Graphics Settings Guide

[Darius_ITR]

Hello, explorers!
This guide consists of brief descriptions of each graphical setting, as well as our tips/suggestions/warnings for tweaking them (which are highlighted with 🔸). We hope this guide sheds some light on the functionality of VR settings as well as helps you achieve a more enjoyable in-game experience :3

Overall Quality

When you launch the game for the first time presets are chosen based on your GPU. Resolution scaling is now a part of the preset and you can always customize it to your liking.

Resolution

A percentage of the native resolution of the headset. One of the most decisive options for Performance and visual clarity. If it’s over 100% (which it should be or its too blurry for most headsets) it uses more info for the final output. Basically you render a bigger image and shrink it down to make it sharper and reduce sub pixel artifacts or aliasing.
🔸 There are a lot of places that increase the resolution besides the game. Both SteamVR and Virtual Desktop have those settings. We suggest adjusting those to 100% and altering the scale in-game, because performance is very much game specific.
🔸 Different headsets have different native resolutions. E.g. on the same specced PC and resolution scale an Index would have better fps than a MQ2. Visuals of course would be different too.
🔸 Going too crazy with it will result in huge render targets for the game that will drop the fps to unplayable or even prevent the game from working (due to not being able to fit your video memory).

Upscale Method. AMD FSR, OFF

AMD FSR reduces the resolution of the game to render depending on the preset and then upscales it. Since it works on the final stage of the render it has a low base cost but has significant visual impact. Enabling FSR also enables the AMD RCAS sharpening post process filter.
🔸 We suggest using FSR only on low end systems otherwise struggling to produce an acceptable scale of 120%

Upscale Sharpen

Post effect sharpness filter. A high amount can produce a strong outline-like effect. It's mostly up to personal preference whether you feel it improves clarity or worsens the image.
🔸 It's much more noticeable on lower resolutions.
🔸 It's pretty demanding, so if you run high resolutions or don't like the effect, set it to 0 to disable and save some power for other things.

Anti-aliasing: TAA or MSAA

TAA - Temporal Anti Aliasing
Uses previous frames and lots of math to improve visuals. It can help not only with geometry aliasing like thin wires but also with shading artifacts. For example if there is a bright light source reflected somewhere, it can reduce potential flickering (so called “fireflies”). The downside is it produces a more blurry image that must be countered by increasing the resolution.
MSAA - Multi Sample Anti Aliasing
Applies antialiasing to geometry edges only. As a result provides a sharper image, but is much more memory and bandwidth dependent and doesn’t provide any temporal or shading stabilization. This can result in more things shimmering.
🔸 If you have a high enough resolution, turning on MSAA can significantly tank your fps.
🔸 Generally 110% MSAA is roughly visually comparable to 150% TAA.

Fixed Foveated Rendering

An optimization technique that reduces the amount of work the GPU has to do on the sides of the screen. Taking advantage of the fact players in VR mostly look at the center area (due to the lens’ design and etc). Presets regulate the size and shape of the center zone that is not affected by the reduction. The wider the zone, the less noticeable it is and less performance is gained.
🔸 Balanced preset is hardly noticeable while providing up to 30% performance increase depending on Variable Rate shading settings.
🔸 Even though it's not that noticeable inside the headset, it can be very noticeable on the monitor, so we suggest disabling it if you are streaming or recording your playthrough.

Variable Rate Shading

A quality setting for Fixed Foveated Rendering. Simplifies shading of objects and dynamic shadows in the peripheral regions. Can provide considerable GPU performance benefits but also noticeable visual artifacts on max performance settings.
🔸 Does nothing if Fixed Foveated Rendering is OFF.

Screen Space Reflections

A post process effect that reuses parts of the image to improve or add otherwise missing reflections. Not very easy on the GPU and has visual artifacts. If something is not present on screen currently, then it can't be reflected, causing a noticeable transition in reflection when moving around or turning your head.
🔸 Mostly comes down to personal preference. For us it improves the visuals much more than distracts.
🔸 Has much worse visual quality when MSAA is used.

View Distance

Draw distance for the game's scenery.
🔸 Can affect CPU as well as GPU load.

Shadow Quality

High and Medium settings use dynamic shadows for close objects that drastically improve the visuals - sharper shadows are cast over player and dynamic objects. Low settings disable the dynamic component and leave only the cheapest pre-baked lighting.
🔸 Can have a considerable impact on CPU load.

Foliage Density

Amount of grass and non-collidable shrubs.
🔸 Can have an impact on CPU load.

Effects

Controls some of the more advanced effects like refraction/distortion seen on the anomalies.
🔸 GPU load when encountering anomalies and other visual effects.

Geometry

Mainly affects the LOD distances. The higher the quality, the farther away most detailed LODs are used. Can significantly affect visuals and amount of triangles on screen especially when combined with dynamic shadows.
🔸 High GPU load.

Additional Settings Suggestions

🔸 Make sure you don't have any resolution multipliers outside of your game.
🔸 Enable some sort of GPU performance overlay, like the one built in SteamVR.
🔸 Try going through the presets. If it's not performing even on the lowest, it's either because your PC is well under the minimum specs for your headset, or there is some sort of hardware/driver/OS issue. Please send us a bug report if this happens.
🔸 To customize the presets, try reaching the comfortable resolution of 140-150% by enabling and tweaking the Fixed Foveated Rendering and Variable rate shading. If it's underperforming, set the Shadows to Low. If it’s still underperforming enable AMD FSR.

[Tryyton]

now i know what i have to deactivate eventually. "Fixed Foveated Rendering" is very noticeable in my OG Rift.

[Warmotor]

I'm forcing on 4XMSAA at the driver level and telling it to layer with TAA in the game. It looks really nice and I do it whenever I can. I also super-scale in the ODT, then the game, then again with DLSS/FSR if I can. I'm sorry, I know I'm part of the problem, you don't have to tell me.

I have a serious question, though. If I'm forcing ambient occlusion on at the driver level as well, how does that effect the load on the shadow rendering in the game? Is it also doubling up and eating resources without really doing anything for the visuals? I think I might set all of my maxed out GeFroce settings back to driver default and try re-loading the game, it's possible that I'm using up all of my GPU headroom and making the game actually WORSE in the process?

[Endy]

Unplayable, it was running smooth on ultra and everything, now my screen is tearing apart even on low.

[Orgvi]

If your on a Reverb G2 you can get away with 100% resolution scale with FSR and still have a decently clear image with TAA.

[Beate Uzi]

Originally posted by Endy:

Unplayable, it was running smooth on ultra and everything, now my screen is tearing apart even on low.

same for me, running 28 fps max on a 3080, before it was so smooth on ultra :C

[Pat]

Originally posted by Beate Uzi:

Originally posted by Endy:

Unplayable, it was running smooth on ultra and everything, now my screen is tearing apart even on low.

same for me, running 28 fps max on a 3080, before it was so smooth on ultra :C

DId you delete the settings.ini file in "documents" and check performance after?

[Beate Uzi]

Originally posted by Pat:

Originally posted by Beate Uzi:

same for me, running 28 fps max on a 3080, before it was so smooth on ultra :C

DId you delete the settings.ini file in "documents" and check performance after?

Yes sir, that didn´t do it for me. I just reinstalled the whole game and now its much better, but when I´m inside of small buildings, I get some very noticable stuttering.

[Pat]

Originally posted by Beate Uzi:

Originally posted by Pat:

DId you delete the settings.ini file in "documents" and check performance after?

Yes sir, that didn´t do it for me. I just reinstalled the whole game and now its much better, but when I´m inside of small buildings, I get some very noticable stuttering.

Imma try reinstalling then because it didn’t do anything for me either

[Warmotor]

Originally posted by Pat:

Originally posted by Beate Uzi:

same for me, running 28 fps max on a 3080, before it was so smooth on ultra :C

DId you delete the settings.ini file in "documents" and check performance after?

I'm glad that I had the foresight to just rename the file instead of deleting it. After renaming the file, even on max settings my graphics were blurry - text on the computer in my base was pixellated and noticably low-res. I use the bumpy surface (around the LED) on my watch as a reference point to adjust my headset to get the sweet spot right, it had really low detail and didn't hardly even look bumpy. I put the .ini back like it was and stuttering gone, graphics are sharp again. WTF are the devs even doing? What are they testing on? I've got a Ryzen7900X, 32GB of DDR5 and a 24GB 4080. These are not rare, I have no idea how each patch botches things worse than the last..

[Pat]

Originally posted by Warmotor:

Originally posted by Pat:

DId you delete the settings.ini file in "documents" and check performance after?

I'm glad that I had the foresight to just rename the file instead of deleting it. After renaming the file, even on max settings my graphics were blurry - text on the computer in my base was pixellated and noticably low-res. I use the bumpy surface (around the LED) on my watch as a reference point to adjust my headset to get the sweet spot right, it had really low detail and didn't hardly even look bumpy. I put the .ini back like it was and stuttering gone, graphics are sharp again. WTF are the devs even doing? What are they testing on? I've got a Ryzen7900X, 32GB of DDR5 and a 24GB 4080. These are not rare, I have no idea how each patch botches things worse than the last..

The weird thing for me is no matter what settings I’m on I’ll sit at a cool 90 for like 10 seconds and then, even looking at the same scene, it’ll drop to 79 for a second and then jump to 84-88 and then back to 90 and micro stutter and then have huge stutters. I have a 5600x and 3070 with 16gb of ram so I feel like I shouldn’t be struggling to run the game and shouldn’t see the same frame drops regardless of setting. It’s weird. Maybe I’ve got something setup on steamvr wrong or virtual desktop? Idk

[Giacomo Gabagool]

Originally posted by Beate Uzi:

Originally posted by Pat:

DId you delete the settings.ini file in "documents" and check performance after?

Yes sir, that didn´t do it for me. I just reinstalled the whole game and now its much better, but when I´m inside of small buildings, I get some very noticable stuttering.

****EDIT*****

I found out the cause, it is Screen Space Reflections. It doesn't cause huge performance drop anywhere but in specific small buildings (because of the number of SSR affected things like glass cabinets concentrated into one small area, maybe?)

No problem anywhere in the game with SSR on, except for some small buildings.

****End Edit****

I am also getting huge fps drops inside of very specific small buildings (like the guard tower with the pistol officer in the middle of Pervomay Route. The second I enter the threshold of either floor my framerate flatlines to 45 fps, the second I leave the threshold of the door to outside it goes all the way up to my refresh rate and stays steady.

This happens regardless of time of day, regardless of any player light source like a flashlight, regardless of what weapon I am holding or if I am even holding a weapon. Huge fps drops entirely on the GPU side. CPU frame-timing was good. Nothing really happening on screen to warrant it, strange

Specific buildings have the problem. I went into other small structures like the shed in the train yard by Bolotky entrance, no issue. Went into the building next to that shed, no issue. Large wearehouse in train station, no issue. Went into the small building closer to the train station entrance opposite warehouse, huge fps drops

[Me, And You, And Zoboomafoo]

The only playable area of the game now is the Parvomay Route, and even then whenever there are anomalies, it tanks. I'm not saying that DLSS being removed caused any problems, or that it isn't redundant but i do know anecdotally it was the only thing that allowed my game to run well and clear, even on a 3080.

[Heretic]

Originally posted by Pat:

Originally posted by Warmotor:

I'm glad that I had the foresight to just rename the file instead of deleting it. After renaming the file, even on max settings my graphics were blurry - text on the computer in my base was pixellated and noticably low-res. I use the bumpy surface (around the LED) on my watch as a reference point to adjust my headset to get the sweet spot right, it had really low detail and didn't hardly even look bumpy. I put the .ini back like it was and stuttering gone, graphics are sharp again. WTF are the devs even doing? What are they testing on? I've got a Ryzen7900X, 32GB of DDR5 and a 24GB 4080. These are not rare, I have no idea how each patch botches things worse than the last..

The weird thing for me is no matter what settings I’m on I’ll sit at a cool 90 for like 10 seconds and then, even looking at the same scene, it’ll drop to 79 for a second and then jump to 84-88 and then back to 90 and micro stutter and then have huge stutters. I have a 5600x and 3070 with 16gb of ram so I feel like I shouldn’t be struggling to run the game and shouldn’t see the same frame drops regardless of setting. It’s weird. Maybe I’ve got something setup on steamvr wrong or virtual desktop? Idk

I have a similar issue.
Win10 Pro 22H2
R7 3700x CPU
32gb 3600mhz cl16 RAM
RTX 3080 12GB
Rift S

All drivers/software currently up to date, but the issue was the same on 21H2 and older drivers/software.

It happens when moving about as new things are probably loading in, but it's so bad that it feels like stalls. Monitoring the performance I can see the framerate falls hard coupled with severe stutter, but as soon as I stop moving or have pan viewed the environment everything runs smooth. It makes the game horrible to play.

It's similar to real-time shader compilation, only worse, and doesn't improve during game. Other games, like Alyx etc run extremely well. Basically anything not built on UE4 runs well, where VR games made on UE4 are hit and miss.

EDIT: same thing happens on an Intel i7 system, where the only common component is the HMD. I can only conclude it's the game or games. There are some things that can be done to minimise the issues, like toying with texture streaming in the engine (tried this on other UE4 VR games), but this isn't a final solution and will just fill up the vram, which can lead to other issues.

If the devs want more information then I am willing to be a guinea pig.

EDIT2: This actually worked for me:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1012790/discussions/0/3824161508149564479/

May help narrow down the problem?

[wrongadress]

Why DLSS was removed? I ended up turning off in game FSR and using vrperftoolkit FSR 0.75 not sure why but it looks like it is working a bit better with frametimes and has less aliasing than in game fsr quality setting. Wondering how good it could work with applying vrperf toolkit on DLSS.

[YouDirtyDog]

Intotheradius_win64_shipping error is making this into a bad game. Random crashes.