My 2070 SUPER VR settings and suggestions (Index - SteamVR) šŸŸ¢

This is an update since yesterday. Iā€™ve now tested 446.14 again and there was not a massive increase in fps in VR an pretty much the same stutters overall, therefore, Iā€™ve reverted back to 457.30 (HAGS OFF, Game Mode OFF - Iā€™ll need to make a few more flight with both ON and compare again)

However Iā€™ve further tested out different situations with Gauge Refresh HIGH and in general I get smoother, albeit slightly lower, fps. Everything for now is pointing to the EFIS screens refreshing once in a while in burst, and when they do, they take so much CPU the render is skipping frames and causing stutters. However when set to HIGH there are more or less constantly updating and although they are taking more CPU per sec on average (more frequent updates) the renderer is more constant in presenting its views to the HMD (this resemble the pattern Iā€™ve posted above).

All my tests are indicating there is a direct relation to the EFIS rendering resolution to the overall stutters. Furthermore the EFIS screen resolution depends on the Post Process resolution (the SteamVR SS value) and not on the Render Scale resolution (the TAA Render Scale value) I believe this is a bug in VR. In effect, in 2D it seems to depend on the TAA Render Scale only. This means for now you only get two choices:

  • Lower EFIS rendering resources to increase fps.
    use TAA < 100% and SS > 100% giving good scenery/cockpit with blurriness on the EFIS.
  • Crispier EFIS rendering visuals.
    use TAA = 100% and SS <= 100% giving sharp EFIS drawings but blurry scenery/cockpit.

Iā€™m even wondering if Coherant GT rendering (EFIS) is really hardware accelerated. In effect, when it is updating in burst the most affected graph is the CPU. This could mean the CPU is busy drawing the texture which will get updated to the video card, otherwise it is hardware accelerated and rendering on the video card but in this case Iā€™m wondering why is the CPU is so much used when they are updating.

Please note in my flights where I was changing SteamVR SS and TAA Render Res I was trying to keep similar effective resolutions (close to 2K x 2K) but it is mostly when I was having the best EFIS legibility (TAA 100) I was having more stutters unless reducing SteamVR SS so much.

As a matter of fact, today Iā€™ve tried pushing this further: SteamVR SS 200% and TAA 70% (or 60% depending). I can tell you outside view was stunning with lots of details, and the 200/60 combo was still giving me enough legibility (just at the limit when using 60%) flying over EDDF in the A320.

Nevertheless there was really not much stutters and it was overall a good experience fps wise. This is to me confirming the EFIS drawing technology is really taxing the resource much more than expected and the more you can reduce their impact the better.

3 Likes

this will conclude my tests today and Iā€™ll wrap this all up:

  • Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate is the main source of stutters (see my 2 posts above for details)
  • My test system (9700K + 2070S) is perfectly capable rendering VR in 3K x 3K with SteamVR at 30fps (see below)
  • HAGS is killing VR with NVidia 457.30 and SteamVR 1.14.15.

So letā€™s be quick and to the point: Iā€™ve just had the 2 best flights Iā€™ve ever had in FS2020 VR tonight!

You can try this too in doing this:

  1. Disable HAGS and reboot (mandatory)
  2. Disable Game Mode
  3. Use my FS2020 settings
  4. Set Terrain LOD to 50% (didnā€™t try 100% tonight)
  5. Set Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate to HIGH
  6. Set all VR Traffic sliders to 10% except Road Vehicles to 50%
  7. Set SteamVR Super Sampling to 220% and FS2020 TAA to 60% and Motion Smoothing disabled.
FS2020 SteamVR Render Res. Post Process Res. Comments
TAA 60% SS 220% 1792 x 1992 2988 x 3320 breathtaking visuals and crisp EFIS

This is massive pixel amount (see table) giving lots of details in the scenery and ground textures. EFIS are nearly as legible as the TAA100/SS80 I was recommending before, and are better than with TAA70/SS150. But thatā€™s not all: I get smoother and more regular fps with 60/220 now that Iā€™ve set gauge refresh rate high and HAGS off.

Iā€™ve been flying around KSNA with the DA40NG and the Scattered Clouds preset with online multiplayer and this was just great, both daylight and night. Iā€™ve also been flying around EDDF with the A320 and the same clouds preset but there I just needed to lower Volumetric Clouds to LOW in order to get similar smoothness.

Here is a screenshot at KSNA I couldnā€™t help sharing:

NB: I know 30fps seems quite low but my experience shows what matters most is not the ā€œbest fpsā€ but the ā€œstutter free fpsā€ instead, and a constant 30fps with no stutters feels really good in FS2020. This looks even better than this screenshot in the Index headset!

NB: although it was the smoothest experience Iā€™ve got, I didnā€™t measure with fpsVr (because it seems these tools are inducing some stuttering in the recent NVidia drivers). It was only a ā€œfeelingā€ and therefore it is also subjective, but after flying so many hours comparing settings and visuals I can assure you this is not placebo on my system. The only stutters remaining were the ones most likely from the NVidia drivers. With the A320 I could see from time to time a stutter every 1 sec, like clockwork, otherwise some other times it was most likely loading something. Otherwise there is still perceptible stuttering when turning, more or less varying in frequency, and Iā€™m starting to suspect the EFIS code refreshing in the background and causing this (especially the navigation logic JS code shared among nearly all gauges).

Please let me know if this is also giving good results for you!

10 Likes

Thinking outside the flight sim envelope!
Bad performance? Increase settings, I like it.
I went back to High on glass cockpit refresh rate, and it seems the judders are less looking out left on 787 / A320 / CJ4 / G36.
G1 on WMR / 9900ks @5.0 / 2080S hybrid / 32GB

1 Like

update: Iā€™ll be posting a My 2070 SUPER VR settings and suggestions (Reverb G2) in the coming days!

7 Likes

I have a Reverb G1, should I run it with SteamVR or just wmr?

You might want to review this discussion instead:
Donā€™t set location of OpenXR runtime with the registry, use OpenXR Loader Specs instead - Virtual Reality (VR) / General - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums

I just checked and mine is set to the right wmr location, but wmr doesnā€™t have a SS option like steamvr, performance is quite poor with a 2070s and reverb g1, will wait for your suggested settings.

Thank you! Have a laptop with a 9750H and a RTX 2080 Max Q, Quest 2. Will let you know how it runs! Iā€™ve been having some performance issues with the game but I dont care for them as this is a great sim.

Wow, canā€™t believe your settings!

Iā€™ve got a RTX3080 with Rift S. Tried first with TAA 100% and SS 150% in Oculus-Tool. It was great but the wide view was not clear. Then i found your post and tried nearly your settings TAA70% and SS 220%. Now itā€™s unbelievable grat and clear!

Can you explain, why itā€™s such a huge difference?

1 Like

Psuedoscience. All you need is latest drivers and in-game settings. Also mate with all respect this is longer than a novel, canā€™t you summarize?

It is explained a little further up!

Furthermore the EFIS screen resolution depends on the Post Process resolution (the SteamVR SS value) and not on the Render Scale resolution (the TAA Render Scale value) I believe this is a bug in VR. In effect, in 2D it seems to depend on the TAA Render Scale only.

The idea is to maximize the gain thanks to the superior CAS Shader. The performance gain (per displayed pixels) using TAA 60 (vs TAA 100) is higher with a higher Post-Process Res because the ratio between the CAS Shader process pixels vs the Rendering Shader pixels is higher and quadratic. In effect, it takes a tiny amount of pixel shader time to upscale the image whereas it can take 100 times more to rendering the same pixels at the upscale res.

Because the CAS Shader is in effect ā€œcreating detailsā€ it is compensating to some extent and you can counter-balance the loss with a certain ratio TAA/SS for a specific HMD panel resolution. With the Valve Index it is really doing wonders at these settings.

Iā€™m preparing a similar discussion for the Reverb G2 and with it Iā€™m torn between TAA60+SS100 (which is 3172x3100) and TAA110+SS50 (which is 2244x2192). In both cases I have stutter free 30fps, the former is a good overall balance, the later is sharper on EFIS (exactly the same type of cost/benefit I have with the Index)*

It will take you less time to read it all than me writing it up.


*this requires using the latest OpenXR Dev Tools in order to change the OpenXR ā€œRecommended Resolutionā€ to 50% (2244x2192). NB: this is what shows as Post-Processing Resolution in FS2020 fps window.

3 Likes

Thanks in advance! In a few days/weeks, when my Reverb G2 arrives, i will also try your settings you mentioned. Really good work!

Would this be the same as setting the new render scale in openxr dev tools to 50% or is that something different that nobody has really explored yet? (Reverb G2)

@ODirtyMike0 this is exactly this! Iā€™m currently trying different settings and comparing v104 vs v105.

1 Like

Thanks for the suggestions but it made things worse for me.

This a little vagueā€¦ Would you mind detailing what is ā€œworseā€, your hardware, your HMD, etcā€¦?

Running a 5800X and 2070S with my Rift S. Running the settings of the OP. Rift S should be way less power hungry than the Index but for me. Planes with glass instruments are basically useless. Waaay too stuttery, even with instruments refresh rate at Low. Also Clearity in mid distance is very blurry. Makes VR flying useless when not able to see the airport.
They need to do something with the glass cockpits performance

Donā€™t use anything than HIGH and youā€™ll remove most stutters in VR.

As for the resolution, you might want to read the updates/follow upā€¦ (and I need to update my initial post too LOL). Look in more details starting with: [Update 08DEC2020 - Render Resolution (continued)]

For best EFIS clarity, use TAA 100 or 110 (FS2020) and SS 80 (your HMD tool) (I like TAA100/SS78 with the Index)

Oh thanks didnt see the follow ups. Maybe you should update the OP with all the knowledge as people a streaming in now for VR :stuck_out_tongue:
I just tried HIGH for display refresh rate and it makes it worse. I cant fly looking ahead. When looking outside the window without the display in view, its alright

I donā€™t know what settings/drivers/config youā€™re running but for sure, the settings Iā€™ve published must work as a whole. In other words, it takes disabling HAGS and Game Mode, it takes using NVidia 457.30 (any other more recent driver is worse), balancing all your FS2020 settings (you can afford Gauge Refresh Rate HIGH to eliminate stuttering only because youā€™re lowering some other settings) etcā€¦

But you are right also there is a problem with some of the latest SteamVR causing more stuttering than when Iā€™ve first started FS2020 VR Beta. In any case, the key with the Index and SteamVR is to set your Terrain LOD and Object LOD no more than 50%. This is helping a lot reducing stuttering especially over photogrammetry regions.

Otherwise youā€™re right I have to update them but Iā€™m currently also trying VR with the G2 and different WMR/OXR settings prior!