DCS World 2.8.6 Graphics Explanation and Optimized Settings For Better FPS! + Mariana Islands.

[RosyPlays]

Hey everyone, I built my PC in 2017 to run DCS 1.5 and it ran it perfectly with no problems or FPS drops at Highest Graphic settings but then 2.5 came and I couldn't run my game at highest settings anymore so I had to downgrade the graphic settings and I still managed play the game/simulator with the same computer with good FPS for 4 years.
I was bored today and decided to go on DCS World and see which graphics settings have most impact on FPS so I did quick tests and on each option during testing my game kept crashing after loading few missions(Fixed in an update) so I hope it was worth it and here are my results and findings and what configuration I use. This is my first time creating a guide so don't expect much from it.
 

Here are my computer specs:
CPU: i5-7600K 4 Cores Overclocked to 4.5GHz.
Memory: 2x8GB(16) DDR4 2400MHz.
SSD: Crucial M.2 1TB SSD 2400MB/s Reading Speed and 1800MB/s Writing Speed. <---Highly Recommended if you are using a hard drive
GPU: MSI GTX1060 6GB X VR Ready.
Screen: 1080p 240Hz 27Inch Curved AOC.
VR Headset: Oculus Quest 2 via Air Link 5408x2736 90Hz. (25-45FPS with same settings as 2D)

Here are my current graphic settings with how my computer handled it:
Lowest Frames Per Second: 45 FPS
Average Frames Per Second: 60 FPS
Highest Frames Per Second: 90 FPS
CPU Usage: 45-100%
GPU Usage: 99-100%
Memory Usage: 14.1-15.1 GB out of 16 GB (Turns out game uses SSD as Virtual Memory when RAM usage is almost full check out this guide and make sure you only enable file paging on SSD I set my to 32000/64000MB)
Note^: (Depending on the situation from being on the carrier on multiplayer with rainy weather to being 30,000ft in the Air)

How it looks like in game:

Here are my results and findings tested on Caucasus map with the F/A-18C:

Textures: Low to High, About 1FPS decrease and cockpit looks way better I wouldn't recommend switching to Low unless you need every single FPS.

Terrain Textures: Low to High, I didn't notice any FPS or Graphical change even though the game restarted when changing the option so I don't know about this one so I kept it at High.

Civ. Traffic: Off to High, No FPS loss just low detailed vehicles driving on the road and going through tanks and anything placed with mission editor so I keep it OFF to not ruin my immersion when doing Air to Ground Missions. 

Water: Low to High, 20FPS decrease and didn't notice any water quality change high in the air so I put it on Low. (Only noticeable when comparing side to side images)

Visibility Range: Low to Ultra, 5-6FPS decrease buildings and objects can be seen from far away without needing to zoom to make them magically appear I recommend setting it to Ultra or Extreme.

Heat Blur: OFF to High, Didn't notice any FPS decrease so I switched it to High to have the realistic After Burner/Engine Heat Blur at the back of the Jet.

Shadows: OFF to High, About 6FPS decrease it isn't that much of a performance hit from no Aircraft Shadows to having a high detailed Aircraft Shadows.

Resolution of Cockpit Displays(Mirrors): 256 to 1024 Every Frame, Didn't notice any performance difference so I kept it at 1024 Every Frame.

MSAA(Anti-Aliasing): OFF to 4x, About 15FPS Decrease I prefer to have this option on 2X to not have obvious jagged pixelated edges without having much of performance decrease.

Depth of Field: OFF to Simple/Bokeh, 20-40FPS Decrease on external view, I prefer to have it OFF to not have any Blurriness or performance decrease.

Lens Effects: None to Dirt+Flare, 1FPS Decrease I prefer to have it on None to not get blinded by the sun.

Motion Blur: I prefer to have it OFF to not have any Blur and have good visibility. 

Clouds: Low to Ultra, 5FPS Decrease with Minor Quality change I chose Standard for optimal performance.

SSAA(Anti-Aliasing): OFF to 2X, 35FPS Decrease it becomes unplayable for me with this option so I recommend having it OFF if you don't want massive performance decrease. This option removes jagged or pixelated edges.

SSLR(Light Reflections): OFF to ON, About 8FPS Decrease so I prefer to have it ON for better lighting and light reflections.

SSAO(Ambient Occlusion): OFF to ON, About 10-15FPS Decrease I prefer to have it OFF, no major difference the only thing I noticed was the reflection of the screens and better reflections off the instruments and it wasn't that noticeable. Also it's suppose to make scenery blend more such as shadows and look more natural. (Only noticeable when comparing side to side)

Clutter/Grass: 0 to 1500, Up to 30FPS Decrease in a very grass dense area, It's best to not max out the setting, also Grass is not noticeable from the Air and doesn't decrease performance when flying High above 7000ft.

Forest Visibility: 30% to 100%, 5FPS Decrease, on 30% trees don't load until you get close so I prefer to have it on 70% to be able to see all Trees around me and not render insignificant unnoticeable far away Trees.

Forest Details Factor: 0.1 to 1, 1FPS Decrease, Trees Textures look better and detailed.

Scenery Details Factor: 0.1 to 1, 1FPS Decrease, Buildings and Structures Textures look better and detailed.

Preload Radius: 100 to 100000, Didn't notice any performance difference probably because I'm using an SSD but this may effect people on HDD, Slow CPUs and low RAM. (Do not use above 75,000 if you have 16GB of RAM or less, Use less Preload Radius if you start experiencing random crashes specially on multiplayer.)

Gamma(Brightness): Doesn't really effect FPS I prefer to have it on 1.6 for dark and not bright atmosphere. You can increase it depending on how you prefer it.

Anisotropic Filtering: OFF to 16x, 18FPS Decrease I prefer to have it on 8x to see distanced objects with high detail if you want performance over quality turn it OFF.

Terrain Objects Shadows: Flat to Default, 10FPS Decrease Shadows look better and more detailed and not pixelated. Flat to OFF, 3FPS increase not much increase so I chose to have it on Flat to at least have Shadows on Trees and Buildings.

Cockpit Global Illumination: Makes Lighting in the cockpit dynamic I prefer to have it ON.

Rain Droplets: OFF to ON, 2-3 FPS Decrease, I prefer to have it ON to see water droplets on canopy if you want bit more FPS have it OFF.

Vsync: Limits or Syncs Frames Per Second(FPS) to Monitor/Screen Refresh Rate(Hz), I prefer to have it OFF to not limit my performance.

Note: I just realized some of my tests aren't the most accurate but they are precise they should give a good idea on which options have the most impact on FPS.

Also here's a very useful Video made by "Commander Steinsch" shows how much visual difference each option does, I don't recommended doing same settings as the Video though.

Note: For Mariana Islands scroll down below. 

Thank you for checking out my post and hope it helped you out, if you have any suggestions or questions go ahead and ask I would happily reply.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by RosyPlays
Fixed some Typos and Mistakes. Added more Information. Increased text size and made spaces for easier reading. Added Visual Drawing. Preload Radius Info Changed.

[RosyPlays]

More Pictures in game multiplayer 4YA Server with 40 Players with my current settings:

 

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by RosyPlays

[3WA]

Thanks!  I'll have too look over this later.

[Shadowed-Raven11]

thanks man

[Alpiinoo]

Thanks a lot.

[Kai_TG]

Ver gud!! 10/10 

[migaguiar]

Thank you for your work!

[Noluck]

I know that took time to test! Thanks for the information and blue end up.

 

---

[- Sonic -]

I want try asap it

[VDV]

very good, but what are your PC spec`s?

[RosyPlays]

11 hours ago, VDV said:

very good, but what are your PC spec`s?

 

On 4/23/2021 at 12:02 PM, RosyPlays said:

Here are my computer specs:
CPU: i5-7600K 4 Cores Overclocked to 4.5GHz.
Memory: 2x8GB(16) DDR4 2400MHz.
SSD: Crucial M.2 1TB SSD 2400MB/s Reading Speed and 1800MB/s Writing Speed. <---Highly Recommended if you are using a hard drive
GPU: MSI GTX1060 6GB X VR Ready.
Screen: 1080p 240Hz 27Inch Curved AOC.
VR Headset: Oculus Quest 2 via Air Link 5408x2736 90Hz. (25-45FPS with same settings as 2D)

Also I have got a second setup with these specs:
CPU: i7-9700K 8 Cores 4.5GHz.
Memory: 2x8GB(16) DDR4 3600MHz.
SSD: Crucial P2 M.2 1TB SSD 2400MB/s.
GPU: Zotac RTX 3070 8GB.
Screen: ~32Inch 1080p 75Hz Samsung TV.
VR Headset: Oculus Quest 2 via Air Link 5408x2736 90Hz. (45-60fps with max settings in VR).

[- Sonic -]

thank you...a good setting for my 4790k and 1070 with 16GB of ram...4YA MP run better now.

[RosyPlays]

Recommendations for anyone who wants to play Mariana Islands on decent FPS and have ok graphics:
Lowering Visibility Range - from Ultra to Medium, increased 8FPS. (Objects Visibility)
Lowering Forest Detail Factor - from 1 to 0.1, increased 9FPS. (Trees Textures)
Lowering Forest Visibility - from 100% to 30%, increased 6FPS. (Trees Visibility) 
Lowering Water - from High to Low, increased 7-17FPS over water. (Noticeable when side to side images).
Grass/Clutter - 0.  (Grass).
SSAO - OFF. (Slightly noticeable when side to side images).
SSAA - OFF. (FPS KILLER) (You can use MSAA instead).

All adds up to 40FPS increase when flying low over the islands. 

Edited July 1, 2021 by RosyPlays

[RosyPlays]

I tried the same settings as above but 80% Forest Visibility to see Trees.
20FPS when flying super low to the ground.
30FPS when flying 2000FT above the ground. 
40FPS when flying 7000FT or higher above the ground.
64FPS when flying 10NM away from the Islands.
80FPS when flying 40NM away from the Islands. 
 

On 4/23/2021 at 12:02 PM, RosyPlays said:

CPU: i5-7600K 4 Cores Overclocked to 4.5GHz.
Memory: 2x8GB(16) DDR4 2400MHz.
SSD: Crucial M.2 1TB SSD 2400MB/s Reading Speed and 1800MB/s Writing Speed. <---Highly Recommended if you are using a hard drive
GPU: MSI GTX1060 6GB X VR Ready.
Screen: 1080p 240Hz 27Inch Curved AOC.

Here are some screenshots I have taken on Mariana Islands:

Edited July 1, 2021 by RosyPlays

[Flia]

Very nice guide RosyPlays. Thank you very much.

Edited July 1, 2021 by Flia

[zildac]

This is useful info thankyou. But given my specs I think 30FPS for this map (as great looking as it is) is not really acceptable. And turning all my sliders down seems a little overkill to achieve what I can get in Syria for example with my exisitng settings. Oh and I am using VR which I appreciate has an impact.

[Senchay]

I have a weird issue with fps in the new map too. For whatever reason it seems it gets stuck at 30 fps for me. I get 60 on vsync in all the other ones but here it stays fixed at 30 and wont budge. It doesnt go down to 29 and not up to 31, it stays at exactly 30 fps, in every camera and setting.

 

What can that be?

 

Those show the counter bottom right. Both are the freeflights from quickstart menu that come the Regions. Bottom right is the fps counter.

 

Now you make it sound like its just overall lower performance in this map? But my 30 fps seems very "stable". It doesnt even budge by a single frame/s. It really feels like its some kind of lock. But i will try those settings and see if it will change the fps. I alreay went down with a few things and it was the very same 30 than on max settings.

 

 

 

 

 

RTX 2080 (no oc)
I 7700K (no oc)

Stable version

WQHD

[Hiob]

V-Sync does that depending on the settings.

If it can't reach 60 (on a 60Hz Monitor) it will lock to 30.

Deactiveate V-sync and you will probably have something between 55 and 35...

[Senchay]

Edit: that really was it. Without VS its going from 45 to 55. 

 

you mean DCS vsync? Ive not noticed some behavior like this in hundreds of other 3d apps/games.
But if its the case i guess its something good, at least the rate is constant then.

Edited July 1, 2021 by Senchay

[Hiob]

Performance is generally better (not necessarily FPS but latency) without any V-sync.

But some peolpe (including me) hate the screen tearing. Especially with a head tracking device in use.

 

If you don‘t like it without, you can try the different v-sync options in the nvidia control panel OR use the ingame v-sync.

 

I am not sure which is the best, performance wise. I haven‘t noticed to much difference.

 

If you can use g-sync (g-sync capable monitor) you can scrap v-sync and go with it.

[Senchay]

All good from my side. I dont think its a bad thing to have it like this. I just never heard of it working this way. But its for sure correct what you have said. Thanks again.

[KoN]

Thank you testing in the Hind .

Works a treat on lets say 20 people on line . 

Edited July 6, 2021 by KoN

[JIMJAM]

All the other maps "I have them all" run great. Just a few days ago loaded the Marianas map and just wanted to post my specs for anyone interested.

I7 11700K Z590 AURUS 5.2 water cooled MHZ 32 GIGS 3080TI SSD

1080P Most settings maxed. Smooth but crawls even in helis. No stutters or tearing but obviously very demanding. Preload radius made no difference in load times or during flight. Main culprits appear to be the trees which if reduced improved fps, reducing all graphics options to 1/2 made the map usable.

That said, plan to build up and mission with AI and see what happens.

[Igor4U]

Posted ABOVE:  Great Tips on Rendering Options & Frame Rate Improvement - TANKS !

 

Recently upgraded DCSW 2.5 to 2.7 and experienced 30fps Drop against pretty much all Scenarios.     Was down to 20fps doing a Low Level Tour of Guam (Marianas) in the F-16C.

 

BEFORE:
Baseline Scenario:    F-16C  -  Nevada  -  Ready on the Ramp        32fps

Terrain Textures:            High to Low

Clouds:                           Standard to Low

SSAA (Anti-Aliasing)     To Off

Clutter/Grass:                1300 to 1000

Forest Vis:                      90% to 80%
Forest Detail:                 .9 to .8
Scenery Detail:              .9 to .8

AFTER:
Adjusted Scenario:    F-16C  -  Nevada  -  Ready on the Ramp        60+fps

 

NOTES:
- Forest Vis & Detail not a Factor in Baseline Scenario (Nevada), 
but should help in Caucasus & Marianas.
- Biggest Improvement probably turning SSAA (Anti-Aliasing) to Off.  
With 2,560x 1,600 Resolution - Don't notice a Change.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Igor4U

[RosyPlays]

On 8/11/2021 at 1:31 AM, Igor4U said:

AFTER:

Maybe you should take a look at my post again.