Pico 4: how to set it up for DCS?

[Comstedt86]

5 hours ago, apelsin44ek said:

Is it possible to have acceptable fps (at least 30) w/o VD?

Right now I have 1-3 fps in single player on A-10CII. Currently I have RTX 3070 8Gb, 16 Gb RAM and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. 

I have no idea what is happening, w/o VR I have never ask any questions about fps, it is just high enough in all situations. 

But in VR it is not possible to play, unless I put resolution to the lowest settings possible when I could not read any words in the cockpit.

P.S. Buying VD not possible due lack of the access to the Pico store.

What are your settings? Ingame and streaming assistant (assuming you use that if not VD)

[Hillman]

7 hours ago, apelsin44ek said:

P.S. Buying VD not possible due lack of the access to the Pico store.

I would really try to get hold of VD. The latest version with built in OpenXR support has been a big step up. Much less hassle, quicker load, better performance on latency and fps, better clarity. A huge step up from previous versions relying on SteamVR or OculusVR.
A big thanks to Ggodin and Mbucchia for this fantastic software.

[apelsin44ek]

6 часов назад, NAM сказал:

I bought Pico 4 more than a year ago.. No problem registered my own address here in Australia. Have no problem purchased Virtual Desktop as well as dozen games from Pico store..

Great all round headset.

 

To confirm payment I should have app on the phone. But this app is removed from the app store in Russia.

[apelsin44ek]

5 часов назад, Comstedt86 сказал:

What are your settings? Ingame and streaming assistant (assuming you use that if not VD)

For streaming assistance: quality HD, 72 Hz.

For DCS: 

shadows = 1;
lights = 0;
mirrors = 0;
textures = 2;
water = 4;
scenes = "medium";
effects = 0;
heatBlr = 0;
MSAA = 2;
HDR = 0;
TranspSSAA = 1;
environmentMap = 1;
ambientMap = false;

monitors = {
    [1] = {
        ["rcMonitor"] = {
            ["top"] = 0,
            ["right"] = 3840,
            ["left"] = 0,
            ["bottom"] = 2160,
        },
        ["dwFlags"] = 1,
        ["rcWork"] = {
            ["top"] = 0,
            ["right"] = 3840,
            ["left"] = 0,
            ["bottom"] = 2088

Also pixels per eye is set on 150%, because on 100% I could not read anything in the cockpit.

I tried DCS MT preview with DLSS on, but no changes, GPU memory on 99% (according to Pico internal performance monitor) and 1-2 fps.

Edited December 3, 2023 by apelsin44ek

[NAM]

Yes, I purchased using pico app installed on my android phone or directly on Pico4 headset.

I tend to purchased more games directly on Pico4 headset, lot quicker to take advantage when there is a sale on.

[Comstedt86]

9 hours ago, apelsin44ek said:

For streaming assistance: quality HD, 72 Hz.

For DCS: 

shadows = 1;
lights = 0;
mirrors = 0;
textures = 2;
water = 4;
scenes = "medium";
effects = 0;
heatBlr = 0;
MSAA = 2;
HDR = 0;
TranspSSAA = 1;
environmentMap = 1;
ambientMap = false;

monitors = {
    [1] = {
        ["rcMonitor"] = {
            ["top"] = 0,
            ["right"] = 3840,
            ["left"] = 0,
            ["bottom"] = 2160,
        },
        ["dwFlags"] = 1,
        ["rcWork"] = {
            ["top"] = 0,
            ["right"] = 3840,
            ["left"] = 0,
            ["bottom"] = 2088

Also pixels per eye is set on 150%, because on 100% I could not read anything in the cockpit.

I tried DCS MT preview with DLSS on, but no changes, GPU memory on 99% (according to Pico internal performance monitor) and 1-2 fps.

 

What res do you use in DCS options ? Put that to lowest, and by 150% do you mean PD 1.5? 

You're probably running out of VRAM, therefore the very low FPS. 16GB RAM and 8 GB VRAM is on the lower end even for 2D. 

VR is alot more taxing since you will be rendering alot more pixels. Try turning down texture resolutions and MSAA as a test and see. 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Comstedt86

[apelsin44ek]

1 час назад, Comstedt86 сказал:

What res do you use in DCS options ? Put that to lowest, and by 150% do you mean PD 1.5? 

You're probably running out of VRAM, therefore the very low FPS. 16GB RAM and 8 GB VRAM is on the lower end even for 2D. 

VR is alot more taxing since you will be rendering alot more pixels. Try turning down texture resolutions and MSAA as a test and see. 

 

Resolution is 3840x2160 (I am playing on 4k monitor 60 Hz). 

Regarding RAM I should apologise: it is 32 Gb, sometimes I can misthink (do we have such word?).

End for me it is surprising that 8 Gb VRAM on RTX 3070 is the lower end for the 2D, because the only time when I found myself struggling with fps in DCS was after putting forest detalization on maximum and gave a try to the low run over caucasus map. FPS drop was significant, I have learned the lesson and right now fps is always in "green zone" for me, unless I try VR.

Today I also manged to finally fly using Pico 4 with 30-40 fps with periodical clinical death of the card (a lot of RGB colors on the screen), but quality of the picture was like I am playing some kind of DOS game or even lower (in MiG 21 inscriptions were unreadable, even when I put my virtual head as close to them as possible).

Btw: should I expect good picture from VR (may be not as 4K monitor, but at the level, when it is possible to say that "yes, it looks good") or not? Example of "not" could be seen on 7:47 

 

 

[Comstedt86]

3 hours ago, apelsin44ek said:

Resolution is 3840x2160 (I am playing on 4k monitor 60 Hz). 

Regarding RAM I should apologise: it is 32 Gb, sometimes I can misthink (do we have such word?).

End for me it is surprising that 8 Gb VRAM on RTX 3070 is the lower end for the 2D, because the only time when I found myself struggling with fps in DCS was after putting forest detalization on maximum and gave a try to the low run over caucasus map. FPS drop was significant, I have learned the lesson and right now fps is always in "green zone" for me, unless I try VR.

Today I also manged to finally fly using Pico 4 with 30-40 fps with periodical clinical death of the card (a lot of RGB colors on the screen), but quality of the picture was like I am playing some kind of DOS game or even lower (in MiG 21 inscriptions were unreadable, even when I put my virtual head as close to them as possible).

Btw: should I expect good picture from VR (may be not as 4K monitor, but at the level, when it is possible to say that "yes, it looks good") or not? Example of "not" could be seen on 7:47 

 

 

I have no trouble reading gauges and text for instance, something definitely seems off.

 

I'm running VD however, Ultra mode which is resolution 2736 x2736 per eye so quite a bit of supersampling which helps with clarity. IIRC Picos streaming assistant on Ultra is 2160x2160 (Native Pico 4 res).

 

In C:\Program Files\Streaming Assistant\driver\bin\win64\RVRPlugin.ini

Try adding sharper=0.3 or higher value and see if that helps.

[MIghtymoo]

9 hours ago, apelsin44ek said:

Resolution is 3840x2160 (I am playing on 4k monitor 60 Hz). 

Regarding RAM I should apologise: it is 32 Gb, sometimes I can misthink (do we have such word?).

End for me it is surprising that 8 Gb VRAM on RTX 3070 is the lower end for the 2D, because the only time when I found myself struggling with fps in DCS was after putting forest detalization on maximum and gave a try to the low run over caucasus map. FPS drop was significant, I have learned the lesson and right now fps is always in "green zone" for me, unless I try VR.

 

 

Hi apelsin44ek

Something is very much off here.

What is your full PC spec?

Also can you please take screenshots of both the VD-settings, DCS graphics settings and DCS VR-tab settings and I can see if I find some obvious causes?

Note: If you for some reason decide to use (the inferior) Streaming assistant and SteamVR, please post screenshots of those also.

Edited December 4, 2023 by MIghtymoo

[SilentOtto]

On 12/3/2023 at 1:52 AM, apelsin44ek said:

Is it possible to have acceptable fps (at least 30) w/o VD?

Right now I have 1-3 fps in single player on A-10CII. Currently I have RTX 3070 8Gb, 16 Gb RAM and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. 

I have no idea what is happening, w/o VR I have never ask any questions about fps, it is just high enough in all situations. 

But in VR it is not possible to play, unless I put resolution to the lowest settings possible when I could not read any words in the cockpit.

P.S. Buying VD not possible due lack of the access to the Pico store.

Yes, it is. I have same GPU and 7 5700X. But 64 GB RAM

1. For SP RAM min 32GB. For MP - more than 32.

2. No Steam VR & Streaming Assistant.

3. On Pico4 buy and install Virtual Desktop. On PC install and run: Virtual Desktop, Open Composite, Open Composite Toolkit Companion.

4. Read some tips how to configure, enjoy.

[edit] 5. Run game in MT mode.

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by SilentOtto

[Qcumber]

2 hours ago, SilentOtto said:

On Pico4 buy and install Virtual Desktop. On PC install and run: Virtual Desktop, Open Composite, Open Composite Toolkit Companion.

Open Composite is no longer needed for DCS as it has MT runs open xr natively. 

[MIghtymoo]

4 minutes ago, Qcumber said:

Open Composite is no longer needed for DCS as it has MT runs open xr natively. 

That is right. 

To run DCS in VR with Pico 4, you only need Virtual Desktop (VD).

Optionally add OpenXR Toolkit (OXRTK) if you like to do some additional tweaking (like FOV-rendering to get some extra FPS)

[Qcumber]

Also consider using Quad Views Foveated Rendering in fixed mode to reduce your GPU load. It has a big performance boost. 

https://github.com/mbucchia/Quad-Views-Foveated

[SilentOtto]

On 4/26/2023 at 12:11 AM, VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants said:

2-week and counting.

 

18 hours ago, Qcumber said:

Also consider using Quad Views Foveated Rendering in fixed mode to reduce your GPU load. It has a big performance boost. 

https://github.com/mbucchia/Quad-Views-Foveated

Right, I forgot about it. 

Edited December 5, 2023 by SilentOtto

[zaelu]

18 hours ago, Qcumber said:

Also consider using Quad Views Foveated Rendering in fixed mode to reduce your GPU load. It has a big performance boost. 

https://github.com/mbucchia/Quad-Views-Foveated

At what this software helps if Pico 4 has no eye tracking?

[Qcumber]

5 minutes ago, zaelu said:

At what this software helps if Pico 4 has no eye tracking?

It still works but in fixed mode. The centre of the image is high res and the periphery is lower res. It gives you a significant performance boost if you are GPU limited and have a decent CPU. 

[MIghtymoo]

1 hour ago, Qcumber said:

It still works but in fixed mode. The centre of the image is high res and the periphery is lower res. It gives you a significant performance boost if you are GPU limited and have a decent CPU. 

Based on my specs I get same frame times for the GPU, but much worse frame times for the CPU (almost a doubling) when using Quad fov.

Quad foveated rendering seems to be best if you have a relatively powerfull CPU compared to GPU.

If you have a powerfull GPU it is better to go for OXRTK foveated rendering.

 

 

[Qcumber]

3 hours ago, MIghtymoo said:

If you have a powerfull GPU it is better to go for OXRTK foveated rendering

Yes. If you have a mid range GPU then QVFR can make a big difference. Most reports I have seen for rtx4090 is no difference and OXRTK is the better choice. 

[Airbender]

Hello everyone, I´m starting now into the PCVR in DCS with my new pico 4. As I can see for best configuration I need the VD by wifi connection, isn´t it?

My GPU is 3070ti and RAM 32GB.

By the moment I want start testing via USB using the pico link Streaming Assistant + OpenXR.

-It´s still necessary the OpenComposite to be installed?

-SteamVR is yet necessary apparently

-Any special step to follow for DCS start with this configuration for USB connection?

[apelsin44ek]

В 04.12.2023 в 10:33, MIghtymoo сказал:

Hi apelsin44ek

Something is very much off here.

What is your full PC spec?

Also can you please take screenshots of both the VD-settings, DCS graphics settings and DCS VR-tab settings and I can see if I find some obvious causes?

Note: If you for some reason decide to use (the inferior) Streaming assistant and SteamVR, please post screenshots of those also.

 

My PC: 

ROG Strix G15DS (asus.com)

Configuration:

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core processor 3.8 GHz

Asus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GDDR6 8 Gb 256 bit

32 Gb RAM

Windows 11 x64

I do not have VD, because in Russia you could not pay for it (I do not own any foreign cards to use)

So, I am using Streaming assistant and Steam VR, also OpenXR Companion toolkit.

SA settings on screenshots.

 SteamVR also on screenshots, but in Russian. 

Cable connection of the Pico to PC. DCS MT version.

DCS settings on screenshots, also in RU.

[MIghtymoo]

58 minutes ago, apelsin44ek said:

My PC: 

ROG Strix G15DS (asus.com)

Configuration:

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core processor 3.8 GHz

Asus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GDDR6 8 Gb 256 bit

32 Gb RAM

Windows 11 x64

I do not have VD, because in Russia you could not pay for it (I do not own any foreign cards to use)

So, I am using Streaming assistant and Steam VR, also OpenXR Companion toolkit.

SA settings on screenshots.

 SteamVR also on screenshots, but in Russian. 

Cable connection of the Pico to PC. DCS MT version.

DCS settings on screenshots, also in RU.

 

Hi 

I am a little rusty in my Russian , so I can't really comment on the settings not in English.

Based on your setup you should be able to run DCS in VR with reprojection at 45Hz.

Please test the following:

1. Set headset in 90Hz mode and in the Pico headset settings.

2. Put OXRTK in SAFE mode or disable (for the time being)

3. Turn ON ASW/reprojection i Streaming Assistant.

4. Close ALL applications on the PC not needed (most).

5. Choose LOW preset in DCS in the Graphics-tab.

 

Report back how it runs...

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by MIghtymoo

[apelsin44ek]

4 часа назад, MIghtymoo сказал:

Hi 

I am a little rusty in my Russian , so I can't really comment on the settings not in English.

Based on your setup you should be able to run DCS in VR with reprojection at 45Hz.

Please test the following:

1. Set headset in 90Hz mode and in the Pico headset settings.

2. Put OXRTK in SAFE mode or disable (for the time being)

3. Turn ON ASW/reprojection i Streaming Assistant.

4. Close ALL applications on the PC not needed (most).

5. Choose LOW preset in DCS in the Graphics-tab.

 

Report back how it runs...

 

 

Here I am with feedback.

First I did not find ASW and in simple mission with 1 Mig 21 vs 4 B52 over Caucasus (no ground vehicles etc): ~90% GPU load and close to 80 fps.

Than I have found ASW and in cold start mission for F16 I had approx. 60 fps, but, let me guess, I should limit fps to 45, correct? Because my eyes are bleeding after flashing when fps does not have similar divider with 90 Hz.

Also, inscriptions in the cockpit are just white stripes, nothing else. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by apelsin44ek

[MIghtymoo]

12 hours ago, apelsin44ek said:

Here I am with feedback.

First I did not find ASW and in simple mission with 1 Mig 21 vs 4 B52 over Caucasus (no ground vehicles etc): ~90% GPU load and close to 80 fps.

Than I have found ASW and in cold start mission for F16 I had approx. 60 fps, but, let me guess, I should limit fps to 45, correct? Because my eyes are bleeding after flashing when fps does not have similar divider with 90 Hz.

Also, inscriptions in the cockpit are just white stripes, nothing else. 

 

You are getting good frame rates which is a good baseline. I am using VD and then it locks to 45 fps in reprojection mode. No need to do any other settings.

I am not sure how to do this in Streaming Assistant. Anyone else knows?

Are you able to take a screenshot of the "white stripes" from the mirror image displayed on the PC?

Important: Also recommended to set your DCS resolution to minimum possible resolution, so the mirror image on the monitor is as small as possible

Edited December 8, 2023 by MIghtymoo

[Johnny Dioxin]

Has anyone found a way to stop or divert the fan airflow in the headset? In sims I generally tend to peer more intently into the lenses, which makes my eyes even more susceptible to drying than they already are with my Sjørgrens Syndrome, which makes my eyes ache and stops me using VR.

Apparently there was an app to do this, but ByteDance had it shut down and removed - then I was shown to a Chinese settings app on GitHub but that didn't include the fan. I tried blocking most of the openings between the lenses in the lower section, with white tack - but this didn't seem to make any difference at all.

This is very important to me if I'm to continue using the Pico 4 in DCS World. Let's face it, the graphics are better than all other headsets at a similar price.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Johnny Dioxin
spellling

[apelsin44ek]

В 08.12.2023 в 13:12, MIghtymoo сказал:

You are getting good frame rates which is a good baseline. I am using VD and then it locks to 45 fps in reprojection mode. No need to do any other settings.

I am not sure how to do this in Streaming Assistant. Anyone else knows?

Are you able to take a screenshot of the "white stripes" from the mirror image displayed on the PC?

Important: Also recommended to set your DCS resolution to minimum possible resolution, so the mirror image on the monitor is as small as possible

 

Screenshots are made directly in Pico 4 using controllers. As you can see, majority of the inscriptions are unreadable (espesially on the warning panel). 

In Steam VR resolution is set to 150%, DCS resolution is the lowets (1280x768). Open XR Tollkit is shown because I have pressed ctrl+f2 just to remove it from the screen.