Rfactor2 The VR thread -settings & tips

*******************************NOTE 02-7/18 THIS IS DUE TO BE UPDATED + NEW PICS RE-ADDED ***********


Rfactor 2 currently utilises OpenVR sdk which allows compatibility with all current retail headsets
in DX11 beta mode (only)


Please feel free to add hints/tips to this thread & I can update this header as appropriate.


Its advised that users run their PC's well within limits
To achieve :
-A fluid consistently fluid smooth virtual reality experience
-A constant/solid 89-90fps should be maintained
-Helps to reduce latencies



The "basics" -for 1st time setup 397's instruction :
https://www.studio-397.com/2017/05/open-beta-with-directx-11-and-virtual-reality-support/
*to add you may also need to reset/re-centre steam VR positioning if you find that your in-car view is set off to the side

CTRL+Space is default for rfactor2 VR position re-centre
-not steam positional see *note just above,
as steam VR position options (in steam VR setup) reset may be needed too

For reference my specs: i7@4.8ghz + GTX1080ti @2.2ghz core all water cooled

1) GPU control panel
Note: these are the settings that seems to give me personally the very best performance on my
current PC and previous a PC although its not necessary to change these settings I personally always will

This is for Nvidia only , maybe an AMD user could post their best settings,

first check you are using a custom profile for the various titles installed on your PC :




These are best settings I've found for best performance:

-be sure not to use "clamp" (not shown below as not selected)
-I don't use AA (Anti Aliasing) , if I do I set Antialiasing to over-ride to None or Multi Sample only
(below it says "application controlled as I keep it off in rfactor 2's settings ),
Caution : AA super sample eats a lot of PC resource (although I know a lot of users like it)









2) Steam pixel super-sample / pixel density

IMO the very best visual upgrade setting for VR,
its costly on PC resource but I prefer to push this setting up at the expense of AA & in-sim higher graphical settings, e,g I prefer to run much lower graphic setting to be able to have a sharper visual image

This setting multiplies the amount of pixels being processed by the gpu.
The default is 1 , some with a low spec PC can use this to set to 0.8 but visuals will appear less focussed,

users with powerful setups can go maybe as high as 1.7 but will usually require very conservative graphical settings elsewhere.

EDITED :
steam now has a built in option for this, simply launch steam and activate steam vr,
then press the ^ (right hand side) & right click the little VR circle and go to settings
-you will find the pixel density slider in there.



3) Rfactor 2 graphic settings

some users may have to go lower on some of these settings
its advised to start at the lowest possible settings then testing to ensure
fluid consistent frame rates before moving settings higher

---various performance updates have been released
(steam auto downloads these if you have the default "auto update" switched on in your steam options)

although my PC can run rfactor 2 with higher settings I prefer to keep rfactor2 running well within my PC's limits therefore 90fps is maintained in most cases

I am sure I have reduced lag/latencies due to this too as things "feel" better & I can usually achieve faster lap times , maybe someone could explain if this is factual or not?
Anyhow I use low to medium settings, see ***note below this pic


Update :
I realise texture level can be set to "medium" for VR with little noticeable visual difference + Texture Filter x8


Make sure both "Head Physics" and "Exaggerate Yaw" are set to 0% in the controller settings menu

in the graphics menu
There's an option "lock to horizon" this reduces the overall visual judder when the si m car hits a curb or a track bump, for maximum reduction of this set this option to "LOW"
( not high -I know this seems odd )

In your player.JSON file change values to 0 as below:

"Car Vibration Mult1":0,
"Car Vibration Mult2":0,
"Cockpit Vibration Mult1":0,
"Cockpit Vibration Mult2":0, **UPDATE 06/07/2017 this may be defaulted as standard now



4) steam VR Reprojection

I have turned this completely off as I aim for my PC to be running well within its limits,
thus it should not need any fps help, some may need this
-its set in the steam VR control panel , simply right click the VR circle in the task bars ^ ,
be sure to have it running simply click on the little VR top right on the main steam interface

6) Using AI

Apart from high graphic settings to many AI is quick way to destroy the VR experience
every sim that has AI (DCS world, Arma series, various other racing titles) when in use can put a tremendous load on the CPU of the PC,
Do your own testing, some car types/mods are less of a load than others
I personally tend to use up to about x8 AI's maximum although in stress tests I realise certain car types/mods will allow many more but I do personally try to keep to a minimum


7) A few player.Json amends

some nice little tweaks here :

locate -if your rfactor2 is not on "C" drive then swap the "C" at beginning with relevant drive letter:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\rFactor 2\UserData\player\player.Json

open the player.Json file (use notepad), then search for as below

My favourites :

Rear view mirror render distance
search for "Rearview_Back_Clip " the number is the render distance in meters ( 0 is no limit )
(I have this set to 30mtrs)

Lowering details of cars in garage
search for "Garage Detail" , set it to 0.01

Reducing number of headlight in effect
search for " "Max Headlights":256, "
I have this set to 20 (change 256 to 20) plenty enough and saves fps



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

Info on pixel density
(pixel super sample ) setting


The pixel density setting is really setting the pc to output the resolution below
(notice going from the default of 1.0 to 2.00 is double the amounts of pixels being processed by the PC)

example :

1.0 is no uplift (standard resolution)
1.5 is +50% extra pixels being processed
2.0 is double amount of pixels being processed

 

reserved

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Yes , good call Adrian , perfect timing .

 

Wow what a long road this seems to have been but finally we're here and today is the day. To say I'm excited is an understatement.
I look forward to visiting this page regularly, thanks Adrian

 

So is all this stuff in the vid necessary ? and is it recommended ?

 

Win10 optimisation not necessary, although some one on the iracing forum did this & experience slightly better performance , I'm going to do it later as it's quick & easy

 

@2ndLastJedi

no, unless your running a toaster

 

you dont have to go through all these unnecessary steps, you don't need to go changing nvidia settings or anything unless you come across specific problems, just load up the game, change settings like you normally would for looks/performance compromise like any non vr game, changing pixel density to you preferred number is the only step needed IF you want it, its normally an option in game or an ini file

ppl get way too hung up and go through all this pointless stuff for no reason

 

Agreed don't have to do the optimisations to win10 suggestion -edited above post

This has solved certain performance issues for some though, I'll leave the vid in post just in case it helps anyone

 

Yep agree, keep everything simple and just alter the in game settings only from the start. When you're happy with them then move onto Supersampling & Pixels Per Display and all that other stuff if you want too.
Not forgetting this will be in a Beta state for some time so performance optimisations are likely to come with each future update (RRE a very good example of this), so don't waste too much time faffing with settings now, just get it comfortable and enjoy the experience is my advice.

 

I find time and time again
That PC users set to high then constantly moan about the software

Anti Anilising in supersample mode is a big one -people like to run this ....it destroys PC performance

A VR setup needs attention to detail when it comes to setting things up right,
running a PC well within its limits is key , I'm sure even with all settings at min ( but an uplift in pixel density/super sample if possible ) will still give brill experience

VR users should try to overclock where possible , I've previously cut holes in pc cases and mounted large extraction fans ( most consumer pc cases imo have poor cooling ) , I use a self built case now, every little bit helps

All just my own opinion, I'm sure others can add a lot of useful info here , soon in will be rfactor 2 specific too hopefully

 

A VR settings thread is very useful! The VR settings thread in iracing forum for example helped me a lot to get good/optimal results.

 

So setting pixel density in the oculus debug tool does not work? I have to do it as indicated above?

 

It's also in SteamVR Settings now which does work.

 

the only advice i'd give is to oculus owners, start steam vr and disable the steam vr reprojection options under performance, oculus has its own version which will work automatically even when games are using openvr

 

Oculus owners also need to set the room scale in SteamVR, if that's offset your driving position will be as well.

 

nah all driving games have a reset head position hotkey option

 

Yes but you need to set the room scale in SteamVR, merely setting the in game hotkey will still leave you at an angle if the SteamVR room scale is offset, trust me I'm in the private beta I've tested it

 

How do you know this? Note I am just curious.

How to set roomscale, and what difference does it make?

Thanks guys!