Thursday, October 31, 2019

Dev Update #52 - RiftCat 2.5 Beta Available

RiftCat 2.5 Beta - GameWarp introduction
Hi RiftCats!

We are excited to announce a new Beta version of RiftCat which brings several important improvements and fixes. We also have a new huge feature that should encourage you to revisit some of your favourite games.

As always, our Beta changes are deployed to our special Beta channel that is different that you may encounter when using VRidge normally. To test the Beta features, learn how to join Beta channels reading THIS guide.




GameWarp Beta
We have developed a feature that will let you use your VR equipment to play non-VR games. GameWarp will stream any normal game into your mobile VR headset and convert the image to VR format.
It will also allow you to control your mouse movements with your head so you could immerse yourself completely in FPS games. Additional support for VR controllers will let you bind all VR controller buttons to the respective keyboard + mouse commands.

Wanna play The Witcher 3 immersed in VR with your Oculus Quest with a standing experience? Now you can!


To start using GameWarp, simply start it from the PLAY menu, juz below normal SteamVR startup button.


GameWarp feature is also highly customizable. All options can be found under GameWarp integration config. You can find it on the integrations list.




GameWarp is a feature that we have plenty of ideas how to expand on. We hope that we will be able to fix all issues detected during the Beta and gather a lot of feedback.

Known issues in this Beta version:

  • GPU usage is higher than required. This may significantly affect framerates on GPU-bound games.
  • Mouse pointer is not visible in streamed frames.
  • Capture rate may exceed 60 FPS and bitrate won't be interpreted properly if FPS is not 60.
What's new
We have introduced a few new elements to VRidge experience as well:
  • Better picture quality on Daydream phones because of more uniform resolution scaling.
  • Configurable gamma correction - with a slider in the VRidge settings and during live streaming.
  • Extra check to verify openvrpaths.path integrity.
  • Extra call to select high performance GPU on laptops with intergated+discrete GPU combo.
Bug Fixes
This update also brings a lot of very important bug fixes that should make VRidge a much better product. Vivecraft & Tilt Brush should work with controllers correctly now:
  • Incorrect alignment on certain Daydream phones with top notch got fixed.
  • Controllers will now work in Vivecraft.
  • Tilt Brush should work properly.
  • Moonlight streaming at 30 FPS maximum got fixed.
  • Fixes for session initiation problems in certain networks with local DNS.
  • Fixed a crash on PCs with 2 same-model GPUs not in SLI/Crossfire.
Other changes
There several other changes too:
  • Mobile builds should now be 64-bit by default.
  • Updated NVENC card whitelist to include few new variants of GeForce and Quadro cards.
  • Updated .NET Framework target to 4.7.2.
  • Updated Daydream SDK to 1.190.
  • Updated OpenVR SDK to 1.7.15.
  • Updated Steam installation link to use https.


We really await your feedback!
Every new version of VRidge brings new features and bug fixes but there is still a lot of work to do. We need your feedback to know on what should we focus on, what works and what are the anticipated features. 

If you'll join the Beta tests, please send us your feedback and any bug reports at support@riftcat.com. Your cooperation is invaluable to us as VRidge software wouldn't be possible if not for your awesome support. 

We hope that new GameWarp and Beta changes will bring you a lot of fun. See you in VR!