Patch notes discussion thread 25th January 2023

[Shahriar0]

Regarding the just released 2.8.2.35759 to address the OpenXR issues, what exactly is the syntax to explicitly specify and use OpenXR in DCS command line?

- OpenXR is removed from autosearch. DCS has a chain of VR vendors in priority oculus, OpenVR, Varjo, etc. OpenXR was in that chain in top priority, now it is removed from this chain and only available when you explicitly specify it in command line of DCS.

[Supmua]

2 minutes ago, Shahriar0 said:

Regarding the just released 2.8.2.35759 to address the OpenXR issues, what exactly is the syntax to explicitly specify and use OpenXR in DCS command line?

- OpenXR is removed from autosearch. DCS has a chain of VR vendors in priority oculus, OpenVR, Varjo, etc. OpenXR was in that chain in top priority, now it is removed from this chain and only available when you explicitly specify it in command line of DCS.

^This.  How would one run OpenXR now without resorting back to the OpenComposite translator?  Can you provide all the available command lines?

[5ephir0th]

6 hours ago, Thinder said:

So what I can't comprehend is why doesn't developers for DCS, headsets manufacturers and VR packages sort out their incompatibility issue, we should be able to install a complete package without having to fiddle with specific files (i'm down to my 6th restore and I'm lucky I didn't experience yet another Critical system Failure)...

Thats what OpenXR is for, a common API for all headsets, no more some headsets with OpenVR (the used for SteamVR), some with Oculus one, the less with WMR, just one API for all, simplying the work for the developers.

Its a big change but it had to come some day and i think, for a first OpenXR iteration for DCS, its work well apart from the reprojection bug (that maybe will be fix today with the hotfix), i dont take in account third party software as thats not ED fault

[Baldrick33]

9 minutes ago, Supmua said:

^This.  How would one run OpenXR now without resorting back to the OpenComposite translator?  Can you provide all the available command lines?

--force_enable_VR --force_OpenXR

 

[SPAS79]

17 minutes ago, Supmua said:

^This.  How would one run OpenXR now without resorting back to the OpenComposite translator?  Can you provide all the available command lines?

Just calling 

DCS.exe --force_enable_VR  --force_OpenXR

seems to work for me...

...nut yeah it would be nice to have it in the changelog...

Edited January 27, 2023 by SPAS79

[-0303-]

Game Options. Game avionics mode removed.

I never understood why anyone would do "game mode". I imagined it a drain on ED resources to keep supporting.

[Hoirtel]

Just now, -0303- said:

Game Options. Game avionics mode removed.

I never understood why anyone would do "game mode". I imagined it a drain on ED resources to keep supporting.

Yeah agreed. I wish they would remove it altogether, including those bindings pages.

[draconus]

Yet the Game Flight Mode is here to stay? Despite the specific advise to not use it in some modules due to potential problems?

[HoMeBoY]

@BIGNEWY Why did you remove OpenXR from the auto search list? Also it's not science fiction to have a prompt that ask you how you want to launch the game (similar to what steam does).

something like:
- Run DCS on Screen
- Run DCS in SteamVR
- Run DCS in OpenXR (WMR) 
- etc...

Why we always have to hack our way into the game to get some decent frame and VR?

[ColinM9991]

4 minutes ago, HoMeBoY said:

@BIGNEWY Why did you remove OpenXR from the auto search list? Also it's not science fiction to have a prompt that ask you how you want to launch the game (similar to what steam does).

something like:
- Run DCS on Screen
- Run DCS in SteamVR
- Run DCS in OpenXR (WMR) 
- etc...

Why we always have to hack our way into the game to get some decent frame and VR?

The UX of DCS, and the lack of clarity in changelogs, certainly leaves a lot to imagination. This is, however, a hotfix to maintain backwards compatibility since many players were having issues. I'd imagine things would hopefully be ironed out in the coming weeks with further updates.

Having a configuration UI on Standalone is a good suggestion though, that's what us Steam users get when starting the game.

[Wizard1393]

I’m not sure what all this means. I’m sporting a Reverb G2 and have been running DCS through OpenComposite instead of SteamVR. Is OpenComposite no longer needed to run DCS without steam?

Edited January 27, 2023 by Wizard1393

[HoBGoBLiNzx3]

8 minutes ago, Wizard1393 said:

I’m not sure why all this means. I’m sporting a Reverb G2 and have been running it with OpenComposite. Is open composite no longer needed to run DCS without steam?

Correct. You do not need to trick DCS anymore by launching through steamvr (opencomposite) for Openxr to work. However, you do need to add this line in the launch options until they add it back into the launch chain properly. 

--force_enable_VR --force_OpenXR

You can still use everything you had before nothing changes except now you're using their .dll file in the bin. You'll have to redo your settings. 

Make sure you don't have steamvr as your launch option anymore either to load into opencomposite. I have a quest2 and had to change it back to launch though oculus api.

Edited January 27, 2023 by HoBGoBLiNzx3

[HoBGoBLiNzx3]

I'm on a quest 2 and my toolkit won't load in. Tried with command line and just oculus as it's chain target (which should be OpenXR anyways)

Can someone confirm the target line command please?

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Okay, have you set this setting?

Open Oculus application on Windows

Click on Setting

Find the General tab

Make sure entry OpenXR Runtime, you have clicked on Set Oculus as active button.

[Thinder]

3 hours ago, SPAS79 said:

Just calling 

DCS.exe --force_enable_VR  --force_OpenXR

seems to work for me...

...nut yeah it would be nice to have it in the changelog...

 

That's one done...

[Supmua]

What we need is a toggle option in the DCS setting that allows you to pick and choose among VR modes (OpenVR Steam vs Varjo, Opencomposite Oculus, OpenXR Steam vs Varjo vs WMR, etc.), instead of via command line.
 

OpenVR or OpenXR via Varjo has been borked due to Quad screen rendering rather than Stereo so these are not good options for Aero owners so we are limited to using Steam’s OpenVR or XR implementation or Opencomposite OpenXR wrapper to circumvent this problem. 

[Mapi]

ModelViewer2 still crash with the apache model - save liverie file :o)

[Rebel28]

If you use OpenXR and the Toolkit Turbo mode will still lockup the sim. But you can now go back to using open composite and the Toolkit and Turbo mode works as before and all your old setting are still there.

[Thinder]

So far I followed all the instructions downloaded everything but my Pico Streaming Assistant still won't start without Steam VR...

Switched to Open Composite, DCS doesn't start in VR yet. Headset NOT detected but running with Streaming Assistant, now Windows doesn't detect it.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Thinder

[HoBGoBLiNzx3]

1 hour ago, VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants said:

Okay, have you set this setting?

Open Oculus application on Windows

Click on Setting

Find the General tab

Make sure entry OpenXR Runtime, you have clicked on Set Oculus as active button.

I figured it out, it was skatezilla's launcher. If I run the app from the shortcut it launches just fine. Something I'm sure will get fixed in the near future. For now I'm okay with this. I'm seeing much better performance and can actually run high textures, med shadows, and cockpit illumination

[Convexrook]

trying to add open xr to command line I get this error.

null

DCS is not running anywhere nor do I have the file open

[ColinM9991]

3 minutes ago, Convexrook said:

trying to add open xr to command line I get this error.

null

DCS is not running anywhere nor do I have the file open

You need to create a shortcut, not modify the original exe.

[lvnona69]

7 hours ago, SPAS79 said:

Just calling 

DCS.exe --force_enable_VR  --force_OpenXR

seems to work for me...

...nut yeah it would be nice to have it in the changelog...

 

does new update OpenXR Motion Reprojection is working?

 

[Stratos]

The Ropucha class release is related to the Kola map peninsula? 

[Devil 505]

The first part of this article on the forums was a life saver.  I was having issues with performance after the patch and then came across this.  I had previously uninstalled OpenXR tools and windows composite because it would not allow me to record in OBS.  I had also uninstalled PimaxXR (I have a PIMAX 8K).  After reading the article below, I reinstalled the JUST PimaxXR and run SteamVR the way the article says to.  Under setting and developer, you run SteamVR with openXR (must have PimaXR for PIMAX) and instantly all performance issues corrected in DCS.  I was back to running 150% per eye in the SteamVR resolution, 1.5 PD on the PItool, and high setting in game.  Runs with no issues now.  I will post a video here soon demonstrating the performance.  I am very impressed now.  This was actually an improvement over what I previously had running SteamVR.  I really appreciate  the article from mbucchia, that solved everything.