Charlie-1

I've added a picture from Aerofly FS2 in my post above. Its photo real in my opinion. IL-2 Battle of Kuban is another example. see below. I don't know how they've done it, but these game run like a dream even on my kit. IMO DS isn't ready for VR in DCS yet and here's why. 1) There's a massive GPU performance hit causing FPS to halve. 2) Resolution looks lower so image quality reduced 3) Colours look over saturated and unreal. 4) Contrast is all over the place, seems one extreme or the other. 5) Night lighting is barely visible, no where near as good as it was in 1.5 and other sims. Its a real shame DS has been forced upon us, but I suspect it's for the benefit of monitor users, and I suspect there's a lot more of them than us VR players.

Am I allowed to name other games/ sims within the forum rules? See picture below, which looks pretty much the same in VR apart from the usual screen door effect. The purpose of a beta is for people like us to test and give our feedback isn't it?

+1 :thumbup:

Phew.. Thanks for trying it out and for the advice on the hardware performance.:thumbup: I do find it odd others on here defending VR as if its some sacred cutting edge technology that only the privileged can master, well it may have been in the 80's when the commodore 64 or even the VIC 20 ware around, but not any more. The fact is there are other games/ sims out there delivering much better graphics on lower spec machines than DCS is right now. This is not cutting edge stuff, its all been done already.

IMO DS isn't ready for VR yet and here's why. 1) There's a massive GPU performance GPU hit causing FPS to halve. 2) Resolution looks lower so image quality reduced 3) Colours look over saturated and unreal. 4) Contrast is all over the place, seems one extreme or the other. 5) Night lighting is barely visible, no where near as good as it was in 1.5 and other sims. Its a real shame DS has been forced upon us, but I suspect it's for the benefit of monitor users, and I suspect there's a lot more of them than us VR players. Despite the great game, so far, I'll be sticking with 2.5 and not spending any more money here until things improve.

I am not disagreeing ED have done an amazing job with DCS and yes it does support VR.. my point was the latest change seems to have been executed without regard for the VR player base who's performance is already pushed to the limit. There are other sims that also manage to move forward with amazing things and maintain performance without penalty.

Thanks eaglecash867, I think £400 is approximately the price difference to from 1070 to 1080Ti, although I won't be rushing out to buy one, when I can just use DCS V2.5 or spend money in other Sims that run just fine with what I have. Besides, I think Deferred Shading has some way to go to enhance the quality of DCS graphics in VR from where it was.

Just to put some numbers behind this, i'm doing some testing in Nevada with no clouds, buildings etc just comparing the difference between V2.5 DS off and V2.51 with it on. Here's the effect on my system with all setting exactly the same and PD at 1.5. V2.5 45 - 80 FPS GPU 60 - 90% load CPU 40% load Result = totally smooth gameplay with clear instruments. V2.51 40 - 50 FPS GPU 90 - 99% load CPU 40% load Result = Instruments still clearish, but landscape not as clear, edges more jagged, gameplay ok, but suffers some stutters, loss of frames. Looks like I would need to upgrade to a 1080 GPU to get back to the same in game experience I was enjoying before Deferred shading was made compulsory. I think that's an extra £400 cost for me to stay still, or it could be better spent on new maps/ planes etc. as they are made available.

The good news is the next generation of GPUs is about to arrive, so although it'll cost more hard earned cash, there is a way forwards. I think that's my point, are we expected to keep upgrading our systems to keep performance where we got it to so the gameplay is enjoyable? Is ED's focus ever on improving the games FPS performance to improve everyone's gameplay and even allow a lower cost entry point, or just how nice the trees look etc. It seems whenever we spend hours tweaking and spend money to get the smooth game play right there's an update waiting round the corner to knock it back again where we were before. I get some peeps want the deferred shading, but for me it was a big step backwards, so I turned it off, now ED have taken that option away for no apparent reason and without improving performance for everyone first. Another thing..If peeps like myself are spending money on upgrading kit, they've got less to spend on shiny new planes, alternatively they can spend hard earned cash on DLC for games that consistently maintain/ improve performance and add features without the extra demand on hardware.

Based on performance and visuals I am experiencing it was much better without it.

I am a massive fan of DCS and it is my go-to game for jet combat, but IMO each update has set me back in relation to FPS in VR, usually requiring a trade-off in resolution, effects or both to stay where I was before the update. I wouldn't like to think how many hours I've spent configuring/ optimising settings over the last few years, but probably as much as flying time. December last year, I upgraded my PC at some expense and got ahead with amazing performance in Version 1.58, then reluctantly had to move to Version 2.5 accepting a drop in performance, even after having to re-optimise settings yet again. I do not remember getting an update where ED promoted performance enhancement for VR users and to the contrary, the introduction of Deferred Shading is a good example where FPS drops (even in non-VR) but in VR coluors also look either over saturated, washed out or both depending on where looking. The ability to at least turn this off has now been removed, but for who's benefit? Without mentioning names, there are at least two other sims/ games now better both visually and performance wise in VR. One is a WW2 sim who also have jet development underway. My impression is ED do not consider the VR player base when making such changes, because we are the minority compared to the non-VR customer base, so we just have to configure around any changes as best as possible.

Did you used to run with deferred shading on or off before? The option to turn it off has gone now and for me the image quality and performance is notably worse.

First of all this is an awesome sim/ game and especially in VR, but each update seems to bring more challenges for this payer base and I'm yet to see update that's released focused on optimising or improving our VR performance. I wonder what the future is for DCS VR support in general?

Compulsory DS is not a good move at all for VR.. Why drop my FPS from 60 + down into the 30s for no good reason?

This is really disappointing having upgraded on the premise of improved memory and offline play to find deferred shading now compulsory and HDR option gone. The thing is as nice as DS looks, it kills FPS in VR, for me anyway. A Nevada game with no clouds I normally achieve 50-90 FPS, but with Deferred Shading on its stuck below 40 and averaging more like 35. Is this issue known to ED? If so, why ruin it for us VR players?

I know this issue has been discussed before, and I gather accuracy of replays is a commutative effect. I find that explanation strange as computers are at their best when recording/storing and reproducing numbers/ data. Last night however, a replay I saved completely misses the fact I turned a corner when taxiing on the runway, so my F15-C tries to take off across the desert surface and crashes. The remaining action I really wanted to see is not available. This error occurs approximately 5 minutes into the track. Are there plans to fix this bug in 2.5 please?

Awesome! Thanks very much :thumbup:

So I've been trying the "Winter" options from the presets in Mission builder,which I had assumed had set a Winter month?

The new Caucasus map looks amazing, and especially the promotional shots I've seen with a good covering of snow. Anyone tell advise how do we get this scene please as I can't seem to get it by adjusting weather settings? Thanks :)

Oh I see.. I get you now. I got NTTR performing very well in 2.2 using the same settings as 1.58 except slightly less resolution of 1.2 instead of 1.5. (SS in Steam is also set at 2.5) HDR setting on in both versions added a nice touch especially with low sun. Caucasus 2.5 however, has trees, lots of them and seems to need deferred shading turned on to get them looking anywhere near normal, but as per the original post that has a negative impact on cockpit quality.

Are you getting "good" as in acceptable, or better performance than the previous version? I spent several hours yesterday tweaking settings and couldn't get close to how well it looks and performed in 1.58.

I'm sure ED had good intentions with this "Upgrade", but why is it us VR players have to turn into computer scientists just to try and get back to anywhere near the performance that we had spent hours and hours getting right before?

Same for me.. Trees etc looks awful without deferred shading, but not able to get a good balance inside and outside cockpit with deferred on! This seems like a monitor only game now?

I want to be constructive here, but for me the graphics in 2.5 Caucacus have gone backwards!:( I only play in VR and having enjoyed a perfect working setup in 5.8 with FPS never dropping below 45 with 1.5 x rendering, shadows, HDR etc on. I can't get this looking anything like as good or as smooth even with rendering at 1.0x and all shadows off struggling to get 45 FPS. Trees etc only look normal with deferred shading on, but then cockpit looks blurred. The video preview looks amazing, but I'm no where near. What am I missing?? System Spec: Intel Core i3 8350K 4GHz, NVIDIA GTX1070, AS Rock Z370 Pro4 Motherboard, Samsung SSD, 16G DDR4 Ram, Windows 10 PRO 64 Bit

Don't know if I'm being picky, but I only play in VR and my observations so far are not good. I think the graphics have gone backwards. I mean, buildings, trees etc look so bland and cardboard-like almost like 80's graphics. From the air buildings look like lego bricks scattered on the floor. Ripple circles have appeared in the sea for no reason and runway textures look like they have gone from smooth tarmac to made of biscuit! All lighting at night is now just white and all windows are lit up (I think). All nearby buildings are now shimmering and FPS is down over 5.8 too. Sorry, but this is not at all the massive improvement I was expecting at all. I'm ring fencing 5.8 for the foreseeable.