Guides A performance Guide for Virt-a-Mate (& other apps)

[xadamadax]

Well we already have found the issue then. The VRperfkit doesnt work if VaM gets launched with Steam/SteamVR. Can you try starting VaM from the folder directly? Better shut down steam aswell, try to get VaM to start without SteamVR.

With steam you have to use Fholger's older tool, OpenFSR. For what we use it for it's got 99% of the same features as the new tool. You'll lose fixed foveated rendering, but keep the scaling. It gives a huge performance boost.

Link to his older tool

GitHub - fholger/openvr_fsr: Add Image Upscaling via AMD FidelityFX SuperResolution or NVIDIA Image Scaling to SteamVR games

Add Image Upscaling via AMD FidelityFX SuperResolution or NVIDIA Image Scaling to SteamVR games - fholger/openvr_fsr

github.com

 

[EasyVam]

@EasyVam I tried with my old rift s and it works, but it seems to me that the fps gets locked at 40fps or 80? did you change any settings in the oculus app at all or any additional tweaks.

Yes! Thats a terrible Oculus thing called Asynchronous Spacewarp, it more often than not cuts your fps in half. Im using the 3rd party software OculusTrayTool to properly configure it.

 

[EasyVam]

@Blaspheratus @xadamadax I thank you very much for these informations and your contribution. Ill include them in the guide after my morning coffe so more people get access to it.

 

[Blaspheratus]

@Blaspheratus @xadamadax I thank you very much for these informations and your contribution. Ill include them in the guide after my morning coffe so more people get access to it.

Hi @EasyVam ,maybe these screenshots will help

Using https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/sallyuiscale4k.15835/ allows me to change the resolution in game.

 

[EasyVam]

Hi @EasyVam ,maybe these screenshots will help
View attachment 213476View attachment 213477View attachment 213478
Using https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/sallyuiscale4k.15835/ allows me to change the resolution in game.

More awesome input! That fixes the text getting weird after upscaling. Thanks again.

 

[xadamadax]

@Blaspheratus @xadamadax I thank you very much for these informations and your contribution. Ill include them in the guide after my morning coffe so more people get access to it.

EasyVam- first time caller, long time listener.

Happy to do it, appreciate all your contributions. I think adding your settings, actual resolution, and scaled resolution for Lossless would be helpful! Thanks again.

 

[Case]

EasyVam- first time caller, long time listener.

Happy to do it, appreciate all your contributions. I think adding your settings, actual resolution, and scaled resolution for Lossless would be helpful! Thanks again.

Seconded. @EasyVam - Especially interested in

1) SS and ASW settings for the tray tool. I'm seeing it was developed for the rift, ie. Occulus' pre-Quest PCVR headset. I'm using a Quest 1 myself. No idea how ASW affects the Quest 1/2 and what settings should be used?

* When is ASW good, when is it bad? Should I turn it off totally, or are there situations when it's usefull? (Quest 1 user). You just mention that you feel the need to "steer" using the try tool, not what you mean by "steering" it?

* Also no idea what SuperSampling factor to use - naively, it sounds like higher SS could aid as with "resharpening", but my guess is one should take great care here, esp wrt SS settings in other tools (eg SS settings in SteamVR, or the resolution-settings in VaM).

The TrayTool's own documentation is not totally clear on those topics, since it's written for the Rift S - that's different hardware, even though Q1/Q2 are compatible with it.

2) Also notable: VirtualDesktop has a "sharpening" option that GuyGodin introduced in the context of SSW for the Quest 2.
Any advice on this?

Lastly: Please make crlear in any Quest-advice whether the advice is for Quest1, Quest2 or both - Q1 can use "most" of the stuff the Q2 does (largely same API), but lacks the hardware for some options. For example, Q1 bandwidth maximum maxes out at 100mbs, while Q2 can go to 200mbs. Also Q1 can't use SSW, since it's onboard chipset lacks the horsepower.

 

[Case]

With steam you have to use Fholger's older tool, OpenFSR. For what we use it for it's got 99% of the same features as the new tool. You'll lose fixed foveated rendering, but keep the scaling. It gives a huge performance boost.

Link to his older tool

GitHub - fholger/openvr_fsr: Add Image Upscaling via AMD FidelityFX SuperResolution or NVIDIA Image Scaling to SteamVR games

Add Image Upscaling via AMD FidelityFX SuperResolution or NVIDIA Image Scaling to SteamVR games - fholger/openvr_fsr

github.com

Not completely true:

Can comfirm taht the vrperfkit tool will work on a Quest 1 (and hence probably also on a Q2) when you replace VirtualDesktop with Airlink/Occulus. I have to say that I'm not totally convinced on the feasibility, since I HATE airlink (gltchy, clunky), but there are now some tools (the traytool & starting VaM via Occuls SDK w/o using Occulus Home https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/how-to-launch-without-steamvr-performance-increase.30496/ ), that remove some of Airlink's "clunkyness".

Note that this is not a recommendation, just a "proof of concept" - as of right now, I'm still using VirtualDesktop without any of the fholger tools, since the whole userexperience is THAT much smoother than other options (SteamVR, Airlink, OpenComposite). I have to say I'd have to see some really convincing FPS boost to convince me to make do without VD ...

... and I haven't yet done extensive testing of options.

 

[Case]

Hi @EasyVam ,maybe these screenshots will help
View attachment 213476View attachment 213477View attachment 213478
Using https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/sallyuiscale4k.15835/ allows me to change the resolution in game.

Sorry for the noob question: Is this advice for Desktop-mode or VR? Or both?

Tried using Sally's tool with my Quest1 in VR and it refused to work, saying the resolution was too low to upscale? Likely bcs "Quest 1 + downscale res" vertical resolution was too low?

But there's likely something that can be done in Q1 settings? (Q1 should be capable of sufficiently high resolutions)

 

[xadamadax]

Not completely true:

Can comfirm taht the vrperfkit tool will work on a Quest 1 (and hence probably also on a Q2) when you replace VirtualDesktop with Airlink/Occulus. I have to say that I'm not totally convinced on the feasibility, since I HATE airlink (gltchy, clunky), but there are now some tools (the traytool & starting VaM via Occuls SDK w/o using Occulus Home https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/how-to-launch-without-steamvr-performance-increase.30496/ ), that remove some of Airlink's "clunkyness".

Note that this is not a recommendation, just a "proof of concept" - as of right now, I'm still using VirtualDesktop without any of the fholger tools, since the whole userexperience is THAT much smoother than other options (SteamVR, Airlink, OpenComposite). I have to say I'd have to see some really convincing FPS boost to convince me to make do without VD ...

... and I haven't yet done extensive testing of options.

Fholgers older tool works great with VD and steamvr, just use the older one like i said in my post

 

[Case]

Fholgers older tool works great with VD and steamvr, just use the older one like i said in my post

Yes,, I've known this for about a year (the tool was briefly discussed on the Hub here). The point of my post was reporting to YOU (and other users in this thread) is that fholger's NEWER toolkit (vperftoolkit) also works with Quest1/Quest2 in VaM, provided you forgoe VirtualDesktop & use another method of connecting the headset to your PC (Airlink eg. Haven't tested ALVR).

Benefit is that you also get the fixed foveated rendering.

P.S.: Ofc, the vperfkit is a Occulus runtime-based tool, so won't run with SteamVR - there might be ppl who insist on using SteamVR, though I can't really fathom why.

 

[xadamadax]

Yes,, I've known this for about a year (the tool was briefly discussed on the Hub here). The point of my post was reporting to YOU (and other users in this thread) is that fholger's NEWER toolkit (vperftoolkit) also works with Quest1/Quest2 in VaM, provided you forgoe VirtualDesktop & use another method of connecting the headset to your PC (Airlink eg. Haven't tested ALVR).

Benefit is that you also get the fixed foveated rendering.

P.S.: Ofc, the vperfkit is a Occulus runtime-based tool, so won't run with SteamVR - there might be ppl who insist on using SteamVR, though I can't really fathom why.

But that's already mentioned in the resource page

 

[cmramlow]

@EasyVam - Hey amigo, as I don't really understand this yet without tangibly testing it myself, would this give me more FPS or a better VAM desktop experience on my machine? And if so, how which guide or direction sould I follow?

Specs -

intel 13900k
3080 ti
65gb ram
3840x2160 monitor

Thank you!

 

[EasyVam]

@EasyVam - Hey amigo, as I don't really understand this yet without tangibly testing it myself, would this give me more FPS or a better VAM desktop experience on my machine? And if so, how which guide or direction sould I follow?

Specs -

intel 13900k
3080 ti
65gb ram
3840x2160 monitor

Thank you!

Hey! Youll see your FPS in VR increase dramatically. With the VRperformancekit, VR actually runs as smooth if not smoother as Desktop. The Desktop Utilities do make a little difference, but its not even close to the 20-60fps gain which you get in VR. If you want to try around a bit, i recommend enabling NIS in your Nvidia drivers to see what the upscaling does for you. https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5280/~/how-to-enable-nvidia-image-scaling

 

[willmason]

If I'm running VAM through VirtualDesktop with my Quest 2, am I stuck with SteamVR? Can't figure out a way to run it any other way.

 

[EasyVam]

If I'm running VAM through VirtualDesktop with my Quest 2, am I stuck with SteamVR? Can't figure out a way to run it any other way.

Hey willmason! Its possible to use the toolkit with SteamVR+Airlink, ive read multiple discussions regarding that over @r/SkyrimVR and im certain there is a way. I dont remember how you gotta set it up though. This Link might be worth a try if you want to get it done, the guys on that reddit are just phenomenal and super helpful.

If you manage to find out how its done, feel free to share. I can add it to the guide and make it easier for other people then.

 

[willmason]

Hey willmason! Its possible to use the toolkit with SteamVR+Airlink, ive read multiple discussions regarding that over @r/SkyrimVR and im certain there is a way. I dont remember how you gotta set it up though. This Link might be worth a try if you want to get it done, the guys on that reddit are just phenomenal and super helpful.

If you manage to find out how its done, feel free to share. I can add it to the guide and make it easier for other people then.

Hm yeah similar instructions, just says to drop the files in and it should work. But running the exe or trying to run to through a .bat file doesn't have any effect, I press the debug hotkey and nothing shows up to indicate it's running.

 

[xadamadax]

Hm yeah similar instructions, just says to drop the files in and it should work. But running the exe or trying to run to through a .bat file doesn't have any effect, I press the debug hotkey and nothing shows up to indicate it's running.

OpenFSR when using Virtual Desktop (older tool from fholger), on his git with the newer vrperfkit

 

[willmason]

OpenFSR when using Virtual Desktop (older tool from fholger), on his git with the newer vrperfkit

so go here (https://github.com/fholger/openvr_fsr/releases/tag/fsr_v2.1.1), extract the openvr_api.dll to VAM root, and also copy over dxgi.dll and vrperfkit.yml from the vrperfkit_v0.3.zip into VAM root, then run vam.exe as administrator from within VirtualDesktop? sound right or am I missing something silly

 

[xadamadax]

so go here (https://github.com/fholger/openvr_fsr/releases/tag/fsr_v2.1.1), extract the openvr_api.dll to VAM root, and also copy over dxgi.dll and vrperfkit.yml from the vrperfkit_v0.3.zip into VAM root, then run vam.exe as administrator from within VirtualDesktop? sound right or am I missing something silly

So the link you have, https://github.com/fholger/openvr_fsr/releases/tag/fsr_v2.1.1 is correct, but the zip shoouldn't have dxgi or vrperf, it should look like the screenshot below.

Copy both files to Drive:\VAM\VaM_Data\Plugins\ (replacing or renaming the original openvr_api.dll)

Then open the openvr_mod.cfg file you copied to same the folder and tweak until settings are to your liking.

Fholger explains what all the settings do on the FSR main page (https://github.com/fholger/openvr_fsr)

Hope this helps!

 

[willmason]

So the link you have, https://github.com/fholger/openvr_fsr/releases/tag/fsr_v2.1.1 is correct, but the zip shoouldn't have dxgi or vrperf, it should look like the screenshot below.

Copy both files to Drive:\VAM\VaM_Data\Plugins\ (replacing or renaming the original openvr_api.dll)

Then open the openvr_mod.cfg file you copied to same the folder and tweak until settings are to your liking.

Fholger explains what all the settings do on the FSR main page (https://github.com/fholger/openvr_fsr)

Hope this helps!

View attachment 219130

I think where I'm amiss is how the program should then be executed, since there's bat files and straight exe file, and if I set VAM.exe to always open as administrator, then the bat files no longer see the exe.

 

[xadamadax]

I think you're overthinking it man, that zip literally only has the 3 files in the screenshot. If it were a vanilla vam instance you would simply paste those 3 files into Drive:\VAM\VaM_Data\Plugins\ (replacing or renaming the original openvr_api.dll). Then you would open vam.exe as always (just like normal). No special permissions or admin rights required.

 

[willmason]

I think you're overthinking it man, that zip literally only has the 3 files in the screenshot. If it were a vanilla vam instance you would simply paste those 3 files into Drive:\VAM\VaM_Data\Plugins\ (replacing or renaming the original openvr_api.dll). Then you would open vam.exe as always (just like normal). No special permissions or admin rights required.

Oh shit there it is, I was putting them in the VAM root folder, not in the plugins folder as you said kk

 

[xadamadax]

Oh shit there it is, I was putting them in the VAM root folder, not in the plugins folder as you said kk

Cool, happy to help. I usually use VD with steamvr and this - while you lose the ability for the fixed foveated from holger's newer VRperf, this is still my favorite way to use VAM in vr. My reasons:
- Huge GPU utilization decline for almost the same graphics
- VD allows me to seemlessly switch to hand tracking on quest 2 and soon on my focus 3 and my xr elite
- VD already has Fixed Foveated built in for the streaming part (post vam)

Enjoy

 

[VAM Morrison]

do the controllers work? tried this ages ago and bumped into the same issue being reported here https://github.com/fholger/vrperfkit/issues/25

Yeah my controllers won’t work when I try it. I wish they would as this works great for other vr games.