Oculus Runtime and SDK Thread.

SlackR · Dec 4, 2014

The memory leaks are causing some crashes on my laptop... Will check to see if this is fixed.

RobinsonUK · Dec 5, 2014

Release notes:

Oculus SDK 0.4.4 Release Notes - Runtime Rev 1
----------------------------------------------

After installing the SDK, update the Oculus DK2 firmware
to the most recent version, 2.12. The Firmware update dialog can be found under
"Tools / Advanced / Update Firmware..." menu of the Oculus Configuration
Utility. If you experience any issues, please refer to the Troubleshooting
and Known Issues sections below.

New SDK Features
----------------

* A matching runtime and SDK are now required for development. This does not break
backwards compatibility as a newer runtime will work with an older SDK/Integration.
* Introduced a versioning system for the display driver.
* Added Better HqDistortion for D3D11.
* Added support for specifying OpenGL version and core profile support. OculusWorldDemo
can now be run with core profile support.
* Enabling of GLE module. This moves the GL extension loading and management to the GLE
module, which is somewhat like GLEW. This also allows for automated hooking of all
GL functions on platforms (enabled by default on Mac because it doesn't support KHR_Debug).
It also centralizes the OpenGL version and extension management to a single place and
consistent interface.
* Added debug functionality to LibOVR and our Sample apps to make bug reporting easier
for external users. Much of this functionality is in Kernel/OVR_DebugHelp.h/cpp.
* Added debug functions to CAPI, to allow realtime debug changing of eye-relief
(in the creation of distortion meshes), and realtime debug offsetting of timing
information (in generation of timewarp matrices).
* Added an new, simplified version of Oculus TinyRoom.

Bug Fixes since 0.4.3
---------------------
* Retuned vignette for both DK1 and DK2. Default to no-vignette to maximize FOV on DK2.
* Fixed an OVR_Assert with the ovrHmd_GetLastError() function. It was not de-serializing the
result which would trigger the OVR_Assert.
* Fixed a bug where we weren't setting our own framebuffer as the default framebuffer in context
creation.
* Fixed a potential memory leak after a firmware update via the OculusConfigUtil.
* Fixed shared context creation on Linux.
* Fixed Linux DK1 device type.
* Fix for DK1 window unable to target device.

UE4
* Fixed a crash in Direct Mode ResizeBuffers when the UMD decides to take advantage of multithreaded
resource creation

Unity
* Fixed a crash when switching from full-screen to windowed.
* Fixed gravity modifier in OVRPlayerController prefab. Was 0, which prevented movement.
* Fixing a bleaching bug with Halo effect.
* Fixed black screen bug in Unity DX11 build + Extended mode.
* Added a lock to prevent race conditions between the main & render threads during shutdown.
* Fix race conditions with OVRManager life cycle management and black screens/crashes associated
with scene loading.

Code changes
* RTSize is now BackBufferSize.
* ovr_InitializeRenderingShim() now returns a bool instead of void.

Troubleshooting
---------------

The most likely issues you may experience with DK2 are scene Judder and Vsync tearing.
Here we describe these issues and provide advice on addressing them.

* Scene Judder - The whole view jitters as you look around, producing a strobing
back-and-forth effect. This effect is the result of skipping frames (or Vsync)
on a low-persistence display, it will usually be noticeable on DK2 when frame rate
falls below 75 FPS. This is often the result of insufficient GPU performance or
attempting to render too complex of a scene. Optimizing the engine or scene content
should help.

We expect the situation to improve in this area as we introduce asynchronous
timewarp and other optimizations over the next few months.
If you experience this on DK2 with multiple monitors attached, please try
disabling one monitor to see if the problem goes away.

0.4.4 Rev 1 Known Issues - LibOVR and Display Driver
----------------------------------------------------

* Monitors in multiple display configurations will blink when activating the Rift.
* Current SDK rendering path includes two GPU/CPU sync points to reduce latency.
As may reduce performance due to GPU under-utilization and draw call buffering;
we are looking into addressing this in the future.
* The ovrDistortionCap_sRGB flag affects the rendering
path in slightly different ways for D3D10/11 and OpenGL, but the differences
should not be exposed to the app developer.
We will be looking at unifying this path for better visual fidelity.
* Intel hardware as a single GPU configuration is generally too slow to run
VR scenes with DK2. The most obvious effect will be judder.
* Nvidia Optimus GPU configurations are not universally supported.
Some Windows 7 and 8 configurations were tested successfully.
Windows 8.1 is more likely to have issues.
* On some Radeon graphics cards, multisampling may cause scene judder.
The work around is to turn-off multi-sampling for the back buffer.
* The runtime installer does not support downgrading to previous versions
of the installer. If you need to go back to a previous version, first
uninstall the current version and then install the previous one.
* You must have Aero enabled on Windows 7 for full display driver support.

Known Issues - Unity
--------------------

* Unity app latency on Mac is higher than in C++ OWD resulting in slightly swimmy display.
* Editor Game view does not yet directly render to the Rift.
* Forcing Unity to use OpenGL on Windows is unsupported for this release. This configuration
is currently unstable and may encounter crashes.

SlackR · Dec 5, 2014

It's 3:30 am here so haven't got to try it. Is the FOV different or does that need Frontier to update their build?

Cashmere107 · Dec 5, 2014

One thing that I noticed from the get go.... rerun your IPD through the advanced box in the oculus configuration utility.... and then reset you settings in the "User name"/Local/Frontier Developments/Elite Dangerous/Options/Graphics/ that others have already mentioned in other earlier posts. May need to tweak your settings... but I think the display text clears up a bit more.

Milamber · Dec 5, 2014

Hi guys

is this just a runtime update or is it firmware too?

Cashmere107 said:
One thing that I noticed from the get go.... rerun your IPD through the advanced box in the oculus configuration utility.... and then reset you settings in the "User name"/Local/Frontier Developments/Elite Dangerous/Options/Graphics/ that others have already mentioned in other earlier posts. May need to tweak your settings... but I think the display text clears up a bit more.

Never knew about this!! Is it the Settings.xml? Which part do i change?

Thanks!!

yibble · Dec 5, 2014

Seems to have killed DK1 hardware recognition in the configuration panel. Oh well, I'll research it a bit longer.

Cashmere107 · Dec 5, 2014

Milamber said:
Hi guys

is this just a runtime update or is it firmware too?

Never knew about this!! Is it the Settings.xml? Which part do i change?

Thanks!!

I basically did a total uninstall of old Oculus Runtime and reloaded the new. Once reloaded... I reloaded the firmware.... and the redid my IPD... changed ever so slightly but seemed to help with reading (I have glasses also.... which I have multiple pairs but only use the one set of glasses to play the game) the text. Still have issues with menu way on the left side that are highlighted but they are more readable for me.

As far as the IPD settings from the oculus config utility to the game... edit the settings and look for the line that looks like this. <IPDAmount>0.062800</IPDAmount> My IPD is 62.8... so all you have to do is replace those three numbers with what you came up with from the oculus config utility. If the two are really far off before you change them both to the same.... you should see a really nice improvement in text (and yes the graphics clarity should improve as well). Please note that this has little (more correctly... NO change) to do with changing any of your graphics settings but has a huge impact of ANY graphic setting being in focus.

Hope this helps.

Milamber · Dec 5, 2014

Cashmere107 said:
I basically did a total uninstall of old Oculus Runtime and reloaded the new. Once reloaded... I reloaded the firmware.... and the redid my IPD... changed ever so slightly but seemed to help with reading (I have glasses also.... which I have multiple pairs but only use the one set of glasses to play the game) the text. Still have issues with menu way on the left side that are highlighted but they are more readable for me.

As far as the IPD settings from the oculus config utility to the game... edit the settings and look for the line that looks like this. <IPDAmount>0.062800</IPDAmount> My IPD is 62.8... so all you have to do is replace those three numbers with what you came up with from the oculus config utility. If the two are really far off before you change them both to the same.... you should see a really nice improvement in text (and yes the graphics clarity should improve as well). Please note that this has little (more correctly... NO change) to do with changing any of your graphics settings but has a huge impact of ANY graphic setting being in focus.

Hope this helps.

Thanks +REP

f3likx · Dec 5, 2014

This new release is absolutely amazing for the simple reason that IT BRINGS THE FOV BACK

Quietman · Dec 5, 2014

Cashmere107 said:
As far as the IPD settings from the oculus config utility to the game... edit the settings and look for the line that looks like this. <IPDAmount>0.062800</IPDAmount> My IPD is 62.8... so all you have to do is replace those three numbers with what you came up with from the oculus config utility.

Are you sure this setting actually does anything? I thought it was a holdover from earlier alphas/betas. Doesn't the current ED engine now read the IPD value correctly using the Rift's API?

When I adjust this value it has no discernible visual effect on what I am visualising on the Rift whatsoever, even when I use ludicrous values.

elkar · Dec 5, 2014

Well i did new mesurement of my IPD, basically the same. Will try ED tomorrow to see hows it.

Cashmere107 · Dec 5, 2014

Are you sure this setting actually does anything?
LOL... yeah I still believe it does. Won't improve the graphics at all (as far as your computer is concerned)... but the visual focus that YOU see does seem to improve if your IPD is matched: 1) for your eyes, 2) In the Oculus Configuration utility, and 3) and the game. If you have prescription glasses then you could just use those numbers but I found that if I start with the number from the prescription I only have to adjust the Rift slightly to get those left and right green lines to just catch the edge of the rift screen.

Doesn't the current ED engine now read the IPD value correctly using the Rift's API?
I still don't think so.... between the oculus forums and redditt forums... I haven't seen anything that says that it does yet. Believe me... I will be happy when I don't have to tweak as much to find the right balance to actually read all the text on far left and far right of the ED menu screens. With the latest Oculus Runtime that was released today... I am pretty happy with the results. I guess more than anything I set myself a habit pattern for each update of ED and/or Rift based upon what has worked well for others via the various forums and found them to work well for me.

To be honest... I think results vary quite a bit from system to system and OS to OS (i.e. WIN 7 and WIN 8.1). LOL... I haven't done so much tweaking of my system since the old DOS days.

EDIT: Just saw from another post.... that ED now reads the Config utility for rift which is what Quietman mentioned above. Can anyone else confirm this? I did notice that it does not update in the graphics/settings file in ED.... Maybe this line will be removed in a later ED update....?

Good Luck!!!

Milamber · Dec 5, 2014

Sadly my text is showing lots of red around it and it glimmers, its also much more blurry! Anyone else getting this? I also reset my IPD and edited the settings.xml file.

faethon · Dec 5, 2014

So I installed 0.4.4 and played ED, but there doesn't seem to be an improvement on the FOV. I guess the vignetting will go away once Frontier updates the ED build using the latest Oculus SDK

saviornt · Dec 5, 2014

Do you use the DK1 or DK2, because there is definitely a change in the FOV.

faethon · Dec 5, 2014

saviornt said:
Do you use the DK1 or DK2, because there is definitely a change in the FOV.

I'm using the DK2. You noticed an increase? Hmm, maybe I just expected more of an improvement? Btw, I did not update the firmware, since I already had 2.12 on my Rift.

saviornt · Dec 5, 2014

You don't need to update the firmware. Is your FOV in the E: D graphic options set to max?

Diamond Dog · Dec 5, 2014

Pretty sure it won't work PROPERLY until FD have added it on their end too. Just wait until the change log reads that it's supported before you download.

I'm sure there are some improvements but you risk causing crashes if it's not compatible yet... What's a little more time

777Driver · Dec 5, 2014

saviornt said:
You don't need to update the firmware. Is your FOV in the E: D graphic options set to max?

Have always gone with the old saying 'If it ain't broke don't try to fix it' So, if this changes anything for the worse, can I roll back? What do I need to backup before performing the update. Sorry for being a noob, but I spent a few day's getting everything working perfectly, don't want to screw things up.

EDIT - I'm going with Diamond.. No need to rush if the DK2 is working well.

saviornt · Dec 5, 2014

Diamond Dog said:
Pretty sure it won't work PROPERLY until FD have added it on their end too. Just wait until the change log reads that it's supported before you download.

I'm sure there are some improvements but you risk causing crashes if it's not compatible yet... What's a little more time

I'm glad you're wrong

The runtime is backwards compatible, the SDK on the other hand, is not.

For example, if you have 4.1 runtime, it will not work and you will need to upgrade to 4.3+ since Elite uses the 4.3 SDK. Also, If you don't want to upgrade, it's fine. but I haven't had any issues at all with it.