DCS VR Tuning Guide - could it be done?

[KST]

Hi fellow DCS VR users!

As a regular casual DCS user using VR (~4 hours/week for last 3 years, 8 months in VR), I've found it a steep learning curve to try to sort through all of the settings in the VR pipeline to get a reasonable visual/framerate outcome in VR - I now have a pretty good configuration going however tweaking settings as I go takes away from actual flying time...

While there are some great videos/Discord discussions/posts here, there is a lot of "this works for me" and "different systems behave differently" (which are both true statements and personal preferences apply). I was keen to float the concept of a DCS VR Tuning Guide - it would not be 100% accurate, nor right in all cases but would hopefully help demystify the process for new and experience users alike.

The Concept

• Similar to skill trees in RP games, there are two buckets of units - GPU and CPU
• Rather than trying to profile all systems to come up with a bucket limit, users set their own limit based on how their system behaves which overcomes different CPU types, RAM levels etc. (over time common bucket sizes could be shared)
• Each configuration setting is given a Priority - 1 for those that have the most impact on performance/outcome; 2 for medium impact; and 3 for visual 'eye candy'. Users can then focus on Priority 1 settings first, then worry about Priority 2 etc.
• Each configuration setting has a pre-determined points for GPU and CPU (set as per section below) representing their impact on GPU and CPU capacity
• Users chose their preference for each setting (Selected), with each setting adding points into the GPU and CPU buckets until they are full - once full, the user can test the system, if it is not working well then repeat the process lowering the one of the bucket limits
   

How could this be created?

• The "secret sauce" here will be the points for each setting across GPU and CPU (in purple/yellow above) - these would be set by smarter folk than me with deep technical knowledge and shared for use in read-only format.

@Wags / @BIGNEWY - I would expect the ED Devs/QA'ers would have intrinsic knowledge around the impacts of each setting. Is this something that ED would support their team to contribute to? Are there internal documentation that could be leveraged?

Others - are you a DCS VR technical expert that would be happy to contribute? Do you know of one who may be interested?

• Rounding out the proof of concept shown above will require documentation of all of the relevant the settings at each layer (Windows, NVIDIA, OpenXR etc.) - I'm OK to populate sections covering NVIDIA/OpenXR/PiMAX settings per my rig - others could step up for other configurations.
   
• Focus in the first instance would be solely on Open Beta running in Multi-Threading mode (assuming that would be the most common VR setup?) and it would only be updated for significant releases.

It is would be very easy to get caught up on the raft of reasons why this wouldn't 100% accurate however could be a useful proxy to simplify things and be a great support to users.

Hopefully I've explained this simply...
 

 The million dollar question

 Are there experts out there willing to contribute?

Edited May 14, 2023 by KST
Remove weird "null" flags in headings

[speed-of-heat]

sure... 

part of the challenge is that you will get a lot of subjective "data"

[kerlcat]

Even I am no expert in this and not sure how this would fly as KST expected.
But agree such Graphics setting guidance for VR is really necessary … should be from ED team who shall be responsible to help most of users taking the best out of this very demanding simulation. One preset for VR today with lots of Low setting is not helping most of users.
 

Considerations: 

1. A bit elaboration on each setting and how it would impact performance & how. It ‘s quite common for any AAA game.

2. Recommended VR presets for 3 level of typical HW config. E.g. something like VR Recommend1: 10900K/3700X + 2070/5700 + 16G; 2: 12700K/5800X + 3060/6700 + 32G; 3: 13900K/7950X3D + 4090 + 64G.

[speed-of-heat]

another part of the problem is performance varies not only from map to map and module to module but also mission to mission...

"good settings" on the Caucuses are not so good on say the Marianas, and so on... and that's without the vagaries of network connection/multiplayer and mission complexity from numbers of units to scripting activities ... let alone the morass of PC/driver/firmware settings the complexity is gargantuan ...

My own semi (knowingly) flawed attempt took a deliberately complex and complex landscape and used that as the performance baseline, but minimised ai because of the randomness that can introduce... and then looked at the specific performance deltas for each change, but without a stable mission replay this is going to be "crude" it's one of the reasons I have paused in updating my own guide.

Edited May 14, 2023 by speed-of-heat

[Cytarabine]

I think the variability of DCS will keep VR a relatively niche area for the foreseeable future. People can post their performance optimizations (speed-of-heat did fantastic work with his guide, which even if not following verbatim did provide useful tips) but ultimately individual users have to decide which trade-offs they find acceptable and what their scenarios are to find their own sweet spot.

Some users are entirely multiplayer and fly on Caucuses all the time, and what suits them might be very different to someone who does lots of Liberation campaigns on the Syria map for example. Ultimately DCS (like other flight sims which are similarly cursed) is not designed as a VR title, it's a flat screen title you can play in VR, and so there are always going to be compromises even with the best of hardware.

I'd probably rather ED spend their time getting features in to the engine that will help VR users (DLSS/DLAA, Vulkan, ongoing MT work) than spending time on creating a moving feast of VR presets which will ultimately keep nobody happy. 

[WipeUout]

The idea is good but the breath is too wide for three reasons.  First, as stated above by @speed-of-heat, there are numerous mission type, scenario, terrain, airframe, etc.  Second is the hardware variety and possible combinations, which is almost infinite.  Thirdly, personal taste and tolerance toward details, image quality, refresh rate, etc.

That is not to say it would not be possible but you would probably need a multi-dimensional matrix to cover all aspects and possibilities.  I think that we have already a good set of guide for several type of HMD and VR support software.  But I'm with you, the VR world need simplification and standardization, it is a mess.

[freehand]

So many variables to consider and on top of that the state of peoples Pc's, so much junk running in the back ground etc. 

[RaTzo]

It would be wonderful but as others have said the actual impact is different in every different situation and with different hardware. Then there is the problem of ED changing the game and that changing what impacts what. 

That being said, there really is no reason why ED cannot take their notes from the settings menu (hover cursor over the options to get a brief description) and make them slightly more detailed and release it as a document. 

[dburne]

No.

Too many complexities, different hardware, systems, settings, configurations, etc.  Best is to do your own testing and find what works best and and looks most pleasing to you and stick with it. I have been flying VR for over 6 years now with multiple different headsets and that is how I have always done it - seems to work for me.

[KST]

Thank you to all for your replies!

Agree that there is a complex set of variables at play, however ultimately it does boil down to each vendor/developer in the VR pipeline must understand (through design, development and testing) what impacts what in terms of load on systems and resulting throughput/performance.

While individual users can invest the time to learn, tinker, retest and change again - it is putting a big onus on users who may not be super tech savvy/time poor and ultimately detracts from the experience within DCS. (BTW, I think Eagle Dynamics is doing a fantastic job with DCS so I have no beef with them.)

I'll leave this post here and happy to pick up again if there is interest.

Happy flying!