OpenXR for Varjo AERO using OpenCompositeACC mod: works great, very smooth

[Supmua]

Hate to say this, but with the latest update including SteamVR beta I get better GPU frametime with SteamVR by 1.5ms.  Plus the ability to run Reshade 5 with lumasharpen which makes the ground detail really pop.  So I'm back to SteamVR mode for now.  You can also lock fps to 45 using Varjo Base app which can make flying pretty smooth if the avg fps is above that.

[dburne]

23 minutes ago, Supmua said:

Hate to say this, but with the latest update including SteamVR beta I get better GPU frametime with SteamVR by 1.5ms.  Plus the ability to run Reshade 5 with lumasharpen which makes the ground detail really pop.  So I'm back to SteamVR mode for now.  You can also lock fps to 45 using Varjo Base app which can make flying pretty smooth if the avg fps is above that.

Ok I was considering giving this another try thinking maybe it might have improved since I last tried it with my Aero, sounds like I still probably should hold off. Thanks for the info.

When you say you are locking to 45 fps with Varjo Base you are talking about enabling vsync in Varjo Base? My fps are mid 50's to lower 60's and was thinking about trying that again myself.

[Supmua]

41 minutes ago, dburne said:

Ok I was considering giving this another try thinking maybe it might have improved since I last tried it with my Aero, sounds like I still probably should hold off. Thanks for the info.

When you say you are locking to 45 fps with Varjo Base you are talking about enabling vsync in Varjo Base? My fps are mid 50's to lower 60's and was thinking about trying that again myself.

It doesn't hurt to try anything just to see for yourself.  For OpenXR just use the zip I made and you can just run DCS repair to restore the old OpenVR_API.dll to go back to OpenVR.  But from my quick test flights, SteamVR+Reshade yield better framerate (but really not much better), sharpness, ~0.4 higher gamma value.  Interestingly, Varjo's OpenVR is still borked with 4 windows in the mirror and bad stuttering (although visual quality is the best compared to OpenXR or Steam's OpenVR, this makes me suspect that it runs default at the Highest Setting which is like >8K total horizontal pixels--I could probably try that mode again with PD of 0.8 or something but I'd rather be playing at this point).

Not Vsync.  If you bring up Analytics window, there's a bunch of other options.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Supmua

[dburne]

9 hours ago, Supmua said:

It doesn't hurt to try anything just to see for yourself.  For OpenXR just use the zip I made and you can just run DCS repair to restore the old OpenVR_API.dll to go back to OpenVR.  But from my quick test flights, SteamVR+Reshade yield better framerate (but really not much better), sharpness, ~0.4 higher gamma value.  Interestingly, Varjo's OpenVR is still borked with 4 windows in the mirror and bad stuttering (although visual quality is the best compared to OpenXR or Steam's OpenVR, this makes me suspect that it runs default at the Highest Setting which is like >8K total horizontal pixels--I could probably try that mode again with PD of 0.8 or something but I'd rather be playing at this point).

Not Vsync.  If you bring up Analytics window, there's a bunch of other options.

 

 

Wow don't think I have ever seen that display over on the right hand side. i will check it out thanks.

[Supmua]

18 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

Wow don't think I have ever seen that display over on the right hand side. i will check it out thanks.

Make sure to click on the icon in the lower left corner to bring up the bottom toolbar.

Varjo's GUI still carries corporate philosophy where tech support sets up everything and everyone has the same setup and uses exact same settings, so a lot of options are hidden away.  This will hopefully change since they seem to have sold a lot of consumer headsets since the introduction of the Aero.  Consumer segment in general demands more transparency and variety of options, because gamers will use whatever the heck they want to suit their needs.

[dburne]

57 minutes ago, Supmua said:

Make sure to click on the icon in the lower left corner to bring up the bottom toolbar.

Varjo's GUI still carries corporate philosophy where tech support sets up everything and everyone has the same setup and uses exact same settings, so a lot of options are hidden away.  This will hopefully change since they seem to have sold a lot of consumer headsets since the introduction of the Aero.  Consumer segment in general demands more transparency and variety of options, because gamers will use whatever the heck they want to suit their needs.

 

Ok got it changed to 45 fps. I noticed doing this does indeed turn vsync on. I will be resuming my learning process in the Apache a little later this morning, will be interesting to see how it does for me set to 45 fps thanks.

[dburne]

3 hours ago, Supmua said:

Make sure to click on the icon in the lower left corner to bring up the bottom toolbar.

Varjo's GUI still carries corporate philosophy where tech support sets up everything and everyone has the same setup and uses exact same settings, so a lot of options are hidden away.  This will hopefully change since they seem to have sold a lot of consumer headsets since the introduction of the Aero.  Consumer segment in general demands more transparency and variety of options, because gamers will use whatever the heck they want to suit their needs.

 

So for this to work does the analytics windows need to remain open and running? I notice mine defaults back to 90 fps setting if I close analytics window. Vsync remains on but it does not lock to 45 fps, mine still fluctuates.

[dburne]

44 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

So for this to work does the analytics windows need to remain open and running? I notice mine defaults back to 90 fps setting if I close analytics window. Vsync remains on but it does not lock to 45 fps, mine still fluctuates.

Ok so answered my own question I guess. This time I chose 45 fps and left analytics window running in the background. This time my fps was indeed locked to 45 fps and seemed pretty darn smooth on the Marianas Weapons Range for the Apache. Will run it like this for a while and see how I like it.

[Supmua]

Yeah need to leave that window running. That’s why I said GUI could be improved, or may be that option isn’t quite ready for primetime. 

[Str][ker]

Quick question for those who know..  

Do I need to use steam VR to fly DCS on the Aero? I'm also using the OpenXR / Toolkit stuff which works well (\D3DCompiler_47*.* b)files: opencomposite.ini and openvr_api.dll). OpenXR is on and OpenVR is off in Vario Base. I was told that I need to include the "--force_steam_VR" command line switch but then I saw someone else say I don't need Steam VR. I'll dig around in this thread to see if I missed the answer to this in case someone else said it already. Thanks in advance all!

[dburne]

28 minutes ago, Str][ker said:

Quick question for those who know..  

Do I need to use steam VR to fly DCS on the Aero? I'm also using the OpenXR / Toolkit stuff which works well (\D3DCompiler_47*.* b)files: opencomposite.ini and openvr_api.dll). OpenXR is on and OpenVR is off in Vario Base. I was told that I need to include the "--force_steam_VR" command line switch but then I saw someone else say I don't need Steam VR. I'll dig around in this thread to see if I missed the answer to this in case someone else said it already. Thanks in advance all!

Yes you will need the force steam vr switch in there in order for Open Composite to take control from it. I personally found I still prefer to use Steam VR instead of this mod, but definitely try and see which you like better. Plus you still need Steam VR for the Aero headset tracking.

Edited April 29, 2022 by dburne

[Supmua]

1 hour ago, Str][ker said:

Quick question for those who know..  

Do I need to use steam VR to fly DCS on the Aero? I'm also using the OpenXR / Toolkit stuff which works well (\D3DCompiler_47*.* b)files: opencomposite.ini and openvr_api.dll). OpenXR is on and OpenVR is off in Vario Base. I was told that I need to include the "--force_steam_VR" command line switch but then I saw someone else say I don't need Steam VR. I'll dig around in this thread to see if I missed the answer to this in case someone else said it already. Thanks in advance all!

3 ways to run DCS with Aero:

1. Steam’s OpenVR.  The traditional way.  However, currently needs —force_steam_VR command to access.  This mode allows concurrent use of OpenVR apps (Steam overlay, fpsVR, Reshade, etc.)

2. Varjo’s OpenVR.  Default mode when you run DCS normally for the last few patches, but suboptimal with poor frame rate. 
3. Opencomposite OpenXR.  Still requires —force_steam_VR command, as it intercepts Steam’s OpenVR (not Varjo’s) and converts that to OpenXR.

 

You need SteamVR framework (without GUI) running as background process with the Aero for tracking/controller no matter which mode you choose.  You only need full SteamVR interface with Steam OpenVR mode.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Supmua

[Str][ker]

Thanks @Supmua! I've read through the thread finally and appreciate your insights and effort.

19 hours ago, Supmua said:

Hate to say this, but with the latest update including SteamVR beta I get better GPU frametime with SteamVR by 1.5ms.  Plus the ability to run Reshade 5 with lumasharpen which makes the ground detail really pop.  So I'm back to SteamVR mode for now.  You can also lock fps to 45 using Varjo Base app which can make flying pretty smooth if the avg fps is above that.

SO are you using SteamVR Beta plus Reshade 5 now? What settings do you use in Reshade? I recall that you can choose  different plugins and then adjust levels and I was wondering what works for you as you have really spoken highly of Reshade. Do you still use Varjo base to run at a higher resolution and just leave it at that or are there other settings as well?

[dburne]

3 hours ago, Supmua said:

Yeah need to leave that window running. That’s why I said GUI could be improved, or may be that option isn’t quite ready for primetime. 

 

Man this has been a game changer for me. I was able to get my native res in Steam VR back up to 100% and increase some of my DCS settings. Getting smooth gameplay locked at 45 fps. I never knew about this option in Varjo Base so thank you very much! I am liking it.

[Supmua]

20 hours ago, Str][ker said:

Thanks @Supmua! I've read through the thread finally and appreciate your insights and effort.

SO are you using SteamVR Beta plus Reshade 5 now? What settings do you use in Reshade? I recall that you can choose  different plugins and then adjust levels and I was wondering what works for you as you have really spoken highly of Reshade. Do you still use Varjo base to run at a higher resolution and just leave it at that or are there other settings as well?

For now SteamVR and Reshade.  There are dozens of custom Rehade filters you can pick from.  I’ll list what I’m currently using once I’m home since I don’t remember them all, but personal fav is lumasharpen.  I run Varjo at Higher setting, Steam SS -90% (not 100% sure on this).

EDIT:

My current Reshade filters: Lumasharpen (0.85), Levels, Prod08_04_contrastbrightnesssaturation, and that's it.  For practical use you really only need Lumasharpen for postprocessing as it barely has any negative impact on performance.

Steam SS 80% (3224x2764), now 88% (3384x2900) it seems I get slightly improved performance with all the recent updates not sure if it's from NVIDIA or DCS or SteamVR.

Edited April 30, 2022 by Supmua

[Tomcat31]

Hi, you don't have « motion blur »?
 it's strange because with this parameter it’s smooth in low flight but I have a drag (like ghosting)

[Supmua]

6 hours ago, Tomcat31 said:

Hi, you don't have « motion blur »?
 it's strange because with this parameter it’s smooth in low flight but I have a drag (like ghosting)

There is no motion smoothing (yet), so there will be some ghosting or motion blur unless your fps is 90+ since the headset itself operates at 90 Hz.  This is typically not bad unless your fps drops below 45.  Even if motion smoothing is in there will still be some image retention artifacts with fast moving objects for fps below 90, just the way it is.

[Supmua]

Still flipping back and forth between the two modes.  OpenVR visuals in DCS tend to be overly bright and vibrant compared to OpenXR, resulting in more shimmering on ground objects.  So I found the overall image quality from OpenXR to be more pleasing in general...until today.

Exposure reduction via Reshade's Tonemap filter around -0.3 did the trick, yielding similar pleasing image quality (even better when Lumasharpen is also applied).  Shimmering is pretty much gone in most maps at this setting (Varjo Aero only).  Interestingly, this seems to enhance the 3D effects as well.  I also went ham with other filters including curves, levels, color temp, etc.  However, since maps are not static pictures, the postprocessing that results in great visuals in one map doesn't always apply to the rest.

[Tomcat31]

Hi Supmua,

Thanks for your answer.

Now, I just have to wait for the motion smoothing become available to have the same experience that with the G2. I hope anyway

[Brainfreeze]

Guys, when starting DCS using OpenXR the initial position is always totally wrong (i.e I sit 2m above the menu screen).  So need to recenter immediately.   Is there any way I can fix that?

 

[Supmua]

2 hours ago, Brainfreeze said:

Guys, when starting DCS using OpenXR the initial position is always totally wrong (i.e I sit 2m above the menu screen).  So need to recenter immediately.   Is there any way I can fix that?

 

No idea, I always have to recenter the screen after the startup.  MSFS behaves the same way when you switch to VR mode. 

[Brainfreeze]

Are u guys ticking V-sync in VB when using openXR?  I have not but noticed too many de-sync type glitches.  While flying MP in particular

[Supmua]

5 hours ago, Brainfreeze said:

Are u guys ticking V-sync in VB when using openXR?  I have not but noticed too many de-sync type glitches.  While flying MP in particular

I found it to be smoother in OpenXR, hence no need for vsync or forced 45 fps.  OpenVR still gives crisper images, so I’m still going back and forth between the two modes.  Haven’t done any MP recently though.

[dburne]

6 hours ago, Brainfreeze said:

Are u guys ticking V-sync in VB when using openXR?  I have not but noticed too many de-sync type glitches.  While flying MP in particular

I am still using only Steam VR but have settled on using Vsync on in Varjo Base and forced to 45 fps. Seems to give me the better overall experience in DCS. I am not going to hit 90 fps in DCS so no need for my GPU to constantly be shooting for that. Seemed to lower my GPU temp a little as well which helps boost clock.

Hopefully someday before too long Varjo will get some form of Motion Compensation/smoothing working with the Aero. Maybe that will be even better.

Edited May 22, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

23 hours ago, Supmua said:

I found it to be smoother in OpenXR, hence no need for vsync or forced 45 fps.  OpenVR still gives crisper images, so I’m still going back and forth between the two modes.  Haven’t done any MP recently though.

Question regarding Open XR and the OpenXR Toolkit.

Are folks with the Aero using the same latest versions of Open Composite along with latest version of the Toolkit with the Aero? In other words the same version of these two programs that the WMR guys are using ? Or does the Aero require a different version of either softwares?