Assetto Corsa in VR "feels" very slow...

[[Pb]Ebola]

Question to all the VR gamers: I bought Assetto Corsa yesterday. When i play in VR with my DK2 gameplay seems very slow. It's not a frame rate thing (thats fine), it's the sensation of speed. When i play Project Cars the sensation of speed is very alive.

I think it's someting to do with the field of view that is set for the Oculus. When i select "oculus" with the monitor selection menu i cant change the vield of view anymore.

Are there more VR players outhere that experience the same?

[Mr Crisp]

You can't change either the FOV or resolution or refresh rate for Rift HMDS- its rendered directly to the unit bypassing any settings.

You do need to disable Vsync in AC and probably force it off via your graphics control panel.

I'm not sure what you mean by `slow`. Do you mean the sense of speed? This is determined by more than just visuals in the real world but in VR the less roadside objects there are, the less the sense of speed will be. Put world detail to maximum and pick a tight closed circuit with plenty of objects that pass you by quickly- this will up the sense of speed.

The DK2 isn't the best for `sense of speed` as one the resolution is quite low and two its 75hz as opposed to CV1s 90hz and this makes things more `solid` and flow better IMO.

[MixedupJim]

I've got a VIVE and everything seems fine with Assetto. I actually find the sense of speed really helps in judging speeds into corners.

Maybe it is an issue with the DK2...and the end of the day it isn't actually a consumer version and maybe not supported any more?

[AlfaGunner]

Im on DK2 for over a year...seems good for me.

I would advise upping the super sampling to at least 1.5 by amending the ini file in ac, it will increase the clarity a lot, therefor increasing road detail etc etc...i use oculus debug tool instead to increase mine to 2.0.

also turn off pp effects

disable vertical sync in AC and nvidia control panel

also i change the lock vehicle to horizon setting in AC, i like the car moving around a bit, rise and fall of car under braking and during acceleration is good for me

try camera shake at high speed setting also

and its really good to have a fan in front of you to increase the feeling of movement

also use headphones

i assume you have a wheel, a controller would dampen the effect of speed somewhat by being a bit boring in vr

also turn off reflection frequency to static , as will help your fps a lot

the fastest feeling in vr is when your are playing via the bumper or bonnet camera view

hope some of this helps

[rudski]

CV1 owner here and I would say the exact opposite.
In VR you can tell your speed much better then on a single screen.

Here are my settings if you want to test. I use DOF 5 which I think helps a lot.

[VIDEO]
FULLSCREEN=1
ANISOTROPIC=16
AASAMPLES=4
VSYNC=0
AAQUALITY=0
SHADOW_MAP_SIZE=2048
DISABLE_LEGACY_HDR=1
FPS_CAP_MS=0
WIDTH=1920
HEIGHT=1080
INDEX=97
REFRESH=60

[CAMERA]
MODE=OCULUS

[EFFECTS]
MOTION_BLUR=0
FXAA=0 ; doesn't work with OCULUS
SMOKE=5
RENDER_SMOKE_IN_MIRROR=1

[CUBEMAP]
SIZE=0
FACES_PER_FRAME=0
FARPLANE=500

[MIRROR]
SIZE=1024
HQ=1

[ASSETTOCORSA]
HIDE_ARMS=0
LOCK_STEER=0
WORLD_DETAIL=2
HIDE_STEER=0

[SATURATION]
LEVEL=100

[POST_PROCESS]
ENABLED=1
HEAT_SHIMMER=0
RAYS_OF_GOD=1
FXAA=0
QUALITY=1
GLARE=1
DOF=5
FILTER=default

[[Pb]Ebola]

Hi guys,

Thanx for al your tips! Ik will try al of them. I allready tried mr crisp's tips but there was no real improvement.

Tomorow i will use a stopwatch to compare real time with assetto's laptime.
'
I will try to discribe the problem like this: doing 100kmh in a truck doesnt realy feel fast. But doing the same 100kmh in a gokart feels superfast. Thats what i experience.

In project cars on Monza the first chiccane is almost impossible the get perfect. In assetto i do the same chiccane with one hand on the wheel and get perfect every time. (I dont think my computer speed is the problem because the vr latency (moving my head around) is excualy better then project cars....

But again, i will try all your tips.

@ alfagunner: i like your "fan" idea. I build a motionsim. Its realy intense racing. I can use some constant supply of fresh air.

[Mr Crisp]

Originally posted by peter.vandenesschert:

Tomorow i will use a stopwatch to compare real time with assetto's laptime.

So you're comparing laptimes, this is what you mean by `slow`? I'm not sure what comparing reallife laptimes will achieve except show your level of skill, surely?

I will try to discribe the problem like this: doing 100kmh in a truck doesnt realy feel fast. But doing the same 100kmh in a gokart feels superfast. Thats what i experience.

I already mentioned that it won't be the same `sense of speed`- heck its not even the same sense of speed doing 180mph in a P1 in AC in VR compared with doing 41mph on my bicycle in real life. VR doesn't have lots of cues that give a sense of speed.

If you took every sense of speed out of the equation and took the P1 for a spin in real life, you'd be left with only visual- it would look similar to AC, there are videos comparing the sense of speed in AC with realife cars and they are identical IMO.

In project cars on Monza the first chiccane is almost impossible the get perfect. In assetto i do the same chiccane with one hand on the wheel and get perfect every time. (I dont think my computer speed is the problem because the vr latency (moving my head around) is excualy better then project cars....

Not sure exactly what you're meaning here. I have Pcars and in AC for starters, Monza in AC is laserscanned accurate to sub-cm resolution and Pcars isn't- perhaps this is the difference but in PCars are feel a tonne of grip compared to AC, so IMO it should be harder to take the corner in AC but again I don't know which car, settings or setup you mean, so it could mean something or nothing at all.


Best thing to increase sense of speed is firstly go to settings and tick `lock camera to horizon` this will make the track `static` and the car chassis move around, at first this seems wrong as you cannot look at the car dash easily as its moving, but then you quickly realise that the track, if you were to look ahead in real life, would be `static` because of your `gimbal` eye-rotation smoothing out movment.

Try that for more movement, try upping the G-force settings and high-speed shake and yes, use a fan on your face when driving open wheelers or open-top as it can add some immersion in VR.

You can also add `bass shakers` a pedal-set that has vibration on the brake to add some extra immersion.

Run smaller tracks with a few cars, a few close car races makes the sense of speed go up IMO in VR.

[Dan]

I *think* the difference *might* be that Project Cars applies additional g-force-driven motion to your viewpoint in VR, while Assetto Corsa does not.
It's actually a pretty effective way to make you hurl... try turning down the hill at the first corner of Brands Hatch... in Project Cars, your stomach will lurch into your throat, while in Assetto Corsa it feels a lot less... violent.

There really can't be an issue with field of view... VR field of view is as I understand it, statically defined, it'd feel massively nausiating if the FOV was wrong, as it would feel like you were playing inside a fishbowl.

Project Cars goes to great lengths to make itself seem "exciting", while Assetto Corsa simply simulates what is. Play it for a bit, and you may end up appreciating it, as ultimately it lets you concentrate on the driving rather than distracting you with crazy effects.

Actually, if you want Assetto Corsa to feel slightly more exciting *and* slightly more comfortable in VR, try using the RealHeadMotion app - http://www.riftracer.co.uk/guides/use-realheadmotion-assetto-corsa-vr-reduced-motion-sickness-increased-immersion/

- at the default 90%, it filters out all the high-frequency bumps from affecting your viewpoint (as your neck muscles would likely do in reality), so you see the car rumble around you instead... it ends up making the exterior less jittery, while also making the car look more like it's reacting to bumps.

[Dan]

Originally posted by Mr Crisp:

Best thing to increase sense of speed is firstly go to settings and tick `lock camera to horizon` this will make the track `static` and the car chassis move around, at first this seems wrong as you cannot look at the car dash easily as its moving, but then you quickly realise that the track, if you were to look ahead in real life, would be `static` because of your `gimbal` eye-rotation smoothing out movment.

Try that for more movement, try upping the G-force settings and high-speed shake and yes, use a fan on your face when driving open wheelers or open-top as it can add some immersion in VR.

Heavens no! Lock to horizon would be hideous in VR! The RealHeadMotion tip I mentioned above does the good part of what you're suggesting - filtering out rapid motion that your body would naturally, without the awful part of having your head slaved to the orientation of the planet :-)

Also, as far as I'm aware, in Assetto Corsa the G-force settings are disabled entirely in while in VR, so it won't matter what you set them to.

[Mr Crisp]

Originally posted by grimdanfango:

Originally posted by Mr Crisp:

Best thing to increase sense of speed is firstly go to settings and tick `lock camera to horizon` this will make the track `static` and the car chassis move around, at first this seems wrong as you cannot look at the car dash easily as its moving, but then you quickly realise that the track, if you were to look ahead in real life, would be `static` because of your `gimbal` eye-rotation smoothing out movment.

Try that for more movement, try upping the G-force settings and high-speed shake and yes, use a fan on your face when driving open wheelers or open-top as it can add some immersion in VR.

Heavens no! Lock to horizon would be hideous in VR! The RealHeadMotion tip I mentioned above does the good part of what you're suggesting - filtering out rapid motion that your body would naturally, without the awful part of having your head slaved to the orientation of the planet :-)

Also, as far as I'm aware, in Assetto Corsa the G-force settings are disabled entirely in while in VR, so it won't matter what you set them to.

Hideous you say?

Let me ask you. When you are driving down the road in a car, where would you be looking?
Go out for a drive- you're looking at the road ahead I hope- and when you do you will see it is `static` and the cabin of your car because you are not focused on it, its moving in your perphieral vision.

Now look down at your dials and speedo, its now static and the world around you outside the car, the road etc is `moving` because you are no longer focused on it and allowing your eyes to compensate for this movement.

In VR because currently the HMD doesn't know where your eyes are gazing, you are either limited to stattic cabin (which is technically incorrect unless you're staring at it when you drive) or static track and moving cabin, which correctly mimics real-life.

Of couse if you were to tick lock to horizon and then try to stare at the moving cabin of the car in AC in VR, of course you're going to feel sick- so look at the track, where you are meant to be looking anway.

How do you focus on an apex in VR when the track isn't locked and its moving up and down?
It works better to have the track static and always keep your eye on it.

Yes, you are correct I forgot that the G-force is disabled in Oculus mode.

[Dan]

My point is - sure, your eyes naturally filter out *rapid* rotation of your head, and can stay locked on a point, but they *don't* roll around massively in your skull in order to stay level with the horizon at all times - they broadly follow what you consciously want them to focus on, but filter high frequency vibrations automatically. Your brain will expect you to make larger movements than that consciously without the sim doing it for you. Using lock-to-horizon causes far more unnatural motion than it contributes natural motion.

As I pointed out - using the RealHeadMotion app applies the right kind of filtering, *without* introducing the feeling that your eyes are completely dissociated from your head.
It's even tunable - if you want it to filter even lower frequency movement, dial it up past the 90% default... at 100% it will be very similar to lock-to-horizon, and I guarantee there will be a point *before* 100% where it gets uncomfortable.

[Mr Crisp]

Originally posted by grimdanfango:

My point is - sure, your eyes naturally filter out *rapid* rotation of your head, and can stay locked on a point, but they *don't* roll around massively in your skull in order to stay level with the horizon at all times - they broadly follow the orientation of your head, but filter high frequency vibrations. Larger adjustments than that are conscious, and your brain will expect you to do it without the sim doing it for you. Using lock-to-horizon causes far more unnatural motion than it contributes natural motion.

As I pointed out - using the RealHeadMotion app applies the right kind of filtering, *without* introducing the feeling that your eyes are completely dissociated from your head.
It's even tunable - if you want it to filter even lower frequency movement, dial it up past the 90% default... at 100% it will be very similar to lock-to-horizon, and I guarantee there will be a point *before* 100% where it gets uncomfortable.

I don't understand your point because when you look at something, ie the track it becomes `static` to the eyes, unless the movement is so fast the eyes can't keep up then sure, the world will move a bit but in AC a fixed `lock to horizon` simulates close to real-life when looking and focussing on the track ahead so naturally the car chassis/cockpit will `movce around` but this isn't an issue when driving for real because do race drivers eyes get tired from all the `compensating` for the world movement? Probably only an `insignificant` amount.

Lock to horizon is more naturally like driving in real-life, I wasn't convinced until I acutally tried it and `real head motion` app isn't required because its not designed for VR but monitors simulating head-movement that isn't present on a static monitor, there is no need to `simulate` head movement in VR because your actual head wearing an HMD is where the `real head motion is`- not via an app but for real.

Lock to horizon will not make someone feel sick if they're looking and focussing where they are meant to be, the track ahead and not the cockpit.

[Mr Crisp]

Here is some additional reading to show why Lock To Horizon can have other benefits in VR, such as actually being able to see dips and climbs better, making AC much more immersive in VR IMO.

http://www.paradigmshiftracing.com/racing-basics/racing-sims-default-settings-can-cause-vr-sickness-how-to-fix-it

[Dan]

My point is - yes, when you look at the horizon, your eyes lock on to the horizon... when *you* look at the horizon... not when an outside force moved your eyes involuntarily to point at the horizon. When you're using VR, you still look at the horizon, or the dash, or whatever you want to - you still orient your own eyes to what you wish to focus on... so having the simulation *also* do this is going to duplicate the effect, and that will feel very odd.

The thing about your eyes filtering out vibrations is that the sim *needs* to do that step, because there aren't actually any vibrations for your eyes to filter out... you're sat in a chair, and all the vibrations are imaginary, so there's nothing for your eyes' reflex action to operate on, so all you get is an image that vibrates infront of your eyes... but for the larger movements, you aren't basing those off a reflex action informed by your inner ear, you're basing them off what you consciously choose to look at... and you're just as capable of doing that in VR as in real life.

Having the sim provide *that* motion will feel nausiating, because you're then telling your eyes they're doing something that they aren't doing, and that creates dissociation. You're actually forcing your eyes to make an inverse compensating move to hold steady on what you really want to focus on.

RealHeadMotion works fine for VR, because all you're using it for is the high frequency filtering effect, you disable all the other simulated motion effects, as yes, they would be as dissociating as lock-to-horizon. All it's used for in VR is to filter high frequency rotations.

[rudski]

What does "high frequency filtering effect" do?

[Dan]

The car rattles around because of small bumps, curbs, etc... by default, your viewpoint in VR is slaved to that, so you don't see the car rattle, you see the world rattle outside the windscreen. The filtering effect stabilizes your viewpoint, so you only experience the lower-frequency dips and jumps, and see the high-frequency rattling on the car instead... emulating what your eyes (and neck muscles) would naturally do in reality.