Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and pc hardware - need help

[KonniRichter]

Hi, i want to buy a VR hardware next days and i even want to use it with DCS.

 

I only play sim games like DCS or racing sims, so i do not need to move and walk around within my room.

 

But, what should i buy, what looks better and works better with DCS?

 

There is a GTX980 mounted at my pc (not the 980ti-model). Will this be enough for having a lot of fun with DCS?

 

Please help me with that. Thanks!

[Dozer122]

I just received my oculus rift and i have noticed that comfort is very important if you plan on using it for long periods of time. Personally I can play for 2 - 3 hours before the headset starts to feel uncomfortable. From what i have heard the Vive is much less comfortable than the oculus due to the strap design and extra weight. Also, make sure you have a good CPU, games like DCS don't use much GPU. Good luck with your choice, I know that you will never want to go back to a 2D screen.

[Ferrum Intra]

I think the Rift over the Vive for sims is general consensus.

 

 

Correct. That is not to say that the vive wikl be a subpar experience, but strictly for dcs/racers, definitely go for the rift. A good aftermarket 980 should be fine. You might also get away with some degree of supersampling.

[KonniRichter]

Ok, i got an i7 i3820 installed. Should work!?

 

What do you think cause the software/drivers/tools cause Vive is supported through Steam and Steam is almost there in every game. So, hope the Oculus will not die in future and no new games will support it.

 

I will now try to find a Oculus or Vive. For now, i am thinking more about to buy the Oculus.

 

BTW, is there a guide for VR and DCS, which settings to use best at DCS?

 

Perhaps more people could reply, so i got more thoughts about the two VR devices. TIA

[Chivas]

Ok, i got an i7 i3820 installed. Should work!?

 

What do you think cause the software/drivers/tools cause Vive is supported through Steam and Steam is almost there in every game. So, hope the Oculus will not die in future and no new games will support it.

 

I will now try to find a Oculus or Vive. For now, i am thinking more about to buy the Oculus.

 

BTW, is there a guide for VR and DCS, which settings to use best at DCS?

 

Perhaps more people could reply, so i got more thoughts about the two VR devices. TIA

 

Oculus isn't going anywhere, they have invested far more monies into VR hardware, and VR game software than any other company. Steam is primarily a store that sells third party software. People who have both, obviously prefer the Vive with games that use tracked controllers, and use the Rift for almost everything else, especially cockpit games. When the Oculus Touch tracked controllers comes out with all the related VR software that Oculus has been investing in, most people will prefer the Rift for most everything. That's not to say the Vive isn't good, its just not as good as the Oculus system, especially for flight sims.

 

The Rift is a little more comfortable, with a little better displays/optics, along with better ATW software, that allows higher pixel density settings. The Vive has a slightly better FOV, but judder free clarity trumps FOV in these first versions of VR hardware..

[Gman109]

I have several fast machines, but when I first tested out a Rift, I had a 3820 with a 980SLI setup - since VR only really uses one card, and gets no major advantage from SLI right now, it's essentially the same system the OP is asking about. For the Vive the Steam VR test ranked it very high, I forget exactly what, but very high, and for the Rift, it worked fantastic in DCS.

 

Regarding Steam, I shut it down as well when running Oculus, as I have both VR sets, but don't need Steam obviously for the Oculus - and JAR is right, the Oculus setup is fantastic, simple to use, effective, etc.

 

For DCS, it's a no brainer, get the Rift. I've had both for a couple weeks+ now, the Vive and the Rift, and by far the Rift is superior for DCS and every other "cockpit" type game like Elite, Aces High, and others that I play (Project Cars too).

 

So, 980 w/ok CPU should be fine, and get the Rift, to answer both questions. I'll post a link to the settings I used in VR, which were recommended by a player here - turning down/off many things doesn't affect the VR image one bit IMO, but sure ups the performance, which will be important with any non-1080/future Titan card. Pixel Density combined with settings will be important for you to experiment a bit with, to meet your personal goals regarding performance, but you should be able to run a PD of 1.5 with the settings I'm using for VR, without any trouble - others use 2 even 2.5, some prefer 1, or less, again, it's variable based on conditions and preference, but we'll get you there.

 

After finding what I want to post, I'll return, with the settings for the Rift in DCS and in the Oculus editor (important tool), as well as a few tips/tricks I learned from others and my own experience. One thing - you may want to try getting some of the various after market foam replacements, as they can alter the distance your eyes are from the lenses, which for some, some, players, has a great effect on how the Rift looks to them. There is a "sweet spot" you need to find, and I and others will help you do so, no problem.

 

Anyhow, good luck, and keep the thread going if you have any other questions and concerns, and I'll tty tomorrow with a few more details as I said.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Gman109

[KonniRichter]

Thanks all!

 

@Gman109

Great reply.. i am looking forward to read more details. Would be great if you can help me setting up the rift for best experience.

 

I bought the Rift today and now hope, that i will hold it in hands very soon. Bought it from a guy who owns both, the oculus and the vive.

[Gman109]

Regarding settings, below is what I recommend starting off with. You can play with the settings a bit, activate your FPS counter (it works in VR) and do some trial and error, but based on my experience, below is what will likely work best for you. The choices regarding shadows saves the most FPS/performance without really having that much of a negative effect on the visuals. This is the case for most choices, AA/AS as well, as it makes little difference with the VR capability having these cranked, and so on.

 

Textures: Medium

Terrain Textures: Low

Civ. Traffic: Low

Water: Low

Visibility Range: Low or Medium

Heat Blur: Low

Shadows: Flat

Res. of Cockpit Displays: 1024 Every Frame

MSAA: 4X

HDR: Off

Depth of Field: Off

Lens Flare

Clutter: 0

Trees: 6000

Preload Radius: 100000

Anistropic Filtering: Off

Flat Terrain Shadows: Off

 

You'll also want to download and install the Oculus developer/debug tool. There you can set your pixel density outside of DCS (there is a tab in game as well). I've seen conflicting reports on using this as WELL as the DCS tab, IMO you should use this tool and set it to the same setting you have in game. 1.5 is probably the highest your GPU will handle, and IMO it'll still give you decent performance, but you'll want to experiment with this too. You can tell if its working by turning on labels and going to an exterior view, the higher the setting, the smaller the labels letters/numbers are. IE at 2.5 they will be almost unreadable, and 1.0 they'll look pretty normal.

 

https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/pcsdk/latest/concepts/dg-debug-tool/

 

 

Once you get your Rift, post back after trying the above, as well as what your nVidia control panel settings are.

[KonniRichter]

Now i got my Oculus, but it has a big problem out of the box. There is a magenta colored vertical line shown in left display. Perhaps the left display is damaged. I already contacted Oculus, but only got a mail that i have to wait. Now 5 days passed by with no reply. I hope i will get a new Oculus or a reply soon.

 

BTW, i can test with this error. In the meantime i got a new CPU i4790 and a GTX1070 gfx-card.

I hope i can deal with higher quality settings now.

 

I opened the oculus debug tool and set density 1.5, pressed enter and leave the app open, started DCS 1.5 (no DCS 2.0 cause i did not own the Nevada map). In DCS options i set density 1.5 too. I hope this is the correct way to do. As Gman109 said, the labels get smaller, but i did not recognize a better grafics or sharper display with higher density. Where is my fault?

 

For the better hardware i got, which gfx options to deal with? Texture quality, AA?

 

I am a DCS and a Oculus noob, sorry for such a lot questions here.

 

@Gman109

Many thanks for your great reply ;-)

 

I will attach an image which i took with iphone through left lens of the oculus. There you can see the magenta line.

 

[hansangb]

You don't need the debug too anymore. The pixel density setting in DCS is all you need. Looks like you may have a bad Rift. I would pester them. Don't wait too long for the reply

[vicx]

It really does look like a sticker stuck to the lens.

[KonniRichter]

I don´t know what this should be. Is it easy to open the Oculus and look for? Can anybody help?

 

No reply from Oculus.. 6 days past by..