Supmua

My next test will probably be a more subjective one. Running 2 PCs side by side with direct head to head comparison between the default NVIDIA profile vs custom one. Probably won't get to do it until weekend, since it's a lot more involving. I don't have the exact same PCs but it should be interesting.

Settings: Varjo Higher preset, OpenXR, personal DCS settings for VR, personal DCS mission with autopause on start. Headset was left stationary on top of PC case. Methodology: DDU wipe NVIDIA files, reboot, reinstall NVIDIA, reboot. Start VR and DCS. Load mission and recenter then take snapshots. Quit DCS. Load NVinspector and set parameters using the settings from the original post in this thread, apply changes. Start DCS and load mission and recenter then take snapshots. Files are downsized to 4MB due to upload limits (originally 9MB). File 11, 13, 15 are from default NVIDIA profile. File 12, 14, 16 are from custom profile. Caveats: static images cannot compare parallax effect or smoothness when things are in motion. VR Recenter is not perfect, may cause slight shift in positions. As the files were downsized, the sharpness and clarity looks much worse than what you'd actually see on the Varjo Aero where all the little cockpit/MFD texts are crisp. Also image processing by OpenXR (brightness, contrast, saturation) do not show up on mirror images, crank up contrast or saturation to the max and it will still show no visible changes in the mirror--and this is important because with this test you only compare geometry rendering but not other visual quality factors. Addendum: by parallax effect, I mean something in lieu of lenticular 3D if you've ever played with something like 3D postcards, etc. These things don't look that impressive if you just stare at them, but the magic happens when you start to move your head around. So this test was designed to check the very first question that pops into our head which is whether the static images are rendered the same, and to me they do appear that way from a quick browse. But the next question should be what happens when things start to move, how are the following frames rendered, etc. Unfortunately, I do not have gear that are sophisticated enough to test for this.

About to wipe my NVIDIA files so expect a bunch of images later, I just need to do some planning first. Out of curiosity, how many people can see a 3D shark in this image?

What you described, Don, might be parallax effect which can’t be experienced by looking at static images. This can increase perception of depth in moving images because background and foreground move at different speeds—the smoother it is the better perception or illusion of depth. In the old days, 2D side scrolling games used this technique a lot to give 3D appearance. This is actually more pronounced in MSFS especially in populated areas such as NYC as there’re numerous objects and buildings everywhere. I find that OpenXR produces much better parallax as the overall motion is smoother than SteamVR, at least on my setup. On the other hand, there are people who reported that OpenXR causes more stuttering. As you can see it’s not quite simple how our brains process and perceive things. Call it a hoax or a fraud if you will but that’s how our brains work sometimes.

I plan to do some serious testing with screenshots tomorrow night if time permits. One thing I did notice recently also is that I no longer have pixelated clouds, don't think it's NVIDIA related but it could be due to DCS update or the fact that I'm running my Varjo at 7K horizontal resolution. In the past I'd see some cloud pixelations typically at the horizon line or along the border of very thin layer of clouds, now none it's just as pristine looking as the aircraft cockpits. Actually I'm not sure if it could get better than this (ok the framerate and FOV could be better, but that's about it). So whatever combination of things is going on, this is the best visual I've ever gotten out of DCS VR. My clouds setting is standard btw. Also keep in mind that what you see in VR mirrors do not 100% reflect what you'd see in the VR headset. It replicates camera/eye angle and positioning but cannot accurately convey sharpness/exposure/saturation/contrast/etc of the VR headset. For example, if I run a mission with my Valve Index vs Varjo the VR mirrors may look very similar but what you'd actually see in the headsets is almost night and day with the latter giving much superior visual quality and possibly depth perception as well.

To be fair, there are such things as exact same image being perceived differently based on how your eyes behave. Autostereogram for example, can give you extra 3D image perception based on the convergence point and accommodation point. If you look up one of those images you’ll see what I meant. Not saying this is exactly what’s going on here. It could also be that some of us had crappy original NVIDIA profile and somehow running NVInspector just fixed it, and this is the type of 3D effects that AMD folks or people with good profile have been enjoying all along.

Big CPU taxing factors I found are typically shadows, textures, number of objects placed, scripts. Almost everything else affect GPU more. With the Apache, I have to lower my shadows and textures setting else no chance for 45 fps. Even then flying over congested areas it would still dip below but the experience is still smooth and pleasant if run via OpenXR (Varjo Aero, YMMV), via SteamVR it is quite rough.

Oh I def saw the positive changes in pop outs and depth perception, but I can’t unsee it or make it look the way it was before. I do coronary interventions for a living working on blood vessels that are typically a few mm in size so I’m fairly confident that my current vision is good (if not god help those patients lol). Anyway, I’m probably going to DDU the NVIDIA driver tomorrow and start from scratch and will see if I can record any changes via VR mirror snapshots. For the people with AMD GPU though how good is the 3D effect in VR on your setup?

I think that this might be different from 3D SBS (for example, from Vorpx) that I'm used to where you can alter eye separation, convergence factor, etc. and see the changes right away. I tried playing around with parameters and couldn't cause any new changes, and somebody mentioned above that altering Stereo info shouldn't affect VR, so this got me thinking. I wonder if this is our eyes rather than software are doing the actual trick altering brain perception in lieu of autostereogram or something less extreme, where you can see extra 3D effects depending on whether the two eyes are focusing in front of or behind the default focal plane. This might explain why some see it and others don't, and why once you see it it won't go away (at least in my case) since our eyes and brain have now been trained to perceive this. There're plenty of examples where brain perception of colors or geometry can be altered depending on the focal plane or objects that are nearby. If there's anyone that find the effects reversible please post here including how to.

We can prob do blind A/B test by taking screenshots of VR mirror images and see how images in each eye are rendered, the problem is that now it always look the same to me with better 3D no matter which profile is used. I can do A/B with SteamVR/OpenXR since I can at least still see the differences but that says nothing about the NVIDIA settings.

This seems like the best bang right now. Very versatile with plenty of useful switches and dials. If Winwing makes the A-10C throttle grip I would definitely replace my Warthog throttle with this base.

Been using/testing it with the Apache off and on. Seems fine but I can hover around a bit better with my long extension gimbal stick, could just be the technique and familiarity though since I’m still not quite proficient with the helos. One good thing about this base is the built in trim and trim release options. As a force sense base it also recenters very quickly once you ease off the pressure.

Has anyone been able to undo the 3D effects? What’s bothering me is that I haven’t been able to reverse this via profile editing, it seems to stick. So I’m wondering if my brain is messing with me or my old NVIDIA profile was messed up causing flat images in VR and somehow just running NVinspector corrected this. I don’t remember seeing good 3D effects in VR prior to this though. Maybe this is what we should’ve seen all along. Too bad I don’t have an AMD card to compare, well it won’t work with the Aero anyway.

Shadows and textures actually tax my CPU frametime more, so I’m afraid 4090 might not be enough. We also need better CPU utilization and may be CPU with more powerful single core performance if the game engine stays the same.

I've been swapping back and forth between SteamVR and OpenXR today. One thing that I can say for sure is that depth perception is much better in OpenXR mode by itself, flying low is much smoother on the Aero instead of juddering in SteamVR which probably gives me better parallax effect. So the question is how much of this is actually due to OpenXR itself rather than the NVIDIA settings...

I do this with Vorpx all the time but it’s mostly with flatscreen games (Mass Effects, Dragon Quest IX, Tomb Raider, Cyberpunk, etc.) converted to 3D SBS format, just didn’t think that we could have this enhanced depth/pop out effects with VR games in general. With Vorpx there are all kinds of parameters that you can play with including convergence and eye separation settings, etc. that could alter the strength of 3D effects. Good stuff indeed.

I doubt this very much. I play stereo 3D conversion games regularly in VR via either Reshade or Vorpx, watch 3D movies occasionally in VR and in theaters. I still have a 3DTV, a 3DLCD monitor, and a Sony 3D HMZ…you just don’t stop seeing stereoscopy unless there is an issue with the vision.

Too bad there is no modern GUI for this. Would love to have some sort of sliders to alter things around, and at the same time see the changes in real-time.

In DCS, the comm menu (/) requires actual keyboard inputs rather than DX button inputs that are typically used in the settings. Here's what I do with my setup with use of the Shift function. Shift command will activate Slot 2, and we'll also disable DX inputs in that slot since we only want keyboard commands otherwise button inputs will also activate. For the F-16 grip I use the paddle switch for Shift function, when you release it'll go back to Slot 1. This way you leave both hands on the HOTAS and are still able to execute F1-F12 key commands at will. Shift+TMS switches activate F1-F5, DMS switches activate F6-F19, CMS switches for F11 and F12. Of course, you can do much more than this as there are plenty of available switches for bindings. Note that DX5 (Trigger 2) has Spc key command, this is so I can execute Spacebar function (which also corresponds to weapon firing) in missions/tutorials without having to touch the keyboard. For the F/A-18 grip, I use the NWS button for the Shift function.

The best 3D showcase I've found so far are those instant action free flying missions in PG using either the Viper or Hornet. Ground objects really pop, especially buildings.

Sorry it was a typo on my part, should be RHWLessAtScreen instead. That one governs the other two below. Guys, you can pretty much use any profile in anyway you want just make sure that it includes those stereo parameters so you can see proper 3D effects.

For loud audio you can use Audacity to edit those ogg files individually. In mission 2, for example, the ready for tasking sound is way too loud. I reduced the gain to -20dB and this is now so much better. The mission complete file is also a bit loud, I also reduced this to -10dB.

This is why I said that this is as important as OpenXR or Reshade for me in terms of VR experience. For some reason, my 3D setting sticks even after reboot but I'm going to add the parameters to DCS profile anyway since I can just take them out anytime I want to.

I think that you can also put those parameters in your custom DCS profile. It's called Digital Combat Simulator: Black Shark there. Just run the inspector app and bring up that profile then add the stereoscopic parameters in there and apply. I haven't done this myself as I use universal profile, so not 100% sure and do it at your own risk. Basically 5 parameters to add to the Stereo section of the profile: (***Do not use mouse scroll wheel with this app because it will autoselect the next profile on the list on the selection box, use mouse cursor on the scrollbar to move the page up/down instead***) 1. RHWLessAtScreen choose VRdirectx 2. StereoConvergence choose VRdirectx 3. StereoCutoff, scroll/drag text input all the way to left and edit the number so it shows 0x0000000 instead of 0x0000001 4. StereoProfile choose Yes 5. StereoTextureEnable, scroll/drag text input all the way to left and edit the number so it shows 0x0000000 instead of 0x0000001 Verify that all the settings are correct, then hit Apply changes. Edit: correction to the 1st entry. Should be RHWLessAtScreen, instead of RHWLessAtScreenLess.

Ditto on the loud radio in mission 2. That particular sound file can prob be edited to reduce the volume.