HTC Vive Output with OpenVR Plugin

Warning

The plugin is deprecated. VR functionality is available out of the box since 2.18 for all supported graphics APIs except OpenGL.

The OpenVR plugin is used to support both the HTC Vive and the HTC Vive Pro head-mounted displays. It is supposed that you already have HTC Vive/Vive Pro HMD installed. SteamVR will be set automatically on the HTC Vive (HTC Vive Pro HMD) installation.

Notice

The plugin supports only DirectX 11 and OpenGL APIs. For other graphics APIs, use the built-in VR functionality.

Both the windowed and the full screen modes are supported. By default, on the PC display the image is rendered in mono mode (image from the left eye). Use setViewportMode() to change the mode to stereo (both eyes) as follows:

All UNIGINE projects supporting SteamVR are compatible with both HTC Vive and HTC Vive Pro. However, please note that Vive Pro has a higher display resolution, and although no modifications are required, it is recommended to check your project's performance and optimize it accordingly.

Download Vive Setup and perform all required steps.
Create a new project with OpenVR support via UNIGINE SDK Browser: click Plugins, check the OpenVR support (OpenVR plugin) option in the form that opens and click OK.

Notice
To add OpenVR support to an existing project, in UNIGINE SDK Browser, click Other Actions -> Configure Project -> Plugins -> OpenVR support (OpenVR plugin) -> Ok.
Implement the application logic by using functions of the OpenVR plugin API.
Plug in the HTC Vive virtual display.
Launch the OpenVR plugin on the application start-up.

To launch the plugin, specify the extern_plugin command line option on the application start-up:

Shell commands

main_x64.exe -extern_plugin "UnigineOpenVR"

Notice

Launching the OpenVR plugin is not possible when the built-in VR is initialized, as it overrides the functionality of the plugin.

If you run the application via UNIGINE SDK Browser, set the Stereo 3D option to HTC Vive in the Options tab and click Apply:

OpenVR Options#

The following CLI options can be specified on the application start-up:

openvr_render_width and openvr_render_height - set a resolution for each eye. The default resolution for one eye is set equal to recommended value by SteamVR.
Please note that by default SteamVR selects resolution based on your computer's performance. Therefore, for best image quality it is recommended to open the Video tab of the SteamVR settings window, enable Manual Override mode and set resolution to 100%.

So the resolution will be set as follows:

HTC Vive HTC Vive Pro

Resolution per eye 1512 x 1680 2016 x 2240

Notice
The same resolution is set for both eyes.

	HTC Vive	HTC Vive Pro

Resolution per eye	1512 x 1680	2016 x 2240

Shell commands

main_x64d -extern_plugin "UnigineOpenVR" -openvr_render_width 1512 -openvr_render_height 1680

The following console commands can be run for the OpenVR plugin.

Name	Description	Arguments
vr_viewport_mode	Command. Sets the viewport mode. Variable. Prints the value specifying which viewport mode is set.	0 — black screen 1 — mono (default) 2 — stereo

In This Article:

See Also

Implementing Unigine Application with OpenVR Support#

Launching OpenVR#

OpenVR Options#

Console Commands#