Oculus sensor tracking and greyout flashing issues with Elite Dangerous (Oculus 1.13 & 1.14)

Talmanes · Apr 20, 2017

(workaround):

This seems to work for some with i5 or i7 processors.

Disable CPU Hyperthreading in the bios. This can be found on ASUS boards by going into

BIOS -> Advanced -> CPU -> Disable Hyperthreading

UPDATE

After a couple hours of grey-flash-free play last night, they are back with a vengeance. I'm talking 1 flash per second. This is incredibly frustrating.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've mentioned this to both Oculus and FDev in my support tickets. Hopefully they can coordinate and figure out where the problem lies.

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone else is having this issue, and if they've come across any solutions.

My Oculus headset and single sensor work great in Oculus home, in Chronos, Dreamdeck, and other apps. I only experience problems when running Elite Dangerous. I believe these issues originated after the 1.13 update (I'm currently on version 1.14).

The problems include grey-out flashes, jerky tracking problems, and sensor issues.
I've gotten sensor errors in Oculus, which I've posted an image of here (the USB warning is due to using windows inateck drivers).

Things I've tried:

Verified power connected to inateck 4 port USB card plugged into my mobo.

I've tried plugging the headset and sensor both into the inateck card

plugging the sensor into my onboard USB (both 2.0 and 3.0)

I've also tried turning off my USB 3.0 legacy settings in the bios

Everything is up to date, including video drivers.

I read that using inateck's USB drivers cause problems (and i ran into these problems in the past) so I'm using the windows drivers for the USB card.

Observing CPU usage while the issues happen shows it peaking at 55%, so I don't think that's the problem.

set USB selective suspend setting to disabled in power management

Oculus Support Recommendations:

I've contacted support, and they requested that I run the compatibility test (which I ran & passed), ensure everything was up to date (which it is), and update to the Public Test Channel program, which updates my oculus software to 1.14 (did this too).

I explained that the problem persisted, and they suggested I re-install elite dangerous, connect the rift to another computer, and if that doesn't reveal the problem, re-install the Oculus software.

I suspect that these last recommendations will not resolve the problem, and just take up a lot of time. My guess is that it's USB related. Does anyone else have any ideas as to what could be causing this?

Specs:
Windows 10
Intel Core i7-3770k CPU @ 3.5GHz
16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GTX 1070
Oculus CV1

Neo-ST · Apr 20, 2017

I can confirm jitters and stutters with tracking as well.

Using 2 sensors.

I don't use Inateck USB hub.

Tracking works well outside ED...

Barbed · Apr 20, 2017

After updating 2.3, the image blinks into the oculus, as if the communication with the tracking sensor is lost. I hope this problem can be solved operatively.

SGray · Apr 21, 2017

+1 I have this problem too

Strangepork · Apr 21, 2017

Talmanes said:
Hello,

I am wondering if anyone else is having this issue, and if they've come across any solutions.

My Oculus headset and single sensor work great in Oculus home, in Chronos, Dreamdeck, and other apps. I only experience problems when running Elite Dangerous. I believe these issues originated after the 1.13 update (I'm currently on version 1.14).

The problems include grey-out flashes, jerky tracking problems, and sensor issues.
I've gotten sensor errors in Oculus, which I've posted an image of here (the USB warning is due to using windows inateck drivers).

Things I've tried:

Verified power connected to inateck 4 port USB card plugged into my mobo.

I've tried plugging the headset and sensor both into the inateck card

plugging the sensor into my onboard USB (both 2.0 and 3.0)

I've also tried turning off my USB 3.0 legacy settings in the bios

Everything is up to date, including video drivers.

I read that using inateck's USB drivers cause problems (and i ran into these problems in the past) so I'm using the windows drivers for the USB card.

Observing CPU usage while the issues happen shows it peaking at 55%, so I don't think that's the problem.

set USB selective suspend setting to disabled in power management

Oculus Support Recommendations:

I've contacted support, and they requested that I run the compatibility test (which I ran & passed), ensure everything was up to date (which it is), and update to the Public Test Channel program, which updates my oculus software to 1.14 (did this too).

I explained that the problem persisted, and they suggested I re-install elite dangerous, connect the rift to another computer, and if that doesn't reveal the problem, re-install the Oculus software.

I suspect that these last recommendations will not resolve the problem, and just take up a lot of time. My guess is that it's USB related. Does anyone else have any ideas as to what could be causing this?

View attachment 118781

Specs:
Windows 10
Intel Core i7-3770k CPU @ 3.5GHz
16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GTX 1070
Oculus CV1

I cured it for me by moving the sensor less than 4 feet away, and plugging both the sensor and headset into a powered usb hub.

rkodey · Apr 21, 2017

I believe I found a temporary fix for the 1.13 issues. (I don't have 1.14 yet.)
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...e-Compendium?p=5402459&viewfull=1#post5402459

NOTE: The process affinity works so well, and seems to improve overall smoothness so well, I plan to post it as a permanent fix/suggestion with a program to make it easy to set. For now, you have to either set the CPU cores on every launch, or use the Autohotkey script that's in the post. Like I said, I will try to make it easier soon...

X-Terminator · Apr 21, 2017

Thanks to RKODEY. I've posted this all over Oculus Forums, they have acknowledged they are looking into it. However, it does not solve all games e.g. RoboRecall...

OK Oculus, fix this plus add a Switch in OCULUS HOME to DISABLE ASW + NOT CAP to 45fps.

Jumps and Flashes are fixed by setting Affinity settings: -
Run ED then go to TASK MANAGER>DETAILS: Right-Click Affinity

ED64: cores 0-5 (this is the game Elite

Dangerous)
OculusVR: cores 6-7 (this file may be new in latest Public Test update)
OVRServer_64: cores 6-7

OCULUS must now code this so we do not require manual or autohotkey programs.
https://forums.oculus.com/community...-of-version-1-14-pc-software-update-for-april

BTW I put my PC to Sleep and so the only program I must set Affinity for each time is E

D

KILLCARD wrote: -
"Actually, I don't think the game has anything to do with it. What I did to figure this out was:

1. Load up the Oculus + home.
2. Open up Task Manager and find the OVRServer_64.exe
3. Disable 1 of the cores and click apply
4. Check perforamance result in Oculus Home
5. Repeat Steps 3-4 until Tracking/Framerate in Oculus home dies then re-enable that core and continue to disable others.

You should find there will be one core that will make tracking practically dead if you disable it regardless of what other cores are enabled.. and another that will reduce tracking performance if its disabled. For me, as soon as I dropped core 4, everything went to .. with only Core 4 on it worked but with poor performance (slow tracking update, black border visible when rotating), until I enabled core 6 then it all worked fine.

I got this set up without any games running, just Oculus Home .. which leads me to think that it is somehow based on System/CPU/Operating system or some other factor. "

X-Terminator · Apr 21, 2017

BTW do not listen to Oculus Support ever. They tried to help at first and then said they'll pass me onto a tech. This all happened so fast within 30mins! The final decision after sending them Log Reports and screen captures was I must buy a new computer!
Well I looked at the Log file and it said "failed after updating trying to install C++2015" - so I simply uninstalled that and Oculus and try again. It worked! It was trying to install an older version of C++2015 than I already had was the reason. The fact I got this working using the 1.7Runtime they now hide on my XEON PC is proof they have no clue how to properly help but act as one of the Indian Call Centres which Trump will wipe out!

Also I think most with USB2.0 are getting less actual Tracking issues. They even know and suggest if using long extensions then it must be a Power USB2.0 cable instead!

Their Recommendations List is hideous just as the checks they do. Many Inateck Cards have issues and it reports my own motherboard USB2.0 VIA controller is not compatible yet it all works!

IMO setting USB Selective Suspend to disabled in Power Management is not the way to go. This actually will turn OFF unused USB ports which it detects each 20ms and so will save you power for free up resources. Keep this ON if you have other USB devices.

kiario · Apr 21, 2017

X-Terminator said:
Thanks to RKODEY. I've posted this all over Oculus Forums, they have acknowledged they are looking into it. However, it does not solve all games e.g. RoboRecall...

OK Oculus, fix this plus add a Switch in OCULUS HOME to DISABLE ASW + NOT CAP to 45fps.

Jumps and Flashes are fixed by setting Affinity settings: -
Run ED then go to TASK MANAGER>DETAILS: Right-Click Affinity

ED64: cores 0-5 (this is the game EliteDangerous)
OculusVR: cores 6-7 (this file may be new in latest Public Test update)
OVRServer_64: cores 6-7

OCULUS must now code this so we do not require manual or autohotkey programs.
https://forums.oculus.com/community...-of-version-1-14-pc-software-update-for-april

BTW I put my PC to Sleep and so the only program I must set Affinity for each time is ED

KILLCARD wrote: -
"Actually, I don't think the game has anything to do with it. What I did to figure this out was:

1. Load up the Oculus + home.
2. Open up Task Manager and find the OVRServer_64.exe
3. Disable 1 of the cores and click apply
4. Check perforamance result in Oculus Home
5. Repeat Steps 3-4 until Tracking/Framerate in Oculus home dies then re-enable that core and continue to disable others.

You should find there will be one core that will make tracking practically dead if you disable it regardless of what other cores are enabled.. and another that will reduce tracking performance if its disabled. For me, as soon as I dropped core 4, everything went to .. with only Core 4 on it worked but with poor performance (slow tracking update, black border visible when rotating), until I enabled core 6 then it all worked fine.

I got this set up without any games running, just Oculus Home .. which leads me to think that it is somehow based on System/CPU/Operating system or some other factor. "

I have a 12 core 4930K and have very occasionally some grey flashes as if the sensor is loosing track or something. Maybe once every 20 min. It does not bother me att all but tried the affinity settings and they did not do anything for me. Maybe bacause my cpu is 12 core?

X-Terminator · Apr 21, 2017

Kiario, I'd try what KILLCARD wrote.

dape · Apr 21, 2017

this problem seems to affect only multithreaded CPU's. Havent heard anybody with an i5 complain. Running myself an i5 and do not have any of those symptoms

rkodey · Apr 21, 2017

X-Terminator said:
Thanks to RKODEY. I've posted this all over Oculus Forums, they have acknowledged they are looking into it.

Thanks for helping to spread the word, Terminator! I only play ED in VR, so I'm not very deeply plugged in to other forums.

Interesting that the issue may me 1) possibly specific to a single core, or 2) possibly related to hyperthreading. Maybe I will test different affinity settings too - perhaps I just got lucky with the first settings I tried!

I am contemplating writing a rough GUI that can automatically watch for the ED exe and set the affinity on the fly. But, it seems the situation might be a bit more complex.

Question... for Terminator or anyone else who tried setting the affinity: Do you feel like the result is even smoother than before the 1.13 issues came up? For me, Im convinced its the best Oculus experience I've ever had. So, worth the trouble.

Aute · Apr 21, 2017

dape said:
this problem seems to affect only multithreaded CPU's. Havent heard anybody with an i5 complain. Running myself an i5 and do not have any of those symptoms

I had same problem with i5, my problem was the usb wireless network adapter interfering in some way (maybe not enough power for everything? I have lot of usb peripherals), after replacing it with pce wireless card I never experienced those problems again

X-Terminator · Apr 21, 2017

I only play E

D myself so it's hard to tell due to 2.3 being much smoother in general. Only way to know is if they roll back to 1.12
I have a PCI Startech USB3.0 on order (I got no more PCIe available) and am upgrading the old PCI USB2.0 card which it could not find at all in hope I can add a 2nd Sensor for Touch. This will boost each port channel to 1.3gbps each rather than 480. Although device manager suggests they get 500!

Talmanes · Apr 21, 2017

Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions. I ended up solving most of the issues by plugging the sensor into a different 2.0 USB port. I don't know if the other one I tried was faulty, or perhaps there are power issues...

If the problems persist I'll try the recommended core solution, though it sounds rather cumbersome!

Talmanes · Apr 22, 2017

Talmanes said:
Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions. I ended up solving most of the issues by plugging the sensor into a different 2.0 USB port. I don't know if the other one I tried was faulty, or perhaps there are power issues...

If the problems persist I'll try the recommended core solution, though it sounds rather cumbersome!

Soooo looks like i was mistaken. it's not as bad as it was, but I'm still getting some chop and greyouts. I tried setting core affinity as suggested above, but it didn't fix it. I'll try the narrowing down the problem cores next.

Aute · Apr 22, 2017

Talmanes said:
Soooo looks like i was mistaken. it's not as bad as it was, but I'm still getting some chop and greyouts. I tried setting core affinity as suggested above, but it didn't fix it. I'll try the narrowing down the problem cores next.

doesnt hurt to try and launch the game, then disconnect every other usb peripheral and see if you still getting the greyouts

kiario · Apr 24, 2017

Has this been ticketed to FD?

I am having issues also with greyouts and jitter in text sometimes. Like vibrating graphics

Talmanes · Apr 24, 2017

I have an open ticket with Oculus, and just submitted one to FDev...we'll see how this goes.

X-Terminator · Apr 24, 2017

Oculus Help are purely a Help Centre with standard protocols to get you to send in pics of faults and Logs. They do not read any and then respond by saying try Uninstalling Oculus, then your Game, then your OS. None will fix this problem that appeared by the 1.13 update. They do know about this issue and it is in other games besides E

D. Best to just bug them for a solution and just maybe they'll will get it solved. I do find it highly ignorant that such a company will not listen to their customers and roll back to 1.12 which worked fine. You'd think they would treat this as priority and revert back due to the quality of this affecting their product!

Personally having seen how much they push us to upgrade to Hyperthreaded Systems with i5/i7 by FORCING the over exaggerated SSE4.2 cpu check in their Install Package, this does tell me they are making the Runtime behave in this manner to require an Upgraded System which it did not need. Proof is in their baviour else they would ROLL BACK!

Notice even though they've been told about this and also that others like myself use XEONs and would need a Download of 1.7 to fall back on to help install the Runtime to work, they still NOT provide this Download! They also do NOT rid the SSE4.2 in favour of a simpler SSE4.1 which does NOT use such cpu checks.

GO FIGURE! $$$