openvr

Replying to myself, it seems it doesn't work well, yet, but they're working on it https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr/issues/213#issuecomm...

> there's still not even a hint that they're working on it The 64 bit version of Linux binaries have been updated on every OpenVR[0] release since the Vive was released. And it seems it works since the version 1.0.1. It's just there's no games for it. The ball is currently on the game and game engine developers. The only things Valve could release other than SteamVR and the API is Robot Repair (the only part of The Lab that is not Unity) and Dota 2 VR spectator mode (released just a few days ago). Also, most games are currently using DirectX. In the near future when most VR games use Vulkan it will be easy to run them with Wine at full performance (basically impossible with DX because of the high API overhead and game specific optimizations in drivers). That's assuming game devs don't compile for Linux, of course. And if most use DX12 ins

That middleware exists: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr It supports both the Vive and the Rift, though I believe the Rift implementation is just a wrapper around Oculus' own SDK.

Yes, all the stuff the SteamVR overlay is built with are public APIs that competing stores can use to make their own overlay (including notification popups during games, etc.). You can make a competing store in a tab alongside steam, or replace the Steam VR overlay entirely: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr/wiki/IVROverlay_Over...

Also don't miss the Valve OpenVR SDK, here's their "hello world" sample: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr/tree/master/samples/... if you want something a bit more low-level than Unity. There was one tiny change I had to make, change "LoadTexture" to "LoadTexture_Async", there's a couple of pull requests with the details. I can't wait to start making vr stuff.

Does OpenVR require runtime? It's pretty confusing: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr This repository is an SDK that contains the API and samples. The runtime is under SteamVR in Tools on Steam. It sounds tied to Steam. Or it can work without it?

Valve has developed and supports the OpenVR platform[1], which is designed to allow different hardware on the backend. Rift/Facebook seems to be primarily pushing a closed platform with exclusives. Playstation VR is obviously Playstation-only. Make your purchasing decisions accordingly. [1] https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr

The API is open, the SteamVR-specific runtime is a binary blob. Anyone can implement a driver, they have example driver code available. The documentation is here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr/wiki The purpose of OpenVR is to create a common API for HMD drivers, so that other platforms can implement their own proprietary equivalents of SteamVR or what have you, and everyone's HMD drivers will be interoperable.

I've been following this closely. While there has not been any official word recently, here's what I've observed: Every update of OpenVR/SteamVR does include updated builds/fixes for Linux and Mac[0], but parts of the drivers are out-right missing right now so it's not possible to run an HMD (at least an Oculus one) end to end on these systems right now. I'm speculating that they had good support for a while, then they ran into some cross-platform bugs so they cut support temporarily to rush towards a full release, then fix it later. I'm hoping full Linux and Mac support will become viable after things cool off with the Vive launch. Another thing worth noting is that almost every game shipping on launch is using Unity or Unreal Engine 4, both of which have full cross-platform support. Only thing stopping studios right now is good VR SDK s

The API is BSD licensed[1]. Anyone can use it, it is just not some consortium standard, but anyone can fork it. https://github.com/ValveSoftware/openvr

Google is working on an Android based virtual reality OS [0], hopefully that will be free. Google Cardboard has a repo but it's just binaries. Valve/HTC are ostensibly working on opening their Vive headset through OpenVR, but the repo [1] is a bunch of binaries as well. Oculus freed the DK1 firmware [2] (not the sdk though), Linux support is coming after launch (probably not free though). Slight aside, Palmer said in an interview that they've noticed that people spend more time watching movies than gaming on the GearVR, so there's definitely tracking code in there. Finally there's OSVR, which seems the most promising, though the actual hardware maybe not so much[4]. Ultimately, I think there's enough to be optimistic about. Someone definitely should work on extending X11 or Wayland/Mir to VR, though I'm not sure how doable that is at the