DCS and Pimax

[Devil 505]

Anyone having trouble with the Pimax 8K and night time lighting? I had fixed this issue before by disabling an in game option (forgot which one) then had no issues with light clipping after dark. Now, since the newest patch it is back. I have scene a great improvement with VR after the last patch but I was wondering if anyone has addressed or fixed the Pimax 8K light clipping issue after dark. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[ariyaner]

Anyone having trouble with the Pimax 8K and night time lighting? I had fixed this issue before by disabling an in game option (forgot which one) then had no issues with light clipping after dark. Now, since the newest patch it is back. I have scene a great improvement with VR after the last patch but I was wondering if anyone has addressed or fixed the Pimax 8K light clipping issue after dark. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

 

 

 

try fov lower then high

[darkman222]

Does someone around here have the Pimax with the HTC Vive deluxe audio strap? You can adapt it on the Pimax. So I am wondering, although audio is not my concern, purchasing it because when I have to look back and above. I don't turn my head I just tilt my head back in the neck. Then the Pimax with the original head strap starts to lift slighly off from my cheeks, which makes the image blurry. So the Deluxe Strap seems to have some kind of mount which allows the Vr Headset to rotate in that situation too. But maybe you can kind of block it, or it might be already moving very hard on its own. Does someone have that setup and give me advice on that?

Edited April 26, 2020 by darkman222

[Rosebud47]

Hi darkman222,

 

the Vive DAS is excellent to replace the cheap original strap. To connect the Vive DAS to the Pimax, there are some 3D printed adapter needed. I´ve enclosed the files for a 3D printer in the zip file below.

 

For left and right side, there are 2 parts each ( total 4 parts ).

For the center strap there is only 1 needed.

Also attached sime images how the 3D printed parts should look like.

files.zip

[darkman222]

Very nice thanks Voight. I was wondering, if the DAS helps in extreme head position. Can you try something out for me? Try to look at your six o clock high. So you have to turn your head but also have to tilt your head facing up. Do you feel the pimax lifting off your cheeks, which makes a blurry image? Otherwise I don't have really issues with the cheap pimax strap.

[Rosebud47]

No such issues here.

[darkman222]

Okay, thank you very much!

 

 

Edit: Last question on Pimax hardware. Does someone know is there is a better facial foam available than the recent one? I remember I saw a picture of a Pimax with a facial foam double the thickness of the original one.

Edited April 28, 2020 by darkman222

[darkman222]

Unfortunately I have found another issue with DCS and the Pimax.

 

My inital DCS installation has been almost half a year old, and I encountered heavy stutters recently.

 

So what I did, was a fresh install yesterday. The stutters were gone, DCS ran smoothly like before.

 

Then yesterdays update came out and the Supercarrier. I installed both and the stutters were back.

 

You can see it in the video. https://youtu.be/2qBLJw-YQAw It looks like the tracking of the Pimax was off. I tried it in other games, but just DCS is affected.

 

This night, again a fresh installation of DCS fixed the stutters. But I just can't go on like this and reinstall DCS everytime after they roll out a new update. Any advice?

[gianlu320]

@darkman222

 

This happens to me as well with my pimax 5k+

I watched your video and it's exactly what I sporadically experience.

This doesn't always happen to me, I would say once in five times I get it.

When it happens I close DCS, I close steam VR and in pitools I click on restart service and then I restart steam VR and DCS

This seem to work for me

Edited May 21, 2020 by gianlu320

[moespeeds]

Try deleting the contents of your saved games /metashaders and fxo folders.

[darkman222]

Ran into this issue again.

 

Tried to delete what you said. Didnt help unfortunately.

 

This is really annoying, because I cant reproduce it.

 

This time it happened after a fresh reboot of the PC. Even rebooting the Pimax didnt help.

 

I don't know. Maybe I will do a fresh re-install of Windows, PiTool and DCS, as I updated the Pimax drivers a lot. And also back and forth between versions.

 

I will be highly thankful if someone comes up with another idea.

[chase]

Ran into this issue again.

 

Tried to delete what you said. Didnt help unfortunately.

 

This is really annoying, because I cant reproduce it.

 

This time it happened after a fresh reboot of the PC. Even rebooting the Pimax didnt help.

 

I don't know. Maybe I will do a fresh re-install of Windows, PiTool and DCS, as I updated the Pimax drivers a lot. And also back and forth between versions.

 

I will be highly thankful if someone comes up with another idea.

 

 

Maybe just a fresh install of PiTool will work. I updated Pitool to 255 and no longer have the options to select my FOV. Strange change. DCS require a IT degree

[darkman222]

... and here we go again. Same stutters, now in other vR games too. Downgrading to PiTool 253 seems to help. Just some stutters for the first 5 seconds in game. But after that everything runs smoothly. Not sure why they call 255 a stable release then. I will keep investigating.

Edited May 31, 2020 by darkman222

[Snake122]

I received my 5k+ the middle of last week to try something different that the Rift S after having lots of issues with Oculus Home and somewhat missing multiple monitors FOV (although I would pick VR over it anyway). First impressions was the massive performance hit and slightly less clarity, but the FOV being amazing. But I've been honestly on the fence about it until I went back to the Rift S and instantly knew how horses with blinders feel like! Also my constant connection problems with Oculus Home makes PiTool detecting my 5k+ seem the much better option. So it looks like the 5k+ is here to stay.

 

Here's my question, how much performance boost would I get putting the money I got from selling my Rift S and 1080Ti towards a 2080Ti? Would the on paper about 30% increased horsepower of the 2080Ti plus the RTX's ability to use FFR be actually that noticable to get close to a true 30% increase in DCS with my system in my signature?

 

If I'm not going to get that much of an increase, I'd probably wait for the 30XX cards and possibly put the Rift S sale funds towards Vive Index controllers and 2.0 Lighthouses for room scale. But I will say I have been impressed with the seated experience with just one 1.0 lighthouse for those of you thinking about getting a Pimax without the controllers.

[darkman222]

Yeah the FOV of the Pimax is amazing.

 

Many problems I have, seem to be related to the Pitool version.

 

 

My system is a AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6x 3.80GHz overclocked to 4.1 GHz with a 2080 TI. And I am running everything on "low" setting, except Cockpit textures. Shadows are set to flat.

I am able to maintain solid 45 fps with motion smoothing when flying over Caucasus. On the runway it drops to 39 fps.

 

When I fly the 8v8 mission with the Hornet framerate drops even below 30 fps.

 

Flying alone over Nevada I was able to peak for some minutes to 90 fps.

 

So my system is CPU bottlenecked. But my processor is one of the fastest available for a reasonable price.

In your case, I would install "fpsVr" via Steam. Its free.

 

It shows you the CPU time too. If you get around 13 - 16 ms CPU time in average and youre able to maintain 45 fps, I would say your 1080 is perfectly fine and you wont get an advantage, neither with a 2080 or a 30xx series.

 

The only thing we can do is wait until ED finishes implementing Vulkan API, wich will help increase CPU time.

 

Because at the moment, for my system, the CPU cant deliver the frames for the GPU to render fast enough.

 

 

******EDIT*********

Try that:

Pimax FOV : normal, NO MOTION SMOOTHING!

 

Install fpsVr

Set SteamVr to 3444x2940 which is 80 % here on my steamVr

In DCS: use the Low preset. Set "textures - high" . Set "shadows - low"

Take the "instant action: Free flight over Miralnye Vody" mission with the SU 25T

 

 

Check fpsVr during flight.

On my machine I get 60 fps with 12 ms CPU time.

 

 

So in conclusion. If you get 12 ms CPU but less FPS your PC is GPU bottlenecked. And a 2080TI will improve your performance.

But if you get the same results, or mabe even slower CPU time, your PC is CPU bottlenecked, like mine. And 2080 will not help. But a faster CPU will.

 

I just saw the specs of your machine in your signature. Your CPU is 0,9 Ghz faster than mine. Can you do me a favor and try the exact same thing I described above? I am curious what CPU time you can achieve. That would help my considerations of changing my CPU to an Intel or not.

Edited June 1, 2020 by darkman222

[WindWpn]

Yea, i wonder once the 3080 drops from Nvidia, are we all going to have to also invest in new MoBos, CPU/memory to support it?

[WindWpn]

FYI, appears Pimax just pushed out another new PiTool update. Have not tried it yet, but allowed the update to proceed. No firmware update.

[Snake122]

Yeah the FOV of the Pimax is amazing.

 

Many problems I have, seem to be related to the Pitool version.

 

 

My system is a AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6x 3.80GHz overclocked to 4.1 GHz with a 2080 TI. And I am running everything on "low" setting, except Cockpit textures. Shadows are set to flat.

I am able to maintain solid 45 fps with motion smoothing when flying over Caucasus. On the runway it drops to 39 fps.

 

When I fly the 8v8 mission with the Hornet framerate drops even below 30 fps.

 

Flying alone over Nevada I was able to peak for some minutes to 90 fps.

 

So my system is CPU bottlenecked. But my processor is one of the fastest available for a reasonable price.

In your case, I would install "fpsVr" via Steam. Its free.

 

It shows you the CPU time too. If you get around 13 - 16 ms CPU time in average and youre able to maintain 45 fps, I would say your 1080 is perfectly fine and you wont get an advantage, neither with a 2080 or a 30xx series.

 

The only thing we can do is wait until ED finishes implementing Vulkan API, wich will help increase CPU time.

 

Because at the moment, for my system, the CPU cant deliver the frames for the GPU to render fast enough.

 

 

******EDIT*********

Try that:

Pimax FOV : normal, NO MOTION SMOOTHING!

 

Install fpsVr

Set SteamVr to 3444x2940 which is 80 % here on my steamVr

In DCS: use the Low preset. Set "textures - high" . Set "shadows - low"

Take the "instant action: Free flight over Miralnye Vody" mission with the SU 25T

 

 

Check fpsVr during flight.

On my machine I get 60 fps with 12 ms CPU time.

 

 

So in conclusion. If you get 12 ms CPU but less FPS your PC is GPU bottlenecked. And a 2080TI will improve your performance.

But if you get the same results, or mabe even slower CPU time, your PC is CPU bottlenecked, like mine. And 2080 will not help. But a faster CPU will.

 

I just saw the specs of your machine in your signature. Your CPU is 0,9 Ghz faster than mine. Can you do me a favor and try the exact same thing I described above? I am curious what CPU time you can achieve. That would help my considerations of changing my CPU to an Intel or not.

Thanks for reminding me about fpsVR! Oculus doesn't support it but I had heard of it and wanted it then but forgot about it after I switched to Pimax.

 

I got the i7-9700kf because with DCS only utilizing 3 CPU cores and really only one well, it was the most single core performance I could afford. I use this website as my general CPU benchmarks and I think it does a decent job. Note that I linked specifically the single core graph. For most other games you can stick to the overall, but specifically DCS and most other flight sims, single core performance is still king.

 

With those settings in DCS, I am getting an average of around 10 ms for my CPU time and 18 ms GPU time, so definitely GPU bound and about 45 fps. However my 80% SteamVR setting on Normal FOV is only 2756x2352, which is what I ran.

 

If DCS could thread across your cores better, you would get better performance than me with stock CPU frequencies for sure. I don't know if you play a lot of other games or not, the Ryzen chips are great deals for sure when using modern gaming engines that multi-thread effectively. As my second link shows, I had to pay almost $130USD for my CPU than yours and in almost all other programs it out performs mine, except for DCS and other sims that have limited CPU threading. I think this would probably do more than Vulkan since it would allow for multi-thread processors to be better utilized for those of us CPU bound. But Vulkan would probably help the GPU bound like me.

 

Of course the other factor is the overclock, which is just 100mhz higher than the turbo setting for my CPU (4.9ghz) and only 400mhz than your turbo. I'll try to get some time later to run it with the stock CPU timings to see if that puts me back to being CPU bound.

 

 

So yes, a 2080Ti will give me better performance, but wonder if it is worth it. To afford it, I have to sell my Rift S (and 1080Ti), so I'd be giving up the VR headset that gives me great performance for what may only be moderate increase in the Pimax. The two general comparison websites I use for GPUs say an 24% to 32% increase but rarely do you actually get that full percent increase. If we are talking say only 10% effective performance increase for DCS, that's only about 49 fps, but the full 32% would be almost 60 fps with the setting you had me run. The one thing I can't factor in is the RTX support for FFR, which seems like it could be a big deal for the Pimax with all the extra FOV that doesn't need to be rendered as well.

 

 

Yea, i wonder once the 3080 drops from Nvidia, are we all going to have to also invest in new MoBos, CPU/memory to support it?

Support it no, it will still be a PCIe card. In theory your PCIe lane if not 16x or also higher version (6.0 is coming out next year), it could be motherboard bound, but that generally would take a huge leap in performance for that to happen. Nvidia knows that they will sell more cards if they work with in the confines of the typical motherboard bandwidth even if they could somehow blow the PCIe lanes out of the water at consumer prices.

 

But to not be CPU bound then, who knows...

Edited June 2, 2020 by Snake122

[darkman222]

Thanks for letting me know your results. Well I dont think it makes sense for me to go for another CPU if the difference between our CPUs is just 2ms. Mostly I play DCS on that machine. So it should be built for it primarily. But changing the CPU wont give me a considerable performance jump, compared to the effort, I'm afraid.

 

 

I know that benchmark site. And when I purchased my CPU it was on the 4th position. Interesting what happened on the market meanwhile.

 

But the result when I compare our both CPUs is very close to the performance results on the site.

You should have around 15% more CPU speed. With overclocking on your side maybe 20 %.

 

If I am on a multiplayer server with 20 ms CPU time, your processor might provide me with 16 ms, which is still way too slow for my 2080 to produce high frame rates.

 

My honest opinion on your upgrade plans for the GPU. Try plaing DCS with the Pimax and your 1080. If your system can keep most of the time 45 fps with motion smoothing, and on multiplayer at least half of the time @45fps , its not worth purchasing a 2080. Because you wont be able to reach 90 fps in a realistic gaming sceanario. And it does not make sense if you can play with 60 fps without motion smoothing with the 2080, but the performance being reduced to 45 fps with motion smoothing anyway.

Because you wont usually play without motion smoothing if your system cant reach 90 fps.

 

And the motion smoothing of the Pimax is much worse than that of the Vive. But the field of view is incredible though. Dont know if you wanna keep the Vive as a backup.

 

 

I would say, if you can play with 45 fps with the 1080. Save the money, wait until Vulkan support is implemented and then upgrade to what will be available on the market at this time in the future.

 

And I tried FFR. Image gets worse. You can clearly see it and cockpit readability gets worse. And NO effect on frame rate. Still stuck at 60 fps in that mission.

Edited June 2, 2020 by darkman222

[melchionda]

No such issues here.

 

I have a Vive DAS on my Pimax 8K+ and its working great. I have a question for you guys... I'm having problems with getting the headphone audio to go through the headphones of the Pimax/Vive delux audio strap. Which Audio device do you guys use in settings? The Pimax 8K+ has the HDMI connector but it also has the USB connector. Is the headphone audio coming though the HDMI connection or is it coming through the USB connection?

[darkman222]

It is shown as "Speakers USB audio device" in the windows taskbar. I use that and I just connect the DAS to the Pimax via the integrated audio stereo plug on the left side of the Pimax. Works fine for me.

Just of curiosity. So you have the 8K plus, but not the 8K X. I would love to hear of someone who owns it about how it performs.

[melchionda]

I had the 8K, then upgraded to the 8K+. I was going to upgrade to the 8KX but seeing as it may not be widely available for a while I wasn't ready to wait indefinitely and I was really interested in seeing if I could get a clearer image for some of the smaller in-cockpit details. The 8K+ is a little better than the 8K, but not jaw dropping. It did come made from a more robust plastic and it now has the comfort kit as standard which was nice. I sold my 8K for like $400. It sold in like 10 min so maybe I should have sold it for more.

[darkman222]

As far as I know all the other 8K* Pimaxes except the 8KX get a 4k image from the PC and they extrapolate it with an algorithm to make it look like 8k. So the algorithm kinda guesses how the 8k image would look like. Robustness of the 5k is poor too. I have 2 small holes in the housing and comfort is not that great either. But I dont care. The FOV is amazing. If I knew someone who could share his experience with the 8KX performancewise I could decide to order the 8KX when the price drops hopefully.

[shaz56]

8kx

 

I've spent all day pondering about buying one but I can't get any info about whether I need base stations or not as it dosen't ship with them, they are assuming people have ex Vive kit already. typical Chinese product half baked. their website has the headset for sale but controllers, base'es and everything else is sold out. Never heard of a company in such a mess, I wonder how long they will be solvent. Oh well, I think I'll wait to see what else comes out later this year.:cry:

[Snake122]

I've spent all day pondering about buying one but I can't get any info about whether I need base stations or not as it dosen't ship with them, they are assuming people have ex Vive kit already. typical Chinese product half baked. their website has the headset for sale but controllers, base'es and everything else is sold out. Never heard of a company in such a mess, I wonder how long they will be solvent. Oh well, I think I'll wait to see what else comes out later this year.:cry:

For the record you don't need the base stations for 3DOF tracking. Seated in DCS a single lighthouse 1.0 or 2.0 will work for 6DOF. While I agree the company has a lot of issues, they don't make the Vive stuff so they have to drop ship it from other suppliers and getting those Vive items in general right now without having to go through Pimax is hard. Getting the headset from China only took a couple of weeks.