I stick with 100% after setting my hardware IPD.
I find it way more important to move your in-game seat position to match your real life position and controls. You can also edit the cameras.cfg of the aircraft if you want to set it permanently (but back it up because of updates overwriting it).
Eg for the Fenix A320 that’s generally too high up for everyone, I change mine to:
eyepoint = 44.1, -1.623061, 3.4 ; (feet) longitudinal, lateral, vertical distance from reference datum
Is it necessary to do the room calibration in Pimax Play, if im only using OpenXR with MSFS?
Would spare me a lot of fideling everytime I start it up, if it turns out to only be necessary for Steam VR.
No, not necessary, at least as long as you don’t use Lighthouse tracking with base stations and the Lighthouse faceplate.
If you use Crystal on MSFS only, without VR controllers, investing in Lighthouse tracking would be an overkill, the default inside-out tracking available in Crystal, is good enough for tracking headset movements in MSFS.
Have been running Pimax “Smart Smoothing” without any issues after reading this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pimax/comments/16g9cqa/msfs_2020crystal4090_settings_and_performance/
It can be personal perception, but I can’t tell the difference between 40-50 FPS without Smart Smoothing vs. 45 FPS locked in PimaxXR and Smart Smoothing enabled. As my FPS sometimes drop below 45 FPS, I prefer to fly without Smart Smoothing.
I also can’t perceive be benefits of 45 FPS locked without Smart Smoothing.
Whenever I’m above 40 FPS - it’s smooth for me.
I stumbled upon this yesterday. Gives more realistic evening sky colours, without the exaggerated pink/red hue. Works great in VR, no FPS decrease, no color change in daytime or messiong up your other color values. Easy install without Reshade.
We have the same system specs (13900 & 4090) but I’m a newb with the Toolkit family… care to share any critical settings?
First REALLY dumb question: Do I need to be running OpenXR and PiMaxXR?
Thanks in advance!
PimaxXR allows usage of OpenXR runtime which is more efficient in MSFS (native OpenXR application) than SteamVR (native Pimax runtime). It also allows usage of the OpenXR Toolkit.
OpenXR is not mandatory but it allows many configuration options including resolution override for performance tuning, color correction, FPS counter, Foveated Rendering and more.
Both products are exceptionally well documented:
And for MSFS you should not use OpenComposite (you not mentioned it, so you probably don’t intend to use it for MSFS).
You only need to open and keep PimaxXR running minimized. You don’t need to open OpenXR at all.
“Prefer framrate over latency” and “Turbo Mode” in OpenXR are the same, so just use one.
These are my settings, but some are just personal taste.
I use DLSS Quality and DX11 in Msfs.
HAGS off in Windows.
Went from Undervolt to Overclock in MSI Afterburner. (Gained a cuple of FPS at the lows. 45-46 where I typically got 41-42)
You just choose PimaxXR as the runtime in the PimaxXR app. Once set, you don’t need to run PimaxXR app again, you don’t need to keep it minimized.
Personally I would not recommend setting the option “lock to half frame rate” as it will limit the FPS. Some people prefer running the headset at half frame rate frequency, some not. This option is useful if you would like to enable SmartSmooting, Pimax Motion Reprojection algorithm which generates additional frames making the impression that the headset runs at native 90Hz (assuming your true FPS never drops below 1/2 of the native frequency, which is hard to obtain with high resolution set and complex scenery). In my opinion Pimax SmartSmoothing is not as effective as the Motion Reprojection is in HP Reverb G2. Personally I can’t perceive the difference between:
Really? Learned something new. One more thing that dosen’t need to be running. Thanks!
Yes that little program is only there for the settings and the troubleshooting options. You never need to run it.
Does anyone else’s view “creep” when still?
For example, if I turn my head to look out the window, and hold it, the entire scene creeps around me. Same if I go from looking let or right to looking straight forward… The whole scene shifts slowly toward me like a foot or better. It’s nauseating.
The headset tracks very well, with no discernible lag. It just will not stay still, like it’s trying to re-center itself.
Are you using motion rig with motion compensation?
Is this happening in MSFS only?
Did you try with your Community folder empty?
Motion rig, yes. But no motion compensation. My valve index worked flawlessly. I wonder if there’s a setting somewhere with the PiMax.?.
Pimax Smart Smoothing is currently borked; I’ve seen comments on Reddit and elsewhere that said it worked much better in previous Client versions. I gave it another try the other day and it seemed to smooth things well, but then I noticed when I turned at low altitudes the scenery was rubber banding noticeably. Someone from Pimax mentioned that they were aware of this and were working on a fix. I hope so, especially for use with the upcoming 72Hz update, as that would allow people with lower end cards to lock at 30fps for Motion Smoothing.
I too found that 30fps with 1/3 Motion Reprojection on my G2 was very smooth, with way less artifacts than previously and truth be told I really miss that on the Crystal, as I do a lot of low level GA flying.
There is no motion compensation setting in Pimax software. Consider checking if the issue is still there with the motion rig software not running.
With the wider FOV lenses becoming available, hopefully by the end of the year, plus a 72Hz refresh rate option on the next firmware/software update, Tally Mouse has uploaded a preview of these lenses plus the 72Hz option. The new lenses (his were prototypes) look very good, having a flatter eye side profile, which gives more room for spectacle wearers like me and he reports no apparent loss in visual quality, indeed they seem better regarding chromatic aberration. The extra FOV is well worthwhile as you will see.
I asked Tally Mouse a question on Discord regarding any loss of PPD and noticeable increase in screen door effect with the wider FOV lenses at the centre of vision. Here is his reply, which if proven correct is exactly what I was hoping for:
“I really didn’t notice any obvious difference. Of course, with a 10% increase in HFOV, that’d mean going from 35ppd to 31ppd, and I’m not sure you’d really notice the difference. Looking at the design (and curvature) of the lenses, it looks as though they decided to maintain 35ppd in the middle and tail-off to around 30ppd at the edges, where your vision would struggle with clarity anyway - a smart design.”
I was allowed by Pimax to test Crystal firmware V1.3.0_au1025, which is probably still in beta and not available to all users, so the finally released firmware may still have some improvements.
Some impressions (on 7800x3D, 4090):
So I will probably stay with 90Hz, no SmartSmoothing, Turbo On, DLSS Quality, resolution override to 4600 x xxxx (supersampling), LOD 305. I’m still undecided if “Lock to half framerate” should be On, but this doesn’t matter so much as my FPS with these settings are rarely above 45=90*1/2. I’m getting FPS in 30-50 range (most frequently 36-42), and I’m happy with such FPS and super crisp image resulting from resolution ovverride. I fly mostly GA planes, with steam gauges.
As Pimax announced they introduced 72Hz mostly to reduce GPU requirements, with my 4090 I will probably stick to 90Hz even if unable to maintain 1/2 frame rate of 45 FPS. In less demanding games 72 Hz may allow running Crystal at native 72 Hz = 72 FPS rate which should result in great experience, assuming you will be OK with the subtle flicker which you may perceive with 72 Hz.
