The beta version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has introduced fixed foveated rendering, with plans for eye-tracked foveated rendering support coming in the future.
The simulator’s beta channel now features a Foveated Rendering toggle located in the VR settings, described as follows:
When active, uses quad views rendering technique to improve your GPU performance. The higher resolution, the higher the gain. Can add some CPU overhead. Can be combined with Eye-Tracking when available for best use.
This toggle is not mentioned in the beta changelog. After conducting tests, I’ve confirmed that it effectively activates fixed foveated rendering across all VR headsets, yielding a 5-10 FPS performance enhancement, albeit at the cost of some pixelation at the edges of the visual field.
Currently, eye-tracked foveated rendering does not appear to be functioning, indicating that it may be integrated later in the beta testing phase. I verified this with a Quest Pro and found similar results with a Pimax Crystal headset that also supports eye tracking.
Once implemented, eye-tracked foveated rendering could deliver substantial performance improvements for headsets equipped with eye tracking, potentially enhancing frame rates by dozens of frames per second.
For those who aren’t familiar with foveated rendering:
- Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR) prioritizes rendering the central area of the display at a higher resolution compared to the peripheral regions.
- Eye-Tracked Foveated Rendering (ETFR), also known as Dynamic Foveated Rendering, dynamically adjusts the rendering resolution of the area being focused on each frame, based on the capabilities of certain headsets.
Both foveated rendering techniques enhance performance in VR environments. They can either facilitate smoother experiences in demanding scenarios or allow for higher peak resolutions in contexts where framerates are already stable. While FFR may show some pixelation around the edges, it is compatible with any VR headset, whereas ETFR should maintain a clear image as long as the eye tracking has low latency.
Flight Simulator 2024 seems to be leveraging the foveated rendering technology that Varjo developed and merged into OpenXR 1.1 last year. This indicates that eye-tracked foveated rendering should be compatible with any headset that integrates its eye tracking with OpenXR, including Bigscreen Beyond 2e, Pimax Crystal and Crystal Super, Varjo XR-4 and Aero, and Meta Quest Pro through Quest Link, Virtual Desktop’s VDXR runtime, or Steam Link.
As noted by VR Flight Sim Guy, the headset manufacturer Pimax was a driving force in encouraging the development team behind Flight Simulator 2024 to implement this feature, and Pimax is officially recognized as a partner for this edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Coverage of the beta feature from VR Flight Sim Guy.
DCS, a well-known military flight simulator, has also included foveated rendering since last year, giving VR users with eye tracking significant performance enhancements within that platform as well.