VR advice please.

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Hello VR specialists!

I've been doing a little digging into the VR experience in ED and there seems to be a few schools of thought about the whole thing.

• If you only play Horizons, VR is great
• If you play Odyssey, VR isn't great and not really supported
• VR isn't going to be supported for Odyssey by FDEV going forward (rumour? True? Couldn't find an FDev statement)

Now, I only play in Odyssey so I have a few questions... and I do apologise if these have been answered already!

• The specs of my PC are in my sig below but essentially, it's a 5800x, 3080, 32GB (and I play at 4K). What is an ideal headset? (I feel drawn to the Oculus S for some reason).
• How does the VR contraption connect to a PC? Via USB or a DP/HDMI to the GPU? All of the anove?
• Do I need to be in Horizons only to experience VR? Or does VR work in Odyssey but only in space and on planets and as soon as you go on foot, it all goes flat? I'm unsure of how this aspect works.
• How does sound work through VR? Do they have their own discreet "headphones" or can I use my existing cans?

I guess the big subjective question is: is ED worth playing in Oddy/VR at all and worth shelling out for headset?

Thanks.

 

[DeckerSolo]

Hello VR specialists!

I've been doing a little digging into the VR experience in ED and there seems to be a few schools of thought about the whole thing.

• If you only play Horizons, VR is great

Depend of PC Spec & Headset, Odysey is worse because its more demanding, but there is contineous updates

• If you play Odyssey, VR isn't great and not really supported

Odyssey only supports VR in Ships & SRV's, everywhere else you get a flat screen cinema view in the VR headset

• VR isn't going to be supported for Odyssey by FDEV going forward (rumour? True? Couldn't find an FDev statement)

VR is supported in Odyssey, no news on removing it or expanding it

Now, I only play in Odyssey so I have a few questions... and I do apologise if these have been answered already!

• The specs of my PC are in my sig below but essentially, it's a 5800x, 3080, 32GB (and I play at 4K). What is an ideal headset? (I feel drawn to the Oculus S for some reason).

PC spec is just about OK, your 3080 is good. Higher resolution VR headsets are very demanding, see attached image for VR specs. I have Ryzen 9 5950x, RTX 3090 both water cooled and HP reverb G2 and can play in 4K at high quality levels.

• How does the VR contraption connect to a PC? Via USB or a DP/HDMI to the GPU? All of the anove?

Headsets usually need both DP and USB, Oculus Quest 2 can use wifi as well. Don't forget tracking. Inside out doesn't need external transmitters.

• Do I need to be in Horizons only to experience VR? Or does VR work in Odyssey but only in space and on planets and as soon as you go on foot, it all goes flat? I'm unsure of how this aspect works.

VR in Odyssey is Ship & SRV for full VR. Everywhere else is flat screen cinema view in headset.

• How does sound work through VR? Do they have their own discreet "headphones" or can I use my existing cans?

Depends on headset

I guess the big subjective question is: is ED worth playing in Oddy/VR at all and worth shelling out for headset?

ED in VR gives a completely different perspective to the game, I love it, some hate it, but scale of ships/stations, combat and mining are in my opinion much better.

Thanks.

 

[HappyMoonMonkey]

I play in VR using an Oculus Quest 2 and can only speak to my experience.

Odyssey is supported in VR but the on foot experience is only in a 2D-cinema-screen-in-the-headset experience.

All ship and srv based content is full VR in Odyssey as it is with horizons.

You can still experience VR on foot using the camera suite but you won't have the on foot HUD.

Frontier have never said that they have ruled out future VR development, only that they were not currently pursuing this. Given that VR on foot with simple controls is principally a performance issue there are many that hope that FDev give us a native (non camera suite) mode and HUD. Full VR controller tracking is clearly a big step further.

Frame rates have fallen in Odyssey vs Horizons but my in-space frame rates are almost on-par. Where you may feel the frame rate drops are in stations and planet surfaces particularly near settlements.

With a 3080 and the right settings you should be able to get a good experience but you may personally prefer Horizons still.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

That PC is more than capable of high end VR, and is similar to my rig (i have a 3090 but gaming wise not much in them).
the quest 2 is a great entry level VR headset

however for the money i think the Reverb G2 is a very good headset specifically for PCVR.. (make sure you get the gen2 Reverb G2.. should be automatic if you buy new but beware of 2nd hand headsets)

ED:O in ship VR is fine, and with your rig will be on a par with horizons. EDO doesnt run as well as horizons but you can sledge hammer it with that gpu. you wont be able to run VRmax but to be honest there isnt a huge difference between that and lower levels. i cant remember exactly but i run around VR high with a couple of settings down a bit.

the on foot part of ED:O in VR is not great but its usable. its not VR as such but a large cinema screen.......... this is where the Reverb G2 will be a big advantage as it has better image quality for use in big screen 2D VR.

neither are a bad choice, both headsets have strengths and weaknesses. I have both a reverb G2 and quest 2. i always use my G2 for PCVR.

the quest 2 built in sound is ..... functional.... but not close to the quality of a proper headset.
the Reverb G2 built in sound is industry leading for VR and there is no need for bulky extra headset if you get the G2.

or and the riftS is long out of production now. given how poor oculus support is for older headsets i would be wary of buying a 2nd hand oculus headset - unless stupidly cheap.

the rift CV1 cable for instance you simply cannot replace.

btw not sure where Deckersolo gets "just about ok" for PCVR you rig is... that is a superb rig and hugely in the top tier of gaming pcs

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Thanks CMDRs! Great info!

 

[derekajpayne]

Depend of PC Spec & Headset, Odysey is worse because its more demanding, but there is contineous updates

Odyssey only supports VR in Ships & SRV's, everywhere else you get a flat screen cinema view in the VR headset

VR is supported in Odyssey, no news on removing it or expanding it

PC spec is just about OK, your 3080 is good. Higher resolution VR headsets are very demanding, see attached image for VR specs. I have Ryzen 9 5950x, RTX 3090 both water cooled and HP reverb G2 and can play in 4K at high quality levels.

Headsets usually need both DP and USB, Oculus Quest 2 can use wifi as well. Don't forget tracking. Inside out doesn't need external transmitters.

VR in Odyssey is Ship & SRV for full VR. Everywhere else is flat screen cinema view in headset.

Depends on headset

ED in VR gives a completely different perspective to the game, I love it, some hate it, but scale of ships/stations, combat and mining are in my opinion much better.

Hi do you mind if i ask you a quick VR question? Ive an Intel Core i7-11700F Processor with a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3090 GAMING OC 24G. But using the HP Reverb G2 the FPS on Odysey bounces around at 30-40 and the Reprojection is like 60% . Would you mind sharing your settings?

i also have a Valve Index, which i average 88 FPS on and Repo around 12%. But id love to do that with the HP.

 

[DeckerSolo]

Hi do you mind if i ask you a quick VR question? Ive an Intel Core i7-11700F Processor with a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3090 GAMING OC 24G. But using the HP Reverb G2 the FPS on Odysey bounces around at 30-40 and the Reprojection is like 60% . Would you mind sharing your settings?

i also have a Valve Index, which i average 88 FPS on and Repo around 12%. But id love to do that with the HP.

Running HP Reverb G2 v1 version with v2 cable
Ryzen 9 5950x CPU - water cooled
RTX 3090 Founders - water cooled with EKWB Active backplate
32GB DDR4 3600MHz
Gen4 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD

I'm getting average of 60 fps

Running in Steam VR:
Resolution per eye = 100% (3164 x 3092)
Reprojection ratio = 40%

Odyssey Quality Settings set to:
Supersampling = 1.0
Upscaling = Normal
HMD Image Quality = 1.25
Everything else = Max/Ultra

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Hi do you mind if i ask you a quick VR question? Ive an Intel Core i7-11700F Processor with a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3090 GAMING OC 24G. But using the HP Reverb G2 the FPS on Odysey bounces around at 30-40 and the Reprojection is like 60% . Would you mind sharing your settings?

i also have a Valve Index, which i average 88 FPS on and Repo around 12%. But id love to do that with the HP.

Depending on your SteamVR settings, the G2 pushes alot more pixels than the Index. At 100%, SteamVR renders something like 2016x2214 pixels per eye, for the G2 at 100% it's around 3000x3000.

• The specs of my PC are in my sig below but essentially, it's a 5800x, 3080, 32GB (and I play at 4K). What is an ideal headset? (I feel drawn to the Oculus S for some reason).
• How does the VR contraption connect to a PC? Via USB or a DP/HDMI to the GPU? All of the anove?
• Do I need to be in Horizons only to experience VR? Or does VR work in Odyssey but only in space and on planets and as soon as you go on foot, it all goes flat? I'm unsure of how this aspect works.
• How does sound work through VR? Do they have their own discreet "headphones" or can I use my existing cans?

I guess the big subjective question is: is ED worth playing in Oddy/VR at all and worth shelling out for headset?

Thanks.

I run a similar rig, a 5900X with a 3080 Ti. Odyssey runs okayish, but you still have to compromise. As said, apart from the on foot portions, VR works as well (functionally, performance is worse) as Horizons. But man, it's worth it. Descending into the atmosphere of a planet, landing and driving towards the setting star in the SRV is just amazing. Also, you are sitting in a spaceship, it's like you are actually there, and not looking through a window that someone put on your desk. It's so worth it, if you can afford it. Your entrance fee is pretty low with the beefy system you already have.

I'm guessing the big three mainstream headsets are the Quest 2, the Reverb G2 and the Valve Index. I only have limited experience, but I have the impression the headset's ecosystem is important, too. I started with a Rift S and moved to the G2 just before I got Odyssey. On the Oculus headset ED ran very smooth in native Oculus mode (I don't know if there still is a native mode for the current Meta headsets), not so well in SteamVR mode. I also feel like on the G2 the Windows Mixed Reality-SteamVR interface swallows some performance and is the culprit for some of the stuttering and hitches I get from time to time. I have no experience whith a native SteamVR headset.

Choosing which headset to get will also depend on what else you want to play. The G2 is awesome for everything seated. The controllers are meh though, and tracking the controllers below you eyeline is really bad. The so called inside-out tracking is better on the Oculus/Meta headsets, as they have tracking cameras on the bottom of the headset.

As said, the Reverb G2 and Index headphones (they are the same) are great. Cannot speak for the Quest 2, the Rift S sound is terrible. If you want to play games other than seated sims I would probably go for the Index, but including controllers and lighthouses it's pretty expensive, and the setup is more elaborate. Personally I would not buy a Meta headset because of the Facebook connection, and depending on your region they might not even be sold because of legal issues (in Germany they are not).

 

[derekajpayne]

Thanks will try that .

Are you using smaa or fxaa?

And what is the PC settings at? Windows Decides or Max Performance or Max Appearance ?

 

[derekajpayne]

Running HP Reverb G2 v1 version with v2 cable
Ryzen 9 5950x CPU - water cooled
RTX 3090 Founders - water cooled with EKWB Active backplate
32GB DDR4 3600MHz
Gen4 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD

I'm getting average of 60 fps

Running in Steam VR:
Resolution per eye = 100% (3164 x 3092)
Reprojection ratio = 40%

Odyssey Quality Settings set to:
Supersampling = 1.0
Upscaling = Normal
HMD Image Quality = 1.25
Everything else = Max/Ultra

Thanks will try that .

Are you using smaa or fxaa?

And what is the PC settings at? Windows Decides or Max Performance or Max Appearance ?

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[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Can you still use keyboard, mouse and 'stick with a headset or are you stuck with bundled controllers?

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Running HP Reverb G2 v1 version with v2 cable
Ryzen 9 5950x CPU - water cooled
RTX 3090 Founders - water cooled with EKWB Active backplate
32GB DDR4 3600MHz
Gen4 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD

I'm getting average of 60 fps

Running in Steam VR:
Resolution per eye = 100% (3164 x 3092)
Reprojection ratio = 40%

Odyssey Quality Settings set to:
Supersampling = 1.0
Upscaling = Normal
HMD Image Quality = 1.25
Everything else = Max/Ultra

I'm always wondering why everybody else runs much higher settings than I do and they still get petter performance. I'm guessing it depends on your own tolerance to drops and stutters and also heavily on what you actually do in ED... but my performance experience is much worse. I'm not too far off specs wise (5900X and 3080 Ti; I'm not watercooling though), but I nowhere near can run my G2 at 100%. Well I can... in space. Busy RES sites, CZs or settlements - forget that. I run at 60% with 1.0 SS / HMD quality, no upscaling and a mix of medium, high and ultra settings, and I get reprojection whenever I am near populated areas (headset indicates cyan and blue markers pretty much simultaneously, so at least CPU and GPU are in balance ). I get easy 90 fps when traveling though.

What's the secret?

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Can you still use keyboard, mouse and 'stick with a headset or are you stuck with bundled controllers?

you CANNOT use controllers. You play with mouse/keyboard, HOTAS or gamepad.

 

[DeckerSolo]

Thanks will try that .

Are you using smaa or fxaa?

And what is the PC settings at? Windows Decides or Max Performance or Max Appearance ?

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Report Edit

smaa

 

[HappyMoonMonkey]

I'm always wondering why everybody else runs much higher settings than I do and they still get petter performance. I'm guessing it depends on your own tolerance to drops and stutters and also heavily on what you actually do in ED... but my performance experience is much worse. I'm not too far off specs wise (5900X and 3080 Ti; I'm not watercooling though), but I nowhere near can run my G2 at 100%. Well I can... in space. Busy RES sites, CZs or settlements - forget that. I run at 60% with 1.0 SS / HMD quality, no upscaling and a mix of medium, high and ultra settings, and I get reprojection whenever I am near populated areas (headset indicates cyan and blue markers pretty much simultaneously, so at least CPU and GPU are in balance ). I get easy 90 fps when traveling though.

What's the secret?

For me I suspect it's tolerance. I'm only on a 1080 but my testing so far leads me to conclude that at the moment there is little you can do to affect frame rates in Odyssey other than when you push your GPU too far. I.e. for increasing level of detail and resolution it increases the utilisation of my GPU more until I hit a ceiling. The trick is to find that ceiling, go below it and tolerate the reprojection when it occurs.

The obvious answer to this challenge is "it's CPU bound" but my CPU never stretches over 60-70% whatever the settings so I don't think it's that simple. Maybe memory bandwidth?

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

oh I'm absolutely fine with reprojection. What I absolutely cannot stand are the moments the game drops out of reprojection and below 40 fps . So I adjusted my settings to be in CPU- and GPU-limited reprojection in the busiest scenarios (except EDO settlements, they are still terrible) and ended up with 60 to 70% SteamVR-scaling as my maximum - I also found that the individual ED settings make no difference at all anyway, at least those I would be willing to turn down . Ambient occlusion has a notable impact and does very little in space anyway, so I turn it off.

Anyway, in those reprojection scenarios I end up with a GPU load of around 55 to 60%, so I just about crossed the line of what the GPU can do. I have no idea what the CPU is doing though, I suspect individual threads to max out and cause the limiting.

Populated EDO settlements are a different beast though, that's pretty much all CPU limiting. On a 5900X. Go figure.

 

[DeckerSolo]

I'm always wondering why everybody else runs much higher settings than I do and they still get petter performance. I'm guessing it depends on your own tolerance to drops and stutters and also heavily on what you actually do in ED... but my performance experience is much worse. I'm not too far off specs wise (5900X and 3080 Ti; I'm not watercooling though), but I nowhere near can run my G2 at 100%. Well I can... in space. Busy RES sites, CZs or settlements - forget that. I run at 60% with 1.0 SS / HMD quality, no upscaling and a mix of medium, high and ultra settings, and I get reprojection whenever I am near populated areas (headset indicates cyan and blue markers pretty much simultaneously, so at least CPU and GPU are in balance ). I get easy 90 fps when traveling though.

What's the secret?

I don't think there is a secret other than tuning your system (BIOS, OS and game settings to overclocking Menory, CPU & GPU to your hardware choices & configurations)
I feel my biggest gain came from water cooling both CPU & GPU. CPU stays below 60 Deg, GPU Hot Spot below 80 Deg

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

I don't think there is a secret other than tuning your system (BIOS, OS and game settings to overclocking Menory, CPU & GPU to your hardware choices & configurations)
I feel my biggest gain came from water cooling both CPU & GPU. CPU stays below 60 Deg, GPU Hot Spot below 80 Deg

Yeah I've done that long and plentiful. I'm guessing water cooling especially helps with more agressive PBO2 settings and helps on single- and mixed-core loads. I'm on air and have to compromise there.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

@Tyres O'Flaherty : That's also what you get when you move to VR... endless tinkering to squeeze out the last bit of performance .

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

does steamVR still have the bug with the reverb G2 where it massively supersamples the device. it is probably fixed now, as i got my G2 on launch date but i had to manually override my pixel setting.
this bug was reported at the time on many major streaming sites. this obviously has a large impact on performance. All VR headsets have to allow for the barrel distortion, so the barrel correction image does have to be higher than the panel in the headset, however with the reverb G2 steamVR ran it higher than other similar resolution headsets. (Reverb G1 is the same resolution as the reverb G2 and yet steamVR defaults to 2204 x 2160 at 100% with the reverb G1 but was far more punishing with the G2 (over 3000x3000 iirc)) - this is from memory anyway. i could be wrong.

slight aside... i really dislike steamVR. it may be ok on native devices (vive/index) but on non native devices like the G2 or oculus headsets it is rubbish.

Microsoft Flight sim allows you to run openXR instead which runs so much better..... AFAIK you cant force elite to do this however. i imagine if you have an oculus headset you will be able to run native rather than steamvr but i havent tried........ when i played elite on Oculus devices i used the native oculus version, clearly not possible now as ED:O is not on oculus store.

I do wonder if that may be one of the reasons (other than ED:O in general running like a dog) why some have such trouble with ED:O in VR compared with ED:H.... if they were running ED:H in oculus native but are now running steamVR.