Latest Beta Release of the VR mod

Here you can find help for how to best run and setup your XWA VR experience.

Re: Latest Beta Release of the VR mod

User avatar
blue_max
XWAU Member
Posts: 2295
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:12 am

Post by blue_max » Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:27 pm

m0rgg wrote: ↑
Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:14 am
Is the new mode used as default or is the config switch still there?
The new mode is on by default now, but I left the switch so that we can turn it off just in case.

a1adin
Cadet 3rd Class
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:57 pm

Post by a1adin » Tue Dec 21, 2021 8:53 am

Thank s for the new update blue_max and m0rgg.
However, it seems there is something wrong with it (EffectsByBlueMax_beta_v2021-12-18.zip).

I have just tried playing some skirmish missions.
It seems there are something wrong with the menu and the mouse., when I click single player, it takes very long to load.
and also when I click to change the skirmish mission parameter: the fighter type, the ai or the location, the process takes very very long (more than a minute)
I will test again tonight.
iirc, this does not happen with the previous update.

User avatar
blue_max
XWAU Member
Posts: 2295
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:12 am

Post by blue_max » Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:14 pm

a1adin wrote: ↑
Tue Dec 21, 2021 8:53 am
I have just tried playing some skirmish missions.
It seems there are something wrong with the menu and the mouse., when I click single player, it takes very long to load.
and also when I click to change the skirmish mission parameter: the fighter type, the ai or the location, the process takes very very long (more than a minute)
Does this happen in SteamVR mode? Do I have to set up the skirmish mission in some specific way? Things seem to be fine on my end. Did you check what was the process usage in Windows while this is happening? (There might be some other process that is causing Windows to be slow)

User avatar
m0rgg
XWAU Member
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm

Post by m0rgg » Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:54 pm

a1adin wrote: ↑
Tue Dec 21, 2021 8:53 am
Thank s for the new update blue_max and m0rgg.
However, it seems there is something wrong with it (EffectsByBlueMax_beta_v2021-12-18.zip).

I have just tried playing some skirmish missions.
It seems there are something wrong with the menu and the mouse., when I click single player, it takes very long to load.
and also when I click to change the skirmish mission parameter: the fighter type, the ai or the location, the process takes very very long (more than a minute)
I will test again tonight.
iirc, this does not happen with the previous update.
Probably not the issue, but make sure XWA is the app in focus, through Alt+tab or clicking the icon in the taskbar.

a1adin
Cadet 3rd Class
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:57 pm

Post by a1adin » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:00 pm

>Does this happen in SteamVR mode?
Yes

>Do I have to set up the skirmish mission in some specific way?
No, it does not matter what you change, but when you click "Done", the game hangs (sort of), since there is a little window XWA waiting forever for the process to be done.
but if you press RMB, you go back to the quick skirmish page, there is no error.

also the mouse movement is strange, it always stop midway before I can reach the 'done" area,
so I have to approach it from different direction.

I have tried this several times and the result is always the same.

>Did you check what was the process usage in Windows while this is happening?
I have looked at the task manager, there are 3 biggest cpu processes:
OVRServer_x64.exe
OculusDash.exe
X wing alliance 32 bit

the otherprocesses are less than 1%

Please let me know what is wrong here.

a1adin
Cadet 3rd Class
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:57 pm

Post by a1adin » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:49 pm

it seems your latest update is not the culprit.
I have copied the previous update v2021.11.30
but the same problems still happen.

User avatar
blue_max
XWAU Member
Posts: 2295
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:12 am

Post by blue_max » Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:00 am

Can you do a fresh install of XWAU? Make a backup copy of your pilots and then install XWAU 2020 + Update 5 + latest ddraw beta. I'm not sure what's going on yet, but maybe you have multiple versions of the same DLL and they might be causing conflicts. A clean install will rule that out.

a1adin
Cadet 3rd Class
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:57 pm

Post by a1adin » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:18 am

that's exactlu what I did.
however, there is another problem, now I get instalation error:
xwau install error.png
this is very strange, I never get that error before.
I have tried 2 times and get that same error.

blue_max do you know what is wrong here?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

a1adin
Cadet 3rd Class
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:57 pm

Post by a1adin » Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:26 pm

silly me, I forgot to install the main XWAU2020.exe and straight to install update 5.0. :kopfwand:

ok, now everything is good with the new install.
thanks blue_max for all the help. :D

User avatar
blue_max
XWAU Member
Posts: 2295
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:12 am

Post by blue_max » Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:15 pm

a1adin wrote: ↑
Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:26 pm
ok, now everything is good with the new install.
thanks blue_max for all the help. :D
I don't think I helped that much here, but I'm glad you got your stuff working again :)

User avatar
SadSky
Recruit
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:20 am

Post by SadSky » Tue Dec 20, 2022 10:31 am

Hi Blue Max and every pilot here. Could someone please help me with my issue. I only see the holographic panel in one lens. I have described my problem here :

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=14044

Thank you very much.

Luke_Skywalker
Cadet 1st Class
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:01 am

Post by Luke_Skywalker » Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:55 am

Just put a 3070 in and gave this a whirl. I'm not expecting a solid 90FPS 100% of the time but I also figure I shouldn't be getting 40FPS with spikes up to 50 when I go into hyperspace. Is this to be expected? πŸ€”
When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not. Hmm?" -Yoda

User avatar
blue_max
XWAU Member
Posts: 2295
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:12 am

Post by blue_max » Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:14 pm

Luke_Skywalker wrote: ↑
Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:55 am
Just put a 3070 in and gave this a whirl. I'm not expecting a solid 90FPS 100% of the time but I also figure I shouldn't be getting 40FPS with spikes up to 50 when I go into hyperspace. Is this to be expected? πŸ€”
Depending on how you configured your display and the effects, this is to be expected. Take a look at this thread to see some tips that may help you improve your FPS:

https://forums.xwaupgrade.com/viewtopic ... 43#p164943

Luke_Skywalker
Cadet 1st Class
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:01 am

Post by Luke_Skywalker » Thu Mar 09, 2023 8:38 pm

I've actually gone through that to see if that would help and... it didn't.

It's not possible to use the Oculus runtime instead of SteamVR, is it? One of the things I've noticed is that if you're modding a game to add VR, SteamVR is kind of shit because the freelook is all kinds of jittery. I noticed this while playing MechWarrior 5, for instance.
When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not. Hmm?" -Yoda

User avatar
m0rgg
XWAU Member
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm

Post by m0rgg » Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:56 pm

You can try OpenComposite, but not sure it will work or be any better perfomance wise

Luke_Skywalker
Cadet 1st Class
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:01 am

Post by Luke_Skywalker » Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:35 pm

m0rgg wrote: ↑
Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:56 pm
You can try OpenComposite, but not sure it will work or be any better perfomance wise
I don't suppose OpenXR is a thing yet here, is it?
When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not. Hmm?" -Yoda

User avatar
m0rgg
XWAU Member
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm

Post by m0rgg » Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:03 pm

Luke_Skywalker wrote: ↑
Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:35 pm
I don't suppose OpenXR is a thing yet here, is it?
I started an implementation, got it to display 2D stuff in the headset, but never got to finish it.
It's still in my to do, but I didn't have much time for XWA in quite some time.

But for me openxr was more for compatibility and future proofing than performance. There are other rendering optimizations with a much higher impact, like instanced stereo rendering or draw call batching.

Luke_Skywalker
Cadet 1st Class
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:01 am

Post by Luke_Skywalker » Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:09 pm

Fair, I suppose. I'd just like to try going through the Oculus app instead of SteamVR to mitigate the performance hit of using both runtimes.
When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not. Hmm?" -Yoda

User avatar
m0rgg
XWAU Member
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm

Post by m0rgg » Sat Jun 17, 2023 8:42 am

Hello all!

@blue_max has just published a new Effects ddraw.dll beta version which, among other improvements, should significantly increase SteamVR performance when CPU limited.

This version implements instanced stereo rendering. This means that the rendering for both eyes is done in a single draw call (one command to the GPU). This reduction only applies to VR mode.

The latest hook_32bpp version (released May 19th) also includes a change to reduce the number of draw calls. Before, one call was issued every 384 vertices in a model. Now, all the vertices using a single texture are drawn in a single call. This improvement applies both to VR and pancake mode.

The total number of draw calls per frame is one of the current biggest bottlenecks of the engine, since each call has a CPU overhead. I am pretty confident that this is the main cause of the FPS drops with many objects, and/or many polygons to draw.

Both changes mentioned above together, should help reduce the slow-downs that appear even for the best GPU and with a good CPU.. Note that this will not improve the max/average FPS, or when the bottleneck is the GPU. Other optimizations will be necessary for that. But who cares about high max FPS when you have 15fps drops? That's why most benchmarks and reviews focus on the "lowest 1%" performance.

Please download it and give it a go! And don't forget to update your hooks with XwaHooksSetup tool. I'm eager to know if it has a noticeable benefit to everybody else.

I believe these versions should be compatible with TFTC but make a backup of your folder just in case!

https://www.xwaupgrade.com/download/bet ... -06-16.zip

User avatar
Jorrel
Cadet 4th Class
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:09 am

Post by Jorrel » Sat Jun 17, 2023 6:15 pm

Just took it for a spin - the hyperspace renderings appear to be a bit bugged, because the Active Cockpit displays persist in one eye but not the other.

User avatar
m0rgg
XWAU Member
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm

Post by m0rgg » Sat Jun 17, 2023 6:37 pm

Jorrel wrote: ↑
Sat Jun 17, 2023 6:15 pm
Just took it for a spin - the hyperspace renderings appear to be a bit bugged, because the Active Cockpit displays persist in one eye but not the other.
Thanks for testing! I will take a look

User avatar
m0rgg
XWAU Member
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm

Post by m0rgg » Sat Jun 17, 2023 11:06 pm

I think I found the issue and implemented a fix.

Can you please download it here and test?
https://github.com/morallo/xwa_ddraw_d3 ... otfix_beta

User avatar
Jorrel
Cadet 4th Class
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:09 am

Post by Jorrel » Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:18 pm

m0rgg wrote: ↑
Sat Jun 17, 2023 11:06 pm
I think I found the issue and implemented a fix.

Can you please download it here and test?
https://github.com/morallo/xwa_ddraw_d3 ... otfix_beta
Yep, that fixed it! Nice job!

User avatar
blue_max
XWAU Member
Posts: 2295
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:12 am

Post by blue_max » Mon Jun 19, 2023 4:42 am

The fix has been merged into the official beta. Please download it again. Thanks for reporting the bug and thanks to @m0rgg for the quick turnaround!

marcelo999
Cadet 4th Class
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 5:22 am

Post by marcelo999 » Sat Jul 15, 2023 9:37 pm

Versions after 04-28-2023 do not work on Windows 7 64. The error is ( Error initializing resource devices). It does not enter the game.

Thank you..

Post Reply