My last attempt at VR

[Turnip]

I have worked on this for weeks now. DCS used to run great on my Valve Index but now, no matter which version I try (BETA - BETA Multi Threading or stable release) it is a stuttering ugly mess. 

I have watched virtually every video, read every article I can to try and nail down WHY this sim no longer works in VR. My Valve Index is brand new ( I had an older one ), all drivers are up to date and my system specs are as follows.

OS-Windows 11 Pro 64-bit (10.0, Build 22621) (22621.ni_release.220506-1250)

All system drivers up to date

Processor: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900K (24 CPUs), ~3.2GHz

32GB Corsair RAM

DirectX 12

3070 Ti NVIDIA GeForce RTX with Latest Driver

Internet Speed = 480MBPS Download, 12MBPS Upload

MY ISSUES: I can get the cockpit to look fine and run smooth. When I approach land, buildings or a ship, the sim pulses, stutters and it becomes unflyable. I have made hundreds of adjustments in STEAM VR, STEAM VR BETA, and using OpenXR etc while doing a complete shutdown of the sim to ensure the changes took effect. I received a new headset from VALVE for the sole purpose of using it on DCS. I am attaching some pics of my current settings for you to look at. Can someone PLEASE enlighten me as to what I am doing wrong? If I can't get it to work after this, I am saying goodbye to DCS and VR. Thank you

null

[diego999]

Your settings seems fine. Can't talk about SteamVR as I don't use it, but I can't spot anything wrong.

The only thing I notice is 90hz refresh rate might be a little optimistic considering the resolution you're playing at. Have you tried motion reprojection? That way you can save considerable GPU processing power at the cost of some artifacts if you move your head quickly.

Other thing you can try is limiting your FOV. That was the setting I tried last and the one which gave me the most gains in performance. Reducing your FOV to, let's say, 85%, saves a good chunk of pixels your graphic card doesn't have to render, and -I don't know about your Index-, but in my Quest 2 you barely see those pixels anyway.

[Sr.]

Start by turning off MSAA, and dial back the resolution to100% for starters.

I would even try the headset at 80Hz.

[Taz1004]

Need to see your Per Application SteamVR setting and DCS VR options.  Also OpenXR setting.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Taz1004

[Glide]

DX12?  I'm pretty sure DCS uses DX11.  Turn off AA and AF because MSAA is outdated, and AF only helps with the lines on the runway.  Turn off shadows because they are still broken.  And as mentioned, turn down the resolution.  I run my G2 on my 3080Ti at 75% custom resolution in OpenXR developer tools, and this is the best I've ever seen DCS in VR. 

[Turnip]

Where is the MOTION REPRODUCCTION setting? I am trying the suggestions you all posted

 

[Turnip]

I have managed to get rid of the jerking and pulsing. My only issue now is that my frame rates are a bit too low. Can you give me an idea on what settings I need to use inside OpenXR (in the sim Example ALT F2 etc) Without using MSAA in the sims settings, the jagged lines are atrocious.

[diego999]

3 hours ago, Turnip said:

Where is the MOTION REPRODUCCTION setting? I am trying the suggestions you all posted

 

I think it's "motion smoothing" on SteamVR settings.

[pastranario3]

Hmm I have 12900k and I have similar problems and I have read from others and the micro 12900k also coincides.

[Hotdognz]

You don't mention what DCS is running off, NVME or SSD, my mate had really bad lag spike issue when MT dropped, was literally about to give up, moved his install to a different drive and it all went away.

[hsth]

Index user here, same CPU but 3090 vs your 3070.

Maybe I can help but as mentioned already, your resolution is way to optimistic. Mine is set to 2208 x 2452.

Can you try also fpsVR to see what the difference is for the GPU and CPU load? Try it with the same mission when changing settings, It will help for the direction to look at.

[Turnip]

I am running off a NVME drive.

hsth: I will reset the resolution to your setting. do you have issues reading the guages etc in the cockpit? And how do you overcome the "jaggies" on terrain? With MSAA turned off in the sim, it looks terrible. Also, seeing how you are running the same unit, would it be too much trouble for you to post your DCS / OpenXR and STEAM settings? My Screen Door Effect is killing me. Thank you

Edited April 6, 2023 by Turnip

[Sr.]

Screen door is direct evidence you're pushing the resolution too high.

[Turnip]

I thought that SDE was due to resolution being TOO LOW!

[Sr.]

1 hour ago, Turnip said:

I thought that SDE was due to resolution being TOO LOW!

Unless it's something different in the G2. In the past while playing with settings, I'd push to res to something way high and I could actually see what I can only describe as very fine honeycomb or chicken wire pattern.

[hsth]

@Turnip, no problem. For me, I can push the resolution as high as possible, there will always be some SDE visible if I look for it. But since the sim requires my focus to get all things right I don't see that after a minute anymore. I think, if you really, really would look for it even in a Varjo you would see it.

The Global Settings in NVidia are all default.

The Refresh Rate in SteamVR is on my system depended on the sim. In the other sim I have to set it to 80 Hz to prevent stutter.

In DCS I test with a mission that another user (I forgot who) has put online. low_plazma_torture_map_2022_flanker.miz

Start the mission, fly for 20 - 30 seconds while putting the throttle to 85% and keeping the plane in the correct flightpath. Then press "A" for automatic flight. When you fly over land look left & right to see if the ground passes without stutter. Adapt your settings accordingly.

Last, start any mission, sit in the cockpit and move your head from left to right a couple of times while looking at the stick. If the picture stays sharp without blurring you're good to go.

[KoN]

Steam VR at 80hz , set too Auto, turn off MSAA . Use steam VR .don't use openxr until you get smooth 40fps . . 

You have only 8gb vram once all that is used stuttering will start . 

Turn shadow's off on all . Make a page file.

Edited June 5, 2023 by KoN

[LOW_Hitman]

for me - setting low latency mode to ultra (nvidia settings) changed everything using DCS-MT

[BluePhoenix]

I can run it on mostly high in VR just fine 

90hz 

45 fps 

stutter free