Quest 2 - v33 - Wow.....

[Hoirtel]

To all other quest 2 users (and others interested). I am wondering what others have experienced with the new v33 software which includes the link sharpening option.

 

As I don't follow oculus roadmaps I didn't even realise this was coming and saw it mentioned in a youtube vid. Oculus always do phased releases and I seem to have been included fairly early as I have it on both PC and headset already. Some people are say you need to enable beta, but I do not run any oculus betas so it is coming out as standard.

 

I have seen quite a considerable increase in clarity/sharpness and it has no performance impact so pretty good all round. Everything inside and outside the cockpit is now much sharper. However I have noticed that this has also increased the aliasing which is probably to be expected. I have tried playing around with other settings including reducing and increasing render settings (all of them) in turn to see if it has an impact, even beyond what I can run just to see if it works or not. So far nothing really reduces it, its not a huge problem as I was living with some aliasing anyway (2x msaa is my normal). Don't like disabling the link sharpening now as I have already got used to it. Might just be hitting the limits of the panels.

 

For reference I run 80hrz at full oculus render scale DCS PD 1 and default SS in debug. Lowering DCS pd or oculus SS (debug) just retains most aliasing and makes cockpit gauges and far distance a little hazy. Raising oculus SS to 1.5 is really sharp, with aliasing a little reduced but this is way beyond the capacity to run at the moment (high/max settings, full resolution, 3090) 

 

I have to say that I kind of don't want to like oculus due to the facebook link/world domination attempts but this headset really does keep delivering and really holds its own now as a PC VR headset. As with all VR is very subjective and everyone has aspects they do and don't like. I have had a G2 previously but went back to oculus.

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

I concurr

 

 

[witwas]

Also have it since this weekend, super sharp image, almost everything is readable in cockpit now.

[Hoirtel]

37 minutes ago, VFGiPJP said:

I concurr

 

 

Thanks, thought it must have been mentioned before. Couldn't find it. Didn't look in the rift thread....

[obsidianuk]

I'm curious - had you folks not tried reshade CAS sharpening? To me it seems very similar results. Of course it's good it's natively added in oculus now!

[Hoirtel]

2 hours ago, obsidianuk said:

I'm curious - had you folks not tried reshade CAS sharpening? To me it seems very similar results. Of course it's good it's natively added in oculus now!

No I've never bothered with 3rd party mods or shaders. Tried a shader mod a while ago for performance reasons and wasn't impressed so never bothered with anything else. 

[Brass2-1]

Shocking improvements for me as well. I’m very pleased. 

[AlpineGTA]

Is this just using the link cable?

 

I tried my Quest 2 the other day over AirLink and didn't notice any difference. I'm running V33.

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Both AirLink and USB connection are supported, as the release notes say.

[Hoirtel]

1 hour ago, AlpineGTA said:

Is this just using the link cable?

 

I tried my Quest 2 the other day over AirLink and didn't notice any difference. I'm running V33.

Yes both link types. But you do need v33 in both headset and PC app. If you check the debug tool it has an option for "Link Sharpening" enabled, disabled and auto. If that's there you will at least know if it's updated. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Hoirtel

[AlpineGTA]

Yes, I have v33 on both. So it's not an option in the settings anywhere? You have to use the debug tool? Do you know if it's enabled or disabled by default?

 

Thanks,

[Hoirtel]

14 minutes ago, AlpineGTA said:

Yes, I have v33 on both. So it's not an option in the settings anywhere? You have to use the debug tool? Do you know if it's enabled or disabled by default?

 

Thanks,

Mine was set to auto by default and I saw the effect. There is options for enabled and disabled. You don't have to use the debug tool but if the option exist and you want to check it's switched on then it is here you can check. Do you know where your debug tool is? 

 

I haven't looked through the settings anywhere for it but I assume it's like asw so there is probably keybinds that do it but I haven't a clue what they are. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Hoirtel

[AlpineGTA]

Yes, I know where the debug tool is. I've seen some people saying they needed to restart the software for it to take effect. It was the first time I've connected my Quest 2 to the PC in ages, I'll have to go back and try it again and toggle it on and off to check it's working. Thanks for the response.

[Hoirtel]

Just now, AlpineGTA said:

Yes, I know where the debug tool is. I've seen some people saying they needed to restart the software for it to take effect. It was the first time I've connected my Quest 2 to the PC in ages, I'll have to go back and try it again and toggle it on and off to check it's working. Thanks for the response.

Oh yeah. Restart can't hurt! Good luck. 

[streakeagle]

I have the Quest 2 and the Reverb G2. While this Quest 2 upgrade might improve the clarity, it still can't compare to the G2. I had to send my G2 away for a month or two for a warranty replacement. I used both the Quest 2 and Rift S in its place. The Quest 2 is about halfway between the G2 and Rift S in image quality/resolution/clarity. Beyond the problems it causes with cockpit instrument/display clarity, I don't care for having my DCS flight time limited by battery life. After going without the G2 for so long, it felt like huge upgrade when I got it back.

 

For VR gaming purposes, like shooter games, the Quest 2's far superior controller tracking more than offsets its inferior graphics. When I play Onward with the G2 I have to struggle to keep my rifle pointing the right direction, especially if I raise it up into my shoulder (i.e. the controller is next to my face). The Quest 2 almost never loses tracking. The G2's better graphics make Onward play better as I can spot and aim at enemies at much greater distances, but that offers little advantage since I can't get my rifle to point straight.

 

After nearly a full year of having the G2 and Quest 2, I can't imaging choosing the Quest 2 over the G2 for PC flight sims. To each his own!

[Hoirtel]

11 hours ago, streakeagle said:

I have the Quest 2 and the Reverb G2. While this Quest 2 upgrade might improve the clarity, it still can't compare to the G2. I had to send my G2 away for a month or two for a warranty replacement. I used both the Quest 2 and Rift S in its place. The Quest 2 is about halfway between the G2 and Rift S in image quality/resolution/clarity. Beyond the problems it causes with cockpit instrument/display clarity, I don't care for having my DCS flight time limited by battery life. After going without the G2 for so long, it felt like huge upgrade when I got it back.

 

For VR gaming purposes, like shooter games, the Quest 2's far superior controller tracking more than offsets its inferior graphics. When I play Onward with the G2 I have to struggle to keep my rifle pointing the right direction, especially if I raise it up into my shoulder (i.e. the controller is next to my face). The Quest 2 almost never loses tracking. The G2's better graphics make Onward play better as I can spot and aim at enemies at much greater distances, but that offers little advantage since I can't get my rifle to point straight.

 

After nearly a full year of having the G2 and Quest 2, I can't imaging choosing the Quest 2 over the G2 for PC flight sims. To each his own!

Yeah as I said in my OP, VR  is very subjective. Everyone likes and dislikes certain aspects of the different hardware (if they get the chance to try more than one!). We are all doing this mostly very separately and there are little opportunities for people to experience what others see on other systems. to My own experience through rift s, G2, Q2 is different to yours, but I don't want to make this into a hardware v hardware thread.

[Lurker]

I just wish that the HP Reverb G2 ran on something similar to the Oculus software. It hands down beats WMR, SteamVR and any other combination of VR APIs. For ease of use and efficiency there is no better software\headset combo than Oculus. 

[Hoirtel]

Just now, Lurker said:

I just wish that the HP Reverb G2 ran on something similar to the Oculus software. It hands down beats WMR, SteamVR and any other combination of VR APIs. For ease of use and efficiency there is no better software\headset combo than Oculus. 

Is that because oculus is natively integrated into DCS whereas WMR isn't. I think this goes back to the oculus CV1 days as they were the first to hit the consumer market properly. I think OpenXR is changing all this and so will probably level the playfield in this respect. 

[streakeagle]

If Oculus would make a headset that kept all of the advantages of the Quest 2 but also have image quality equal or better than the G2, I would buy it in a heartbeat. It would also be nice if they could match the comfort and audio of the G2. I think I like the comfort/fit of the Rift S more than any of them, but I preferred the original Oculus audio and the very similar G2 audio to the Rift S and Quest 2 solutions. When using a headset with a PC, I also want the option to not be dependent on battery power. I have no life and sometimes spend as many hours as my eyes and face can take in DCS VR. I take breaks to get fresh air and cool off, but often play much longer on weekends than any battery will support. 

[dburne]

Only way I could see myself buying Oculus again is if the headset had:
No Facebook requirement.

Native Display Port connection.

And a really good image.

 

If it had the above I would buy in a heartbeat. Love their software.

In the meantime I am so loving the Vive Pro 2 with Lighthouse 2.0 tracking and controllers.

[Hoirtel]

So I have recently been using the Nvidia Control Panel MFAA set to on (on top of DCS MSAAx2) and I really do feel that this helps reduce some of the newer aliasing that the link sharpening has brought in. The MFAA option has always worked in DCS VR but previous had very little effect visual effect combined with a minor impact on performance and I never felt it was worth it. 

 

I have been doing some testing just on my own bench tracks and but not recording frame times etc. I mainly do it all subjectively. MFAA still has some minor performance impact but I am now going to fly with it for a while as I really think it is helping with the new aliasing problems. The most obvious visual impact I can see where is making a difference is the long grass. If you have grass and clutter on, load up a C&D aircraft (I've been using channel map) and look out. Without MFAA the link sharpening really creates many small sparkles across the grass tips MFAA on seems to really reduce this.

 

I'd be interested to see what others think if they also try this.  I may try and do some proper frame time recordings to really gauge performance impact.

Edited October 1, 2021 by Hoirtel

[Enduro14]

well I am on day 2 with the Q2 and don't notice sparkles on the grass but do on other objects but that was the same in a Rift s and OD +  the past couple days.  I do notice much worse shimmering and sparkles in the Q2 if I don't run it at its Native res in the Oculus App.  Which is render resolution of 1.5/5408 x 2736.  Its actually a really good picture and any graphical issues is on ED to fix with its Deferred render or whatever Frankenstein graphics engine it has currently.

 

  Since 2.7 the shimmering is quite bad compared to before,  also tested it on 4k monitor and same issues on that.

[Hoirtel]

4 hours ago, Enduro14 said:

well I am on day 2 with the Q2 and don't notice sparkles on the grass but do on other objects but that was the same in a Rift s and OD +  the past couple days.  I do notice much worse shimmering and sparkles in the Q2 if I don't run it at its Native res in the Oculus App.  Which is render resolution of 1.5/5408 x 2736.  Its actually a really good picture and any graphical issues is on ED to fix with its Deferred render or whatever Frankenstein graphics engine it has currently.

 

  Since 2.7 the shimmering is quite bad compared to before,  also tested it on 4k monitor and same issues on that.

Yeah I think the shimmering did get worse in 2.7 but this is also a VR issue as it happens other VR titles too. High resolutions are the best way to reduce it but in the future with higher res displays and faster GPUs it will improve. 

 

Are you running oculus v33? Do you have link Sharpening enabled?