Thursday, April 7, 2016

Dev update #5


This week we've been working on some of the new VR SDKs because we really want to bring the most recent VR products (like Virtual Desktop) to VRidge. We have nothing to announce yet but things are going pretty good.

This update is focused on bugfixing and diagnostic tools.

Nexus 5X and 6P no longer get stuck in reconnecting loop

What a long strange trip it's been. Eventually it turned out that it was very simple but odds of it happening were like 1 to 65 thousand so we did not bother checking it at first.

We chose UDP port that was actively in use on these devices and VRidge could not bind to it. All bug reports were useful but we'd like to especially thank to following people who were patient enough to test countless APKs: Tailslol, Brad Barnes, WACOMalt
Nexus 5X joins testing family.

Fixed head tracking not starting properly

Some people reported head tracking not working. Screen was slightly shaking when you rotated your phone but view did not actually rotate. It should be fixed now.

Screen is no longer skewed when rolling your head

In update #3 we changed our viewport calculation to maximize available screen space. In update #4 we added extra Scale/IPD options because viewport was too big (pixels were outside visible space, reducing effective FOV). At some point we broke our aspect ratio calculation resuliting in jello effect when you rolled your head in Z axis. We're fixing it now as seen on picture below.
@kill_dano - thanks for reporting this.

You can see that the left rectangle does not fit black void in the distance.

Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R resets your head orientation

Some games already allow you to reset head tracking to original position but we are also adding our own hotkey for games that don't have this built-in. Look straight ahead and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R. 

Using both game-implemented tracking reset key and VRidge tracking reset key can result in undefined behaviour. Use only one, don't mix them.

We'll add some UI tooltip about this hotkey when we're sure it works correctly. 

The ongoing battle with artifacts

Some people still experience artifacts. It's not easy to fix because there are so many variables that can affect stream quality - encoder, antennas, cables, wifi interference, usb controller, decoder, etc. Even single component not performing good enough can break the whole chain and cause artifacts. 

We are lowering preset bitrates from (Low/Medium/High) 6/12/16 Mbps to 6/10/13 Mbps (you can still manually set whatever you want). We're also adding a note in UI what bitrate actually means. 

We are also adding optional diagnostics screen. If you experience constant artifacting with USB please tap the top-left part of the streaming screen and report back wether it's decoder or network dropping your frames.

I love numbers and stats. Maybe we'll add graphs someday too.

Simplified connection again

It will be less likely to get stuck in "restoring connection" loop. We probably broke something else with that because changing one thing can cause a chain reaction with some other stuff so please report if anything new breaks for you.

Added storage permission prompt for Android 6.0

Scanning Cardboard QR code with Android 6.0 had no effect because Cardboard settings are stored on device storage. Android 6.0 was denying access to device storage by default. We're adding storage permission prompt so VRidge can access and modify Cardboard settings.

More news on post-release VR SDKs soon

We're not gonna promise anything until we are absolutely sure we can deliver. More news in 2nd half of April.

26 comments:

  1. What is your video card and OS?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What is your video card and OS?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alright, I need extra data:
    Send me all files from RiftcatInstallDirectory/logs.
    Send me dxdiag.
    e-mail: team@riftcat.com

    How to get dxdiag?
    In Windows, search for dxdiag, then select it from the results.
    In the tool, select Save All Information for an easily shared format.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Could the head orientation reset shortcut be configurable? I think ctrl-alt-shift-r is too complex to hit without looking. I would want to set it to something like ctrl-space so it's easy to mash with the headset on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good idea, we'll make it user-configurable.

      Delete
  5. Any news on other PC headset support like OSVR and HTC Vive ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No solid news yet but things are going forward.

      Delete
  6. Do you plan to support Geforce Streaming through Moonlight in Trinus VR? There's a perfect quality. The project is very like it, but the picture quality is very poor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We'd like to implement Nvidia GameStream at some point in the future but currently we're focusing on compatibility issues.

      Delete
  7. Great update once again guys!
    Thank YOu!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amazing program and app, works really well, I'll publish a list with all known working games later today, I've been testing extensively. Thank you for all the great experiences!

    ReplyDelete
  9. No android 4.4 support killed the deal for many including me :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 4.4 is not off the table. It might come when we get our priority tasks sorted first.

      Delete
    2. I know this post is about 5 months old, but I still am waiting for a 4.4 version. Please hurry xD

      Delete
  10. Like most people, loving all the work you guys are putting into this. Hope this turns into a good alternative to people having to buy into a far too expensive headset just to get a feel for VR.

    I know you already know this but the killer features for me personally would be support for the Virtual Desktop app followed maybe by support for the Gear VR and it's amazing gyro sensors.

    With Samsung bundling the Gear VR with the S7 - I suspect that it is going to be one of the more popular headset options out there soon so hopefully work towards that end is worth it for you.

    Anyway, really love this whole concept and looking forward to a finished product. I check it out every update and it just keeps getting better.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have a 6p and am getting stuck at "awaiting vr game stream". I checked the diagnostics and it shows that Packets are sending but only very few packets are being received. Everything else is at 0's. I'm on windows 10, with a 7970.

    It also periodically goes into "restoring active session" boot loop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What game are you trying to run?

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    2. I've tried 3: The Night Cafe, Welcome ot Oculus, Ziran: Passage to nature.

      All the same story.

      Delete
    3. Okay send logs from RiftcatDirectory/logs to team@riftcat.com
      Maybe it's some kind of firewall problem blocking UDP data stream.

      Delete
    4. I'm creating FAQ page for this problem because it was reported for 3 people. We're trying to find patterns:
      https://riftcat.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/207498139

      Delete
  12. I'm creating FAQ page for this problem because it was reported for 3 people. We're trying to find patterns:
    https://riftcat.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/207498139

    ReplyDelete
  13. i have the same problem no game streaming to my phone i don't how to fix it .

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have a dell laptop with amd radeon 7730M gfx card. When I run oculus demo, it runs on laptop but the app on phone shows only "Awaiting streaming transmission".
    When running vridge games it crashes saying vre.vridge. transmission has stopped working.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Send logs located in Riftcat/logs to team@riftcat.com refering to your comment.

      Delete
  15. Send logs located in Riftcat/logs to team@riftcat.com refering to your comment.

    ReplyDelete