Most current, best path for configuring and optimizing Meta Quest 3 and DCS

[Stanomatic]

Hello DCS Friends,

I have played flight sims for a long time. I have been away from DCS for about 2-3 years. I had Valve Index but sold that a while back. DCS was ok with that but didn't keep me playing it in VR. Maybe I didn't have the right settings.

I received my Quest 3 last night and consumed as much information as I could via reading and videos. I might be on overload ATM because I have learned so much, but I feel like there could be conflicting information. Not only that but tech moves so fast that I may be doing stuff that is outdated.

Is there a sticky page in the forum for Meta Quest 3 that is kept updated? Is there a website specific to the setup and use of Quest 3 that is dedicated for DCS and updated? 

My rig:
VR: Meta Quest 3
CPU: Core i9-14900k
Memory: 64GB
GPU: RTX 4080 Super

My experience in last night's foray was dismal and worse than when I had my first VR. I had major stutter, gauges were horrible, etc.

The immediate questions I have so far:
1. Is there a dedicated site, forum post, or what is the most current video that I should watch to get started? I am going to reverse all my settings in NVidia and DCS and start over. From my understanding, people are having success with the Quest 3.
2. Do I need to be using DCS Beta or is my current most updated DCS sufficient? My guess is 2.9 is good to go.
3. When I sat in my chair I saw a blue ring constantly around my chair. Distracting. I am sure that is me and a setting I did.
4. Also, if I turn my head, I could see my room come into focus. Again, I am sure I am my own worst enemy and clicked a setting that caused that. lol
5. There seems to be so many 3rd party tools, BUT from my understanding some should not be used anymore. I have the Meta Quest 3 app. What other tools is current and that I should be using? 

I am willing to do the work and research, but I am getting frustrated with conflicting information. 

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[CybrSlydr]

I have nearly an identical system - 7800x3D, 4080 non-super, and 64GB RAM.  

What I did is start with DCS's default VR settings.  I clicked that in the options and then started tweaking from there.  AA is going to be the hardest thing to figure out.  DLAA helps with frames, but screen text is harder to read.  MSAA is better with screens, but a higher tax on performance.  TAA gives best AA, but text is fuzzier.  I've not really tried DLSS.  

In the Meta app, I set the refresh rate to either 72 or 90hz and a pixel density of 1.0.  

In the Oculus Debug app, I set the bitrate to 720mbps.

[Stanomatic]

CybrSlydr, Thanks for responding. I would assume that you are experiencing smooth game play with acceptable graphics.
I was thinking that I would start with the basic settings and then start tweaking. I also gather from your post I should be running Oculus Debug app. Further research has me looking at my parked CPUs. I am playing around with ParkControl app. 

[Aapje]

You can change the boundary sensitivity in the headset to reduce how soon the blue circle appears and how soon you go to passthrough at the edge of your boundary.

[AhSoul]

Welcome to a long road of painful tweaking and tinkering to get something you're happy with There are a LOT of variables you can play with, and what's acceptable to one person isn't acceptable to another.

I'd suggest putting the headset in 72Hz. Then you either a) need to target 72FPS, or b) use ASW to target 36 (half your refresh rate). BUT that will give you some weird ghosting effects and you might hate it (I do).

Consider using QVF to limit the area of the screen that is 'full detail', again to save FPS.

https://github.com/mbucchia/Quad-Views-Foveated/wiki/#download--installation

and https://github.com/TallyMouse/QuadViewsCompanion to configure it.

Start with your settings low and start bumping things up until they look good but don't perform badly. You're just going to have to experiment.

I've got a similar spec to you and I cannot max things out and hit a stable 72FPS. You have to pick and choose where to bump up and where to compromise.

Edited February 2 by AhSoul

[Stanomatic]

Aapje, thanks. I did figure it out and I don't see the blue circle anymore. I think it was disabling it altogether.

AhSoul, thank you. I'll check out those programs. Yes, I think starting from the beginning and then changing settings slowly and trying third-party apps until I get the image and playability to acceptable limits is the way to go.

Day 2: I was able to get smooth gameplay, and the image is now a lot better than my first Valve Index I had three years back. I want to start pursuing better images for my gauges and everything else. In particular, the MFD letters are still difficult to see, but everything else seems better.

New Problem and Workaround: Meta Quest App no longer works with DCS. Here's the sequence of events:

Day 1: Loaded Meta Quest Application on my computer, set as default OpenXR, linked Quest 3 after setup and initialization.

Day 2: Loaded SteamVR and played "The Lab." Then proceeded to DCS, clicked Launch, and after 15 seconds, the DCS Launcher (first screen) came back up.

Troubleshooting: Restarted computer, reset OpenXR as default in Meta Quest 3 app, but nothing fully launched DCS.

Workaround: Inside SteamVR, set OpenXR to default for Steam, kept Meta Quest 3 app on, linked Quest 3 VR, and started DCS. It worked! I also tried to reverse that and set Meta Quest 3 app back to default for OpenXR, still did not work. 

Is this a known problem? How is everyone else launching DCS in VR?

[sleighzy]

2 hours ago, Stanomatic said:

Aapje, thanks. I did figure it out and I don't see the blue circle anymore. I think it was disabling it altogether.

AhSoul, thank you. I'll check out those programs. Yes, I think starting from the beginning and then changing settings slowly and trying third-party apps until I get the image and playability to acceptable limits is the way to go.

Day 2: I was able to get smooth gameplay, and the image is now a lot better than my first Valve Index I had three years back. I want to start pursuing better images for my gauges and everything else. In particular, the MFD letters are still difficult to see, but everything else seems better.

New Problem and Workaround: Meta Quest App no longer works with DCS. Here's the sequence of events:

Day 1: Loaded Meta Quest Application on my computer, set as default OpenXR, linked Quest 3 after setup and initialization.

Day 2: Loaded SteamVR and played "The Lab." Then proceeded to DCS, clicked Launch, and after 15 seconds, the DCS Launcher (first screen) came back up.

Troubleshooting: Restarted computer, reset OpenXR as default in Meta Quest 3 app, but nothing fully launched DCS.

Workaround: Inside SteamVR, set OpenXR to default for Steam, kept Meta Quest 3 app on, linked Quest 3 VR, and started DCS. It worked! I also tried to reverse that and set Meta Quest 3 app back to default for OpenXR, still did not work. 

Is this a known problem? How is everyone else launching DCS in VR?

Should be the way you're doing it. Drop your C:\Users\username\Saved Games\DCS\Logs\dcs.log file (may just be a text document named "dcs" if your Windows is hiding file extensions) after you've attempted to load all the way into the game. We can check the log to see what the issue is.

[jurinko]

Stsrt dcs from meta enviro and then confirm the launcher which appeared on monitor screen with mouse click.

[AeroGrappler]

Great thread! Thanks!  I have a very similar rig (4080,64, etc.), and I've been tweaking for a couple years now.  However, I've been starting maxed out and then lowering settings from there.

My question is: Is there a priority ranking of what is more important? I understand that the hover feature in DCS describes the setting and how big of a performance hit it has on the game, but should one start with, say, "Heat Blur" first, then if things are still choppy, move to "mirrors", then..., etc.? Would be nice if there was a ranked list of tweaks, and then one just stops when they are satisfied with the performance/quality mix.

I'm no guru, so this person wouldn't be me, but there are SO MANY people asking for the same "best" Quest 3 DCS settings...seems like that list would get a ton of play.

[sleighzy]

2 hours ago, AeroGrappler said:

Great thread! Thanks!  I have a very similar rig (4080,64, etc.), and I've been tweaking for a couple years now.  However, I've been starting maxed out and then lowering settings from there.

My question is: Is there a priority ranking of what is more important? I understand that the hover feature in DCS describes the setting and how big of a performance hit it has on the game, but should one start with, say, "Heat Blur" first, then if things are still choppy, move to "mirrors", then..., etc.? Would be nice if there was a ranked list of tweaks, and then one just stops when they are satisfied with the performance/quality mix.

I'm no guru, so this person wouldn't be me, but there are SO MANY people asking for the same "best" Quest 3 DCS settings...seems like that list would get a ton of play.

In my experience no two systems are really alike, and a lot of people have a different combinations of setups and tools. The "best" Quest 3 DCS settings will differ for lots of people, and existing lists and videos get out of date really quickly...and in a bunch of cases it's wrong and really people should not be following them. In general, "it depends". Need a lot of logs, screenshots, and other info from each person to get an accurate picture and provide feedback that works for them.

In my humble opinion folk are more likely to get better feedback by jumping into the #dcs-vr-chat room of the DCS Eagle Dynamics discord server, or the VR channels in the VR4DCS discord server. You'll get more up-to-date and the latest approaches as well as a wealth of feedback from people who tune, and help others tune, on a daily basis. Also immediate turn around times with q'n'a and requests for info. The Eagle Dynamics one also has a #dcs-log-analyzer channel that is really good for dropping your DCS log into and it will highlight issues and provide tuning advice.

As per your comment re: putting everything on high and seeing how it goes, the DCS log analyzer channel is good for that and helping you know which things you could turn down. Set a solid baseline, only increase resolution in one place, and then start applying tools on top to eek out a little more performance.

I find these DCS Forum threads good for specific questions and issues, but as soon as you get into general tuning recommendations for all you get heaps of people jumping in with numerous problems and "me too" and everything gets lost in the noise when you're asking for logs, screenshots, etc. etc. For example, the constant "I get stutters" has no one definitive answer, it can be for numerous different reasons. Without analysis of that one system it's hard to say what it is. My mantra is generally "It's always the simple things that cause the most problems" ... it's just a matter of finding that thing.

Sorry for the wall of text, and I didn't entirely answer your question. Recommend the Discord servers I mentioned above.

NOTE: for people using the "VR" button in DCS, this sets a Preload Radius of 100000, which is far too high. Generally set it to your physical RAM size or lower, e.g. 30000 or 60000. If you only have 32Gb RAM then immediately create a custom page file, only a single one (remove all other system managed ones), with Initial and Max values of 32768, click Set, Apply, and restart your machine. Make sure you aren't parking your cores. Turn off SSLR and SSAO. If using DLSS then make sure to use DLSS4 with either J or K presets. Only increase resolution in one place, e.g. Meta app, Quad Views, etc, leave PD at 1.0 in DCS. Set your headset at a refresh rate you're realistically gonna hit, this is pretty much 72hz in most every case. ....many many many more items.

Edited March 11 by sleighzy

[Qcumber]

To add to the feedback from sleighzy, you also need to consider QVFR if using it. When this is enabled some settings in DCS have less of an impact than if they were applied to a full resolution image. For example, MSAA has less of a hit with QVFR. 

[AeroGrappler]

Great points QCumber, and thanks for the recs. I'll check out the chatroom or discord next time I'm on.

Also, acronym overload here...do you have an acronym list somewhere? lol