Valve continue to move at a rapid pace to improve SteamVR across all platforms, especially with the Valve Index being so new there's plenty of teething issues to address. This is not a beta release, this is an official release of SteamVR.
Something that has been posted across the web (and emailed to us), is an issue with the Valve Index Controller thumbsticks. Like a lot of thumbsticks, you can click it in to perform some sort of action. However, it seems you're not able to click it in all the time and in certain positions it won't click or won't register it has been clicked. To the point that VR game developers have been working to remove the need for it. So what have Valve done? They added this ability:
Added a setting in joystick modes that allows thumbsticks to consider themselves clicked if they are deflected more than a threshold amount. This lets a user click in the center, move a thumbstick to the edge and release the physical click, but still keep the thumbstick clicked as far as the game is concerned.
Well, that's one way to attempt to address some sort of hardware issue.
There's plenty more updates that come with the SteamVR 1.6.10 update too like: automatic firmware recovery if updates were interrupted or failed, numerous crashing bugs were fixed with SteamVR, Lighthouse has seen improved device discovery to reduce the impact of misbehaving USB drivers and devices, there's a fix for some Valve Index users experiencing Base Station Power Management intermittency, the Valve Index should now have a more neutral (less-blue) white point, improved controller binding options for legacy applications, improved startup reliability for users of all headsets and so on.
On the Linux side, these fixes and improvements made it into this release, so hopefully the Linux SteamVR experience will be a little less finicky:
- Fixed Index HMD always notifying a firmware update is available.
- Fixed being unable to re-start SteamVR after vrserver is killed/crashes (aka LfMutexUnlockRobust crashes.)
- Fixed vrwebhelper crashing the Steam client.
- Fixed 'psychedelic' colours in the Steam client caused by exiting SteamVR.
- Fixed 'Restart SteamVR' prompts exiting SteamVR but not restarting it.
- Fixed various vrcompositor crashes.
- Fixed 'ioctl(GFEATURE): Broken Pipe' spam in stdout.
- Adjusted basic dialogs during startup to use the host's zenity program when available.
See the full update notes here.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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20 comments
Somehow I feel the whole thumb stick click is blown out of proportion. It is true that the thumb sticks don't appear clickable when they are moved too far from the centre position. But clicking a thumb stick is not the most comfortable thing to do in any controller. Especially when you have to keep control over the position. So to me it seems like a bad idea in general to have an interface that requires it.
So far I've mostly been working out to use things in the most optimal way. I had a lot of issues with tearing. It was suggested that it was related to having a GSYNC monitor, but it didn't get better if I disabled it completely. However, it now appears that this was related to reprojection. Turning it off eliminated the tearing and gives me a much smoother experience in general. I just need to make sure that the rendering scale is appropriate for the type of game to keep fps high. So no 150% rendering for Talos Principle VR. Now if I can only figure out how to pick up those tetris pieces. :D
So far I've mostly been working out to use things in the most optimal way. I had a lot of issues with tearing. It was suggested that it was related to having a GSYNC monitor, but it didn't get better if I disabled it completely. However, it now appears that this was related to reprojection. Turning it off eliminated the tearing and gives me a much smoother experience in general. I just need to make sure that the rendering scale is appropriate for the type of game to keep fps high. So no 150% rendering for Talos Principle VR. Now if I can only figure out how to pick up those tetris pieces. :D
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Sil_el_mot Aug 5, 2019
Somehow I feel the whole thumb stick click is blown out of proportion.
i myself have no click-feeling at all at any edges. it is quiet uncomfortable with games that need it to run, and these are quiet a number.
i bought the controllers for 300€ so i expect them to work for this price.
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Somehow I feel the whole thumb stick click is blown out of proportion.
i myself have no click-feeling at all at any edges. it is quiet uncomfortable with games that need it to run, and these are quiet a number.
i bought the controllers for 300€ so i expect them to work for this price.
I know it doesn't work. And frankly, considering the geometry of those sticks, I can't see how you could ever make that work properly.
My point is that it shouldn't be necessary. Pushing on thumb sticks was annoying on xbox controllers and I never used it because it was uncomfortable. On the small sticks on the Index controllers it is even more uncomfortable and I don't ever want to be put into a situation where I have to click and move it. If that happens, I consider it a software problem that needs to be fixed.
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Sil_el_mot Aug 5, 2019
Yeah. You are right. Unfortunately there are a lot of games that still need this. Sadly the fix from valve also don't eliminate the need to click.
Some games like onward eliminated the need of clicking the tumbstick for running and just register the push of the stick to the very end of its range as running.
Some games like onward eliminated the need of clicking the tumbstick for running and just register the push of the stick to the very end of its range as running.
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To the Linux Index users: does the microphone of the index work for you? I mean does it produce any amplitude on the input? It's detected for me, but it doesn't record any voice. That's why I now went for an AntLion Modmic wireless...
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Why are they pushing SteamVR instead of let's say backing Monado/OpenHMD? Weren't Valve one of the major contributors to OpenXR?
Last edited by Shmerl on 5 August 2019 at 3:28 pm UTC
Last edited by Shmerl on 5 August 2019 at 3:28 pm UTC
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Why are they pushing SteamVR instead of let's say backing Monado/OpenHMD? Weren't Valve one of the major contributors to OpenXR?
Not exactly the same thing. SteamVR involves more than just the hardware interface. I wouldn't be surprised if SteamVR started using OpenXR at some point.
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Not exactly the same thing. SteamVR involves more than just the hardware interface. I wouldn't be surprised if SteamVR started using OpenXR at some point.
From what I've seen before, Valve proposed something they called OpenVR, which was a precursor of OpenXR. SteamVR is an implementation of OpenVR. So if that's the case, they could switch to Monado, which is implementation of OpenXR instead, and use something like OpenHMD for their hardware support.
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Related:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/358720/discussions/0/1643169167166248750/
Valve is totally in favor of OpenXR and several of us have worked on it. In that sense we very much support OpenXR.
SteamVR does not yet support OpenXR in an API sense. You can't run OpenXR apps on SteamVR at the moment.
They didn't answer what they are doing about it though. They very much support OpenXR, but SteamVR is not using it. So what's the plan? That basically was my question above. Why don't they replace SteamVR with OpeHMD+Monado for example?
Last edited by Shmerl on 5 August 2019 at 5:30 pm UTC
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Why don't they replace SteamVR with OpeHMD+Monado for example?
Because both are not even close to feature complete. In fact, the only feasible way to run OpenHMD on Linux is through SteamVR. And, iirc, the only feasible way to run Monado is through OpenHMD. Slight problem there.
Last edited by Ehvis on 5 August 2019 at 5:59 pm UTC
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Because both are not even close to feature complete. In fact, the only feasible way to run OpenHMD on Linux is through SteamVR. And, iirc, the only feasible way to run Monado is through OpenHMD. Slight problem there.
It should go the other way really. OpenHMD shouldn't require SteamVR in any way. Besides, if something is not feature complete, Valve can contribute what's missing.
Last edited by Shmerl on 5 August 2019 at 6:03 pm UTC
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Sil_el_mot Aug 5, 2019
To the Linux Index users: does the microphone of the index work for you? I mean does it produce any amplitude on the input? It's detected for me, but it doesn't record any voice. That's why I now went for an AntLion Modmic wireless...
don't work at all. but there are still not many games that run for me. beatsaber and the ones from croteam. do you have more luck?
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The thumbstick issue, and all the fixes they put into this release of SteamVR is far from the overarching issue of SteamVR. I bought a Vibe when the consumer edition was first released and have loved VR all the way through. But their SteamVR home needs some MAJOR work. Why do I have Mickey mouse hands and crappy robot avatars, why are all the menus a pain in the ass to navigate, why is there so little to do, add or unlock/earn. I recently got a Rift S and that's one thing that Oculus got right, the setup, home environment/editor, being able to import 3d models into your home and place them, unlocking system for new home customization, stunning backgrounds, actual avatars and their UI is easy to navigate. STEAM VR feels incredibly clunky the desktop view constantly gets screwed up to the point of having to remove the headset to fix or do anything on the desktop, the mouse cursor is off from where your pointer actually is, scrolling through pages is a pain, and the keyboard is atrocious. I find it absolutely insulting how much they have put into hardware and how little they have put into software/experience.
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don't work at all. but there are still not many games that run for me. beatsaber and the ones from croteam. do you have more luck?K, I've read of one case so far that it was working, all others also report: though it's shown in the audio settings, it's not generating any input.
I've recently also only played Beat Saber, and iirc there is a new issue regarding the controller input API (#2836 which has to be fixed in Proton, but I was playing before in VR with Proton:
- The Solus Project
- Superhot VR
- Rick and Morty - Virtual Rickality
- Doom VFR
- Elite Dangerous
- Space Pirate Trainer
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew
- Subnautica
- Beer Pong League
I still have more games to try in VR, but Beat Saber is taking already enough time to get up and running (mods, mixed reality view, etc) and it's still addicting way too much. It might be possible that some games break with SteamVR and/or Proton updates though.
Last edited by Corben on 6 August 2019 at 5:45 am UTC
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..., and iirc there is a new issue regarding the controller input API (#2836 which has to be fixed in Proton, ...
If I understand correctly, that only applies to games that use the newer version of the api and this should now be included in Proton 4.11.
As for what works and what doesn't, most things seems to work for me (although not entirely stable). It's more a matter of sorting out the generic VR support stuff, which is still a bit limited.
Things I have tried so far:
Balloonatics - Native. Works perfectly, but I can't really take the motion.
The Lab - Proton. Works perfectly, but it tends to crash the first time you start a new minigame. As if the game takes issue with the long shader compile time. Always loaded after a restart.
Serious Sam - The First Encounter - Native. Works great, but has a control issue because it responds to finger tapping on the thumb stick (from the distance detection, not clicking).
X-Plane 11 - Native. Works, but has control issues with the Index controllers and needs A LOT of tweaks for peformance.
QuiVR - Native experimental. Failed to launch.
Guns 'n' Storier Demo - Proton. Works perfectly.
Talos Principle VR - Native. Works perfectly except for a control issue that seems to prevent me from picking up the tetris pieces in the gate puzzles.
When I finish making space, I'll have to try some more room scale stuff.
Apart from the Croteam stuff, I haven't really bought any VR games yet. First going through the free stuff to see what kind of game style works for me. Two things are clear though. You'll be leaning heavily on Proton for now. And seeing how hard motion hits you, games that work well in VR are a completely different style to what is good normally.
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Sil_el_mot Aug 6, 2019
The Lab - Proton. Works perfectly, but it tends to crash the first time you start a new minigame. As if the game takes issue with the long shader compile time. Always loaded after a restart.
Do you use the Index? I have no Controllers in the game and can't press Start on the very first Terminal.
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The Lab - Proton. Works perfectly, but it tends to crash the first time you start a new minigame. As if the game takes issue with the long shader compile time. Always loaded after a restart.
Do you use the Index? I have no Controllers in the game and can't press Start on the very first Terminal.
Yes and I do have controllers in game. Last time I tried it, I was still on the main SteamVR branch though (which is now the previous release). I can try again with the latest update.
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Aircar released on Steam yesterday. It works perfectly with proton, but you may have to force per game input settings to off to make it recognise your controller.
Interesting experience. Very immersive, but it does test your limits on how well you can handle motion. I've spent half an hour to see how well I could handle it. Rapid rotation is definitely a no go, but if I did it slowly, there was no problem. Same for acceleration, but it is relative to how close you are to objects. If everything is far away I don't get triggered. But hit forward while looking down through the side window .... ouch. Also tilting was definitely not appreciated by my head. Having gravity not point to where you expect it is harsh. How is this stuff for others?
Interesting experience. Very immersive, but it does test your limits on how well you can handle motion. I've spent half an hour to see how well I could handle it. Rapid rotation is definitely a no go, but if I did it slowly, there was no problem. Same for acceleration, but it is relative to how close you are to objects. If everything is far away I don't get triggered. But hit forward while looking down through the side window .... ouch. Also tilting was definitely not appreciated by my head. Having gravity not point to where you expect it is harsh. How is this stuff for others?
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