Impressions ( Detailed) BoX with Oculus Rift

[dburne]

I have been familiar with BoS since the original early Alpha access began, which I was a part of. Shortly after it's official release, I got away from the sim for a very long time for various reasons.

With the changes that were being announced, I bought back into it by purchasing BoM and BoK in late

 Dec. Then in mid Jan. I purchased an Oculus Rift, and was so blown away I no longer did any 2d gaming on my monitor, hence no BoX until - yesterday. That has all changed now!

 

I am running an I7 4820K processor @ 4.50 GHz on an over 3yr old X-79 MB, with an EVGA GTX 1080 FTW vid card.

I have logged probably around 30 hours so far in DCS with my Rift.

 

Yesterday afternoon, after some hair pulling moments getting Steam VR working properly, I launched BoX in VR for the first time. I had never used Steam VR before, and what I was doing was launching Steam VR then launching BoX.  That is a no-no, at least it was in my case. There I sat staring at the Steam room, with the game showing up on my monitor only. I even tried re-running Steam VR setup with the same affect.  I tried something. I did not start Steam VR first, I launched BoS. Then both SteamVR and BoS launched together, and I found myself in the hangar at the login screen in VR. Woohoo finally! Thankfully I had spent some time prior setting up all my controls in the sim so they would be ready to go.

 

So on to the nitty gritty.

After much testing, I have settled in on:

Graphics at Ultra

SSAO and HDR Off

Sharpen On

4X AA.

Distant Land Detail Normal

Dynamic Resolution Full ( Off).

Gamma .8

Pixel Density 1.8 ( Set in the Oculus Software)

 

I have probably logged close to three hours so far flying this sim in VR. I have flown along the countryside just enjoying the scenery, I have flown a few 3 ( Yak) versus 4(109) dogfights as well. Taken off and landed several times, even parachuted out once (very cool).

I went into this with some trepidation, knowing that this is their first official release into the VR Arena, and also knowing with my Rift I was going to have to run an extra layer by running Steam VR on top of the Oculus software as well.

 

To say I have been blown away by this first effort would be an understatement. It is absolutely incredible. I don't think I could be any happier with it so far.

 

Graphics - absolutely gorgeous. Terrain looks really good, colors look really good especially when I got rid of HDR and SSAO.

​Also SDE ( Screen Door Effect) VR uses have to deal with somewhat with this first generation. I don't know maybe I need to look harder for it in BoX, but so far I am not really noticing it much at all - certainly not like I do in some other games.

Sharpness and Clarity of the graphics is really good, especially for VR with it's current shortcomings.

 

Performance - Another Wow factor! Any concerns I had with having to run the Steam VR software on top of my Oculus software was quickly alleviated. I was very surprised - pleasantly so - by how far I could crank up the graphics and still get very good performance in BoX on my system.

I was maintaining the 90 fps for a good part of the time ( no ASW) , at times in the heat of battle with multiple planes ASW would kick in and then it would be the default ASW rate of 45 fps. Still , very smooth with no stuttering whatsoever. Of course there are some minor graphic anomalies with ASW running one comes to expect, like the blurriness in the gunsight recticle, planes blurring as they pass by close, but still very, very smooth. In fact in all my flying so far in this sim in VR, I have yet to see a single stutter or single glitch - it has been rock solid for me.

 

Re-center VR View and VR Zoom - thank you Devs for adding these two features. Re-Center works very well, I find sometimes I need to use it upon first getting into the cockpit, But not like I did with Track IR, once set it pretty much stays where you need it unless one changes their position.

VR Zoom works well also. It is not perfect, for instance turning your head around whilst zoomed in the cockpit will kind of sway right and left. But really one should mainly look ahead whilst zoomed in anyway, at least it is what I do when using. I find I don't need it for close up dogfighting, more for looking for things at a distance, like planes, runways, etc.

 

I can not express enough how very pleased I am with this implementation of VR! I am having a blast now with this sim, and I look forward to many, many hours of enjoyment going forward. And I am so looking forward to the beloved Spit soon to come.

Thank you so much for all your efforts in making this happen and getting it out to us this soon! I hope it results in many increased sales for you, I know the 2.009 Discussion thread has certainly shown a lot of interest.

 

Happy Flying!

Edited April 12, 2017 by dburne

[Toxin1]

I share your impressions.  For VR flightsims this implementation is on par with Aerofly FS 2 in performance and visuals and far exceeds it in pure fidelity and gameplay. A real game changer!!

[Lensman]

Agreed! I've just tried it and it is remarkable. Being able to see the tracer in 3D at last is a pleasing revelation. Aren't the instruments beautifully detailed up close? The Bf109 dials have inscriptions in some places on the metal, supeb.

[Remontti]

I tried different graphics settings to maintain that 90fps. Got to say that even with Low settings it still looks great. I kind of like the clarity you get with low settings. I'm going to try it for a while. I'm also using sparse grid 2x to reduce shimmering.

 

I noticed that using vr zoom function doesn't really help identifying planes. At certain distances the plane gets smaller when you use zoom.

 

Actually the biggest complain is the Bong-sound that you get when you reach limit you can move your head. I keep hearing that a lot and it gets annoying. In quick missions I can disable those limits but not in expert-server.

 

A great experience in VR, a much better than I expected!

[Milopapa]

Did you find disabling SSAO improve performance? I just did a quick flying with both HDR and SSAO on and didnt have performance problems with 1.5x supersampling, but any performance improvement idea is welcome

[Urra]

I tried different graphics settings to maintain that 90fps. Got to say that even with Low settings it still looks great. I kind of like the clarity you get with low settings. I'm going to try it for a while. I'm also using sparse grid 2x to reduce shimmering.

 

I noticed that using vr zoom function doesn't really help identifying planes. At certain distances the plane gets smaller when you use zoom.

 

Actually the biggest complain is the Bong-sound that you get when you reach limit you can move your head. I keep hearing that a lot and it gets annoying. In quick missions I can disable those limits but not in expert-server.

 

A great experience in VR, a much better than I expected!

You mean "low quality" setting in game? Or the vr 1.0 factor?

[Remontti]

You mean "low quality" setting in game? Or the vr 1.0 factor?

 

The presets low, balanced, high and ultra.

[dburne]

Did you find disabling SSAO improve performance? I just did a quick flying with both HDR and SSAO on and didnt have performance problems with 1.5x supersampling, but any performance improvement idea is welcome

 

Yes, I found disabling both SSAO and HDR resulted in a performance gain for me - not large, but somewhat.

Plus I think I mentioned I found I liked the colors better with them disabled. Course could have been my imagination, but it overall just seemed to look better to me.

[OhhhhChihuahua]

Quick question though.

 

Does DK2 work as well? Only CV1 support is listed.

[dburne]

Quick question though.

 

Does DK2 work as well? Only CV1 support is listed.

 

If you are thinking about buying one, don't!

 

If you already have one, all you can do is try. I have seen a report from one guy in here who is struggling trying to get it to run BoS.

Oculus ended support for DK2 in March 2016, and it is not officially supported by 1CGS for BoS.

 

If you can get it to run count yourself lucky, if not no real options.

[OhhhhChihuahua]

If you are thinking about buying one, don't!

 

If you already have one, all you can do is try. I have seen a report from one guy in here who is struggling trying to get it to run BoS.

Oculus ended support for DK2 in March 2016, and it is not officially supported by 1CGS for BoS.

 

If you can get it to run count yourself lucky, if not no real options.

 

Thanks! :-)

 

I'm seriously considering buying CV1 and if it's worth the money :> 

Edited April 13, 2017 by OhhhhChihuahua

[dburne]

Thanks! :-)

 

I'm seriously considering buying CV1 and if it's worth the money :> 

 

Whether it is worth it is entirely up to the individual and what they get out of it.

Unfortunately tough for one to determine this until they actually try it.

 

For me - heck yes it was worth every penny.  I have had my Rift CV1 since mid Jan, and have not gamed on my 2d monitor since, and can't see myself ever doing so again.

Instead of looking at a world in small scale on a monitor, I am in that world in actual real world scale for the most part.

 

But VR in it's current form has a tradeoff, and that is in resolution. It will certainly get better as the tech develops with each new generation, like computers typically do.

I will say for me and what I get out of being in VR, it far outweighs any loss in resolution.

[OhhhhChihuahua]

Whether it is worth it is entirely up to the individual and what they get out of it.

Unfortunately tough for one to determine this until they actually try it.

 

For me - heck yes it was worth every penny.  I have had my Rift CV1 since mid Jan, and have not gamed on my 2d monitor since, and can't see myself ever doing so again.

Instead of looking at a world in small scale on a monitor, I am in that world in actual real world scale for the most part.

 

But VR in it's current form has a tradeoff, and that is in resolution. It will certainly get better as the tech develops with each new generation, like computers typically do.

I will say for me and what I get out of being in VR, it far outweighs any loss in resolution.

Thanks man  

[dburne]

Thanks man

 

You are most welcome.

 

What are your system specs?

[yeikov]

Hi Don,

 

One question, do you know if one sensor alone is good enough to avoid loss of tracking when checking 6? My finger is hovering over the OR order button, but I'm not sure if I should order also an additional sensor or the controllers (not really interested in them if not for the 2nd sensor)

[dburne]

Hi Don,

 

One question, do you know if one sensor alone is good enough to avoid loss of tracking when checking 6? My finger is hovering over the OR order button, but I'm not sure if I should order also an additional sensor or the controllers (not really interested in them if not for the 2nd sensor)

 

One sensor should be no problem at all. Back when I bought my Rift, I only had the 1 sensor and used it in DCS just fine, could turn all the way around with no problem.

 

Now about a month later I did add the Touch controllers which gave me that second sensor. I too thought like you when I bought the Rift, that I would only use it for flight sims. Well once I got the Touch controllers, it opened up a whole new world of gaming for me - and I am very glad I got them.

 

But yes, you will be just fine with one sensor.

[yeikov]

  Thanks!

Edited April 18, 2017 by yeikov

[yaglourt]

Hi pilots,

 

4X AA.

Pixel Density 1.8 ( Set in the Oculus Software)

 

You don't need antialiasing in game if you use super-sampling... it's a waste of GPU ressource

Edited May 10, 2017 by yaglourt

[SYN_Mike77]

where do you find super sampling option in this game. Or are we talking about simply a vr thing?

[dburne]

Hi pilots,

 

 

You don't need antialiasing in game if you use super-sampling... it's a waste of GPU ressource

 

Well I find for me, the image quality to be much better with AA on even with PD set.

where do you find super sampling option in this game. Or are we talking about simply a vr thing?

 

Yeah VR thing, Pixel Density. Set through the VR software.

[Setras]

Yeah VR thing, Pixel Density. Set through the VR software.

Supersampling(SS), Upscale, Pixel Density, Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR). Every community calls it differently...

[=TBAS=Sshadow14]

Supersampling(SS), Upscale, Pixel Density, Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR). Every community calls it differently...

Because they are all Different things.

[A_radek]

Great info in this thread.

 

Want to ad that I'm not a big fan of HDR either. But I do appreciate ssao in this game and VR as most of the time your sitting in a cockpit.

 

Ssao will add soft shadows in to every nook and cranny where light irl would have a hard time reaching, and give geometry a more defined/less flat look. Difference is subtle but important for a realistic render. Surfaces further inside the cockpit where your feet should be, will be darker than cockpit sidewalls right next to the canopy. And smaller details such as knobs and instruments get more definition.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z-sFixZx6I

Edited May 11, 2017 by a_radek