VR Games for Extended Mode (Windows)

The difference between the Extended Mode and the Direct-to-Rift mode is very simple, at the extended mode the oculus rift is like a second monitor which extends the main monitor and in direct-to-rift mode the games directly start in the oculus rift and you can also show the game on the mainmonitor at the same time. Juergen explaned the differences before, so if you don't know yet, read his article and hopefully you know then :). So the direct-to-rift is the best way to play VR games but unfortunately not every game supports this mode. If there is a gamename-direct-to-rift.exe file then you can use direct mode, if not you have to switch to extended mode at the oculus rift. The tutorial how to setup windows and the oculus you can find at Juergens post before.

I want to talk about the games we just tested with the extended mode and the gamesettings and which games worked fine and which not.

One really cool tool i have to advice is open broadcaster software (OBS x64 - we tested v 0.64 beta) because this tool makes it possible to stream the monitor of the oculus rift to the mainmonitor just like we are used from the direct-to-rift mode. It's perfect if you play with other friends, so they can't watch the game also, because it's very boring if you see someone playing with the oculus rift and talking about the cool game but you can't see what he is playing so guys just get this tool and watch Juergen's tutorial how to setup for gaming.

So today we tested the following games on extended mode:

Motorbike vr: [Download]

It is a very funny motorbike game, where you have to drive threw courses to reach the finishline of every level. This game is absolutely fantastic and has a huge level of addiction. You have to improve you bike skills and sometime you really have to think about how to succeed, because some levels are very tricky. We loved this game and couldn't stop. But then we had to stop, because the demo ended. But we are lucky, because we can buy a fullversion to get all levels and we are really thinking about it because the game really persuaded. One really interesting point of the game is the view of the player because you see the game from the side with the oculus, which is not the view you would expect but its something new and its cool! :) So i really can recommend this game to every one of you. It's real fun!


Don't let go: [Download]

3D-Driver "Vireio Perception" for Oculus Rift DK2 (Extended Mode, Windows)

The 3D-Driver Vireio Perception makes it possible to play some "normal" games (like Borderlands, Far Cry,...) on the Oculus Rift DK2 as well. It's only working in the Extended Mode. The driver is very easy to handle and has a very good manual. There is also a list of games which are supported and a instruction for each application, how to configure and use.

We made very good experiences with this driver. Configuration for a game you want to play takes 5 minutes maximum (first time).
The only disadvantage is, that you have to use the Oculus Rift Runtime 0.4.4-beta which makes troubles (Judder) with applications which are made for Oculus Rift (Direct to rift, Unity,...) - we told about this issue in a post in February. If you use an older version, head-tracking may not work (it also says in-game "HMD not detected").
By the way: Some users in VR-Communities told that the issue with Oculus Rift Runtime 0.4.4-beta only exists with Windows 8.


Run a game the first time with Vireio Perception

1. If you haven't installed yet, install Oculus Rift Runtime 0.4.4-beta (uninstall older version first)
2. Run Oculus Configuration Utility, use "Extend Desktop to the HMD" in Tools>Rift Display Mode... and uncheck "DK1 Legacy App Support"
3. Download and install Vireio Perception (we used V2.13)
4. Read the instructions for the game you want to play on the Oculus Rift DK2
5. Start the game (without Vireio Perception running) and do the settings, which are written in the manual (sometimes there are none) and set the resolution to 1920x1080.
6. Run the Vireio DLL Symlink Installer as administrator (VireioDLLInstaller.exe in Perception's bin-folder) and browse to your game-folder. Press 'OK' in every following dialog.
7. Exit the game and run Vireio Perception as administrator (Perception.exe in Perception's bin-folder). The settings should be right after startup, you can compare them with our's in the screenshot below.
8. Start the game
9. Follow Perception's instructions in the game and everything should be fine :)

Settings for Step 7

HINT: Use CTRL+R or SHIFT+L for calibrating/reset head-tracking. With CTRL+Q you are able to change the settings of Vireio Perception.

If you want to mirror the display of the Oculus Rift DK2 on your main desktop, try using the Open Broadcaster Software (described HERE).

We also recommend to set the Oculus Rift DK2 in Windows' "Screen Resolution"-Settings (right-click on desktop) as the left display:

Uninstall Vireio Perception from a game
If you have run the Vireio DLL Symlink Installer for a game, it's sometimes impossible to play the game without the Oculus Rift DK2 anymore (error-message). To remove the files, which created the Installer in the game folder, you have to do the same as for installing (see Step 6 above).



The settings and device we used for the test are specified >HERE<.

Oculus Rift DK2 - Modes (Windows)

As we mentioned before, there are two Modes how you can use your Oculus Rift DK2. In this post we are trying to describe the two modes and the "Extended Mode" in detail. The settings and device we used for the test are specified >HERE<.
You can change the Rift Display Mode in the "Oculus Configuration Utility". Select "Tools" in the menubar and then "Rift Display Mode...".

Direct HMD Access from Apps (Direct to Rift)
This display mode is for "Direct to Rift"-Applications.
Not every application is made for this mode. If you download one and the application-folder contains an executable which ends with "_DirectToRift.exe", it is (usually) compatible.
It's very easy to use. What you have to do is to start "..._DirectToRift.exe" and after a few seconds you should see something through your Oculus Rift DK2.
The most applications also show on the main desktop what the user sees on the Oculus Rift DK2. Sometimes there is an option to deactivate this (see readme-files in application-folder), which gets a little more performance.

Extend Desktop to the HMD
When you are activating this display mode, the computer recognizes the Oculus Rift DK2 as second monitor. This is a point, which makes it very complicated.

Best case:
Some applications (like "Don't let go"), which are made with Unity, detect which desktop the Oculus Rift DK2 is and starts there.

Worst case:
Some readme-files of applications tell the user to set the Oculus Rift DK2 to the main screen in Windows' "Screen Resolution"-settings. You'll see, that this brings a few troubles with it e.g. the taskbar and programs are only on Oculus Rift and you're not able to read anything. You can help yourself by looking through the Oculus Rift and closing one eye (now it's readable).

Solutions which sometimes work:

• Set the Oculus Rift DK2 as the left desktop in Windows' "Screen Resolution"-settings.
• Type "MYGAME.exe -adapter 1" in an editor and save it as .bat-file in the application-folder. Replace MYGAME.exe with the executable of the program and find the correct adapter-number.

3rd case:
If your application doesn't detect the Oculus Rift DK2, you can experiment with drag and drop, WINDOWS+LEFT/RIGHT ARROW (put window to the left/right) and ALT+ENTER (Fullscreen) but in most cases you won't get a perfect result (e.g. borders around the application).
Also a big disadvantage is, that the application is only shown on the Oculus Rift DK2 and sometimes spectators also want see to what is displayed on the device. The solution is the Open Broadcaster Software (we used V0.64 beta).

Open Broadcaster Software (Tool we used for mirroring):
You have to do the following steps, to mirror the display of the Oculus Rift DK2:

1. Add a Profile by selecting Profiles>New.
2. Select Settings>Settings>Advanced and check "Disable encoding while previewing"
3. Do a left-click in the listbox "Scenes" and add a new one.
4. Add the source "Monitor Capture" by doing a left-click in the listbox "Sources"
5. Select the correct ID of the monitor (experiment a little bit)
6. Add the source "Game Capture" by doing a left-click in the listbox "Sources" and click "OK". You don't have to change these settings.

Now the tool is ready for mirroring. My recommendation is to activate only one source (Monitor or Game Capture). Click the button "Preview Stream" to show what's going up on your Oculus Rift DK2.

"Game Capture" is when you want to display a fullscreen-application. Start the application you want to show on the Oculus Rift (maybe drag and drop to right desktop and ALT+ENTER for fullscreen), do a left-click on "Game Capture" in Open Broadcaster Software and select "Settings" and choose the fullscreen-program you started. After saving click the button "Preview Stream" for mirroring.

Sample of settings for "Game Caputre"

Game Capture

Monitor Capture

In the upcoming post i'm telling about our experiences with the open source tool "Vireio Perception", which makes it possible, to play some "normal" games on the Oculus Rift DK2.