Thursday, June 9, 2016

Dev update #14 - New user interface

RiftCat graphical update

As part of our vision to make virtual reality appeal to everyone we made improvements to our GUI design to make it more consistent across RiftCat apps & website. We applied Material Design guidelines and optimized what we could to improve the RiftCat experience. One picture is worth a thousand words so we decided to show what VRidge actually does in a simple and understandable way.


Simplified library

We decided to get rid of the "Store" tab. Instead, we made every game visible in the users Library. The process of adding the games to library first was overly complex. Access to games available on RiftCat platform is much faster now.


Unified PC settings window

We combined RiftCat settings and VRidge streaming/tracking settings into one window.


Mobile app UI improvements

Built-in FAQ/help center, USB tethering shortcut, slick sidebar, new icon and more!

Easier game starting

Starting SteamVR should be easier now. The leftmost button will now automatically install our driver and then start SteamVR. If no SteamVR is present it will open SteamVR install dialog. We also clarified what Oculus SDK versions are working. 

Some QOL and minor changes

  • You can add custom Oculus SDK games to RiftCat client if you want to have everything in one place.
  • You can reconfigure keybinding to reset head orientation (keyboard only for now, we'll try to add something for controllers too).
  • You can contact support through support.riftcat.com and our official help e-mail address is going to be support@riftcat.com
  • We are updating our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. No major/evil changes but we had to update some lines to be valid for new product launch. We will display site wide notification about it.
  • We updated requirements and mentioned incompatible phones (haven't fixed those yet, sorry!) and new GeForce requirement (Windows 7 instead of 10)
  • No more beta claiming/keys. Everyone registered will have beta access until the beta ends.

Rotation calibration/offset for SteamVR

One user asked us to provide a way to offset rotational data because some gyroscopes have calibration problems so we added this option. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config\ and open steamvr.vrsettings in notepad. Go to vridge section - it will look like this:

"driver_vridge": {
   "windowWidth": 1664,
   "windowHeight": 936,
   "renderScale": 130,
 }

For example, if you want to offset X by 20 degrees and Z by 5 degrees, change it into:

"driver_vridge": {
   "windowWidth": 1664,
   "windowHeight": 936,
   "renderScale": 130,
   "RotationOffsetXDeg": 20,
   "RotationOffsetYDeg": 0,
   "RotationOffsetZDeg": 5
 }

Virtual reality mode got removed

Almost no one used it so we had to part ways with it. There is plenty of better software of that kind in the market that VRidge can handle. Thanks to that, RiftCat client got thinner.

Beta ending soon

On June 20th open beta will end and VRidge will transition into paid/early-access stage. More info & pricing details will be available closer to release. Don't worry, we're keeping our promise about staying in indie-tier price range.

What's next?

We'll be busy with 1.0 launch during next week and the one after. We still need to finish some descriptions / instructions and promo graphics. After we're done with launch stuff we'll start working on the fun parts again - device compatibility, image quality and performance/heat optimizations. We've got a lot of ideas for new features too so keep following us here and on social media.

Thank you for all the support, feedback, bug reports. We launched our public beta exactly three months ago and it has been wild and amazing ride. We have no plans to stop development any time soon and we are motivated to keep working on VRidge as long as people keep using it. :)

54 comments:

  1. Just updated Riftcat. I love the new interface, and everything is working well. However, the Riftcat games exit as soon as they start. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1. Set quality settings to low.
      2. Start some game stream.
      3. Tap top-left part of the streaming screen (stats).
      4. Stream for 30 secs and make a screenshot of displayed numbers.

      Delete
  2. Riftcat + SteamVR + Revive = Last Oculus SDK )))

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  3. Any time estimate on when you will add Vive controller emulation with Wiimotes or PS Move? I know that there are guides online, but I haven't had much luck. Good update this week though, the UI looks really nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No estimates on that. Haven't started working seriously on it.

      Delete
    2. I use the Vive Leap driver to use the leap motion instead, that works nicely

      Delete
  4. Thank you for the update! New interface looks very nice and works fast. Special thanks for calibration offsets - it works just fine!
    Found a little bug - steaming settings not saving after restarting RiftCat. At least resolution and bitrate resets to 1280x720 and 10 Mbps. (I set 2560x1440 and 23 Mbps) Quality preset is Custom. It saved successfully in previous version.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is your mobile phone model? We added auto-720p adjustment when phones report 720p as maximum resolution but maybe it's working incorrectly for some models.

      Delete
    2. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (Model D5803) RiftCat reporting maximum 1280x720 @ 60 FPS, 23 Mbps for this phone but 2560x1440 60 FPS with 23 Mbps and 100% scale gives much better image and works fine. Even better than 1280x720 with 200% scale.

      Delete
    3. Right I forgot about distortion that benefits from stream resolution being higher than display resolution. I will remove this 720p auto-adjustment next update. :/

      Delete
  5. First Zenphone 2 Please....

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  6. I'm actually waiting for Gear VR support. At this state, head tracking is mediocre at best.

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  7. This is a great product. Look forward to getting controller integration (like Wii mots) can you give us an idea of the cost of the final product?

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  8. my win10+HD5870 dont work, please help me...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is below our minimum requirements. It doesn't support hardware video encoding (available with GCN Radeons).

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    2. But why not like Moonlight/Splashtop/Kino streaming games?

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    3. Moonlight won't work with Radeons at all. Software encoding has more latency and more CPU overhead which can be problematic in already performance-intensive VR games.

      We will add it at some point in the future.

      Delete
    4. yea i know this, thanks man. good job.

      Delete
  9. +1 for Gear VR Tracking Support.

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  10. +1 gear vr support is essential

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  11. hey guys,
    On the latest update I have noticed a lot more artifacts then the previous release of vridge while play project cars. I am using a Sony Z5 Premium. I am connected through my phones wifi hotspot and the connection seems nice and solid. Have also tried turning on the snapdragon option which made no difference. Also tested by turning the quality down to low with the same results. Normally I could run it fine in the previous version 2560x1440. Cheers guys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you tap top-left part of the streaming screen and confirm that it's frame loss @ decoder increasing when artifacts show up?

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    2. Frames lost were not increasing when the artifacts where popping up. It did not seem like I was really loosing frames. Only that black artifacts pop up real quick in the top half of the screen. Tried also playing around with the render timing mode which did not help.

      Delete
    3. Was this artifacting only limited to horizontal bands like this: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/amd-vce-blurry-pixelated-stripes.40773/ ?

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    4. Yes they were horizontal bands but are black and in the top quarter of the screen. They aren't blurry horizontal bands like in the link though, they are solid black thick ones.

      Delete
    5. @Tolo
      Can you make a screenshot with your Android (usually home button+volume down button or power button + volume down) with those artifacts?

      Delete
    6. Ok will try to get one when I am home. Will be hard cause the artifacts do pop up and disappear really quickly

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    7. I don't know what happened but those bars do not pop up anymore. lol. :)

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    8. Ok I was a bit premature and it popped up again. Below are some pics I took of the artifacts:

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154150801692367&l=a2e1d7fa6e

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154150801637367&l=685460aff3

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154150801632367&l=24c0cd65a9

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154150801627367&l=3165fb7411

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154150801622367&l=6720af2de5

      https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154150801567367&l=3fd9696b4e

      Delete
    9. I'm sorry but I can't see any artifacting on these photos. Can you circle around the invalid areas in Paint? Besides that's the PC side on the photo. Are the artifacts on the PC side too or Android side only?

      Delete
  12. Hi, I am getting a blackscreen after a few minutes in Lab and Lightsaber(Steamvr) with a LG G4. Stats and Tracking are working but to remove the blackscreen after it happend I have to restart vringe. There arent frames lost at stats if that help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Correction:
      - Lightsaber
      + Lightblade VR

      Delete
    2. Does it happen randomly or during some loading screen?

      Do you use Leap Motion? We've seen Leap Motion driver crashing during loading screens of The Lab - maybe it's related.

      Delete
    3. Correction: not during loading but during player teleporting to new position

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    4. Yes, i use leap motion. But it recognize my hands, i can view all the things on my Computer. All is working even when blackscreen happens. It is radomly and Riftcat log dont seem to recognize it. On my Phone i didnt search for the logfile yet.

      Delete
    5. Yes, i use leap motion. But it recognize my hands, i can view all the things on my Computer. All is working even when blackscreen happens. It is radomly and Riftcat log dont seem to recognize it. On my Phone i didnt search for the logfile yet.

      Delete
    6. +1. When using Leap Motion

      Delete
  13. Hi, I have a question. Can we see RoomScale in the Future? I think a lot of people(like me) waiting for this. If it come a lot of player going to buy RiftCat. And what do you think about RiftCat's price we are so excited about this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can already use positional tracking with FreeTrack but real roomscale will be a huge challenge. Fortunately, we like challenges. :D

      Price will be in $10-20 range.

      Delete
  14. The VRidge APP doesn't work on a "Huawei Honor 4c", it launchs, but automatically closes after 0.5seconds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Already answered to you via e-mail but if anyone else sees this comment - please let us know if you have the same problem with one of the following devices:

      Huawei P8 Lite, Honor 4X, Honor 4C, Huawei G Play Mini

      It may be some problem specific to Kirin 620 chipset utilized by those devices. We have reports of this happening on P8 and 4C.

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    2. I experience the same problem on my Honor 4x.. (updated to android 6.0)

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    3. It's me again (the one with the 4x). I noticed that i can open the app if i turn wifi off on the phone, but the app then crashes immediately when the phone gets connection again or if connected to the pc by usb.
      After further investigation i have concluded that the crashing occurs when it gets connection to the RiftCat Client (turning off wifi on my laptop or just closing the client lets me start the app without any problem).
      / Adam

      Delete
    4. Can any of you guys send us VRidge's android logs (logcat)? If you are rooted you can use app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nolanlawson.logcat&hl=pl) but if you aren't rooted you need to install part of Android Dev kit.

      The simplest way would be using this minimal ADB server:
      http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48915118#post48915118

      After you have ADB installed on your system please reproduce the crashing scenario with your phone and then gather phone logs according to this help post:
      https://support.riftcat.com/hc/en-us/articles/208077055-Infinite-restoring-connection-to-active-session-loop

      Delete
    5. I've tried to get the logs all day without any success (I'm a noob at these kind of things..). On another note, I just tried installing version 0.8.8 of the app and it connected to the computer right away!

      Delete
    6. I have exactly the same proble that Adam F, describes, as he says if I turn off the Wifi the APP don't closes, but the moment I turn it On the APP closes, If I try the same via USB Tethering it closes too.

      Delete
  15. Is this tested on laptops? I have one with an i7-3635QM and an AMD Radeon HD 8870, should it work? I'm considering investing on this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't know if it helps to respond my previous comment, but my graphics card is viewed by the driver as an Radeon R9 M200X (at least sounds a bit more badass :D)

      Delete
    2. Laptop video circuitry often behaves in very odd/unexpected ways. Oculus doesn't support laptops at all for this reason. :/

      We're trying our best to support laptops too but it's hard to tell if it's going to work or not without actually trying it.
      The same video card can behave differently with different laptop models.

      If you want, you can send your detailed system informations (aka DXDIAG, howto: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/open-and-run-dxdiagexe ) to support@riftcat.com and I'll analyse it.

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete