Remember my proof concept to read IMU data of my #XR glasses to #OpenTrack?
hodasemi wrote a #Rust connector based on the idea that works without #Breezy: https://github.com/hodasemi/xr_to_opentrack_rs – comes with a systemd service file so it can run in the background.
Once installed the only step left to do is fire up OpenTrack 🤘😄🤘
So I was asked if my head tracking approach of reading the IMU data from my Viture Pro to OpenTrack and SBS (side-by-side) mode with ReShade would also work with StarCitizen.
Guess it does 🤷
Pick your poison to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWUC2Y3TRh4 / https://makertube.net/w/8L7gVN8NnLvjhQCPGNmd6W
I start Star Citizen via Lutris (and not with Steam), which requires slightly different settings once ReShade is installed:
Enable Gamescope: ON
Output Resolution: "3840x1080"
Game Resolution: "3840x2160" (set this also ingame!)
Custom Settings: "--scaler stretch"Can this get you banned? Who knows 🤷 Jury is still out on this. Do I care? Nope. I won’t miss my puny starter pack.
YMMV.
The proof of concept code to read the IMU data can be found at https://github.com/bekopharm/xr_to_opentrack (pending changes).
It works with the Breezy GNOME xr_driver: https://github.com/wheaney/breezy-desktop (but the Vulkan one works probably too but that’s untested). It should also be compatible with other glasses that have IMU for Breezy available.
There is an unlisted SBS version of this video linked in the description. You will need XR glasses that do FULL SBS though to watch it!
Until now I used OpenTrack with my DIY IR tracker or the Neuralnet tracker. I knew that my XR glasses feature IMU data though and the xr_driver of the Breezy Desktop project allows to access the data via IPC on Linux PC. So I did what Linux user do: I wrote a script to access the IMU data and forwarded it via UDP to OpenTrack:
Pick your poison to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njuumLUvqrM / https://makertube.net/w/2bNyxJhdyydTeFq17onikv
This reminded me that I also wrote a proof of concept to implement the FaceTrackNoIR (or OpenTrack) protocol into FreeSpace 2 Open on Linux PC ( https://makertube.net/w/7VtfAjW7EiAUS5aiPwG7if ) so I gave it a spin to test the data bridge. That was smooth sailing!
The mod is Diaspora: Shattered Armistice, still awesome today: http://diaspora.hard-light.net/ (Warning: This may fuel a desire to re-watch the BSG series again 😀).
The bridge code can be found at https://github.com/bekopharm/xr_to_opentrack (pending changes).
It works with the Breezy GNOME xr_driver: https://github.com/wheaney/breezy-desktop (but the Vulkan one works probably too but that’s untested). It should also be compatible with other glasses that have IMU for Breezy available.
Update: hodasemi wrote a Rust connector based on the idea that works without Breezy: https://github.com/hodasemi/xr_to_opentrack_rs – comes with a systemd service file so it can run in the background. Once installed the only step left to do is fire up OpenTrack 🤘
I know most of you won’t care or see why this is of interest but I got another game, this time No Man’s Sky, working in #SBS (side-by-side) mode using #ReShade [on Linux PC] 🤓
Steam start parameters are a little bit different though, once ReShade was configured for Vulkan:
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3dcompiler_47=n;vulkan=n,b;vulkan-1=n,b" gamescope -h 2160 -w 3840 -H 1080 -W 3840 --scaler stretch -f -e -- %command%Apparently there is an open bug for ReShade and Vulkan via Proton but frankly I didn’t quite get the details – it just worked for me: https://github.com/kevinlekiller/reshade-steam-proton/issues/6 – YMMV.
As usual: Viture or XReal users can probably just press fullscreen after switching into SBS mode to watch this. Others may need an external player to sort it out – I sure love delivering to the absolute niche of the niche [of yet another niche] 🤷
I know most of you won’t care or see why this is of interest but I got another game, that I like a lot, working in #SBS (side-by-side) mode yesterday using #ReShade [on Linux PC] 🤓
Steam start parameters are a little bit different though, once ReShade was configured for DirectX11:
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3dcompiler_47=n;d3d11=n,b" gamescope -h 1080 -w 1920 -H 1080 -W 3840 --scaler stretch -f -e -- %command%I’m considering to start an extra channel for the SBS stuff since this probably just annoys most people. In fact downvotes started to pile up but is it my fault that YT (or PeerTube for that matter) doesn’t support this in any sane way? I know about frame packed versions now but that only results in badly automated out of focus Anaglyph 3D videos nobody can enjoy.
So bear with me if I mix something up, this is all news to me and I’m still flabbergasted. I got myself some XR glasses mostly for watching movies and perhaps some gaming on the Steam Deck a while ago.
Now I learned about “SBS” (Side-By-Side) mode like ~3 days ago, that the glasses support. I tried this with the game Elite Dangerous first, since this has an SBS mode built in too, and was mind blown. My current favourite time stink is Ace Combat though so I started digging.
Turns out there is this Reshade tool that would forcefully enable such a mode for basically any game with the right shader. Several exist but the first I found, “SuperDepth3D.fx”, seems to do the trick. Enabling it split the 1920×1024 in half with two slightly different view ports, one for each eye. There are many options to fine tune this and I’m still fiddling with this to find the perfect settings but results look great already.
My glasses do Full SBS though and have a resolution of 3840×1024. I read somewhere that wide-screen is possible with more DLL shenanigans with Ace Combat 7 too but I run the game on a Linux PC anyway, where we utilise a tool named “gamescope”. This allows basically to configure a virtual display for each game and override the game resolution in various ways. It also has a stretch option, which is exactly what I needed to get the “compressed” SBS view from 1920 to 3840, where the aspect ratio would fit again. BTW: This also has FSR built in so any upscaling looks good enough too. I’m not entirely sure but I think there’s a similar tool on Windows called “Virtual Deskop”?
Anyway, I already managed to get my head tracker working by mapping the output to a virtual gamepad on the look-around axes before. I also found a mod that enables a wider FOV. Imagine my stupid grinning when everything fell into place: Full SBS with head tracking, a more sane FOV and yes, I jumped all the hoops to get my HOTAS and rudder pedal of my old ViperPit working (which is a different story because my devices are so old that I had to upgrade em to USB before, which involved some Arduinos, programming and soldering). I guess that makes me a member of multiple niches at once 🤓
And since I’m aware that nobody can “see” what I’m talking about, without having XR glasses or a VR headset (or a DIY VR Box for smart phones) on their own, have also an Anaglyph 3D render. This requires just some old school two coloured (red and cyan) glasses often made of paper, that many people still have around somewhere, to get an idea.
The colour of the sky? It’s perfect. A deep dark blue.
Update: There is now video footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NckLvP1HBGw
This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
So… this is news to me, because I don’t have a #VR headset, but I can set my #Viture Pro #XR glasses into #SBS (side by side) mode by pressing the small button longer. Some games, like #EliteDangerous, can do this as well without fiddling around with Reshade. I didn’t really expect it but it just works. This way I even get 3D on foot, which is not supported for VR in Elite Dangerous Odyssey at all! Side by side Crosseye mode (right eye left, left eye right) though? Add some head tracking to the mix, which is totally possible, and I get a very nice VR-like experience even on foot in Elite Dangerous – and on Linux PC!
This is the SBS version that does REQUIRE VR/XR glasses and mebbe something like xr-video-player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEtRijojBx8
This is the MONO version that does NOT require VR/XR glasses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYPTk1vygM4
The FOV is somewhat cramped. No idea if this can be tweaked any further but I’ll fiddle with the settings on my next test. Mebbe this can be tweaked (or I use #Breezy Desktop to zoom in somewhat).
Update: I got the aspect ratio somewhat under control. It’s not perfect but much better and an odd combination of window mode and resolution and upscaling, that somehow affects the HUD only but make no sense to me at all. At this point I think it’s simply a bug of Elite. It’s like the HUD doesn’t get the memo to scale up after the intro played. I’m also not sure if this is a side effect of gamescope but I can totally live with this result (though it does start to stutter somewhat on foot but recording this at the same time somewhat overwhelms my rig anyway). These are my gamescope settings with Steam:
SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 obs-gamecapture gamescope -h 1080 -w 3840 -H 1080 -W 3840 --max-scale 2 -f -e -- %command%
Max-scale is probably not needed but it was started with this so I won’t omit it now. The ingame settings are 1280×960 and windowed with _NO BORDER_. Every other mode broke the aspect ratio even more! That is also true for 1920×1024, which would have made _some_ sense to me at least, but this did also NOT work FOR ME. This results in a pixelated HUD which is worked around with upscaler INTERNAL or AMD CAS cranked to x2 – AMD FSR did NOT WORK. If someone could enlighten me on this: Bring it! YMMV.
Update2: Haha it works! https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/2o5j30/using_google_cardboard_or_equivalent_kit_as_a_vr/ had a lead: It suggests to double the vertical resolution to get a proper aspect ratio with SBS and shrink the resulting window again.
That’s easy with gamescope:
> gamescope -h 2160 -w 3840 -H 1080 -W 3840 –scaler stretche voila, perfect aspect ratio. Wonder if my GPU manages to keep this up though. May have to throw FSR into the mix.
Bandai Namco Studios Inc. (エースコンバット7 スカイズ・アンノウン｜バンダイナムコエンターテインメント)『エースコンバット7』バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト
Got some help carrying the #ViperPit from the basement into my man cave today and since I got the peripherals operational again already, and got Ace Combat 7 on a sale, which seemed to be a good fit, I decided to play that first:
https://makertube.net/w/wiKFYNPaKhhCmrrz3aGLYb / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEPK0lHX_3s
Little did I know what a pain in the neck it would be to get this running. No, Linux wasn’t the problem. That was just Press Play, as usual.
There is however no settings menu for #HOTAS joysticks so any mapping has to be done by manually editing the `Input.ini` of the game in an text editor, which is a guessing game. Head tracking is also a no go. I pulled the old trick to map the head tracker to a virtual XBOX controller but the game comes with an annoying deadzone where the camera snaps to the center.
Ah well, got it all working okay-ish in the end and enjoyed some pew pew in the skies. There seem to be plenty of #Macross mods too so trying that will be next 🤘
Today we player all together on the 50″ TV in the living room from the [Linux powered] Steam Deck. We used the Viture USB-C adapter, so the Steam Deck didn’t discharge, attached an OTG cable and an ancient USB hub so we could connect our zoo of accumulated controllers. This way we could all play together the Windows game GoGo Town in early access 😁
What a time to be alive.
https://makertube.net/w/bufv9BJv2vcXDb3KUaksB7 / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpP7KS1fbrY
`@ozoned` interviewed me on my home cockpit on a live stream via his #Owncast instance at https://stream.ozoned.net/. This is a more condensed version of the stream that is still just 1h shy. We’re going over almost every feature of my Primary Buffer Panel and I explain how everything works. I also decided to add various photos, slideshows or video snippets during the talk only sections so things don’t get too boring. Sometimes that even complements the talks 😄
Ever wondered how to start your own DIY #homeCockpit / #SimPit on? It’s easy. Just watch this stream 🤓
Dedicated project website: https://SimPit.dev
Check out the original recording if you want to see more or the full stream with more [dirty] details: https://video.thepolarbear.co.uk/w/9zNcweVw2fxxpSrmBnaQJa
#Gaming #LinuxGaming #GamingOnLinux #EliteDangerous #X4Foundations #StarCitizen #HOTAS #HOSAS