DCS Performance with VR - What is truely needed?

[lardo5150]

Have not played in 10 years.

I was looking to get back into it, but with VR.

I read how great it is, but also hear that you need a massive machine to get it to work right.

What is truely needed to run DCS in VR?

How does it look with just an average system?

The other thing that is holding me back, is the cost of everything today.

[speed-of-heat]

I would say a lot will depend on the headset you are using a Reverb G2 will need more processing power than say a rift-s  to operate it at its native resolution... even then VR will stress the most heavily specified system today. that said i got hooked on VR with a 1070ti & 6600k with 32gb of ram , ssd and an oddessy+ ... 

[longuich]

Depends on what you mean by that. “To get by” or to get a photorealistic experience.


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[Baldrick33]

Also a lot depends on what you plan to use DCS for. Some of the lighter weight single player missions run pretty well, especially on the Caucasus map. More complex single player missions and some of the newer maps can struggle with VR, multiplayer with lots of assets likewise.

[lardo5150]

Is it possible to play with no issues, on all high settings?

Or even with the beefy system, you still have to play on low settings?

I would be using the Oculus quest 2

[Mr_sukebe]

20 hours ago, lardo5150 said:

Is it possible to play with no issues, on all high settings?

Or even with the beefy system, you still have to play on low settings?

I would be using the Oculus quest 2

Even with a 3090 you’re going to need compromise on some of the visual settings.

Hopefully, the incoming of Vulkan, multi core support and potentially foveated rendering will help.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Mr_sukebe

[DerekSpeare]

There is no computer hardware available to let DCS run in VR with everything set to anything near maximum; it just doesn't exist. 

I have a 11700k at ~5 with a 1080ti and Reverb and the best I get with decent visuals is with nearly everything turned down and certainly no campaign or too many objects.  Keep your expectations low...but it's worth it for the experience alone.  ED has a massive amount of work to do so that DCS can reach its full potential for VR use, though I'm not hopeful they will work at that. 

NB:  if the blessed day ever comes to let me get a 3080ti, i may be able to turn a few things up a click order...maybe. 

Edited December 3, 2021 by DerekSpeare

[longuich]

There is no computer hardware available to let DCS run in VR with everything set to anything near maximum; it just doesn't exist. 
I have a 11700k at ~5 with a 1080ti and Reverb and the best I get with decent visuals is with nearly everything turned down and certainly no campaign or too many objects.  Keep your expectations low...but it's worth it for the experience alone.  ED has a massive amount of work to do so that DCS can reach its full potential for VR use, though I'm not hopeful they will work at that. 
NB:  if the blessed day ever comes to let me get a 3080ti, i may be able to turn a few things up a click order...maybe. 

My system is quite close to that although I do have a 3090 and nvme drives. I can run *some* maps and missions with the “high” graphics preset with shadows to flat.


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[Taz1004]

My system hasn't changed much for about 5 years.  Still on GTX 1080 (non Ti).  But my VR image quality and performance has improved greatly in last year through mods, SteamVR improvements, post process filters, and NIS.

I actually don't feel the urgency to upgrade my GPU currently.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Taz1004

[Lange_666]

I'm in the same boat system wise.
I use 3 settings, high for offline 2D play (trial and test runs, learning stuff), a below high setting for online 2D play (but on some servers this setting is to high, even when i'm alone on it as a single player) and a medium to low setting for everything VR. It's just the steps back i need to take to get a smooth (as possible) experience.
Expect also a lot more shimmering, certainly around clouds.
But... even on this lower setting and the extra shimmer, VR is just amazing.
Just don't set your expectations to high and you're in for a threat.

[The_Nephilim]

2 things are needed  Patience is first and a really good system..

[longuich]

2 things are needed  Patience is first and a really good system..

that is true. The best you can get is the thing you should get.


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[A2597]

I got hooked with a OG Oculus Rift CV1 and a GTX770, then base GTX 1080 (non ti).

Then I got an RTX 3070 and R5 3600 and 32GB Ram.

[Rav]

I have the Reverb G2 and a 3080. Running on mostly high settings, full resolution, MSAA 2X and PD of 100% I get roughly 50-70fps on offline caucasus, which to me offers the best compromise of quality and smoothness. I'm very happy now that I didn't settle for a lower GPU (I wasn't planning on getting into VR when I bought it).

[jurinko]

Half year back with version 2.6.4 I ran DCS at 100% res with almost highest setting with Reverb G2 and it was fluid as honey. Now it is kinda screwed performance wise and I had to tone down MSAA to zero and ground shadows to flat and still it is not as good as before. We have new clouds and far better water, but anyway..

 

5600x, 3070, 32GB ram

[markturner1960]

15 hours ago, Rav said:

I have the Reverb G2 and a 3080. Running on mostly high settings, full resolution, MSAA 2X and PD of 100% I get roughly 50-70fps on offline caucasus, which to me offers the best compromise of quality and smoothness. I'm very happy now that I didn't settle for a lower GPU (I wasn't planning on getting into VR when I bought it).

Wow, check my PC specs, I am currently using a VP2 and getting about 40 FPS in the same scenario......thats 80% app specific SS and 100% global. Gives me approx 20 MS GPU frametime

[RealDCSpilot]

DCS and VR does bring memories back like the good old question: "But can it run Crysis?". The situation is very similar. You can throw top high end hardware at it and get a variety of results. But good hardware means not just one high end component, it means a combination of all components. A bad example is trying to run a high-end, high resolution VR HMD with a high-end GPU and low-end CPU. Or a high resolution VR HMD with a mid-end GPU and a mid-end CPU. This might be enough for a singleplayer session. But for a full blown MP experience, let's say 40+ players and a huge battlefield other components are also important, like more than 32GB RAM and a HEDT motherboard + CPU with a quad channel RAM controller plus a RTX 3090 with 24GB VRAM. In these scenarios DCS will use everything it can get, because it has to move huge chunks of data through your system (SSD to RAM to VRAM, everything managed by the CPU). Maybe this changes with the next version of DCS's engine (Vulkan/DX12 and better multi core support).
Quad channel architecture is often ignored by gamers, but i see the difference with my 64GB 3600MHz DDR4 package that easily manages 96150 MB/s since a couple of years while even the latest DDR5 memory and gaming mainboard still struggle to get there or do not even reach 60% of what a DDR4 quad channel system can deliver.

Edited December 6, 2021 by RealDCSpilot

[Burt]

I demand high settings and clarity. My i7-9700K and a 2080 Super was not cutting it for my G2. What was needed for me was a new rig i9-10900KF - DCS on a M.2 NVMe and a RTX3090 w/64gb of Ram and Speed of Heats guide. 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Burt

[dburne]

1 hour ago, Burt said:

I demand high settings and clarity. My i7-9700K and a 2080 Super was not cutting it for my G2. What was needed for me was a new rig i9-10900KF - DCS on a M.2 NVMe and a RTX3090 w/64gb of Ram and Speed of Heats guide. 

 

 

Sweet!

I am holding off one more year on a new build.

[Burt]

Also you Don helped me when I first got my  G2 first VR ever and I was soo so lost excited but lost.

[Rav]

5 hours ago, markturner1960 said:

Wow, check my PC specs, I am currently using a VP2 and getting about 40 FPS in the same scenario......thats 80% app specific SS and 100% global. Gives me approx 20 MS GPU frametime

I did some more test and have a correction to make: I get around 45fps down in the weeds and 55-60 up high.

[C3PO]

On 12/3/2021 at 8:29 PM, DerekSpeare said:

There is no computer hardware available to let DCS run in VR with everything set to anything near maximum; it just doesn't exist. 

I have a 11700k at ~5 with a 1080ti and Reverb and the best I get with decent visuals is with nearly everything turned down and certainly no campaign or too many objects.  Keep your expectations low...but it's worth it for the experience alone.  ED has a massive amount of work to do so that DCS can reach its full potential for VR use, though I'm not hopeful they will work at that. 

NB:  if the blessed day ever comes to let me get a 3080ti, i may be able to turn a few things up a click order...maybe. 

 

Yes ... the 1080Ti is the weak link there...

Worth mentioning: Matt has recently said that there is a massive focus on VR and in particular optimising for mid systems ... it means going through all the shaders - amongst other things - and that takes time. But be under no illusion VR is a huge focus for ED - and so it should be.

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

On 12/3/2021 at 8:52 PM, Baldrick33 said:

Also a lot depends on what you plan to use DCS for. Some of the lighter weight single player missions run pretty well, especially on the Caucasus map. More complex single player missions and some of the newer maps can struggle with VR, multiplayer with lots of assets likewise.

This can´t be stated enough. It´s not about the machine, but the mission. I fly with 80fps single player Bombing range mission on Marianas, and then struggle with same settings, at 27fps when starting up my Viper for a 4 user Op Liberation mission at the Gulf.

[DerekSpeare]

4 hours ago, C3PO said:

Yes ... the 1080Ti is the weak link there...

Worth mentioning: Matt has recently said that there is a massive focus on VR and in particular optimising for mid systems ... it means going through all the shaders - amongst other things - and that takes time. But be under no illusion VR is a huge focus for ED - and so it should be.

lol...yes...if only I didn't have to sell a kidney to get a 3080ti...maybe when 2024 rolls around I can get one   It would be good for ED to look at optimizing DCS for VR.  Perhaps there are things going on in VR that the flat screeners never encounter and that can be optimized to make VR perform the way it should. 

[dburne]

1 hour ago, DerekSpeare said:

lol...yes...if only I didn't have to sell a kidney to get a 3080ti...maybe when 2024 rolls around I can get one   It would be good for ED to look at optimizing DCS for VR.  Perhaps there are things going on in VR that the flat screeners never encounter and that can be optimized to make VR perform the way it should. 

The more of the user base that buys into VR the more attention these game devs will give to it. Undoubtedly they know exactly what percentage of their user base uses VR.