Supersampling Guide for DK2 - 1440P Resolution! (VIDEO)

Here are some std Resolutions at 16x9 for reference. (strangely, Nvidia Experience suggests 2715x1527 for my laptop)

8120 4608 8K 16:9
7680 4320 8K UHD 16:9
5120 2880 UHD+ 16:9
4096 2304 4K 16:9
3840 2160 4K UHD 16:9
3200 1800 WQXGA+ 16:9
2560 1440 WQHD 16:9
2048 1152 QWXGA 16:9
1980 1080 FHD 16:9
 
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Quality vs. Supersampling

This is a matter of taste ultimately, but I thought some people might find it interesting.

I've gradually been pushing my software supersampling up at the expense of other things. I got everything running smoothly at 2x in-game supersample, sometimes having to drop to 1.5 in stations. Distant detail and text were amazing - great clarity, lovely stars, great readabilty. So it was a great, comfortable experience. My quality settings to achieve this were mainly medium.

After a bit of a break with the DK2 packed away, I got everything out again over the weekend to try out my new x52 :). I decided to switch back to less demanding hardware supersampling (about 1.25x by forcing a custom resolution) and try putting all my settings back to Ultra (shadows on high), just to see what things were like when I started and found it all breathtaking.

For me there's no comparison. Having the ultra settings for the interior of the ship, the planets, the stations makes the immersion kick in 100%. It feels so real and gritty. Text still looks good but is noticeably less clear and distant space is not as sharp. But for me it still feels so much more real. I spend ages just flying round the outside of stations gawking at the detail.

Just some thoughts. If you can hit ultra at the expense of software supersampling, you know what all the text says, have good eyes and have spent enough time gazing at the stars, give it a try.

In terms of the rest of my setup and tweaks,

Titan X with small overclock
16gb ram
All CPU cores unparked
Physx forced to CPU
Extended mode
Default desktop colour settings
Default HUD colours
Some tweaks with SweetFX and GemFX, mainly antialiasing, based on the sticky thread here.
I always play in solo in the rift - i've found playing in open makes it impossible to tune your settings because other players cause judder
Most recent NVidia Driver
Most recent oculus SDK (hey, it worked, I didn't argue)
 
I'm running a GTX 970 on Ultra, 1.5x in-game supersampling, and even SMAA turned on. To achieve this, I put the Oculus detail slider at about 50%. I'm curious to see what you think of that kind of setup - it seemed sorta magic to me.
 
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In several year's time well be playing Elite: Dangerous on high resolution CV2 headsets with everything on Ultra and 2x supersampling. <looks dreamily into the middle distance>
 
I also went the route of moving the oculus slider to one above half and I think its the best I can get it looking since I can use nearly all settings at high and DSR x 4
There is a small hit to text and image quality but really it is small imo
also running without AA helps bring back the text quality
(I'm running SLI) but its smooth everywhere with the very occasional frame jump

SS is way too aliased for me
 
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I'm running a GTX 970 on Ultra, 1.5x in-game supersampling, and even SMAA turned on. To achieve this, I put the Oculus detail slider at about 50%. I'm curious to see what you think of that kind of setup - it seemed sorta magic to me.

Giant thumbs to this. Just tried it and I think it's best of both worlds. Everything ultra except shadows, 1.5x in game supersample, slider at around 65%. Best it's been so far I reckon. Hurrah!
 
What exactly does the Oculus slider actually do?

It change the target resolution (not the rift one that should be at 1080p) as the rendering must be calculated with the 90 FOV of the rift. Try changing it at lowest value with ingame SS to 1x and see the result.
 
My guess of the slider is that it controls the size of the render target. Because of the barrel distortion the Rift is doing to counter the lenses, the documentation (apparently) suggests using a rendering target resolution 25% larger that the display resolution. If effect, it's a built-in pseudo super sampling, but it intended to maintain good resolution after the distortion is applied.

My *guess* is that the Oculus slider in ED is setting the full 25% oversampling when the slider is fully right. Moving the slider left might drop that 25% oversample down to zero, and maybe even go negative so that the engine is rending a scene smaller than native, then up-sampling to match the rift native. As atlas suggests, moving the slider left with in-game supersampling at 1.0x, you'll see the effect that appears to drop the overall resolution.

Anyway - 100% guesswork on my part, but it seems to fit some of the features in the Rift SDK.
 
This is a matter of taste ultimately, but I thought some people might find it interesting.

I've gradually been pushing my software supersampling up at the expense of other things. I got everything running smoothly at 2x in-game supersample, sometimes having to drop to 1.5 in stations. Distant detail and text were amazing - great clarity, lovely stars, great readabilty. So it was a great, comfortable experience. My quality settings to achieve this were mainly medium.

After a bit of a break with the DK2 packed away, I got everything out again over the weekend to try out my new x52 :). I decided to switch back to less demanding hardware supersampling (about 1.25x by forcing a custom resolution) and try putting all my settings back to Ultra (shadows on high), just to see what things were like when I started and found it all breathtaking.

For me there's no comparison. Having the ultra settings for the interior of the ship, the planets, the stations makes the immersion kick in 100%. It feels so real and gritty. Text still looks good but is noticeably less clear and distant space is not as sharp. But for me it still feels so much more real. I spend ages just flying round the outside of stations gawking at the detail.

Just some thoughts. If you can hit ultra at the expense of software supersampling, you know what all the text says, have good eyes and have spent enough time gazing at the stars, give it a try.

In terms of the rest of my setup and tweaks,

Titan X with small overclock
16gb ram
All CPU cores unparked
Physx forced to CPU
Extended mode
Default desktop colour settings
Default HUD colours
Some tweaks with SweetFX and GemFX, mainly antialiasing, based on the sticky thread here.
I always play in solo in the rift - i've found playing in open makes it impossible to tune your settings because other players cause judder
Most recent NVidia Driver
Most recent oculus SDK (hey, it worked, I didn't argue)
Are you telling me that you have a Titan X and need to run this game in medium in the dk2??????????? What about when cv1 hits with more resolution(more pixels to draw) and 90hz/fps target, i am getting frustrated with my dream of exploring in cv1 with a 970
 
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Are you telling me that you have a Titan X and need to run this game in medium in the dk2??????????? What about when cv1 hits with more resolution(more pixels to draw) and 90hz/fps target, i am getting frustrated with my dream of exploring in cv1 with a 970

yeah, he's legit serious. I have an overclocked 980 and run the game on Low, 1.5x supersampling, and shadows on Low. Remember the game is rendering every single scene twice (once for each eye) at 75fps solid and you can't drop any frames, at all. At 1080p. 1080p is actually a *lot* of pixels.
 
Are you telling me that you have a Titan X and need to run this game in medium in the dk2??????????? What about when cv1 hits with more resolution(more pixels to draw) and 90hz/fps target, i am getting frustrated with my dream of exploring in cv1 with a 970

Also have a Titan X, and can also confirm you can run everything on max settings without issue, however if you throw in-game super sampling @ 1.5 at the same time you have no chance of maintaining 75 fps especially in stations
The only way to counter act this is lower the quality setting on the Oculus slider
 
Also have a Titan X, and can also confirm you can run everything on max settings without issue, however if you throw in-game super sampling @ 1.5 at the same time you have no chance of maintaining 75 fps especially in stations
The only way to counter act this is lower the quality setting on the Oculus slider

This

Its just about compromise. Clarity is best with 2x in game SS but you have no hope in hell of running at max with no judder. So I'd been running for clarity, hence medium settings. However have found I prefer running at ultra with less supersample. So a little harder to read things, space a little fuzzier, but amazingly real-feeling.

I'm way happy with it.

I have a hunch things will improve for everyone when CV1 hits AND is fully supported. Remember we're a) on a development kit which b) isn't properly supported by the game. My concern is if and when full support will happen is all. So hoping horizons will be useable in the rift. Ark makes me hopeful :D
 
There's also a chap around here somewhere running two Titan Xs in SLI and he still has judder issues with some settings! I know its not anything like doubling the capacity, but still you'd think....
 
This

Its just about compromise. Clarity is best with 2x in game SS but you have no hope in hell of running at max with no judder. So I'd been running for clarity, hence medium settings. However have found I prefer running at ultra with less supersample. So a little harder to read things, space a little fuzzier, but amazingly real-feeling.

I'm way happy with it.
:D

Good, I like happy :cool:, but can you describe more to me what "a little fuzzier - but amazingly real-feeling" means to you? I have seen several threads where some of you are going ultra and turning down SS...what is that getting you experience wise?
 
I guess its analogous to where you could achieve 4k on a monitor if you lowered all the rendering quality, but chose to go with 1080p and amazing draw distance and texture quality. This is in fact exactly what I've done with Witcher 3 for example. Things aren't as crisp, but they feel a lot more "real".

Like a lot of others I got hung up on crispness of text and and stars and galaxy background for a while. I can achieve amazing crispness with medium detail and 2x supersampling. But I find that if I look around my ship or fly up close to a station or outpost, it feels disappointing. Sort of cartoony. On the other hand, if I bash everything Ultra and take a bit of a hit on clarity by lowering the SS and oculus settings a bit, text and stars are a little less distinct, but all the textures in my ship, all the materials, surfaces, details feel really really real. Well, really really real if I were living in an 80s sci fi show or some sort of "experience" at the science museum. But I think that actually adds to it for me.

Ideally I'd have both of course, but therein lies judder hell.
 
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