fixed Latest Oculus v63 PTC build crashing DCS when used on Oculus Link

[LOW_Hitman]

vor 59 Minuten schrieb Rapierarch:

This. This will be big if ED does not push a hotfix soon. I was lucky to take action before the update. 

Iam not sure about switching from oculus to a pico 4, but as some of you already said - if there is not planned support or hotfix from ED DCS is dead for oculus users.

[YoYo]

Right now, I'm flying more MSFS/IL-2 than DCS because I'm waiting for Phantom, so I'm not doing anything. If there is v63, too bad, I'll wait a while until ED fixes it. Phantom will probably be available at the end of March or even in April, I hope they will do it by then, although many people may be surprised when DCS stops working in VR and they start looking for the cause, thinking that something happened to their goggles or PC . I think that if v63 starts being released to people and DCS in VR stops working, there should at least be some official notice about it on the DCS website, because people will be tearing their hair out as to why it doesn't work. 

[les]

39 minutes ago, YoYo said:

Right now, I'm flying more MSFS/IL-2 than DCS because I'm waiting for Phantom, so I'm not doing anything. If there is v63, too bad, I'll wait a while until ED fixes it. Phantom will probably be available at the end of March or even in April, I hope they will do it by then, although many people may be surprised when DCS stops working in VR and they start looking for the cause, thinking that something happened to their goggles or PC . I think that if v63 starts being released to people and DCS in VR stops working, there should at least be some official notice about it on the DCS website, because people will be tearing their hair out as to why it doesn't work. 

Unfortunately v63 is already released- it's now the current version, so basically everyone who doesn't have that very technical work around to prevent the update will find dcs doesn't work........given that I setup my whole pc and station, including choosing the quest2 , to play dcs, I'm really very annoyed. Not good enough to just rule out all oculus users....cash back for all the modules I've bought???!!

[yoadknux]

I know it's technically not ED's fault, but I would really appreciate if you guys release a hotfix for this and not add this to "will be fixed in a future update" list. I commited so much to get DCS running with my Quest 2. I bought the most expensive GPU, RAM and SSD. I spent entire days tuning settings, pixel density, render resolution, sampling, optimizing the cable connection, stick, pedals, throttle. And now nothing works, just like that. 

[YoYo]

57 minutes ago, Rapierarch said:

Normal practice is, if your software suddenly becomes incompatible with another hardware and you know it and you also know when you will fix it so communicate it via newsletter, news flash e-mail or smoke signals. A compatibility warning would have helped some people who are able to prevent this update. 

Since they have no problem sharing those kind of things: 

 

Obviously! 

[Qcumber]

1 hour ago, LOW_Hitman said:

Iam not sure about switching from oculus to a pico 4, but as some of you already said - if there is not planned support or hotfix from ED DCS is dead for oculus users.

You can still use Virtual desktop with Q2, Q3 and Pico 4 as this uses VDXR or steam VR. It only affects the oculus app. 

[slughead]

However, Virtual Desktop is not free. So if you haven’t got it already, this change from Meta has come at a cost if you go down this route. Plus it only works on wifi and you need a good fast connection to your router for it to be any good. I’m lucky that I can use my PC wifi as a hotspot (although I am sticking to v62 and cabled).

I think people are over reacting a tad here though. To say DCS is “dead” for oculus users is somewhat hysterical. You can use steam with a cable for free. Sure it isn’t ideal, and if, like me, you use various OpenXR layers adding such as HTCC, OpenKneeboard, etc, you will lose those temporarily. But that’s why it’s called a workaround.

ED has already said that they have a fix, so you can be reassured that it will be in the next build.

Keep calm and carry on flying.

Edited March 9, 2024 by slughead

[YoYo]

Of course this doesn't mean the "death of DCS for Oculus users", but it will cause big problems, especially if people don't get clear information and some roadmap to the hotfix at least. Virtual Desktop costs $20 and will not provide better quality than LinkCable. It probably requires correcting some code and Meta itself can probably help the ED team within 1-2 days so I think it's a matter of time, maybe a short time, a few days and it will be ok again.

[slughead]

36 minutes ago, YoYo said:

but it will cause big problems

You mean "may" not "will". And again only for some, not all Oculus users. Many use VD or Steam only, so it won't affect them. If people are mad enough to wipe their entire systems and reinstall Windows and DCS over this then perhaps they need to rethink their processes... i.e. look around the internet first to see if others are having the problem and what solutions are available. I provided a solution as soon as I reported it when it first happened at the end of February and this site is not hidden from Google searches.

36 minutes ago, YoYo said:

 It probably requires correcting some code and Meta itself can probably help the ED team within 1-2 days so I think it's a matter of time, maybe a short time, a few days and it will be ok again.

This is trivialising the issue. ED have already stated they have a fix. The question is whether they have the resources to place just that fix into a patch or whether it is cost-effective for them to release it together with their next planned build and issue an interim workaround (which they/the community have). Neither of which any of us are privy to and so I have no intention of discussing it as it is pure conjecture (i.e. pointless effort).

I say trivialising because we have no idea whether this is a simple fix, or whether a whole new API and library has had to be integrated and therefore we have no idea how much testing they need to do before they can consider releasing it. Not to mention prioritising the testing over other features that are being integrated into the next build from various third parties as well as themselves.

Edited March 9, 2024 by slughead

[les]

Agree it's not Ed's fault and that a fix may be difficult- communication is key , if we knew they were working to fix it and that at some point it would be ok again, then most people would accept that....

As it is I'm kind of left looking for other solutions, ideally to keep using the quest2 somehow ........

[yoadknux]

59 minutes ago, slughead said:

However, Virtual Desktop is not free. So if you haven’t got it already, this change from Meta has come at a cost if you go down this route. Plus it only works on wifi and you need a good fast connection to your router for it to be any good. I’m lucky that I can use my PC wifi as a hotspot (although I am sticking to v62 and cabled).

I think people are over reacting a tad here though. To say DCS is “dead” for oculus users is somewhat hysterical. You can use steam with a cable for free. Sure it isn’t ideal, and if, like me, you use various OpenXR layers adding such as HTCC, OpenKneeboard, etc, you will lose those temporarily. But that’s why it’s called a workaround.

ED has already said that they have a fix, so you can be reassured that it will be in the next build.

Keep calm and carry on flying.

 

Are you actually affected by this issue that you're trying to explain to me that this issue is "not so bad"? I don't have the time to learn a new SteamVR platform that will give me worse performance. And I don't have the time nor money to buy a high-end router and configure it specifically for DCS with Virtual Desktop. 

And I'm tired of the word "workaround", it seems to be the most popular word in DCS and simulator experience in general. 

All I want is to play the game with my equipment that worked fine for months. 

I'm happy I still have TrackIR because otherwise I really would not be able to play the game I invested so much time and money into. 

[Bounti30]

I think ED is innocent in this case.
Personally I don't let Quest 2 automatically update.
I'm waiting for feedback.
META may not even know that DCS has problems with V63. META does not care about third party software, they only develop their own products.
If ED bothers to do a hotfix to fix the problem, thank you but they are not obligated.

[slughead]

1 minute ago, yoadknux said:

Are you actually affected by this issue that you're trying to explain to me that this issue is "not so bad"? I don't have the time to learn a new SteamVR platform that will give me worse performance. And I don't have the time nor money to buy a high-end router and configure it specifically for DCS with Virtual Desktop. 

And I'm tired of the word "workaround", it seems to be the most popular word in DCS and simulator experience in general. 

All I want is to play the game with my equipment that worked fine for months. 

I'm happy I still have TrackIR because otherwise I really would not be able to play the game I invested so much time and money into. 

If you have kept up... you'll know that I reported this issue in the first place. So, yeah, I am affected by it, however I have mitigated it. Now I get that many were completely unaware of this, that's why I drew it to ED's attention as soon as it happened as I was on the Meta PTC build. So I am disappointed as you that ED hasn't released a patch already. After all, Steam patched their end very swiftly but then again, Steam have a much bigger user base than ED has to be concerned about.

Like it or not, we are operating in a world (VR) that is constantly evolving. HP dropping out of the market, MS dropping support for WMR, and new headset vendors appearing. The technology is evolving all the time and rapidly. If we want to be in it, this is how it is, unfortunately.

[yoadknux]

8 minutes ago, slughead said:

If you have kept up... you'll know that I reported this issue in the first place. So, yeah, I am affected by it, however I have mitigated it. Now I get that many were completely unaware of this, that's why I drew it to ED's attention as soon as it happened as I was on the Meta PTC build. So I am disappointed as you that ED hasn't released a patch already. After all, Steam patched their end very swiftly but then again, Steam have a much bigger user base than ED has to be concerned about.

Like it or not, we are operating in a world (VR) that is constantly evolving. HP dropping out of the market, MS dropping support for WMR, and new headset vendors appearing. The technology is evolving all the time and rapidly. If we want to be in it, this is how it is, unfortunately.

Yeah, I admit that you're right. When exploring new lands you're gonna get stuck in mud eventually. I guess it's just not suitable for casual players like me, as I have now learned 

Edited March 9, 2024 by yoadknux

[Rapierarch]

53 minutes ago, Bounti30 said:

I think ED is innocent in this case.
Personally I don't let Quest 2 automatically update.
I'm waiting for feedback.
META may not even know that DCS has problems with V63. META does not care about third party software, they only develop their own products.
If ED bothers to do a hotfix to fix the problem, thank you but they are not obligated.

He is not. Meta implemented this feature, and provided it in beta for a long time and probably ED has dev access so they know it way before. 

ED says that they know it, they know exactly what's changed but they planned to implement it next patch. 

 

You can compare it to this. Just imagine  MS introduces a new feature to Dx11 and all game vendors needs to implement a patch to their engine to be able to use Dx11 in the future.

Ms pushes the update without no way of rolling back after announcement and public beta testing.

All game studios implement it except ED. So noone is able to play DCS for 6 weeks.

For a VR user it is exactly like this. 

[Qcumber]

3 hours ago, slughead said:

However, Virtual Desktop is not free.

That's true. You need to factor in the cost of VD plus a dedicated WiFi router. This cost me about £55 (£15 for VD and £40 for a router). Oculus link isn't really free either as air link is not great (unless you get a dedicated router) and the official oculus cable is about £90, although you can get cheaper ones. 

The positive to this is that there are many people out there who feel that VD is superior so it will give others, who have only ever used oculus, the chance to try better(?) options. I don't think it would be a controversial statement to say that meta is not very popular and that PCVR is not important for them. 

[majorandme]

7 hours ago, Qcumber said:

No. The rift s cannot be used with VD. It requires WiFi and a headset with a snapdragon processor. 

OK. Thanks. I am away at the moment so will check to see if it affects my rift s when I get back. 

Not sure what this means, needing WIFI.  My Rift S is hard wired to the desktop and I can run it without WiFi.

[slughead]

5 minutes ago, Qcumber said:

That's true. You need to factor in the cost of VD plus a dedicated WiFi router. This cost me about £55 (£15 for VD and £40 for a router). Oculus link isn't really free either as air link is not great (unless you get a dedicated router) and the official oculus cable is about £90, although you can get cheaper ones. 

The positive to this is that there are many people out there who feel that VD is superior so it will give others, who have only ever used oculus, the chance to try better(?) options. I don't think it would be a controversial statement to say that meta is not very popular and that PCVR is not important for them. 

Personally, I found a wired connection to be superior to VD. As far as cost goes, people will already have a wired connection so that cost isn't relevant to this issue. However, people shouldn't have to pay out to use a workaround.... and they don't, they can use Steam in the interim. But if they have already got VD, they could use that.

Regarding the popularity of Meta headsets, I have to disagree. They have almost 50% market share globally. I wouldn't say that PCVR isn't important to them either. It's one part of the VR ecosystem. MSFS is a PCVR app, and so is everything via Steam. That's a big sector to dismiss.

On that note.... does anyone know if MSFS suffering from this change from Meta?

null

9 minutes ago, majorandme said:

Not sure what this means, needing WIFI.  My Rift S is hard wired to the desktop and I can run it without WiFi.

He means that the app, Virtual Desktop, is a wifi only app.

[Qcumber]

15 minutes ago, slughead said:

Regarding the popularity of Meta headsets, I have to disagree.

I should have qualified that. The headsets are popular and I am a fan (rift s and quest pro). The PCVR software on the other hand is not so great. 5 year of use and not any major changes. I have always found it temperamental. Even with my rift s.

There are also a lot of people who seem to just hate Meta and refuse to buy anything. 

I too prefer oculus link cable over VD but there is not much in it really.

 

Edited March 9, 2024 by Qcumber

[les]

20 minutes ago, Qcumber said:

I should have qualified that. The headsets are popular and I am a fan (rift s and quest pro). The PCVR software on the other hand is not so great. 5 year of use and not any major changes. I have always found it temperamental. Even with my rift s.

There are also a lot of people who seem to just hate Meta and refuse to buy anything. 

I too prefer oculus link cable over VD but there is not much in it really.

 

 

I always preferred the wired link for my quest2- but that hasn't worked for months......very similar to this update, one day it stopped working, three dots appear and it never connects, so I was forced to use air link which is a pain...

All these reasons are why personally I wouldn't buy another meta headset...just too much trouble, I go for another brand with a wired connection that just works

 

[majorandme]

5 hours ago, YoYo said:

Right now, I'm flying more MSFS/IL-2 than DCS because I'm waiting for Phantom, so I'm not doing anything. If there is v63, too bad, I'll wait a while until ED fixes it. Phantom will probably be available at the end of March or even in April, I hope they will do it by then, although many people may be surprised when DCS stops working in VR and they start looking for the cause, thinking that something happened to their goggles or PC . I think that if v63 starts being released to people and DCS in VR stops working, there should at least be some official notice about it on the DCS website, because people will be tearing their hair out as to why it doesn't work. 

This is exactly what I went through yesterday.  My normal routine; flash up the PC, click on DCS, put on headset, fly campaign mission, land and shut down, go back to Honey-do list for "She who shall be obeyed".  Suddenly DCS starts crashing on boot up.  To be honest, I figured it was DCS at first, so I fiddled around a bit.  I was worried of screwing up my progress or the sim itself, so I didn't mess with much. To see if it was my oculus, I used the updater to start with VR off, and was happy to see at least DCS worked.  Then I thought of the forums "I wonder if it is not just me"  Happy to see it isn't, but pissed that some people think I should be following DCS forums or Oculus forums daily so that if there is some kind of an update to either I can be forewarned to go into program files and start re-writing folders to prevent automatic updates.  ""surprised in this day in age people don't know how to do that"  Really??

I do love DCS and its community.  As a retired naval flight officer I enjoy learning weapons and systems and tactics.  Takes me back to my numerous warfare courses through my career.  But if DCS or Oculus are not working to fix this, I will not give up on DCS.   I want to keep flying, so what VR system should I now be running to the store to buy? 

Apologies for the rant ... Hopefully this us fixed before my beloved Phantom shows up. I'll be seriously pissed if she stays in the chocks waiting patiently for my ham-fists to get her into the realm in which she belongs .....

Yours Aye!

[milo1973]

This not the (optional) PTC update, its now the standard release that has been pushed out to everyone, and cannot be rolled back. 

[yoadknux]

2 hours ago, majorandme said:

This is exactly what I went through yesterday.  My normal routine; flash up the PC, click on DCS, put on headset, fly campaign mission, land and shut down, go back to Honey-do list for "She who shall be obeyed".  Suddenly DCS starts crashing on boot up.  To be honest, I figured it was DCS at first, so I fiddled around a bit.  I was worried of screwing up my progress or the sim itself, so I didn't mess with much. To see if it was my oculus, I used the updater to start with VR off, and was happy to see at least DCS worked.  Then I thought of the forums "I wonder if it is not just me"  Happy to see it isn't, but pissed that some people think I should be following DCS forums or Oculus forums daily so that if there is some kind of an update to either I can be forewarned to go into program files and start re-writing folders to prevent automatic updates.  ""surprised in this day in age people don't know how to do that"  Really??

I do love DCS and its community.  As a retired naval flight officer I enjoy learning weapons and systems and tactics.  Takes me back to my numerous warfare courses through my career.  But if DCS or Oculus are not working to fix this, I will not give up on DCS.   I want to keep flying, so what VR system should I now be running to the store to buy? 

Apologies for the rant ... Hopefully this us fixed before my beloved Phantom shows up. I'll be seriously pissed if she stays in the chocks waiting patiently for my ham-fists to get her into the realm in which she belongs .....

Yours Aye!

I'm totally with you on that bro... And I think only a person who lost the connection will understand how hopeless we feel. 

[silverdevil]

1 hour ago, milo1973 said:

This not the (optional) PTC update, its now the standard release that has been pushed out to everyone, and cannot be rolled back. 

have you performed the roll back to v62. this is the version that works. if you opt out of PTC you won't get an auto update.

[YoYo]

Log with DCS crash with official Meta update v63.

My friend recived Today the update. Of course he had no idea about anything, he called me and said that his DCS wasn't working, he had Quest 3. He already thought he had to install DCS, and the repair didn't help him. Fortunately, I knew what it was about. With his consent, I am giving his logo @Flappie @BIGNEWY , currently he cannot fly in DCS and Quest 3. Im still on v62.

dcs (7).log

He has a loading screen, then he sees a black image, then CTD.