[BUG/FEATURE] Provide a Sharpen strength setting, and more post-processing effect controls in VR

[CptLucky8]

FS2020 is embedding a number of post-processing effects which are all set in the UserCfg.opt file.

However, some of these effects are either too strong or too weak depending on personal tastes, and some prefer disabling a few to save visual quality or compensate for the effects implementation.

Furthermore, FS2020 Update 7 is now using the famous CAS Shader by Timothy Lottes. It is a very capable shader doing “Contrast Adaptive Sharpening” (hence the name) and image stretch all in one, and it is the shader processing the pixels to transform the smaller FS2020 Render Resolution image into the Headset/Monitor Display Resolution. This shader is designed to accept a “strength” value from 0 to 1 in order to adjust the sharpening effect and it is lacking in the simulator settings.

I’d suggest FS2020 using the following OpenXR extension and/or user provided equivalent values:

• For FB headsets: XR_FB_color_space

• Provide the end users with the means to setup the color space with the same input values (Chromacity Primaries in CIE 1931 xy, directly in the UserCfg.opt json file or in a companion file) whether it is a FB headset or not and whether the extension is present or not, so that end users can override the default in any case.

I’d suggest FS2020 provides at least the following mandatory missing settings:

• Tone Mapping Gama slider
  allowing adjusting the game dynamic range because no all headsets have any brightness adjustment nor are restituting the full sRGB spectrum.

• Tone Mapping Brightness slider
  allowing adjusting the game white clipping because some headsets panels are not fully sRGB (the Index is clipping whites a little bit more than the Reverb G2 for example) and this shows badly when in VR.

• CAS Shader Strength slider
  allowing anyone adjusting the strength based not only on personal taste but also based on the render-to-display size ratios. In effect, it may require more or less strength to make this effect not overdone when using certain different size ratios.
  NB: UserCfg.opt might only supports 0 or 1 but could be supporting 0.5 for example.

I’d also suggest FS2020 provides the following optional settings:

• Post Process ON/OFF settings
  allowing to enable/disable the following UserCfg.opt PostProcess options:
  EyeAdaptation, ColorGrading, Dirt, FilmGrain, Vignette

Please also make sure voting for these:
Implement a metering system better suited for VR
Render the Sun with a fading disk when bloom is disabled
Bake Ambient Occlusion in the cockpit when Ambient Occlusion is disabled
Can you please add a “Sun Glasses” mode ? (not a joke)

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Notes:
What is the CAS Shader (info and demo app)

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02FEB2021: added Using XR_FB_color_space extension.

[SageGoldfish543]

Nvidia has one. Tick Experimental in the game-ready settings and then you can have the overlay in the sim. Plenty of common effects to choose from. It’s almost like reshade but not as comprehensive.

[CptLucky8]

Do you mean in GeForce Experience? If so, some are not using it all all because they have either no use or this is taking taking unnecessary resources.

But more importantly, adjusting brightness and/or colors via a post-processing Shader is not solving the problems I’m highlighting in this post and this has nothing to do with the subject. Please let me try explaining what is happening, I’ll let you search online the technical terms.

Just looking at the output (to keep it simple I’ll use only 1 gray value from 0 to 1): the simulator is rendering a white square spanning 5 pixels which are displaying as a gradient of grays from 0.8 to 1.2, but it is clipped to the [0,1] range for display obviously and as expected:

Source: 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2
Output: 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 (clipped)

a) Applying a Shader to lower the luminosity by 0.2 from the source (in FS2020):

Source: 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2
Output: 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 (pre process -0.2)
Display: 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 (clipped) <— no loss of signal between output and display

b) Applying a Shader to lower the luminosity by 0.2 at the output (after FS2020):

Source: 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2
Output: 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 (clipped)
Display: 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 (post process -0.2) <— loss of signal, it is just dimming the clipped white

NB: this is a simple illustration of 1, and only 1 of the problems with post-processing this (there is more like quantization errors, color shift, etc…)

In other words:

The rendering is done in an unclipped linear space, then it is tone mapped, and then converted to a non linear sRGB color space which is clipped for display, and this is why you can’t post-process what I’ve written above otherwise I wouldn’t have requested it.

[SageGoldfish543]

Thanks for the insight. Actually, I was hoping they’d include those options in the sim too. I remember them saying as much early on in the development process a year or so ago.

[stekusteku]

GeForce Experience is not applicable to the picture visible in the headset (at least for the Reverb G2), it affectes only the picture on the monitor.

[BlitzKnopf81284]

@stekusteku - same for Samsung Odyssey and any other HMD. Same for Reshade, Nvidia Control panel - all just afect 2D Monitors. We really need a way to adjust color saturation etc. internally. All the HMD with OLED Displays, although great displays, dont do this sim justice.
Colors are over saturated in sunlight, and there is absolutely no way to adjust them.
Other sims I finally got issue solved with mods, for FS2020 such solution is missing.

Attached a pic from my Odyssey (left) and Monitor (right), just to show the (harsh) difference.

[CptLucky8]

bumping for more time for others to share their comments.

[ClosingDiagram2]

Brightness is way more than natural leading to washed out colors and an overall haze effect.
Any capability to adjust color/brightness/contrast would be most welcome.

[CptLucky8]

I’ve added the following to the OP

@CptLucky8

02FEB2021: added Using XR_FB_color_space extension.

[AeroKruemel]

A reply to keep the topic open and unsolved

[CptLucky8]

Thank you! It is unfortunate they are only considering a “brightness” slider in the VR Q&A items (where does this one come from?!?) and on top of that, as an item of priority 2…

In all honesty this is something like 3 sliders in a UI and 3 shaders “constants” to add. If they didn’t protect their shader binaries we could do ourselves like I did in the past with XP11:

Enhanced Rendering (for free) and Post Processsing

[thecalvrsimer]

Hi, I agree with you, we should have some sort of color correction control and the most important being a SHARPEN filter such as the one we can find in iRacing and ACC. The iRacing one is absolutely amazing, it literally improves your VR experience in an incredible way.
I have a G2 (LCD panels), and I find it to be the opposite for me, I am experiencing washed out colors with a lack of contrast (I understand haze atmospheric effect decontrast things, but still), especially when in a full sun light scenario.
I find, in my case, the visuals being the best at dusk or dawn, I am not super crazy about their sun light shader, I find their lighting most pleasant and pretty when in an ambient, more diffuse lighting scenario, but that’s just me.
Let’s vote for CC parameters : )