VR Shaders mod for better VR experience

[exil]

On 11/22/2021 at 11:12 PM, Taz1004 said:

You can also try ReShade SMAA on top of in-game MSAA.  One thing I realized recently is to use Depth sorting method on SMAA which works much better for DCS.  It's as good as 2x MSAA.  There will be performance hit but wont be as bad as 4x MSAA.

Attached is my new setting.  You can disable or lower CAS sharpen.  Sharpen=Shimmer, Less Shimmer=Blurry.  It's always finding balance.

VR sharpen SMAA.zip 3.84 MB · 17 downloads

 

So does it mean I can turn off msaa ingame? Or is it just an add on to it? 

Thanks! 

[speed-of-heat]

15 minutes ago, exil said:

So does it mean I can turn off msaa ingame? Or is it just an add on to it? 

Thanks! 

Quote

You can also try ReShade SMAA on top of in-game MSAA.  

the first line of the text that you quoted ...

[exil]

6 hours ago, speed-of-heat said:

the first line of the text that you quoted ...

Yeah, sometimes you don't see the forest for the trees. Sorry for that and thanks for clarification! 

[Taz1004]

So I've been trying the full version and seems like GBuffer.hlsl is the one that's causing the faded out cockpit.

Also Decoder.hlsl basically disables AO.  And this is separate from in-game SSAO option.  I have that off.

Without Decoder.hlsl from the mod

With Decoder.hlsl

While it may provide some FPS, I found that Decoder.hlsl in this mod causes everything to look really bad for me.  I was getting light leaking look everywhere.  Like the buttons at the top panel and even the ground to the left Sunlight was leaking through.  And with it introduced a lot of pixel crawling in the cockpit especially in VR.

So if you're gonna use the full version, either disable both Decoder.hlsl and GBuffer.hlsl or consider if the tradeoff is worth it.

SpeedOfHeat's versions and Simplex have both GBuffer.hlsl and Decoder.hlsl disabled I believe.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Taz1004

[tomeye]

@Taz1004every try you do (replacing decoder.hsl) requires recompiling shaders from scratch?

[Taz1004]

7 hours ago, tomeye said:

@Taz1004every try you do (replacing decoder.hsl) requires recompiling shaders from scratch?

Not just Decoder.hlsl but also GBuffer.hlsl, atmosphere.hlsl, shadows.hlsl, and all files in model folder requires recompiling from scratch only when you reinstall the full mod.  It takes very long for me.  Almost 20 minutes.

I do have a workaround however.  First time I install the full mod, I start the game in every plane and terrain to compile the shaders.  Then save the FXO and metashaders2 folder (I package them as mod) and replace them everytime I have to reinstall the mod.  Then the game doesn't recompile.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Taz1004

[Ready]

On 11/25/2021 at 10:01 PM, Taz1004 said:

I do have a workaround however.  First time I install the full mod, I start the game in every plane and terrain to compile the shaders.  Then save the FXO and metashaders2 folder (I package them as mod) and replace them everytime I have to reinstall the mod.  Then the game doesn't recompile.

 

Ahhh that is brilliant! Why did I not think of that? Will add it to my OVGME.

Just so I understand; With every OB update I unload all core mods, run the DCS update and then load the mods (the VR shaders mod, followed by the 'FXO/metashaders2 folder'-mod, followed by all other mods?

Thanks!!

[Taz1004]

2 minutes ago, Ready said:

Ahhh that is brilliant! Why did I not think of that? Will add it to my OVGME.

Just so I understand; With every OB update I unload all core mods, run the DCS update and then load the mods (the VR shaders mod, followed by the 'FXO/metashaders2 folder'-mod, followed by all other mods?

Thanks!!

Pretty much.  However, if the OB update breaks the VR shader mod and it needs to be modified just like last OB update, then you may have to rebuild FXO/metashaders2.

[cloudkake]

On 11/28/2021 at 7:52 PM, Taz1004 said:

Pretty much.  However, if the OB update breaks the VR shader mod and it needs to be modified just like last OB update, then you may have to rebuild FXO/metashaders2.

Speaking of which, can anyone confirm this as of the one just released? Wouldn't mind knowing before i update

[Ready]

14 minutes ago, cloudkake said:

Speaking of which, can anyone confirm this as of the one just released? Wouldn't mind knowing before i update

I just updated and switched back to Kegetys Simplex shaders. Loading was pretty quick. Did not clear my FX/metashader folders.

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

No problem whatsoever

 

[Taz1004]

This is what I can salvage from the orignal full version of this mod merged with latest OB 2.7.9.17830 (12/23/2021)

I also reduced haze by 50%

DCS VR Shaders mod for 2.7.9.17830.zip

 

This will take very long time to load the first time.  Around 15 minutes for me.  You can use the workaround I posted above if you need to reinstall the mod or have to repair/reinstall DCS.

On 11/25/2021 at 4:01 PM, Taz1004 said:

I do have a workaround however.  First time I install the full mod, I start the game in every plane and terrain to compile the shaders.  Then save the FXO and metashaders2 folder (I package them as mod) and replace them everytime I have to reinstall the mod.  Then the game doesn't recompile.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Taz1004

[cloudkake]

awesome, thanks Taz!

[rubbra]

Has anyone else found that this mod is mostly not needed in the latest update? I've got significant fps gains, particularly in the Hornet and 'Hog. Viper is still worse, but still a good 10-12 fps higher than previously. I can only put it down to the "Fixed a bug leading to a drop of performance when rendering a water surface" line in the changelog - I fly a lot of persian gulf...

[lefuneste01]

I did some measurement to know if it's worth to keep compatibility of my mod with it. I still win 5 fps on ~48 in A10C / quick mission / takeoff, MSAA2x.

Knowing that it should allow you (like my mod) to get rid on infamous VR canopy reflects on every planes and have a good NVG size in VR.

[Ready]

11 hours ago, rubbra said:

Has anyone else found that this mod is mostly not needed in the latest update? I've got significant fps gains, particularly in the Hornet and 'Hog. Viper is still worse, but still a good 10-12 fps higher than previously. I can only put it down to the "Fixed a bug leading to a drop of performance when rendering a water surface" line in the changelog - I fly a lot of persian gulf...

Did you get fps gain through this update? I did not notice any significant change. What is your setup? You don't use a shader mod? That 'fixed a bug... water surface' is very interesting. Am wondering why I did not notice this, or was it a bug that was introduced a few OB releases back when performance took a nose dive?

[Sr.]

Has anyone else tried running DCs with NO shader mods since the latest update?

 

Anytime there's an update, I like to see how it runs out of the box and usually resort back to one of the popular shader mods.

I switched off all mods then updated, then repair install. Since then I have only enabled Open FSR v 2.1.1 & Reshade. My gpu frametimes are as high as I recall when I was still using simplex shader mod. Running SVR @ 90% and getting 10-12 frametime is Causses.

[whisky.actual]

2 hours ago, Sr. said:

Has anyone else tried running DCs with NO shader mods since the latest update?

 

Anytime there's an update, I like to see how it runs out of the box and usually resort back to one of the popular shader mods.

I switched off all mods then updated, then repair install. Since then I have only enabled Open FSR v 2.1.1 & Reshade. My gpu frametimes are as high as I recall when I was still using simplex shader mod. Running SVR @ 90% and getting 10-12 frametime is Causses.

Interesting, when you say 90% for SVR is that the "renderScale" in the openvr_mod.cfg or something else?

[speed-of-heat]

Svr=STEAM VR’s base resolution 

[Sr.]

Sorry, meant SVRSS (Steam VR Super Sampling) for clarification, I run global at 100% and DCS 90%

Haven't been able to pull off 90% at these numbers since a few updates ago.

[speed-of-heat]

4 hours ago, Sr. said:

Sorry, meant SVRSS (Steam VR Super Sampling) for clarification, I run global at 100% and DCS 90%

Haven't been able to pull off 90% at these numbers since a few updates ago.

Well since you asked:

				Frametime in ms		Delta From Baseline
Ver	Test	Baseline	FPS	GPU	CPU	GPU	CPU	Changes
2.7.9.17830	124		61.33	14.72	6.90			Baseline Standard Settings no MODS, 100%SVR
2.7.9.17830	128	Test 124	75.71	11.74	6.83	2.98	0.08	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5
2.7.9.17830	129	Test 124	79.32	11.21	6.71	3.51	0.20	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 90 CRM in Steam VR
2.7.9.17830	130	Test 124	80.30	10.97	6.87	3.75	0.03	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 100 CRM in Steam VR + Simplex 2.2
2.7.9.17830	131	Test 124	80.55	10.60	6.98	4.12	-0.08	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 100 CRM in Steam VR + Taz1004's variant of Kegetys Shaders

There is very little overall difference in performance between, running at 90% and implementing any of the currently  available shader mods, Taz's has just over 0.6ms improvement,  that has to be offset against the one time "cost" of compiling the shaders, which is not present in Simplex (for similar performance) , but overall I doubt you would see the difference in terms of raw performance especially if you are locking at 45hz, between either of the options (Simplex or Taz/Kegety) but Taz/Simplex is faster than 90% by about 0.5-ms and about 5fps more than running at 90%.

As to which is better visually thats a matter for the observer, and I'm not sticking my sensitive parts in that bed of razors, as its hard to get really objective data about that sort of subjective information.

Personally, I'm leaving towards Simplex, as it doesnt have the "up front" cost and delivers very similar perf.  HTH

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by speed-of-heat
Typo

[Taz1004]

49 minutes ago, speed-of-heat said:

Well since you asked:

				Frametime in ms		Delta From Baseline
Ver	Test	Baseline	FPS	GPU	CPU	GPU	CPU	Changes
2.7.9.17830	124	Test 104	61.33	14.72	6.90			Baseline Standard Settings no MODS, 100%SVR
2.7.9.17830	128	Test 104	75.71	11.74	6.83	2.98	0.08	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5
2.7.9.17830	129	Test 104	79.32	11.21	6.71	3.51	0.20	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 90 CRM in Steam VR
2.7.9.17830	130	Test 104	80.30	10.97	6.87	3.75	0.03	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 100 CRM in Steam VR + Simplex 2.2
2.7.9.17830	131	Test 104	80.55	10.60	6.98	4.12	-0.08	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 100 CRM in Steam VR + Taz1004's variant of Kegetys Shaders

There is very little overall difference in performance between, running at 90% and implementing any of the currently  available shader mods, Taz's has just over 0.6ms improvement,  that has to be offset against the one time "cost" of compiling the shaders, which is not present in Simplex (for similar performance) , but overall I doubt you would see the difference in terms of raw performance especially if you are locking at 45hz, between either of the options (Simplex or Taz/Kegety) but Taz/Simplex is faster than 90% by about 0.5-ms and about 5fps more than running at 90%.

As to which is better visually thats a matter for the observer, and I'm not sticking my sensitive parts in that bed of razors, as its hard to get really objective data about that sort of subjective information.

Personally, I'm leaving towards Simplex, as it doesnt have the "up front" cost and delivers very similar perf.  HTH

Thanks for that test.  Always wondered the performance difference but don't have the benchmarking tools.

Obvious difference between Simplex and Kegety's is IC.  So if IC is important, then there's really no choice.

Another reason for using original Kegety's over Simplex is for its features.  I first modified the haze and realized it required recompile anyway.  And to me, Haze is worth the up front cost.  So I decided to use the original.

 

And there are other features Simplex removes like Albedo texture sharpening, NVG scope adjustment, etc.  Below is difference between Simplex and Kegety's only.  No other mods.

I'm not biased over one or the other.  Both are great options.  Just providing information for people to make right choice.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Taz1004

[speed-of-heat]

8 minutes ago, Taz1004 said:

Thanks for that test.  Always wondered the performance difference but don't have the benchmarking tools.

Obvious difference between Simplex and Kegety's is IC.  So if IC is important, then there's really no choice.

Another reason for using original Kegety's over Simplex is for its features.  I first modified the haze and realized it required recompile anyway.  And to me, the Haze is worth the up front cost.  So I decided to use the original.

 

And there are other features Simplex removes like Albedo texture sharpening, NVG scope adjustment, etc.  Below is difference between Simplex and Kegety's only.  No other mods.

I'm not biased over one or the other.  Both are great options.  Just providing information for people to make right choice.

Good points well made!

[ShaunX]

3 hours ago, speed-of-heat said:

Well since you asked:

				Frametime in ms		Delta From Baseline
Ver	Test	Baseline	FPS	GPU	CPU	GPU	CPU	Changes
2.7.9.17830	124		61.33	14.72	6.90			Baseline Standard Settings no MODS, 100%SVR
2.7.9.17830	128	Test 124	75.71	11.74	6.83	2.98	0.08	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5
2.7.9.17830	129	Test 124	79.32	11.21	6.71	3.51	0.20	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 90 CRM in Steam VR
2.7.9.17830	130	Test 124	80.30	10.97	6.87	3.75	0.03	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 100 CRM in Steam VR + Simplex 2.2
2.7.9.17830	131	Test 124	80.55	10.60	6.98	4.12	-0.08	FSR set to NIS 0.8 Render Scale, Sharpness 0, Radius 0.5 + 100 CRM in Steam VR + Taz1004's variant of Kegetys Shaders

There is very little overall difference in performance between, running at 90% and implementing any of the currently  available shader mods, Taz's has just over 0.6ms improvement,  that has to be offset against the one time "cost" of compiling the shaders, which is not present in Simplex (for similar performance) , but overall I doubt you would see the difference in terms of raw performance especially if you are locking at 45hz, between either of the options (Simplex or Taz/Kegety) but Taz/Simplex is faster than 90% by about 0.5-ms and about 5fps more than running at 90%.

As to which is better visually thats a matter for the observer, and I'm not sticking my sensitive parts in that bed of razors, as its hard to get really objective data about that sort of subjective information.

Personally, I'm leaving towards Simplex, as it doesnt have the "up front" cost and delivers very similar perf.  HTH

 

 

 

 

What about your CW+IC variant ? It doesn't have any upfront cost either and works in Multiplayer

 

 

[Sr.]

On 12/27/2021 at 1:43 AM, rubbra said:

Has anyone else found that this mod is mostly not needed in the latest update? I've got significant fps gains, particularly in the Hornet and 'Hog. Viper is still worse, but still a good 10-12 fps higher than previously. I can only put it down to the "Fixed a bug leading to a drop of performance when rendering a water surface" line in the changelog - I fly a lot of persian gulf...

I came to same conclusion. I assume they have fixed something.