New Reverb G2 Owner Thoughts

[ryanbatc 12,815]

Initial Thoughts:

I've been a flight simmer for over three decades - simming in front of a monitor (or multiple) sitting in an office chair with modest peripherals (stick, throttle, rudder pedals).  About a decade ago I purchased Track IR 5 and that has been my go-to method of simming (with charts and web pages on a 2nd monitor).  Some years back I was able to try VR first with an Occulus Rift (tried P3D and DCS F18/F14).  After that I tried DCS on an Reverb G2 running off someone's notebook (it was powerful however, using a mobile rtx 2080).  Dogfighting in DCS was somewhat enjoyable, the clarity of the instruments were a lot better than in P3D (which I found quite awful).  Loops and rolls did initially make me a little nauseous - but I tried for a few hours with a few breaks and it was an okay experience.

Initial Setup:

Fast forward to yesterday (and today).  Got a G2 and I've got it mostly dialed in (still need to research Open XR Toolkit).  In 2D I'm running my 12700K at 4.5GHz / 32GB ddr5/ 1080 Ti with 11gb vram, on Windows 11 at a resolution of 1440p.  In VR I have enabled Best Visual Quality under headset preference and also tried disabling holographic shell after doing some reading on stuttering it was causing.  Neither setting seems to really have much effect in MSFS, at least.  I typically wear glasses but for use of VR I remove them (my vision is semi decent without them still).  I fitted the headset properly and I have found the sweet spot - I've adjust the IPD as well.  I am a little disappointed that the SS is so small in the G2.  But I wasn't shocked because the small ss was part of my initial disdain for VR (and continues to be).

Performance Experience:

It is clear (and I mentioned this in another thread prior to obtaining the device) that a new GPU would definitely help the experience.  Yesterday evening I was strongly considering returning the unit.  Today, after using it more and trying new settings I think I'll keep it - with the intention of buying a 7900XTX or 4080 in the near future.  I hope the 4080 will be able to provide a massive fps increase over what I'm seeing now.  At render settings of 80% (the VR preset default) in NYC with payware scenery and payware aircraft, weather and FSLTL AI - it's essentially not enjoyable with my 1080 Ti.  I get about 18-22 fps just sitting on the runway at TEB looking at NYC.  The VR settings I use are basically mostly low a few medium settings.  If flying more rural areas I can manage about 70/70 split (70 render and 70 LOD) with low-med VR settings and it's about 35 fps or so.  I'd like to get 40 as a minimum as that seems to be acceptable to my eyes.  For fun I dropped render to 30% and LOD to 50 which yields about 40 in NYC or 70 in rural areas.  Clearly this isn't a long term solution as it looks like p()()p!  Anyway so 70/70 it is and most areas even with payware and it's acceptable.  I guess the gamble here is, would a 1400 USD video card allow me to maybe triple my fps in NYC with addons from 20 to 60?  If so then I believe the purchase would be worth it.  But if my 12700K could only drive a 4080 to say 40 fps.... that's not worth the money.

Flying in VR:

Overall, after giving it more time - the experience is pretty good.  The best feeling so far (best as in most realistic - I'm a private pilot irl) has been departing TEB in the Reno L39, at night, with a full sky of traffic....and the lower Manhattan skyline lit up (well had to get closer due to my lower settings lol), and a crescent moon.  It was a WOW moment - it felt real.  It felt worth keeping the device for that type of experience.  Night seems to render smoother than day btw not sure why - perhaps less vram is used?  For Fun VFR casual flight.... it's a keeper for sure (even at my abysmal settings).  For IMC or IFR flight - I'm just not sure the instrument clarity is worth it.  The gauges in the Black Square king air were pretty bad at 70%.  At 100% render they were barely acceptable.  Maybe 720i resolution?  IDK - I've been spoiled by my 1440p monitor now.  I'm going to show a pic of  crop of one eye.  I'm parked at Fly Tampa's KBOS in the king air.  It's not the best photo but it does show almost exactly what I mean by low res.  I imagine the focal point to be the ramp worker in neon there or the cone etc.  And then imagine a radius moving outward from the center point.  The sweet spot is quite small and as you get to, say, the outer 50% of the frame everything, just becomes pretty blurry.  I don't think a new video card will fix this.  From my research, only a new VR Headset is the cure for this.  It's a little better at 100% render scaling but not much.  (This photo was at 80%).  I'm not buying an Varjo Aero anytime soon and I don't have the rig to support it either.

Conclusion:

It's a pretty cool feeling to use for fun and casual flight, but I can't see myself totally switching for IFR flight or serious PMDG/A2A style IFR flight.  It gives me the feeling of using a tech demo honestly.  I didn't even mention the annoying heavy wire coming off of the headset, and how forward the weight of the headset is distributed.  I honestly need ballast or something on the back to balance it out and not drag my neck or stress my muscles.  Also I find if I go without a break for more than 30 min I'm left with a mild headache.  Smoother fps and a more clear display would be very beneficial.

If anyone has more resources or tips for smoother performance with my apparently dated 1080 Ti, please advise!  Also can you open the toolbar in VR?  I can't seem to toggle it - the one where you can change weather or time of day....  What do people use for charts - I know there is AviTab in XP - which allows for a variety of handy tools while in VR.  Also I need to bind more buttons - because finding keyboard keys is tough lol!

VR_FT_KBOS_sm by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

 

[pmb 5,137]

Thanks for the nice report.

1. I have a still weaker system (yet), but based on a 1080Ti, too. I can confirm the ~20fps on runway of a major hub. There is little I can do about it. The only setting which really matters is resolution, either within the game TAA or in the OpenXR Developer tools or in the OpenXR toolkit. There are subtle differences, but lowering resolution to, say 70 %, basically has comparable effects on display quality as well as fps.

All other settings (including LOD) don't do much as I am clearly GPU limited under VR.

As you, I'm about to get a new graphics card, too.

2. You can open the in-game toolbar using the TAB key.

Kind regards, Michael

[Fielder 3,645]

Yes you can open the toolbar. Its the TAB key by default.

My cpu is less than ryanbatc, a Ryzen 5 5600X. My gpu is much better a 3070 (non ti).

At NYC on the runway I get 38 fps. flying towards the Empire State Building or the other cluster of skyscrapers to the right of that group, fps will increase to about 50. This is with both LODS at 140 and DLSS at Quality. I never use TAA, only DLSS for anti anti aliasing.

Motion Reprojection is disabled in OpenXR Tools (which is a different app than OpenXRToolkit). It is also disabled in OpenXRToolkit. I get stutters when looking out the right window and downward if Motion Reprojection is ON. So I must leave it off. 

I use OpenXRTookit for color balance and color saturation.

The overall Render is set at 70 in OpenXR Tools. And at 100 in MSFS. 

A 4090 will do better than my 3070. I thought the 4080 was never released, was discontinued. But maybe not. 

 

 

[Fielder 3,645]

RTX 3090 FOR $1300 at Black Friday Amazon. 

https://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-Graphics-IceStorm-Advanced-ZT-A30900J-10P/dp/B08ZL6XD9H/

3070 Ti for $600 (it's one step better than what I have):

https://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-Graphics-HoloBlack-IceStorm-ZT-A30710F-10P/dp/B096TZHXYN/

[DD_Arthur 1,048]

Welcome to the wacky world of VR Ryan!

 

[CaptainNick 575]

I love my g2. Massive step up from my old Odyssey Plus. Made the change about a year and some change ago. Honestly, I would expect some disappointment with it on a 1080ti. It was a beast for the time it came out, but trying to push more then a 4k resolution at high frame rates in MSFS which the G2 is, it definitely shows its age.

I initially had it on a 2070super, and it was marginal at best. Swapped to a 3080 and the headset came alive. Zero issues with clarity or performance when tuned in game and the open xr toolkit right. Easily read the mfd's on the PMDG 737 or things like the Maddog.

As for the toolbar widget....you need to set a keybind on your yoke/hotas etc for it. I currently have on my honeycomb..the right hand rockers...one set for start/end vr, one for vr zoom, one for reset seated position and one for toggle the widget bar on/off.

Edited November 27, 2022 by CaptainNick

[Mace 1,902]

10 minutes ago, Fielder said:

A 4090 will do better than my 3070. I thought the 4080 was never released, was discontinued. But maybe not. 

I believe the 4080 12gb was cancelled before release, but that they are going to release a 4080 with 16gb.  But it'll be priced at 75% of the cost of a 4090 and only deliver about 70% the performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1O9oldh_g4

And a less than stellar review of the 4080:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2_xTUshy94

 

[turbomax 3,269]

2 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

I typically wear glasses but for use of VR I remove them (my vision is semi decent without them still). 

this is where I got my VR headset lenses from. make sure to order your far distance prescription (and not your reading or PC prescription) lenses.

VR Optician - Prescription Glasses for Virtual Reality Headsets

https://vroptician.com/

Edited November 27, 2022 by turbomax

[ryanbatc 12,815]

8 minutes ago, turbomax said:

this is where I get my VR headset lenses from. make sure to order your far distance prescription (and not your reading or PC prescription) lenses.

VR Optician - Prescription Glasses for Virtual Reality Headsets

https://vroptician.com/

Fascinating....  seems like VR is a lifestyle LOL.  And it's expensive.  New headset, new GPU, new lenses....  new 13900K (lmao)

[turbomax 3,269]

only death is free and it costs your life.

[ryanbatc 12,815]

4 minutes ago, turbomax said:

only death is free and it costs your life.

Haha that's a pretty good quote.  You gotta pay to play!

[cavaricooper 2,613]

Ryan- a mate of mine just ordered the Aero… I’m waiting to hear his thoughts. I still believe VR is 5 years out for me.. but I’m picky. There are lots who enjoy it now. Glad to hear of your experience.

C

[ryanbatc 12,815]

49 minutes ago, cavaricooper said:

Ryan- a mate of mine just ordered the Aero… I’m waiting to hear his thoughts. I still believe VR is 5 years out for me.. but I’m picky. There are lots who enjoy it now. Glad to hear of your experience.

C

I'd also love to hear of their results.  I'm assuming they have a monster PC?  I can't imagine running 8k in MSFS at much more than 30 fps.

[pmb 5,137]

7 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

Fascinating....  seems like VR is a lifestyle LOL.  And it's expensive.  New headset, new GPU, new lenses....  new 13900K (lmao)

I got such lenses (from a German supplier), too. Installed them into my Reverb 1  at the beginning and they're just working since.

Kind regards, Michael

[turbomax 3,269]

https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/varjo-aero-review

They seem to be the only ones with aspheric lenses instead of the cheap fresnel lenses everywhere else.

varjo aero
2880x2720 per eye resolution
7.833.600 total pixels

hp reverb g2
2160 x 2160 per eye
4.665.600 total pixels

pimax
3840x2160 per eye
8.294.400 total pixels

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

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• Automatic IPD adjustment and ultra-fast, built-in eye-tracking at 200 Hz for a tailored, optimal experience to every user, every time.
• Premium lightweight comfort with a 3-point precision fit headband, active cooling, and optimized ergonomics for long-duration usage.
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The Varjo Aero features a cutting-edge optical design that propels users to a new level of visual fidelity, pushing the pixels tighter together directly in front of you. The variable resolution lenses create an ultra-sharp peak resolution of 35 PPD, right at the center of focus where it matters most – mimicking the way the human eye works. Alternative commercially available headsets max out closer to 20 PPD.

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Edited November 27, 2022 by turbomax