What is causing the Shimmering effect in VR

[simba_nl 34]

Never get the correlation between AA and Shimmer with a high end GPU. In the latest X-Plane11 update to the modern Vulkan engine there is a much better spread over all the CPU cores and can achieve very high CPU and GPU performance maximum settings at a very, very good frametime and easy getting 80-100 fps in dens areas in Monitor config but it's still NOT possible in VR to crank up to let's say 4xSSAA to get rid of the shimmer effect I can't see on the 1080P  PC monitor.

In 2D monitor config I can get complete Aliasing free with only FXAA and can even go all op to 8x SSAA with still a high end performance from my CPU and GPU and similar to the readings I collect from Aerofly Vulkan version.

Lot's of treads in the different fora saying, yes, XP11 is/was very weak due to the old OpenGL engine written for single core performance and not able to handle high end VR headsets like the Reverb but Vulkan will be the gamechanger.

Now I have Xplane11 technical running at that point where Aerofly really shines (I use NO AA in Aerofly and the VR setting is at 160%) and get similar frametimes on CPU and GPU but with a complete different picture. I also see 4K youtube movies made within Xplane11 and wow... but why not in my 4K headset with the new Vulkan engine?????.  

I understand that my 1080P Monitor is a complete different performance ballgame compared with my 4K VR headset but activating only FXAA in the VR config gives no visible Aliasing so ok to use and the cockpit and outside view is without the typical Aliasing edges but the outside world... is very, very bad due to the shimmering.

Putting in more AA (SSAA) even all to the max of 8x is not complete solving the shimmer effect but ofcourse hammering the system to his knees.

Prepar3D 4.5 is painting the VR picture MUCH better than the upgraded XP11 version.

I am very curious what's causing this shimmer issue...

PS: my sytem is i5-9600 at 4.6Ghz - 32Gb RAM - 12Gb TITAN XP - win10/64 1909

[jozeff 93]

I'd really love to know because I have exactly the same experience as Simba!

 

Cheers

Jozeff

[Farlis 2,287]

Try to amp up the supersampling. Not the antialiasing.

[whitav8 98]

You have to realize that the actual displays inside the VR HMD are typically not the quality of a similar resolution monitor. The pixels have a lot of "black" space around them and the RGB subpixels may not have a layout like a monitor either. This not only causes screen door effect but also "shimmer". I'm not sure which HMD you have - I have the HP Reverb with 2160x2160 per eye resolution on an LCD display with a great layout of subpixels. It's the best for clarity and minimal shimmer but has a limited Field of View - always tradeoffs.

[Ron Attwood 3,465]

16 hours ago, Farlis said:

Try to ramp up the supersampling. Not the antialiasing.

Ditto. But don't go screaming about frames. If it stays smooth you're good to go.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Ron Attwood

[simba_nl 34]

1 hour ago, Ron Attwood said:

Ditto. But don't go screaming about frames. If it stays smooth you're good to go.

I can go to 200% SS in the Steam settings but is NOT removing the shimmer.  loss of FPS is gladly not a issue for me. There is some progress with the Beta2 and Beta3 version now and using the "Medium Quality" 9not HDR) and put in 8xAA is doing much better but compared to P3D it's still a ugly picture. Even the renewed Xvision for 1.50 is not helping.

Next week we can expect the new P3DV5 coming and I put my betts on that one for VR right now.

For 1080P Monitor simulation the Xplane11 is very, very nice now but hey.... once in HD VR, you can never go back to the 2D pancake flightsim world.

Happy landings....

 

[simba_nl 34]

I also have the Reverb and in Aerolfy and P3D I have a perfect picture.

[Farlis 2,287]

You will not get rid of it completely, but you can reduce it.

[joby33y 152]

Thanks for your post.  Right now I have P3D 4.5 , and just got P3D 5 up and running, and always chasing better visuals and less shimmers.  The VR in v5 is a mess right now.  They've already issued 2 patches and the water still does not look correct.  And I do a lot of 'over ocean' flying in the Caribbean, so I am not happy at the moment....

So, I was going to go update my XPlane to try out the 11.5b3, but after reading your post, I am having 2nd thoughts.  

[mickatmian 52]

For x-plane 11 in vr try turning down visual effects to medium, for me this gets rid of most of the shimmering. Yes you will lose some of the effects but not as much as you may think, especially in the new betas. 

Hope that helps

Mick