Varjo Aero: General guide for new owners

[Supmua]

On 5/4/2022 at 8:41 AM, moggel said:

Ok, I must be misunderstanding something. I turned off Varjo's OpenVR support and started DCS with the --force_steam_VR flag.
When I started DCS I got this from SteamVR:

I managed to reproduce this screen…by running SteamVR without Varjo Base app first.

So, first run Varjo Base...then optionally SteamVR either by manual start or via Steam compatible apps.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Supmua

[moggel]

On 5/9/2022 at 10:13 PM, Supmua said:

I managed to reproduce this screen…by running SteamVR without Varjo Base app first.

So, first run Varjo Base...then optionally SteamVR either by manual start or via Steam compatible apps.

 

I have managed to resolve my issues. I am no longer running OpenVR/SteamVR at all and it works great!

[piki]

Hi guys,

I have ordered a Varjo Aero.  Do I need for the regular headset operation or for the Varjo Software setting hand controllers too?  Unfortunately they are not available at the moment. No store has them in stock. Thank You.

[Supmua]

1 hour ago, piki said:

Hi guys,

I have ordered a Varjo Aero.  Do I need for the regular headset operation or for the Varjo Software setting hand controllers too?  Unfortunately they are not available at the moment. No store has them in stock. Thank You.

You need a controller to setup and operate SteamVR as there is no Steam system button on the Aero unlike other SteamVR headsets. Buy a used Vive wand from Amazon or eBay if you don’t want to spend much, but make sure that it is compatible with your base station (wand v1 is not compat with base v2).

[peachmonkey]

8 hours ago, piki said:

Hi guys,

I have ordered a Varjo Aero.  Do I need for the regular headset operation or for the Varjo Software setting hand controllers too?  Unfortunately they are not available at the moment. No store has them in stock. Thank You.

make sure to use v2 base stations with Aero. Even though Varjo claims Aero supports v1 the reality is extremely poor tracking/or not tracking at all.

On 5/17/2022 at 7:00 AM, moggel said:

I have managed to resolve my issues. I am no longer running OpenVR/SteamVR at all and it works great!

if you disable OpenVR in VarjoBase you'll get that SteamVR error, just fyi.

[dburne]

On 5/17/2022 at 7:00 AM, moggel said:

I have managed to resolve my issues. I am no longer running OpenVR/SteamVR at all and it works great!

Trust me - you are. You can use the mod (if that is what you are using) to bypass Open VR with Open XR, but Steam VR you can not bypass. That is where the Aero gets it's tracking info from and it will always at the least run in the background. No way around that.

Edited May 18, 2022 by dburne

[piki]

Thank you guys for the good info. I will try to find maybe two Vive 2 Wand controller.

[Supmua]

FWIW, I had zero tracking issue with base stations 1.0 + Index controllers with the Aero.  However, I have since upgraded to base stations 2.0 a few months ago and passed my old stuff to a friend.  v1.0 base stations are more limited in terms of tracking distance and number of supported base stations, but they are much quieter than v2.0.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Supmua

[dburne]

7 hours ago, Supmua said:

FWIW, I had zero tracking issue with base stations 1.0 + Index controllers with the Aero.  However, I have since upgraded to base stations 2.0 a few months ago and passed my old stuff to a friend.  v1.0 base stations are more limited in terms of tracking distance and number of supported base stations, but they are much quieter than v2.0.

 

My V2 base stations are so quiet I really don't hear them. These are the ones that came with my Index.  Have used them also with Vive Pro 2 and now Aero. Only time I hear anything is the initial spinning up when I turn them on and that is very faint. 

Don't know if it makes any difference but I have my three mounted on tripods.

Edited May 19, 2022 by dburne

[Gordy]

Thanks very much for posting the guide!  I would probably never have found the DLL replacement and openxr toolkit on my own.   I'm getting 51-60 fps now using openxr (up from 30-40 under steamvr) and got rid of the double cursor that had been keeping me out of VR, pretty happy with it.   I was also getting some stuttering under SteamVR that seems to have resolved with openXR. 

I noticed that I get *zero* benefit from foveated rendering, which is kind of a bummer.

The Visibility Range option in DCS made a surprisingly big difference in my fps... hopefully it applies mostly to ground clutter and it will still prioritize showing me distant bandits on the horizon or on the surface while I'm at 30k-40k feet. 

I miss having fpsVR help me see where my bottlenecks are, but ultimately I want to play without a persistent fps counter anway, and the openxr toolkit offers some raw numbers, at least.

[dburne]

It is amazing the difference a day can make. Put my Aero on this morning for some Hornet flying in the Persian Gulf. For some reason everything just was so dang clear and really popped. I changed nothing from yesterday either. I think sometimes getting the fitment just right on the head can make a big difference. I must be doing that today I reckon, man this thing is gorgeous.

[Supmua]

43 minutes ago, dburne said:

It is amazing the difference a day can make. Put my Aero on this morning for some Hornet flying in the Persian Gulf. For some reason everything just was so dang clear and really popped. I changed nothing from yesterday either. I think sometimes getting the fitment just right on the head can make a big difference. I must be doing that today I reckon, man this thing is gorgeous.

Optimal headset placement, appropriate IPD adjustment, and 20/20 corrected vision

[dburne]

Seems the only file I needed to run my Aero in OpenXR is the 64 bit file of the OpenVR_API.dll from the Open Composite site . Did not need the D3DCompiler_47.dll or the opencomposite.ini file. It seems I may have even gained slightly in performance dept versus having those other two files but that is hard to quantify. I lock my fps to 45 and I seemed to be able to maintain that a little more over towns than I was. Hard to say for sure though.

This is much simpler though which is nice.

[zildac]

Seems the only file I needed to run my Aero in OpenXR is the 64 bit file of the OpenVR_API.dll from the Open Composite site . Did not need the D3DCompiler_47.dll or the opencomposite.ini file. It seems I may have even gained slightly in performance dept versus having those other two files but that is hard to quantify. I lock my fps to 45 and I seemed to be able to maintain that a little more over towns than I was. Hard to say for sure though.
This is much simpler though which is nice.

Are you using the previously discussed "vsync" option in base to lock at 45fps?

[dburne]

53 minutes ago, zildac said:

2 hours ago, dburne said:

Seems the only file I needed to run my Aero in OpenXR is the 64 bit file of the OpenVR_API.dll from the Open Composite site . Did not need the D3DCompiler_47.dll or the opencomposite.ini file. It seems I may have even gained slightly in performance dept versus having those other two files but that is hard to quantify. I lock my fps to 45 and I seemed to be able to maintain that a little more over towns than I was. Hard to say for sure though.
This is much simpler though which is nice.

Are you using the previously discussed "vsync" option in base to lock at 45fps?

Yes I lock mine to 45 fps. For me I seem to get the smoothest performance.

[zildac]

Yes I lock mine to 45 fps. For me I seem to get the smoothest performance.

Thanks. Still awaiting delivery but collecting "info" up front

[dburne]

7 minutes ago, zildac said:

Thanks. Still awaiting delivery but collecting "info" up front

You are in for a treat!

[dburne]

Just so you guys know - loving running DCS with the Open XR/OpenComposite Mod with Open XR Toolkit. Now currently l am magically find myself tweaking/tuning/trying different settings.

I hope you are happy... previously I just flew and flew.

Loving it though!

Edited May 31, 2022 by dburne

[Supmua]

1 hour ago, dburne said:

Just so you guys know - loving running DCS with the Open XR/OpenComposite Mod with Open XR Toolkit. Now currently l am magically find myself tweaking/tuning/trying different settings.

I hope you are happy... previously I just flew and flew.

Loving it though!

 

Soon you might be trying out everything like I do.  It's all about stepping outside the comfort zone sometimes to experience something new, but this type of mods is relatively easy to do 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Supmua

[dburne]

14 minutes ago, Supmua said:

Soon you might be trying out everything like I do.  It's all about stepping outside the comfort zone sometimes to experience something new, but this type of mods is relatively easy to do 

 

Lol maybe perhaps, for now I am going to be happy with just using this one. I like to keep things simple as I can.

[dburne]

Hmm thought I would try the universal Open Composite app but now the game won't start in VR for me.

Crap now Varjo Base seems to be messed up as well, not recognizing my headset. Oh joy what have I done.

Edited May 31, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

Ok got Varjo Base sorted, in Open Composite application I needed to move Varjo Tracking to the Steam VR side.

Now though the game still does not start in VR for me with Open Composite selected, I thought this would place any necessary files needed in the DCS folder? I have DCS listed in Open Composite to use Open Composite rather than Steam VR. Just will not launch in VR for me this way.

Edited May 31, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

Ok ditched the Open Composite system wide program and went back to just using the supplied modified openvr.dll file and all  is well again. Whew that was a mess.

[Supmua]

Added 2D to 3D conversion section to the guide, if you want to try 2D games in 3D stereo.

[zildac]

11 hours ago, dburne said:

Hmm thought I would try the universal Open Composite app but now the game won't start in VR for me.

Crap now Varjo Base seems to be messed up as well, not recognizing my headset. Oh joy what have I done.

 

This is the same issue I’m having on the other OXR thread. When you mention:

10 hours ago, dburne said:

Ok ditched the Open Composite system wide program and went back to just using the supplied modified openvr.dll file and all  is well again. Whew that was a mess.

Are you talking about the files from the author's site or some shared here when you reference "modified" ? I ask as I downloaded a repackaged version shared on the forum and I can't remember where! They are now the only route that works for Open Composite on my end (G2 still). For all others (system-wide or individual DLL from author's site) DCS just starts in pancake mode.