Wow and Wow again : DK2 and new ED patch and Oculus 1.3 : TIPS FOR SETUP

catanonia

C
EDIT : Added some tips for those struggling with Oculus 1.3 and DK2

Well the wait was worth it and well done to FDev for a great build for the VR community.

I have just downloaded, configured fired up and all the latest ED patches and the official 1.3 of Oculus and WOW !!!

On Windows 7, GTX980 and 5960k chip with 32GB RAM and ED surpasses 0.5 and 0.6 and then some more.

With my Modded DK2 with a screen filter to help remove the SDE


  • Graphics are smooth, super smooth even in SC and planets
  • Graphics / Text are MUCH clearer in 1.0 SS and 1.5 SS (slight improvement)
  • The view is clearer
  • I cannot see SDE unless I really look for it (the filter helps) How they did this, god knows. I really have to lean in on text to see the pixels. (again the screen filter helps)
  • THE BEST experience of ED to date.

And all this before my CV1 ships in a months time. In fact I am struggling to see how the CV1 could be much better, this is amazing. Again the DK2 screen filter may be working wonders here. But I am more than happy to wait for the CV1 as my DK2 and set up is the best I could have imagined.

A few points for those trying it out


  • Everything is now Native, so De-install the entire 0.5 0.6, 0.8 and SteamVR if you have them installed. You DO NOT need the clunky SteamVR any more. Reboot.
  • Upgrade to the latest NVidia or AMD graphics drivers. The Oculus set up requires this.
  • DK2, skip the CV1 hardware detections in the Oculus setup.
  • In the Oculus Application, go to settings and allow un authorised apps to run. You will see that DK2 is not supported on the Oculus store and you need to do this to allow ED to run.
  • For playing ED on DK2, ignore the Oculus Store other than the settings. (Mess with the store outside of ED).
  • The graphics windows options are only for the mirror 2D window, which has zero impact on performance, so set it how you like, but set it to at least 75hz by lowering the resolution.
  • In the Graphics options of ED, turn your Gamma and Brightness down to reduce smearing (Has been mentioned by others)
  • Sit back and enjoy the awesomeness of DK2 and ED.

It is amazing how these patches from FDEV and Oculus have brought up to date the DK2, it is as if they magically changed the screen in my HMD.
 
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rich_hard1

R
Not impressed, massive black smearing. No supersampling improvements (a huge step backwards), gamma needs addressing as the blacks aren't black and the smudgy appearance of the display spoils the immersion massively. I'd rather go back to lower SDK's and run it that way, huge disappointment.
 

catanonia

C
rich_hard1 said:
Not impressed, massive black smearing. No supersampling improvements (a huge step backwards), gamma needs addressing as the blacks aren't black and the smudgy appearance of the display spoils the immersion massively. I'd rather go back to lower SDK's and run it that way, huge disappointment.
Click to expand...

No idea why you are getting these problems as I haven't seen them at all. As for SS, to put it bluntly, you don't need it and no need to even change the HUD colours.
I am running HIGH settings and SS 1.0 with zero issues.
 
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777Driver

777Driver
catanonia said:
No idea why you are getting these problems as I haven't seen them at all. As for SS, to put it bluntly, you don't need it and no need to even change the HUD colours.
I am running HIGH settings and SS 1.0 with zero issues.
Click to expand...

Agreed, although the smearing is definitely there. I can live with it for now, the boost in performance and visuals far outweighs the smearing.
 

catanonia

C
777Driver said:
Agreed, although the smearing is definitely there. I can live with it for now, the boost in performance and visuals far outweighs the smearing.
Click to expand...

I haven't looked for the smearing and it wasn't obvious to me after 15 minutes of flying around. Perhaps it is there, but certainly not an issue for me.
Where is the best place to look for smearing and what am I looking for ?
 

Viajero

Volunteer Moderator
Viajero
Agree with the OP. My performance has just jumped leap and bounds, not a hint of juddering in stations and asteroid fields. The difference with using SteamVR+0.8 is staggering. Can also confirm the smearing, although it is not so bothering or annoying as the old juddering.
 
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777Driver

777Driver
catanonia said:
I haven't looked for the smearing and it wasn't obvious to me after 15 minutes of flying around. Perhaps it is there, but certainly not an issue for me.
Where is the best place to look for smearing and what am I looking for ?
Click to expand...

Any dark areas, when you move your head you can see it leave a trail. I turned my gamma right down (half way) It helps minimize it.

Btw, anyway to adjust IPD? I finally had it back to normal with 0.8, seems to have reverted back to 0.5
 
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catanonia

C
Viajero said:
Agree with the OP. My performance has just jumped leap and bounds, not a hint of juddering in stations and asteroid fields. The difference with using SteamVR+0.8 is staggering. Can also confirm the smearing, although it is not so bothering or annoying as the old juddering.
Click to expand...

Just read the other thread on smearing and I have my brightness and gamma turned down a bit as suggested and probably why I not noticed smearing.
 

Viajero

Volunteer Moderator
Viajero
By the way, my auxiliary screen seems to have the bottom part a bit blurred in some kind of cinematic effect, but I cant see the FPS if I do CTRL+F etc any idea how to get rid of that blurr?
 

cherbert

cherbert
Not being able to use the store is slightly inaccurate. I managed to download and use Oculus Video (Previously Oculus Cinema). I am sure other stuff will work.
 
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rich_hard1

R
Absolutely, just glad the FPS is crazy good, haven't dropped a frame yet. In the CV1 it's exactly the same, sure it looks great but no SS kills immersion. Oh the black smearing on cv1 is still there but not so prominent.
 
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CMDR Dreamstate

CMDR Dreamstate
rich_hard1 said:
Not impressed, massive black smearing. No supersampling improvements (a huge step backwards), gamma needs addressing as the blacks aren't black and the smudgy appearance of the display spoils the immersion massively. I'd rather go back to lower SDK's and run it that way, huge disappointment.
Click to expand...

Update your graphics drivers.
 

catanonia

C
Looking into IPD myself at the moment, checking if the ED files method still works. Also installing and checking on Windows 10 as I have always had DK2 issues on Windows 10 and it requiring 0.5 mean I had dual boot. Will be nice to drop the dual boot just for ED.
 

Drakfyre

D
777Driver said:
So does anyone know if we can adjust IPD on the DK2 with 1.3?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna be honest, I've been using DK2 for a while, and I have a big head (~70 ipd). I found that the DK2 looks much better with the default IPD of 64. The reason? The hardware IPD is already 64. When you shift out the IPD, all of a sudden you are having to look outside of the sweet spot on the unit because the virtual screens for each eye are further separated from center.

Yes, there is a cost to this: depth is not properly represented. Infinity is a bit lower than infinity. I've found that in practice, it doesn't really matter too much though, you get used to it really quick.

Also, smearing can be nearly completely eliminated by cranking the Gamma slider all the way right. It does change the color warmth slightly (The default HUD becomes more yellow) but it has a surprisingly limited effect on color gamut. And it makes space look slightly more stylized and blue. Reminds me a bit of the old Elite games, honestly. Which is a good thing for me.
 
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