A YouTube to free up VRAM for WMR and SteamVR

[TED]

Yep exactly. Then bump up the custom multiplier per app setting to squeeze out some more resolution. Using a amd 6900 xt so it copes very well with the higher resolution. 

[AKA_Clutter]

On 9/13/2021 at 1:56 PM, Brainfreeze said:

Hmm.  For me the VRAM is maxed out during the game anyway (9.7 out of 10GB) with or without a VRscene and not sure I can see a difference of 'in game' performance.

I see to be getting the same results.  I have only tried removing SteamVR home at this point.  I do see a drop in GPU RAM allocation of about 1.7 GM but in DCS (Blue FLag Caucus 80's) fpsVR reported 9.7 GB allocation in both cases.  frame times and cpu times seemed similar. I also didn't notice a reduction in shimmer/ghosting. 

 

I also notice that with SteamVR Home loaded, fpsVR reported a drop in GPU RAM allocation when loading DCS.  This implies that SteamVR Home doesn't stay in memory when a game is loaded.

 

 

Bottom line- What am I missing/doing wrong?

Edited September 15, 2021 by AKA_Clutter

[Strong05]

Just a warning, I couldn't find this app on the windows store.  That with the warning when I tried to install and I aborted.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Strong05

[trevoC]

why not just avoid steam all together with openXR (for those that aren't on steam DCS oviously)

[Wolf8312]

13 hours ago, trevoC said:

why not just avoid steam all together with openXR (for those that aren't on steam DCS oviously)

In MSFS it works perfectly but that is officially supported. With DCS it's just a hack and so like all mods (with DCS) without official support it can end up being just another load of trouble (especially as it requires a clean installation of DCS). I just feel like theres too many variables to contend with already without adding more and to be honest on a VIVE kit steam VR has advantages of its own.

[trevoC]

36 minutes ago, Wolf8312 said:

In MSFS it works perfectly but that is officially supported. With DCS it's just a hack and so like all mods (with DCS) without official support it can end up being just another load of trouble (especially as it requires a clean installation of DCS). I just feel like theres too many variables to contend with already without adding more and to be honest on a VIVE kit steam VR has advantages of its own.

It does not require a clean install. Not sure where anyone would get that idea. Its a single file that needs to be copied to the DCS dir. It removes the overhead of steam completely. I'm not sure what your concept of a "hack" is. Its all just software. I think there are so many "comprehensive" openXR guides that most can't see the tree in the forest which is just the openXR library that in and of itself is extremely simple to use and implement while offering immediate benefits.

To your point, if ED implemented this more "officially", it would remove any confusion.

[Wolf8312]

22 minutes ago, trevoC said:

It does not require a clean install. Not sure where anyone would get that idea. Its a single file that needs to be copied to the DCS dir. It removes the overhead of steam completely. I'm not sure what your concept of a "hack" is. Its all just software. I think there are so many "comprehensive" openXR guides that most can't see the tree in the forest which is just the openXR library that in and of itself is extremely simple to use and implement while offering immediate benefits.

To your point, if ED implemented this more "officially", it would remove any confusion.

'Hack' just mean's its a mod or to put it another way you modify some files yourself to make the game behave/run differently. But I'm just explaining why I don't like to use it (or any other mods with the constantly updating/changing DCS) as over the years I've found it not worth the hassle. But I'm not saying everyone should follow me in that.

I'm also on an index and have to say even having tried the alternative I am happy with perfomance.

 

But the guide on this forum recommends a clean install/repair:
 

Quote

 

Instructions

1) Clean/Repair DCS

Start with a clean baseline and resolution settings

You *must* start with a clean installation of DCS. This doesn’t mean a reinstall. Just thorough clean/repair and check.  For standalone installation do this via the Skatezilla utility (link below). Do a clean and a repair, make sure that the checkbox to check all the files is selected and additionally

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Wolf8312

[edmuss]

The reasoning for having a clean installation is that it eliminates a whole host of potential pitfalls from previously installed mods and hacks. As this was a very new setup (DCS via openxr) the less time troubleshooting works caused by not having a clean install the better, especially as it takes time away from the devs who have to go on a wild goose chase to fix a problem they didn't cause, thusly delaying further development.

ED have actively embraced using openxr, they removed the only file that needed to be manually removed and no modifications are needed to the DCS install at all to make it work. Undoubtedly the new engine will support openxr natively but it's wasted time to add it to the current engine.

When this thread was made there was no openxr support with DCS, it was only implemented about 9 months ago

Edited December 31, 2022 by edmuss

[Wolf8312]

Just to be clear mate. Does the toolkit/openXR no longer require a DCS repair through skatezilla?

[edmuss]

You can run openxr without cleaning at all, however if there are left over dlls and the like in there that don't play nicely with the toolkit or open composite you're then chasing your tail to find out what's wrong.

If you only ever ran vanilla you'll likely be ok, but given that most VR users have tried every hacky trick, mod and placebo under the sun in order to get reasonable performance then it was always most sensible to start with a clean sheet for the 5 minutes of time it takes to do.

[Wolf8312]

14 hours ago, edmuss said:

You can run openxr without cleaning at all, however if there are left over dlls and the like in there that don't play nicely with the toolkit or open composite you're then chasing your tail to find out what's wrong.

If you only ever ran vanilla you'll likely be ok, but given that most VR users have tried every hacky trick, mod and placebo under the sun in order to get reasonable performance then it was always most sensible to start with a clean sheet for the 5 minutes of time it takes to do.

Well to be honest my repairs take a long time. Have got the toolkit working again nicely (using dll file) without a repair and it seems to be running fine. Not sure I've gained much performance wise (though I do believe its somehow better graphically) but its defo worth it for the painfully long loading times I was getting and I'm still able to use steam VR its just running through open composite. Hope it will remain stable after updates though I won't be updating until 2.8 is improved anyway I don't think.

[trevoC]

20 hours ago, Wolf8312 said:

Just to be clear mate. Does the toolkit/openXR no longer require a DCS repair through skatezilla?

23 hours ago, Wolf8312 said:

 

 

it does not... as I originally stated. It requires none of this (hacks included)

just copy a single file.

 

[Willie Nelson]

Does anyone know if ditching these two "rooms" makes a difference once DCS is up and running or are they dormant anyway......?

[Wolf8312]

2 hours ago, trevoC said:

 

it does not... as I originally stated. It requires none of this (hacks included)

just copy a single file.

 

I was just following the guide on this forum, and was in no position to know if what you were saying would be more reliable than the guide. As it is an official thread that everyone seems to use for guidance, I assumed the guide would be more reliable and that I should follow the instructions (clean/repair) carefully.

But by 'copy a single file' do you mean overwrite the openvr.dll file in the DCS bin folder with the 64 bit open composite dll file? Do you accept its a mod, or we are modifying/altering some files?

Cause that's all I really meant by 'hack' bud

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by Wolf8312

[trevoC]

5 hours ago, Wolf8312 said:

I was just following the guide on this forum, and was in no position to know if what you were saying would be more reliable than the guide. As it is an official thread that everyone seems to use for guidance, I assumed the guide would be more reliable and that I should follow the instructions (clean/repair) carefully.

But by 'copy a single file' do you mean overwrite the openvr.dll file in the DCS bin folder with the 64 bit open composite dll file? Do you accept its a mod, or we are modifying/altering some files?

Cause that's all I really meant by 'hack' bud

 

 

no portion of DCS is changed. You are just switching the compositor from steam vr to openxr with that file. Not sure what undertone "bud" has when my original post was to help you, but I'll chalk it up to me reading to far into it.

I'm a developer by trade (over 30 years). My advice to you is to take these "guides" with a grain of salt. They are designed for users with zero experience and do not want to hear all the complaints from users who can't get it working. "fresh install" nonsense is to ensure everyone is starting from the same slate. nothing more, and nothing to do with openxr requirements.

Have a good day.

[edmuss]

54 minutes ago, trevoC said:

"fresh install" nonsense is to ensure everyone is starting from the same slate. nothing more, and nothing to do with openxr requirements.

This is correct, if you have a known good base to start with it's much easier to troubleshoot if it doesn't work

@nikoelwrote the guide over several iterations whilst in direct communication with the openxr toolkit devs, he and I were some of the first adopters who got it working in DCS. At first there was virtually nothing you see now, any settings had to be changed via registry edits until the software matured more towards its current state.

That guide should be considered THE definitive one for DCS.

[trevoC]

58 minutes ago, edmuss said:

This is correct, if you have a known good base to start with it's much easier to troubleshoot if it doesn't work

Wasn't knocking your guide. I understand where you are coming from. It the same reason my first response is "did you restart your computer" when the secretary calls.

Unfortunately to cover all your basis you must be comprehensive. The flip side of that is that some users can't see the tree for the forest and think the entire thing is too complex to integrate when in fact its very simple. Feature creep applies to documentation more than anything.

[Wolf8312]

16 hours ago, trevoC said:

no portion of DCS is changed. You are just switching the compositor from steam vr to openxr with that file. Not sure what undertone "bud" has when my original post was to help you, but I'll chalk it up to me reading to far into it.

I'm a developer by trade (over 30 years). My advice to you is to take these "guides" with a grain of salt. They are designed for users with zero experience and do not want to hear all the complaints from users who can't get it working. "fresh install" nonsense is to ensure everyone is starting from the same slate. nothing more, and nothing to do with openxr requirements.

Have a good day.

No mate I used 'bud' because I didn't want to escalate, or it to seem like I was asking a snarky rhetorical question if I simply said "Do you accept its a mod, or we are modifying/altering some files?"

I really didn't know the answer to my own question, but felt that if it *was* a mod (and I assumed it was) I could then clarify why I was using the word 'hack' by which I meant mod and thought you might have taken to mean something else. Lol I've made a right mess here!

Wolf8312 quietly exits!

[trevoC]

On 1/2/2023 at 7:10 AM, Wolf8312 said:

No mate I used 'bud' because I didn't want to escalate, or it to seem like I was asking a snarky rhetorical question if I simply said "Do you accept its a mod, or we are modifying/altering some files?"

I really didn't know the answer to my own question, but felt that if it *was* a mod (and I assumed it was) I could then clarify why I was using the word 'hack' by which I meant mod and thought you might have taken to mean something else. Lol I've made a right mess here!

Wolf8312 quietly exits!

Well nuance in language across regions worldwide can be complex which is why I gave you the benefit of the doubt. No harm done. In Canada It would be hard to interpret that without some form of sarcasm "bud" meaning "not bud". Such is the nature of forums where everything is interpreted with a little more emphasis than intended. no worries. I misread the intent of the question myself.