Wolf8312

I'm kinda surprised the devs (if indeed VR performance is a big issue for them) don't spend more time on solving (as many mods can/have) the prop artifacts that come with motion smoothing. I think that would probably be more beneficial for perfomance in the short term as as of right now I cannot use MS with many modules because of the artifacts.

Do you find the problem on all missions? For me it seems to be mission/map dependant especially syria I think, whereas general performace is very smooth.

Have noticed that certain missions are stuttering (to the point where its unplayable) without any apparent cause (used to be fine) even when graphics settings are modest and the actual performance seems smooth. Syria might be the problem as that seems to be the map where these stutters are most apparent. Anyone else find the same or know of a potential workaround? Does not seem to be all of Syria just certain maps/missions (Scud busters) that may have been problematic in the past but are much worse now. Elsewhere performance is better than it's ever been.

Certainly happy with MT myself. But not just MT but DCS as a whole though some missions (map sections, modules etc) still have erratic performance issues. Open XR options/tweaks, MT and the new lighting and graphical upgrades all combine to create an extremely immersive and realistic experience in VR especially during certain missions. There are times when I think it even gives MSFS a run for its money, maybe not over cities and such, but out in the mountain ranges and in bad weather conditions it is very convincing!

Yeah have the same thing on that part of the map. It's unplayble so I just ignore that map.

It's okay, I just wanted to see if others are experiencing the same (on the Scud busters mission) as these are really issues (fps drops when assets are being loaded in are as old as DCS) that I would expect the devs are aware of anyway. I was not so much reporting a bug but hoping someone would come up with a fix, though for this reason I'll keep my thoughts out of the bug section in future! Second post, was really more of a rant, as I know for a fact most DCS users are suffering from the missing textures problem as there are so many posts about it already!

I'd agree with that logic if it was a real helicopter that had been badly and inexplicably botched! But with a computer simulation I'd say that 'fixes' are basically the same thing as improvements ironing out unintended bugs. But whether the progress of the appache module is too slow I have no idea really. I guess it depends if the devs are working on this module full time, or having got it into a playable state, have now been allocated to other newer development projects, that will bring in more cash, with the appache relegated to a part time project! I guess that could be answered if one were to compare the speed of development from when the Appache itself was a newer development project, to its development speed now!

Yeah seems to be worse on some missions or even modules (appache is not great performance wise) as well. Spawning of planes and various assets has been an age old problem with DCS but I don't rememember radio messages doing the same!

Piles are a reality of being a pilot and poor George is no exception!

And honestly, what is up with the textures on certain missions? The missions take long enough to load up as it is, and then it takes like another 5 minutes for the textures to load in (the ground is water so hard luck if you start in the air). Not even sure when the textures stop loading in, and for all I know this could be degrading performance too!

I've noticed in some missions certain radio messages (not all interestingly) are lagging the game and causing fps drops/stutters. Anyone experiencing the same, or know of a workaround? Seems especially prevalent in the mission Scud busters. Pretty unplayable, but there seems to be a lot of stutters in certain missions in 2.8.

Shimmers are certainly not eliminated for myself. In some scenes its pretty damned shimmery (I roll play its just a trick of the eye/glass cockpit!) it's just something I can live with compared to before as in many places its not really that noticible. I feel the fluidity (and it has nice clarity) trumps the shimmers. MSSA 4x is totally doable on my system, but if you get into massive forrest landscapes it can get pretty stuttery (unless you turn trees down which looks far worse than shimmers)! I also run clouds on ultra as they are pretty damned shimmery on any other setting beside ultra. It's really just about trade offs and personal preference. Some people can't live without shadows, but although I appreciate how much better they are when on, they are something I can personally live without for performance sake. Take a helicopter like the Gazelle and fly it around downtown Vegas without MSSA, or shadows. Not only does it look fine IMO, but the immersion is massively enhanced by how smooth and responsive it feels while performing wild acrobatics in and out, and around all the skyscrapers!

It's the performance issues that clinch it for me. Especially with massive forrests and things. To be honest though I really don't find the shimmers too bad these days in most situations. It might be an open XR setting I'm using or something but in the old days I defo found no MSSA unbearable but not so much now.

Is it me, or does the sim look better without MSSA these days? Not saying it looks 'better' as in superior (although with the increased clarity it is kind of a toss up) but only that, unlike in the old days, the performance increase seems to trump the shimmering now. Hell, I was just flying downtown vegas and to be honest the shimmering was minimal while the performance itself was as smooth as butter. Don't think I can go back, and think I'm finally ready to ditch MSSA! Not sure if its the sim itself, or open XR perhaps, but its hard to discard that kind of fluidity. Also think open XR's basic 'shadows' might be a better alternative to the real thing. They don't produce real shadows but they at least cast darkness onto the cockpit occasionally which is good enough for me I think....

It's an instant action mission.

Much better performance on the Mariana map now. The Saipen mission seems to have been reworked as well. No spoilers, but I suggest people try it out. The kind of experience that can only be appreciated properly in VR IMO (and especially if new to VR).

Ah... then I stand corrected.

1. Mine is running better than ever for now (touch wood) it's like I remember 2.7. Feels very smooth though I haven't tried it in too many different missions. But in 2.8 on almost any mission it just wasn't fluid when my AC/Heli was swinging quickly around. Didn't regret updating anyway, but like you I was very hesitant！ 2. I‘d guess no! As with this community if something like that worked, everyone would be doing it! 3.Yes. Everyone（well we VR users) worries about that! I've also made that post. Half asking, half begging!

Hum, I've had microstutters either way (Open XR, and Steam VR) to be honest. This time I got rid of them (using steam VR) with a few things (motherboard setting, and the DCS rectangle res setting: not sure which -if either- worked) while also switching to open XR (which in iteself helped a little) but there's so many damned variables it's always impossible to know for sure! It seems that sometimes the game just decides to start working properly!

Actually seems rather superior to my virpil with no cheap plastic case, and nice robust warthog buttons.

I had this problem (not sure if it's the same but may help someone) after every time I updated DCS. I noticed for some reason that the OC api file would go into the DCS bin folder but wouldn't overwrite anything. At the time I just assumed it must have gone in okay because I thought they were the exact same file. Turns out however that DCS was still locating the original and ignoring the needed open composite api file. So I deleted the (backed up) file and placed the open composite file in the bin folder manualy. It now works fine. So, at least in my case, I just had to make sure that the original DCS api file was removed. It not being wiped/overwritten may have something to do with it having a different file name after multiple downloads (it was openvr.api (6) at that point or something!).

Yeah I'm pretty sure it does. Download open XR toolkit companion. Then follow instructions here: https://gitlab.com/znixian/OpenOVR Most salient instructions being: "Download the DLLs: 32-bit 64-bit These come from AppVeyor - whenever I push some new code, it will be compiled and uploaded to those links automatically. Find your game's openvr_api.dll file, and replace it (though I highly recommend keeping a copy of the old file if you want to switch back) with one of the DLLs available above. Be sure to get the matching platform - if the game is a 32-bit game you need the 32-bit DLL, even though you're probably running a 64-bit computer. Simple solution: if one doesn't work, try the other. Some time in the near future I plan to release a system-wide install - run an EXE and all your games will open via OpenComposite, and you'll be able to switch back by starting SteamVR. This will make updating much easier." Remove the api file from the DCS bin folder and replace it with the 64 bit api mentioned above. Back up the original DCS file though. In game press the activate keys (see instructions from XR toolkit companion). I wouldn't use open composite by itself though as you want the toolkit overlay as then you can really tweak things.

Yeah you ain't wrong about open XR/toolkit. It makes perfromance much better but also seems to make the graphics look better somehow, but not least because one can alter color/appearence settings.

I can know the frustration though. I was once waiting for promised performance improvements on a 1080 Ti i7 system and what I got instead was an update one day that made things unplayble! I got a new rig and was flying 2.7 pretty happy. Then I got 2.8 and the same story. The dreaded DCS update! I can still play OK for now, but for how long will I be able to keep my head above water? I play a game like VTOL, and honest to God, fancy graphics are nice, but really don't matter much in VR as long as the graphics are tidy and not a shimmering mess. That's why rfactor actually looks better in VR than project cars IMO, because all the graphical bells and whistles not only degrade performance but visually actually tend to just clutter things up. Unfortunately VTOL has no HOTAS support and feels off for me (though its great being able to interact with the cockpit) but it really does a good job of showing that many of the graphical improvements that DCS gets are mostly not really things that we even need in VR because all we need/want is better performance. Real immersion comes first and foremost with a butter smooth and constant FPS, and everything else is secondary. I personally think a VR version of DCS that subtracted features would be far better for us than one that constantly adds more on! But unfortunately we are clearly not the target market, and no wonder, when even top end rigs are spluttering! But... DCS is with all it's problems still the best VR flight sim I own. And that's why it's so painful...

Just to add to this. Regarding Stiction and drooping I’d honestly recommend -before applying grease or balances- to wear the collective in a bit first and then decide! I have to say that since writing this review the stiction and drooping issues have greatly improved and the collective is now not only tight but also smooth. Just to warn potential users: I’m glad I didn’t take my piece apart or add grease etc! I honestly don’t think it’s necessary as once broken in, it feels as natural as the flight stick! Then again I’m not comparing to the real thing so YMMV!