mrsylvestre

Another report of returning stutter here. I had a very smooth experience for months before, both in 2D and VR stable 72 fps. Trouble started with the DCS version that increased the CPU load in the main menu for no reason. This has been fixed by ED since, but there is now a lot of stuttering in game (like one every 2 seconds), very disturbing once you have been accustomed to a fluid experience. It is worse at low level but it is also very visible in WWII dogfights at any altitude, where a bandit that is being chased appears to stutter too. It happens both on my daily driver windows 10 PC and also on a fresh system with only Windows 11, the display driver, Virtual Desktop and DCS installed. Both systems started to behave badly after the same DCS updates. I also note occasional sound issues (mostly at the start of missions) in VR that I don't recall ever noticing before. I just spent the day trying the usual fixes (windows game mode on/off, limiting frame rate in the game or not, limiting frame rate in the driver or not, vsync, no vsync, full screen or windowed, disable full screen optimisations for the executable or not) to no avail. My feeling is that there is something fishy with DCS multitasking at this point. The damning evidence is that going low on settings for the graphics and lowering the resolution does not make the stutter disappear. I see no solution other than to revert to an earlier version of DCS World, again.

To revert to the previous version, just type .\bin\DCS_updater.exe update 2.9.15.9599.1@release in a command prompt (or powershell) from the main DCS World folder. And be patient, as the download will take about as long as for the update. Please note: not applicable to the Steam version.

Same here on AMD 5800x3d. As I run aggressive cooling settings, I am not too concerned about the CPU temperature (still low enough) but the fans are working a lot more than with the previous version. Average core use Average active core count reported by Hardware Monitor while playing DCS was about 2 (out of 8 cores) before the update, now it is 6. Sadly, if there is a performance improvement (not that I noticed any), it is not up to the same ratio. Interestingly, high CPU use is not restricted to gameplay, it is also present in UI screens. Reverting back to previous version until this is fixed. (Edit: HWMonitor terminology)

It is not hard at all to set up. You just plug the usb-c end in the VR headset and an ethernet cable from your router to the other end. I have a Pico 4 and there is no software setup of any sort required, the headset just appears on the network as if it was connected by wifi. I see no reason for it not be the same with the Quest 2 or 3. It is that simple, really. EDIT: Well, it is that simple, really... if you have a Pico 4 headset. On the Quests, it seems that Meta thought it was a good idea not to enable ethernet by default and you have to jump through a few hoops to get it running, see the instructions linked in the next post (thanks to Qcumber for pointing out that). It is important to find the right USB-Ethernet dongle and cables for comfort. Prefer a dongle with an extra input for a power adapter, to which you can connect the charger for your headset so it is being charged while gaming. I also don't like to have the dongle hanging on the side of the headset (that is an accident waiting to happen for the fragile usb port), so I bought a 2 metres usb-c extension cable like this one, with an usb-c female connector at one end (to connect the dongle to) and an angled usb-c male connector at the other. The cable is secured to the side of the head strap so that if one pulls on it, the force is not applied to the headset port, and the dongle stays to my side, on my desk.

Quadview is working in Pico Connect. Note that Pico Connect, like Virtual Desktop, has several presets for the resolution. "Super Definition" is about the same resolution as Virtual Desktop's "Ultra" if you want to compare apples to apples. There is also a sharpening slider somewhere in their settings.

This works exclusively with Pico Connect. Think of it as the Pico Connect equivalent of Virtual Desktop's VDXR. (Edit: PS. After trying that trick out of curiosity, I returned to VD (with built-in VDXR), which I happily use with a USB-Ethernet dongle and a dedicated (wired) router. I would consider connect as a contender if I didn't have the router and the dongle already)

I was afraid it would be something like that. Sad indeed.

The latest version of Pico Connect has a trick up its sleeve. It is now possible to stream OpenXR apps such as DCS World directly to the Pico headsets without going through SteamVR, a capability that was up to now exclusive to Virtual Desktop. This is clearly an experimental feature. The trick is to run the Pico-provided batch file add_runtime.bat located in one of the sub-folders of the Pico Connect application (see windows explorer screenshot, attached) with administrator privileges. It modifies the registry to install Pico Connect's own OpenXR runtime PicoStreamingXR instead of the default SteamVR OpenXR runtime (see SteamVR settings screenshot). It works well with DCS. Performance is quite close to that of Virtual Desktop at comparable resolution. Colors with Pico Connect are more vivid / saturated. It works through Wi-Fi but also directly through USB 3 connection without need of gnireteht or any other shenanigans. Credits for this find go to a user in the Virtualnull Desktop Discord. It is not clear at this stage if this runtime is an original effort by Pico or if they borrowed code from another project. Curious about how this will evolve.

Interestingly enough, on a PC of the same class (close to previous gen top tier - see signature), LucShep settings were giving me frequent frame drops. Curiously, my previous settings were not that different but giving me reasonable performance. If anything my settings seemed slightly more demanding (a notch higher textures, forest visibility, shadows), yet fps was nearly locked at 72 fps (native for my headset) in the Apache escorting two Chinooks from Ramat David to Haifa (Syria map). I proceeded to find the culprit and, at least on my system (perhaps it is an AMD thing?) and with the current DCS version, it appears to be the "Clutter/Grass" setting. Dropping "Clutter/Grass" to zero and adopting LucShep's settings, I could increase the fps on my Pico 4 from 72 to 90. Increasing the textures resolution a notch did not tank the performance either. Go figure.

To Ted's excellent advice, I would add definitely try quadviews. Also, from personal preference I use MSAA but for that I have to drop VD settings to Ultra and go for less agressive DCS settings (my PC is one generation older than yours, though). Regarding connection: For wireless, PC connected via ethernet cable to a dedicated wifi router close to the Pico 4 works well. A list of routers known to be reliable is found in the VD discord. For wired, VD sadly does not support USB connection. Software hacks on the Pico and the PC may make it work by tunnelling ethernet through USB but in my experience, these are cumbersome and often not that stable. A cheap powered USB -> Ethernet dongle works very well, however. No software hack needed. My setup is Pico -> 2.5 m USB-C cable -> powered dongle -> ethernet cable -> router <- PC. I use the Pico adapter to power the dongle, which keeps the Pico battery charged (this is not mandatory, without adapter the Pico powers the dongle). This provides a rock stable link.

Better processor, slightly better wifi, multiple cameras for improved mixed reality, slightly different controllers. Resolution is the same, FOV is the same, ergonomics are the same (good). The most notable difference for DCS use should be the AV1 encoding thanks to the enhanced processor that will slightly improve image quality (reduce compression artefacts). All in all, it will be on par or even slightly better than Quest 3 for PCVR (Pico wins on ergonomics & binocular overlap). For standalone games that run on the headset, the Quest 3 will continue to benefit from a richer application library. As for Pico 4, the cost of VD (20€) and a cheap dedicated router should be factored in for best performance.

Previously, it was just an indicator that QuadViews was active or not. Now, it is a switch. You have to enable it (check the box) for DCS to work with QuadViews. If the box is left unchecked (which it is, by default, after the last patch), it disables QuadView functionality, at least on my system (Pico 4 + Virtual Desktop in VDXR mode + QuadViews installed).

Just chiming in to say I'd like this as an option very much as well. In sim, the mouse cursor should be an abstraction of my hand. In the real world, my hand doesn't move when i shift my gaze around. Please, just mimic how it is implemented on [that popular civilian flight sim]. I see no reason that would make it hard to do. PS. I think it would be wise to implement this much desired behaviour as an option, because some might legitimately prefer the current behaviour as it allows a "look and click" approach to manipulating cockpit controls just through gazing and a pair of joystick button emulating left/right mouse click. It's not for me (it feels unnatural to me) but I understand some do like it as it is.

You would need to set your motherboard wifi as Access Point (AP), assuming its drivers make it possible. If possible at all, this is often impractical and performance is generally not that great. A dedicated router is the best way.

Not sure it had fully disappeared before. I experienced it yesterday and I haven't installed the update yet. But annoying indeed.