[EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080 *FIXED*

Tips, tactics, and general discussion for Evochron Legacy.
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YohannFrankfurder
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[EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080 *FIXED*

Post by YohannFrankfurder »

Last week I was able to successfully run EL with an ATI MSI r9 290x video card. Everything worked well but I decided to upgrade my card. I now have a Nvidia MSI GTX 1080.

I am able to use my vive with the new card in all other games that I previously could use my old card except EL.

When I go into the game in VR, I can choose a profile and load the player get to setting etc. however when I try to launch, the first of the loading this or that text items show on the middle console then the steam loading window comes up and the game crashes. The music continues to play for awhile but the various clicks etc stop.

While trying to get this to work, I tried several things including deleting all pilots uninstalling and reinstalling. Even with a re-install to a different folder it seem that EL will keep the last used video settings. At various points I couldn't even get to the load pilot screen. A command line option or some way to force the default video mode would be beneficial.

My old vrsetup.txt crashes the game entirely. Without the txt file I get to the pilot menu. I'm a little suspect of the openvr_api.dll. I think I had to download it initially from somewhere I can't find. In my efforts to make the app run I deleted it but it seems that one is now provided in the download.

Thanks!
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Re: [EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080

Post by Vice »

There does appear to be a problem with perhaps newer/beta drivers and the multi-threading system the game uses for delay handling, but only under certain (currently unknown) conditions. The multi-threading system is something that AMD and all previous Nvidia GPU's/drivers seem to handle fine. It appears to be very limited (only one other reported instance of it so far). I don't know yet if the problem is on the driver side or the SteamVR side of things, but either way, it appears outside of my control at this point with no way to work around it other than to disable the multi-threading mode entirely. So doing anything with the game in terms of file changes or reinstalls isn't going to solve the issue for you, it may require a different rendering mode because of factors outside of the game itself, which is an option I'll review below.

You can disable the multi-threading mode with the vrsetup.txt file. I've attached the latest version of that file to this post. Simply download and place it in the game's install folder. For steam, that is \Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Evochron Legacy. Once placed, you can open the file up in notepad to make changes. To disable the multi-threading mode, change this line:

VRMultiThd=1

To read:

VRMultiThd=0

Then save the file and launch the game to test for changes. This will disable the multithreaded buffer system, so expect to see the SteamVR room logo appear every time there is the slightest pause in the game... during loading, menu transitions, or any other time where frame data is not being fed to the compositor. It’ll probably look a little weird, but it may allow the game to run successfully without multi-threading active.

This and a few other issues are what keeps the option entirely experimental and unsupported. Things seem to work fine for months at a time, then something new comes up due to API or other external changes, breaking previous functionality.

If you'd like to report the issue to Nvidia, you can do so here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/driverqual ... rance.html > Provide Driver Feedback > Submit Bug. That may get the ball rolling to see if it's an issue they or I can work on relating to the driver side of things, since everything tends to work fine with just about any other Nvidia GPU/driver combinations supporting VR. Also, for reference, what driver version are you using specifically and have you tried any others? Did you complete a full cleanout and fresh driver install when you switched from the AMD card to the Nvidia card?
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YohannFrankfurder
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Re: [EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080

Post by YohannFrankfurder »

Good news!

I found the problem. I found a folder that I didn't know existed, C:\sw3dg\EvochronLegacy.

I deleted the folder and EL is working as expected with my Vive! 8)

Thanks!
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Re: [EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080 *FIXED*

Post by Vice »

Ok, it puzzles me that removing the folder would resolve the issue. But thanks for the follow up.
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Re: [EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080 *FIXED*

Post by YohannFrankfurder »

Here is some additional information for anyone who is working with the vive.

Steam VR version 1485823399 (Jan 30, 2017)

I'm running a GTX 1080 with an old AMD Phenom II 965 processor (which may explain the minor shuddering even with a good Vid Card)

Resolution 1080x1920, Med shadows, AA off, everything else on high.

The text is difficult to read. To improve the text, use the OpenVR AdvanceSettings. I'm using an application SS set at 1.4 the text is very readable with some acceptable minor shuddering when looking around.

Do not use the composter SS. It will crash the game. If the game crashes for any reason while messing with the video settings or anything else do a full reboot of the vive headset or reboot your machine. If you don't reboot the headset the game will continue to crash.

When the menus are loading and throughout most of the initialization, the annoying new "..." steam screen will come up but once everything is loaded and you're in the space dock it doesn't come up any more.

Once you have everything tuned and are able to run the game in the vive, It's a lot of fun! Enjoy! ;D
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Re: [EL 1.0488] Problem with Vive and new 1080 *FIXED*

Post by robberer »

Just a quick note:

In future you will probably be careful when deleting the entire folder because there is where your savegame is located.

Most important files in that folder are pilot[#].sw , maplog[#].sw, engineeringtemplate[#].sw ;)
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