DCS 2.7 VR Discussion, optimization

Flight Sims
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Ok, I thought DCS 2.7 VR deserves its own thread so information doesn’t get lost in the general 2.7 discussion.

VR Notes from a DCS 2.7 Beta Tester

Thud’s VR4DCS Optimization Guide

Lukas S. / Wolta YouTube Channel, VR optimization guides

As far as the popular shader mods go:

Kegetys Shader Mod: Not IC (Integrity Check) compliant for any server that has IC turned on.

Speed of Heat Shader mod (variant of Kegetys) . Passes IC “most of the time”. There might be that one off and you’ll have to shut down DCS and restart.

If you don’t fly VR online, then don’t worry about IC issues.

After applying the shader mod for 2.7 and before firing up DCS, clear out the fxo and metashaders folders. Then fire up DCS.

The initial load of DCS to the main menu, and into every map you own, will be very long. I have an M.2 SSD and 64GB RAM and it took my system 5-10 minutes depending on the map… as in you can walk away and come back. Once all maps have compiled new shaders, it loads up much quicker/normally on subsequent loads.

As of this post, both shader mods provided a massive boost in fps on my stystem:
2080 Ti, i9 9900KS, M.2 SSD, 64GB RAM, Reverb G2.
I ended up turning up some eye candy as well. :grinning:

Please post any other tweaks, settings, videos etc that you find helpful for everyone in DCS VR.

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Used to be the shader mods looked considerably worse than vanilla DCS. How is it these days?

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Preface: I just started using this mod yesterday for the first time since last summer. When ED was releasing updates on a more frequent basis, the shader mod would need updating after every update. And I just got tired of sifting through the various versions: IC compliant, not IC compliant. Clear water, better this and that… so I just stopped. Anyways, I thought I’d give it another go.

@schurem To answer your question, I haven’t noticed any differences in image quality so far. I’ve only extensively flown on Caucasus, Persian Gulf and Nevada since applying the mod.

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Well, I have exactly zero hours in flat DCS so I can’t compare first hand. Though just watching 2D videos on YT, I can say I do not see any obvious visual difference except the clouds in 2.7 of course.

Also, I was using DCS without the mod for a long time and when switching to the mod - again no noticable visual difference. Just smoother experience :vr:

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Allright, giving it a go. My 1070 needs all the help it can get!

Edit: holy mackarel, recompiling shaders takes a bit, doesn’t it?

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Yep! Many are those who are sure their DCS.exe has stopped responding…but it hasn’t. :slight_smile:

Slow Down Waiting GIF by Nick

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I so wish Eagle Dynamics would just add a ‘IC + Kegetys VR Shader’ mode to their IC server checks - it would hardly be any work for them (a checksum) and would have such a big impact on MP VR fliers. These shaders have been around since summer 2018 and nothing gets close to their impact.

As for the topic, in DCS 2.7 and VR I still enjoy using the clarity CAS shader. It’s an acquired taste (I trade cockpit clarity with jaggies on the outside) but it’s made a big difference for me still. Reshade in VR

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Do we get any visual sighting advantages, from Kegetys mod…? Is that what’s the problem?

VR users are normally at a disadvantage when fighting with the TiR users, but there’s no restriction on that…

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I don’t think there is any gameplay problem with it personally, it’s just more they didn’t write it and would probably prefer to concentrate on their own stuff. 2D at 8K and zoomed it with ‘insta-trackIR’ and exported values will always be better to pwn than poor Magoo VR.

If people want to cheat in 2D with IC on it would be trivial, so it’s not really about fair gameplay other than just a very simple content check.

I guess the way to go is for us to get @BeachAV8R to get his DCS server up and running, put a password on it and turn off integrity checks - that’s the official workaround. :slight_smile:

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If only that were advertized a bit more prominently on the ED forum and website, it would help so much with the size of their ticket queue.

Anyway, I installed the Kegety shaders. They look fine. Fast! Had to turn off grass entirely because it looked pants.

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Ok. I thought the purpose of the IC was to stop people from coming online with cheats installed, and maybe the shader mod in some way made things easier for us VR users.
In any case, I like your official solution. :wink:

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I mean that is the exact idea, yes. The trouble is it’s a fairly simple check, which is fine as it’s not exactly a serious e-sport we’re dealing with here and it’s diminishing returns of effort to try to lock something like that down. The MP protocol is open, things like additions to the shaders aren’t locked down (just existing files), most servers use extensive scripting (which is fully open etc), so you get the idea. In some ways practically all MP is ‘honor rules’ in DCS anyway. IC is on by default though, so people leave it on. If you play with strangers and they wanted to waste time with cheats then it could happen, regardless of IC. It just stops kids from changing the alpha value in a texture to go invisible etc.

ED don’t really seem that keen on the MP side of things, and numbers-wise might see it as more of a niche compared to SP - and then VR is just a tiny niche within it, so basically a noisy tiny group. :slight_smile:

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On that note, they should add the A-4 Skyhawk to IC. It’s such an awesome, well-developed module that frankly it deserves to be blessed with official recognition.

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:point_up: I updated my top post with more links and VR tweaks. :point_up:

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1.5 WEEKS!

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I added this, as no point in quietly moaning here. :slight_smile:

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Huh. Interesting: I’ve read several posts on the ED forum in the past where some where complaining (imagine that) about the opposite. Something along the lines:“…2D is so sharp the bandits are just a single dot [at x-distance == harder to visually pick up]…in VR they are ‘pixelated’ - more ‘dots’ - and easier to see…[harder to ID though]”. It’s been 3 years, or more, since I’ve run in 2D - I have no recollection of what it looks like on my 48" monitor.

Attitude/aspect of the Bandit though, yeah, that’s tuff to judge without a quick press of the VR Zoom.

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I think it depends on the resolution. A single pixel is of course larger if your reolution is low and your nose is right up against the screen.
But I was thinking more about the physical strain to look behind you. We VR users struggle with checking 5&7. A TiR user glances to the side of his monitor and becomes…

The Exorcist GIF by filmeditor

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We need to hire some lobbyists… :wink:

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Hm… I tried Speed-of-heats mod of Kegetys shader mod, but I couldn’t discern any improvement in frametimes.

Will try Kegtys unmodded mod now.

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