niche use case in mind.

TDP being 450W is depending on your definition the power going into the core OR the thermal design, its not the total board power... Sorry if I sound like I'm being pedantic, I'm not just trying to clear misinformation and terminology. Its possible to have a TDP of 450W and a TBP of 600W at the same time.

Dude the early reports are a 70-80% gain in pure rasterization (without the Nvidia tech), we will know more tomorrow when the review embargo lifts. 3090 was one of the worst value GPUs on record sorry to say but honestly you must have known that at the time you bought one surely?

I'm happy with my Virpil Ace rudder, the quality is very good plus you get different pedal options, cams and springs if you so wish.

There are two fundamental issues as I see it: The Apache module is newly released and isn't performing well in VR, can Eagle Dynamics please acknowledge the problem and explain what is being done about it. I am pretty tolerant of the need to be patient and allow ED time to optimise things, its not unreasonable to ask the question and have some comms on this topic. DCS as a whole is showing its age now both visually and its ability to utilise modern PC hardware fully. Is there a roadmap or is the plan simply to put more modules onto an aging platform? Obviously this is in the context of VR. and don't misunderstand me I'm a fan of DCS and very pleased with the Apache module, I'm simply describing what I see are quality issues that need some attention and comms

I've been advised (by an ED Tester) to keep the Pixel Density fixed at 1.0 and then up the SteamVR resolution whilst watching the GPU render time in fpsVR. In my case with a 3080 and a Vive Pro 2 which is a bit higher on the native screen res vs. a HP G2 I can get to 140-150% in SteamVR

when I was flying the KA-50 I was dreaming of the Apache

VR performance in DCS is imho bad. my wish for DCS is VR performance becomes good, not 2X but 3X or more for the same hardware.

Really happy with the Apache module, amazing work. Disappointed about VR performance atm but if we can get that sorted (appreciate there is probably a much wider DCS World issue going on there), absolutely this has the potential to be one of the best heli sims of all time. I think the Apache performance in VR feels worse than other modules I've tried possibly because of the early release could just be the high quality visuals of the cockpit.