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Messages - Tbone

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31
VR Gaming / Re: Quest 2 Link Best Settings (Finally Better Than Rift S)
« on: January 19, 2022, 04:08:34 pm »
Some more advanced tinkering...

First, I've noticed using OTT to super sample can cause all sorts of issues with Oculus Dash, so for now I'm keeping that set at 1.0. Instead I'm sharpening with a different program while using foveated rendering to improve performance. It doesn't work with every game and the foveated rendering only works with Nvidia RTX cards, but for the games it does work on it allows me to set my refresh rate at 120 while also getting a sharper image.

Program: https://github.com/fholger/vrperfkit
Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/s7lghv/vr_performance_toolkit_combines_openfsr_and/

You'll have to install PER GAME. Copy the dxgi.dll and vrperfkit.yml in the folder of the .exe of any game you wish to apply this to. Edit vrperfkit.yml (using Notepad or similar text editor) for the settings you want.

So far I've found the foveated rendering enough to give me a nice performance gain, so rather than upsampling I'm using the other half of the tool just to sharpen. To do all this, I change the following settings:

upscaling method: cas
renderScale: 1.0
sharpness: 0.5 (still playing with this)
fixedFoveated enabled: true

For a more detailed explanation... CAS is the sharpening method of upscaling. RenderScale typically will render at a lower resolution and then upscale, but setting it at 1.0 will prevent it from rendering at a lower resolution. Sharpness applies more or less sharpening between 0.0 and 1.0.

My advice if you want to use this tool...

Nvidia RTX users: CAS sharpening and foveated rendering
Non-RTX for performance gain: Keep defaults to use upsampling.
Non-RTX for image clarity: CAS sharpening

If you want to see if it works in the game, you can use the hotkey CTRL+F1 to see if a red ring appears in the periphery. I'm not sure if this only works to show foveated rendering or works regardless.

32
General / Re: "Matrix: Resurrections" Theories
« on: December 28, 2021, 01:31:55 pm »
On a second watch - after my obsessive hype died down - I can see more of what others were disappointed with.  I’m rather easy to please when it comes to film, and I still enjoyed many aspects of it.  My question, however, is:  what did you love, what did you hate?
Loved:

-The modal stuff and the concept of humans creating programs within the Matrix as well as programs finding "bodies" outside the Matrix.
-Neo & Trinity having amnesia and living as bluepills again.
-The possibility that the original trilogy was going to be retconned as just existing in this crazy dude's head. Obviously it would have sucked if that turned out to be true, but I liked them toying with our expectations there.
-Upgrading parts of the Matrix to make it make sense (no phone booths - mirrors instead).
-The first half when things got crazy and then got reset. Wanted more of that.

Hated:

-Combat was downgraded. Bad editing in many fight scenes.
-Way too many direct flashes of the original trilogy. The meta "Matrix games" should have used UE5 CG of the original movies instead of actual footage, and I didn't need the "remember this" flashes.
-Smith was just...around? He really didn't seem to serve a purpose other than "Hey, it's Smith! He's still around too!"
-Merv's rant was...a lot.
-I was fine with NPH, but I was not fine with the weird effect they were using for his monologuing. Big bullet time downgrade.
-Meta stuff was a double edged sword. At times it seemed the story suffered to push the symbolism instead. "Warner Bros wants us to make a fourth Matrix and people are just gonna want action!" K...we get it...
-The Morpheus program was an interesting idea, but not sure why he was supposed to be half Morpheus/half Smith, and it was weird how some people just embraced him as the "real Morpheus".
-Movie devolved into a standard rescue mission once Neo was freed. No more twists and turns.
-60 year time jump seemed unnecessary. I guess they needed it to explain IO.
-No mention of Tbone and the Furious Angels, the true heroes after Neo was gone.
-Morpheus' fate was rewritten, though I don't think a reference to an assassin made of flies would have gone over well...lol.
-"I still know kung fu" (cringe)
-Honestly, maybe the ending. I sort of feel like they should have jumped off that building and never be seen again unless they make another movie and then that could be misdirect. They were both freed from Machine City, so they could die in peace without fear of the Machines just reviving them and throwing them back in.
-Fans of the original trilogy were put in a BAD light here. I don't know that it was intentional, but Jude came across as the voice of the fans - annoyingly bringing up both the action elements and the philosophical elements of the original trilogy as well as trying to force a Neo/Trinity romance again. I get that he was symbolic for the fans' expectations, but it came across as derogatory towards anyone who enjoyed the original trilogy.
-It really, really felt like Lana does not want there to be a Matrix video game

33
News and Announcements / Re: New Matrix Online? "Matrix Awakens" UE5 Demo
« on: December 28, 2021, 01:05:59 pm »
Maybe someone will make an online social hang with it. The whole city is being given for free to developers.

34
VR Gaming / Re: Quest 2 Link Best Settings (Finally Better Than Rift S)
« on: December 28, 2021, 01:04:48 pm »
Updated the original post. Changes:

-Supersampling is now going through Oculus settings and the render resolution first to optimize performance. Instead of setting OTT settings to 1.4-1.7, you'll be looking at 1.0-1.2 while setting the render resolution to 1.5 in Oculus' app settings.
-Added SteamVR settings that are required to get good performance for SteamVR games and apps.

35
General / Re: "Matrix: Resurrections" Theories
« on: December 26, 2021, 05:58:01 pm »
Overall takeaway?  Was it worth the wait?
No. I mean, it was a Matrix movie, so yes, but the second half felt like a generic 2021 action movie with a Matrix skin on it. It's like Lana was saying in the first half "I'm not just going to do another reboot/sequel movie" and then saying in the second half "well fine, I'll do it - but I'm going to half-ass it."

36
Off Topic / Re: Holiday Fun
« on: December 25, 2021, 01:43:46 pm »
^bump

37
General / Re: "Matrix: Resurrections" Theories
« on: December 23, 2021, 03:46:16 pm »
Time to see what I got right and what I got wrong with my theories.

SPOILERS BELOW FOR MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
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Unfortunately almost all of my theories didn't pan out as the movie took a more simple and yet meta approach, but let's discuss one by one!

INITIAL TRAILER THEORIES

Neo is not in the Matrix but somewhere in the Source..

No, he's just in a new version of the Matrix, though his body was plugged into somewhere special. This was based on the yellow code which wasn't even used in the movie as well as Groff's character saying they're going back to the Matrix, which was actually in reference to a video game.

Neo's subconscious is manifesting in code.

I SORT OF got this right. Morpheus is created by Neo as a means to subconsciously wake himself back up, though the rest of it isn't created by Neo.

Trinity is being used by the Machines to keep Neo from waking up again.

Nailed this one!

Neo and Trinity inhabiting others/having identity issues.

Eh, no...not really. I mean yes, they are being masked by bluepill code that makes them look different, but they aren't code hopping around to different bluepills. It's just a mask of their code, essentially. Trinity fading into code as well as splitting into multiple people was a huge misdirect from the trailers.

The Machines are trying to perfect simulated humans as an alternative power source.

No. This came from nanobot Morpheus. My alternative theory was that Neo himself is powerful enough to be a valuable fuel source, which I thought was a stretch, but turned out to be true in a vague way.

It all takes place in Neo's brain as the Machines attempt to resurrect him, using Trinity as the key to being successful.

While the movie doesn't take place in Neo's brain, there is a scene of the Machines attempting to resurrect him and Trinity is the key to doing it successfully, so this theory had some legs but didn't quite hit the mark.

Zion trailer theory: Main characters are code being resurrected by various people and attempting to reconnect with their bodies.

An interesting theory that was completely incorrect. Several Trinity shots in the trailers were just complete misdirects.

The movie follows a pattern of grief.

No, not really. It certainly doesn't end that way. Maybe denial, anger, and bargaining, but then it just moves towards a happy ending.

Could Neo be the bad guy accidentally causing harm with his grief?

Nope.

THINGS I GOT RIGHT

-Neo created Morpheus.
-Trinity is being used to keep Neo in the simulation.
-Neo is a valuable source of energy.
-The Machines used Trinity to get Neo to accept his resurrection.

Everything else was fun to think about and probably would have made for a better movie (lol), but they hid the meta element pretty well.

38
General / Re: "Matrix: Resurrections" Theories
« on: December 21, 2021, 03:44:35 pm »
One more day before I see the movie, so we'll know all soon! This new clip, however, seems to confirm my theory that Neo is code that is being hidden/unknowingly hijacking Bluepills:

https://youtu.be/pt7wJpR-SuM

39
General / Re: The Matrix: Resurrections
« on: December 19, 2021, 02:23:46 pm »
Oh? Is there a limit to how many you can have in a virtual screening?  Have you gone through all of the movies, as well as Animatrix?  Let me know when you do the next one!
We've been making regular announcements on Discord to the FA group, so make sure you're a part of that and checking notifications! We still have Resurrections Revolutions left. We may can fit in Animatrix, but that's a lot to do before Wednesday!

Room can host up to 15 people at once, so no issues there.

Edit: Revolutions, not Resurrections

40
General / Re: The Matrix: Resurrections
« on: December 18, 2021, 04:52:06 pm »
We've been meeting in VR to watch the original trilogy and will probably do a screening of Matrix Resurrections as well, though probably not until after the holidays.

41
VR Gaming / Quest 2 Link Best Settings (Finally Better Than Rift S)
« on: December 15, 2021, 04:09:59 pm »
I've had a Quest 2 and Rift S for a long time, using the Rift S for PC gaming and Quest 2 for when I go out of town. I had tried Air Link to compare and the quality was horrible, so I stuck with Rift S. Well, there's been a few patches since then and I've finally sat down and tried to tweak the Quest 2 for PCVR. The Quest 2 has the better screen, so if you can get everything else out of the way, the Quest 2 can become one of the best PCVR headsets you can own. Getting there is a bit of a journey, but here's how...


  • Use a Link Cable, not Airlink
Yes, yes, I know. You want the freedom of wireless. You can do that, and you can THINK the quality is good enough, but be aware there are big tradeoffs. What we're attempting to do is crank up the bitrate to remove any and all artifacts, crank up the resolution to take advantage of Quest 2's pixels, and crank up the refresh rate to improve the overall experience. There's no way to do all three with Airlink, and certainly not at the threshold we need to meet. I got a cheap Link Cable for $16 and so far it's working great!

  • Oculus Device Advanced Settings
And so our balancing act begins. Let's get this out of the way. 120Hz refresh rate is great and can feel very smooth, but it's experimental for a reason. In my opinion the tradeoffs are NOT worth it. You'll have to lower the resolution to try to get a steady 120fps, and it actually drains the Quest 2's battery quicker (more on that later). I have a 3080 and still decided against 120Hz. As a result, my settings are:

Oculus Desktop Menu - Devices - Quest 2 and Touch - Advanced - Graphics Preferences

Refresh Rate (90Hz)
Render Resolution 1.5x (5408x2736)

You want to crank that resolution as high as your computer can stand. This is the best place to supersample, though you can push it further using OTT or ODT. 90Hz is a higher refresh rate and, therefore, an improvement over the Rift S, but you can lower it as a compromise if you have trouble getting the frames.

  • OTT or ODT Settings
Ok, here's where we're gonna get rid of the Link artifacts. You have two options. I recommend downloading Oculus Tray Tools but you can also browse to your Oculus installation and find the Support folder, Oculus Diagnostics folder, and use OculusDebugTool.

In OTT click "Quest Link" on the left menu. You'll find similar settings in ODT:

Distortion Curvature: Low (more detail in the peripherals)
Encode Resolution: 3970 3664
Bitrate: 480+
Link Sharpening: Enabled

Having the bitrate at 500 is important here. It gets rid of all streaming artifacts and achieves the same fidelity as if you were plugged into the graphics card itself. Any lower and you'll notice an annoying shimmering blockiness, especially on things in the distance. Even 400 will not cut it. Priority is to keep this at 500! You can paste in higher values. I currently have mine set to 800, but you can go as high as 960. The higher you go, the more likely you are to experience issues however.

In OTT go back to Game Settings. You can optionally set Default Super Sampling here if your graphics card can handle it. This will multiply with the resolution you set in the Oculus settings, so be very conservative here. I've set my default to 1.2, but for games such as HL: Alyx or Lone Echo 2, I'm leaving this at 1.0. If you click "View & Edit" under Profiles you can change the super sampling per game using OTT. This requires a bit of trial and error, but it allows you to really tweak the fidelity per game.

  • SteamVR Settings

The above settings will kill your performance in SteamVR as any attempt at supersampling from Steam's software will multiply what you've already done, tanking your performance instantly. Our goal here is to set the SteamVR settings as close to baseline as possible and let the Oculus software do all the heavy lifting. Unfortunately, it's a little counter-intuitive and took some trial and error and Googling on my part, but here's what you want:

SteamVR Settings - Video

Refresh Rate: 90 Hz (should be automatic)
Render Resolution: Custom
Resolution Per Eye: 62% (2556x2580)
Advanced Supersample Filtering - Off
Overlay Render Quality - Medium

Note: I've also heard 100% resolution per eye is the way to go here, so try both.

Your impulse is going to be to leave "resolution per eye" to 100%, but this is actually supersampling what you've already done. 62% is the closest real resolution to the Quest 2, and so you want to force that setting. I'm not certain what "Advanced Supersampling" does, but I'm just getting rid of any supersampling Steam is attempting. "Overlay Render" probably doesn't make a difference, but I'm just trying to avoid any hiccups when menu hopping.

You could stop right here and be good to go. Your settings may differ from mine, but I believe the priorities are:

Bitrate 500 > Render Resolution > Super Sampling > Refresh Rate

If you're sensitive to a lower refresh rate and really want that feeling of smooth presence, you may want to sacrifice super sampling before refresh rate - just remember 120Hz is currently a trap. There are also other ways to make the Quest 2 closer to feature parity with the Rift S...

  • Comfort
This is actually pretty important as the default headstrap for the Quest 2 is abysmal. I personally recommend a Halo style 3rd party strap for the Quest 2 to get it feeling like the Rift S, but I've also heard positive things about a simple head pad for the back of the strap as well. Some sort of counterweight on the back of the strap is also helpful, but this is where things get complicated. I had to 3D print an external battery mount that would be compatible with a Halo strap since the adjustment dial is directly on the back, but I believe there are now options of getting a Halo strap with battery holder already included.

Both the Rift S and Quest 2 lack headphones, and I recommend getting some Porta Pros and zip tying them to the sides of the strap (works for Halo - not so much of the OG strap of Quest 2). This improves the audio quite a bit! I also recommend feeding the Link cable to the back of the strap and attaching it there so that the weight of the cable pulls at the back of your head and not the side of your face. It's a lot of work, but the end result is a HUGE improvement in comfort!

  • Downsides
There are a few caveats to using the Quest 2 as your primary PCVR headset instead of getting an expensive one designed solely for that purpose. One major drawback was already mentioned - the amount of modding needed to make it comfortable and improve the audio. This, however, would be an issue even if you were using the Quest 2 as standalone, so it's something you'd want to deal with either way if you already have one.

The other glaring issue is the battery life. Despite the Quest 2 being plugged directly into the PC, it seems it still doesn't charge fast enough to stay at 100%. Your headset will still slowly drain while playing and plugging it into the PC takes up the charging port, so there's no way for you to have an all day marathon session. This is another reason to avoid 120Hz, as it drains even faster. I still need to do more testing to see how much it drains, but after 2.5 hours of watching a movie it was at 49%.

Finally the Link cable itself can be a bit of a crap shoot when looking for third party. This one has worked well for me so far, but they can be fickle and the official one is still a whopping $80. If you have trouble, try Google for a solution (I had to disable Air Link on the Quest 2 to get regular Link working).

42
News and Announcements / New Matrix Online? "Matrix Awakens" UE5 Demo
« on: December 10, 2021, 06:53:12 pm »
There's finally a new Matrix game! Well...a Matrix demo. And, well...not for PC. But man it looks good! Epic Game released a new demo for Unreal Engine 5, and it takes place within the Matrix! The city itself will be given away to developers to do with as they please, which makes me think that they won't actually turn it into the new MxO, but maybe someone else will! Check it out!

https://venturebeat.com/2021/12/09/epic-games-shows-off-unreal-engine-5-realism-with-stunning-the-matrix-awakens-demo/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU0gvPcc3jQ

43
General / Re: "Matrix: Resurrections" Theories
« on: December 05, 2021, 08:07:55 pm »
Another angle of some of my theory:

The movie is about grief. Lana had the idea for it after the loss of her father. Neo, grief-stricken with the loss of Trinity, just asks the Machines to be left alone and forget about the whole thing. Zion finds Neo in the simulation, however, and they create a Morpheus program to try and help Neo remember. But they don't know that Neo doesn't want to remember.

Neo is so powerful that he can change things in the Matrix. Once his subconscious starts to come out, his grief creates Trinity to cope. In the real world this would just be a mental issue. In the Matrix, where everything is in the mind, Trinity is manifested out of thin air by Neo. In this sense, Trinity is just an extension of Neo.

It's possible the movie goes through the stages of grief:

1. Denial and isolation - Neo chooses to forget everything and live in isolation inside the simulation

2. Anger - Upon getting his memory back, Neo and his mind-Trinity lash out at the system, potentially threatening the truce and the people still jacked in.

3. Bargaining - Neo comes up with a plan to try and get Trinity inside her body in the real world - he perhaps strikes a deal with the Machines to do it.

4. Depression - Plan doesn't work. The full weight of the loss of Trinity finally hits Neo.

5. Acceptance - Some sort of resolution where Neo is able to find some peace or at least learn to let go.

There is also a possibility that the ENTIRE movie is in Neo's head or in a "therapy program" to help him deal with his grief. Everything and everyone could be symbolic of different sides of Neo. A quote from someone who apparently saw the movie (no spoilers other than theme, but be warned if you are even wary of that):

Quote
I cannot tell you what this film is about, but I could explain what it is not. It's certainly not yet one more sequel, but something autonomous that contains however the three Matrix that preceded in a really ingenious way. It's a very beautiful and weird creation. It also achieves a couple of things that we do not see in action films, meaning it subverts the rules of blockbusters."

So the movie could just be Neo coming to terms with everything that happened in the original trilogy and end up being a lot more of an internal, trippy, psychological experience than just a rehashing of the original Matrix plotlines.

It's possible Neo could be that bad guy of the film. He sees Trinity wherever he goes and is actually turning people into her inadvertently or purposely as a means to hold on to her. The "green eyed" people is either the Machines trying to prevent Neo from destabilizing the system or possibly even Neo's mental manifestation of Agent Smith as he relives his trauma. Basically Neo is dealing with some mental shit and it's manifesting as harmful things within the simulation.

44
General / Re: "Matrix: Resurrections" Theories
« on: November 30, 2021, 01:56:08 am »
Theory after watching the new "Zion" trailer:

Theory: The Matrix stores a backup of your code every time you jack in. This is essentially the digital you. At least Zion both probably the Machines and Exiles as well have probably found a way to access these backups and "Resurrect" digital versions of people from this code.

The resurrected code, however, needs a host. Of course Agents were always able to do this, and so this code can do the same - hijack anyone plugged into the Matrix. The Machines know how valuable Neo's code is and discover they can effectively hide and subdue it by keeping it in a Bluepill host. They potentially do the same to Trinity. After being hidden into a Bluepill host, Neo's memories are suppressed but the host he's in knows something is not right and Neo is slowly gaining control of his host and getting memories back.

Morpheus is dead (killed in MxO). Zion has his code, however. In the Animatrix Zion had experiments to reprogram Machines to by sympathetic to humans. The "fist bump" machine is most likely one of those and have probably been helping and giving access for Zion to some of this tech. They use it to put Morpheus' code into nanobots which might be the only way for him to take over a host and jack in. Zion not only finds Neo and Trinity's code but also discovers their bodies have been repaired and are plugged in (not sure why).

Neo and Trinity are told they are just code by Zion and that there may be a way to reunite the body with the mind and live again in the real world. They need to find whatever is using their shells or wherever their shells are and hijack them back. Bugs at some point lets Trinity use her as a host to aid in this. It's possible that Morpheus lets Neo hijack the nanobots. Not sure on the details, but essentially Neo and Trinity are trying to reconnect with their true selves and are potentially hopping around others that are connected to do it.

MEANWHILE someone or something is also piggybacking on Bluepills to try and stop them. I imagine the Machines (or an exile) studied Agent Smith's viral code and created their own version as a weapon, allowing them to control many hosts at once without relying on individual hopping like the agents.

45
Oculus Quest VR headsets will no longer require a Facebook account.

Quote from: Zuck
As we’ve focused more on work, and frankly as we’ve heard your feedback more broadly, we’re working on making it so you can log in into Quest with an account other than your personal Facebook account. We’re starting to test support for work accounts soon, and we’re working on making a broader shift here, within the next year.

It's still unclear exactly when the change will happen and what it will be replaced with, but you can assume you'll probably still need some sort of "Meta" account. You'll just no longer be required to tie the account to a social media account like Facebook.

If you already have an Oculus account, you can get a Quest headset without fear of eventually needing to link a Facebook account to it (2023 WAS the deadline). If you don't have an Oculus account, however, currently a Facebook account is still needed to create a new one. This will eventually change - we're just not sure when.

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