1946 vr mods - 4.12.2m / UP3.4 P2 HF23 / BAT 4.3.0

[boilingmetal]

@Sparviero https://www.mediafire.com/file/h9l1a3h7wx17gvo/il2vr_up34p2hf23_dev202608021041.zip/file 

try this

[Sparviero]

1 hour ago, boilingmetal said:

@Sparviero https://www.mediafire.com/file/h9l1a3h7wx17gvo/il2vr_up34p2hf23_dev202608021041.zip/file 

try this

It run perfectly, thanks! The sim is fully playable for me. Just two things:

-the map is not visible in the briefing

- mission message appers double, just like showed in 2 screen side by side (just like the images for stereoscopic vision). However it is not so important, because are fully readable. 

I agree with your roadmap, expecially with the openxr migration if may works to use openxr toolkit to increase resolution.

Edited August 2 by Sparviero

[ROSS_Papa_JA2]

58 минут назад, boilingmetal сказал:

try this

6dof не работает в привычном понимании. Нет движения вперед-назад и тп И вопрос, как сделать чтобы экраны по управлению и настрйоке и тд были читаемы в шлеме, у меня они расположены в шлеме крайне близко и нечитаемы из-за этого. Что-то не настроено?

initlog.txt log.txt

Edited August 2 by ROSS_Papa_JA2

[boilingmetal]

@ROSS_Papa_JA2

I have read your logs, and I can see that the data returned by your HMD is indeed abnormal. However, I need more controlled testing and logs, so could you please run the test by following the steps below?

Quick 6DOF test (about 2 minutes)
In the cockpit, on the ground, recenter once, sit straight and look forward.
1. Sit still, looking forward — hold ~5 s
2. Lean your head forward toward the instruments — hold ~5 s
3. Back to center — hold ~3 s
4. Slide your head to the right — hold ~5 s
5. Back to center — hold ~3 s
6. Sit up tall (head up) — hold ~5 s
7. Back to center — hold ~3 s
8. Done. Quit the game and send log.lst + initlog.lst
Make each movement slow and big (~30 cm). Keep looking forward while sliding. Don't press the recenter key again during the test.

Please ensure that you perform these test maneuvers immediately after entering the game. It is recommended that you use Scramble mode in Quick Mission, so that the aircraft is parked on the ground and you have enough time. Additionally, if possible, please provide a written description of any anomalies you actually observe and discover during each test maneuver.

I know this is very tedious, but I really need these information to clarify the relationship between the coordinate information and the actual movement. Thank you so much.

Additionally, please make absolutely sure that the mods you use match your game version. Even between UP3.4 patch0 and UP3.4 patch2, there can be significant version differences, so mismatched versions will absolutely not run properly.

Edited August 2 by boilingmetal

[Sparviero]

1 hour ago, boilingmetal said:

@ROSS_Papa_JA2

I have read your logs, and I can see that the data returned by your HMD is indeed abnormal. However, I need more controlled testing and logs, so could you please run the test by following the steps below?

Quick 6DOF test (about 2 minutes)
In the cockpit, on the ground, recenter once, sit straight and look forward.
1. Sit still, looking forward — hold ~5 s
2. Lean your head forward toward the instruments — hold ~5 s
3. Back to center — hold ~3 s
4. Slide your head to the right — hold ~5 s
5. Back to center — hold ~3 s
6. Sit up tall (head up) — hold ~5 s
7. Back to center — hold ~3 s
8. Done. Quit the game and send log.lst + initlog.lst
Make each movement slow and big (~30 cm). Keep looking forward while sliding. Don't press the recenter key again during the test.

Please ensure that you perform these test maneuvers immediately after entering the game. It is recommended that you use Scramble mode in Quick Mission, so that the aircraft is parked on the ground and you have enough time. Additionally, if possible, please provide a written description of any anomalies you actually observe and discover during each test maneuver.

I know this is very tedious, but I really need these information to clarify the relationship between the coordinate information and the actual movement. Thank you so much.

Additionally, please make absolutely sure that the mods you use match your game version. Even between UP3.4 patch0 and UP3.4 patch2, there can be significant version differences, so mismatched versions will absolutely not run properly.

Here my logs after the test.

Problems are related to step 2, 4 adn 6. In all steps, the cockpit move along the head, but in different way: step 2 ad 6 the cockpit moves a bit ahead and on my right, while in step 4 it come really close to me.

log.txt initlog.txt

[ROSS_Papa_JA2]

2 часа назад, boilingmetal сказал:

Quick 6DOF test (about 2 minutes)
In the cockpit, on the ground, recenter once, sit straight and look forward.
1. Sit still, looking forward — hold ~5 s
2. Lean your head forward toward the instruments — hold ~5 s
3. Back to center — hold ~3 s
4. Slide your head to the right — hold ~5 s
5. Back to center — hold ~3 s
6. Sit up tall (head up) — hold ~5 s
7. Back to center — hold ~3 s
8. Done. Quit the game and send log.lst + initlog.lst
Make each movement slow and big (~30 cm). Keep looking forward while sliding. Don't press the recenter key again during the test.

как смог))

log.txt initlog.txt

[boilingmetal]

@ROSS_Papa_JA2

I read your log and confirmed that you did perform the test actions. However, the Pimax zero-point data is far off from the game's center point. I suspect the discrepancy lies there. Actually, this might be somewhat similar to what Sparviero encountered before. Could you try resetting the headset's zero position in both the Pimax software and SteamVR before entering the game? See if the situation improves.

If that works, then I'll confirm the source of the problem, and I'll try to address it at the code level later.

[ROSS_Papa_JA2]

42 минуты назад, boilingmetal сказал:

I read your log and confirmed that you did perform the test actions. However, the Pimax zero-point data is far off from the game's center point. I suspect the discrepancy lies there. Actually, this might be somewhat similar to what Sparviero encountered before. Could you try resetting the headset's zero position in both the Pimax software and SteamVR before entering the game? See if the situation improves.

If that works, then I'll confirm the source of the problem, and I'll try to address it at the code level later.

 

Logi.7z

[Sparviero]

2 hours ago, boilingmetal said:

@ROSS_Papa_JA2

I read your log and confirmed that you did perform the test actions. However, the Pimax zero-point data is far off from the game's center point. I suspect the discrepancy lies there. Actually, this might be somewhat similar to what Sparviero encountered before. Could you try resetting the headset's zero position in both the Pimax software and SteamVR before entering the game? See if the situation improves.

If that works, then I'll confirm the source of the problem, and I'll try to address it at the code level later.

Because I suppose it might interfere, I recenter steamvr before start the test, so my logs are done considering that.

[SanPedro]

Man this is insane, I thought that was impossible, thank you for this!

[ROSS_Papa_JA2]

Очень впечатляющий прогресс! 

Но 6dof на моем паймекс лайте работает не правильно. Голова как-будто "привязана к кабине" и нет четких свободных смещений головы вперед-назад и тд. Также сползает постоянно центровка куда-то вправо чаще всего.

[Sparviero]

1 hour ago, ROSS_Papa_JA2 said:

Очень впечатляющий прогресс! 

Но 6dof на моем паймекс лайте работает не правильно. Голова как-будто "привязана к кабине" и нет четких свободных смещений головы вперед-назад и тд. Также сползает постоянно центровка куда-то вправо чаще всего.

The same with Crystal Super.

[boilingmetal]

Honestly, the VR compatibility issues are frustrating, and so far I haven't been able to figure out why Pimax has these problems. I had expected the logs to reveal differences in headset parameters, but they don't seem to show anything particularly unusual. Although I have a suspicion, the likelihood that it's the actual root cause isn't very high.

I plan to spend the next few days carefully organizing my thoughts, while also searching online for other game developers' experiences with different HMDs as a reference.

Maybe I'll spend some time on IL2's core rendering pipeline, trying to completely decouple the desktop window resolution from the HMD resolution. Just like firepolo did on 4.13.4.

@Sparviero@ROSS_Papa_JA2

Edited August 4 by boilingmetal

[Sparviero]

3 hours ago, boilingmetal said:

Honestly, the VR compatibility issues are frustrating, and so far I haven't been able to figure out why Pimax has these problems. I had expected the logs to reveal differences in headset parameters, but they don't seem to show anything particularly unusual. Although I have a suspicion, the likelihood that it's the actual root cause isn't very high.

I plan to spend the next few days carefully organizing my thoughts, while also searching online for other game developers' experiences with different HMDs as a reference.

Maybe I'll spend some time on IL2's core rendering pipeline, trying to completely decouple the desktop window resolution from the HMD resolution. Just like firepolo did on 4.13.4.

@Sparviero@ROSS_Papa_JA2

For some reasons I don't understand, the firepolo mod didn't work for me at all so is hard to me to speculate, but it should fix the headset resolution limit.

[boilingmetal]

Indeed, firepolo's rendering pipeline is more ideal, but he did not complete some key polishing and bridging, so it is not directly playable. Earlier this month, I also couldn't implement it on 4.10.1 due to a lack of core understanding of the game's C++ parts.

I was actually trying to go back to firepolo's route yesterday, on 4122, and I made a fairly broken version. There are still some anomalies in the ground LoD section that need to be addressed, but it has a fully 1:1 HMD resolution (4K per eye), so you can get a fairly sharp image. I might release it to everyone for testing tonight or tomorrow.

After fully decoupling the desktop window and VR rendering pipeline, a complete menu under VR can also be easily implemented. In short, it will be my main optimization focus on the game rendering side. On the VR bridge side, the priority is to continue resolving Pimax compatibility issues. I even have a hope that the defects in these two areas might be coupled. If we're lucky, maybe we can solve them together.

7 hours ago, Sparviero said:

For some reasons I don't understand, the firepolo mod didn't work for me at all so is hard to me to speculate, but it should fix the headset resolution limit.

[Ronno72]

Just a heads-up for anyone wanting to use DLDSR with a multi monitor setup; disabling your other monitors seems to prevent the game stretching across both screens that can make menus impossible to navigate. After that the aspect ratio remains nice and square and everything scales fine (tested on a 1440p monitor running at 5120x2880p, 200% scaling in Windows). 

[boilingmetal]

The real difficulty actually lies in fully replicating the original game's rendering pipeline on the Java side, which is the part I took a shortcut and bypassed in my current version, resulting in the huge desktop window, which is indeed inconvenient. I expect that within one to two weeks I might be able to break through this obstacle (currently still missing two to three technical elements and a lot of testing), fully implementing flawless standalone VR rendering in the background, as well as mapping the menu to a VR stereoscopic menu.

Actually what I'm really interested in and hoping to added is a complete custom VR HUD system that lets you define your own preferred digital display areas in various positions within the cockpit, with gaze-based interaction support to replace keyboard shortcuts. For example, you could define a marker at the landing gear handle position, and when you gaze at it and press the interaction button on your HOTAS, it's equivalent to pressing the G key, thus starting to lower the landing gear. A digital speedometer could be placed right next to the corresponding gauge, allowing you to switch between imperial and metric units while gazing at it and pressing the interaction button, and so on.

1 hour ago, Ronno72 said:

Just a heads-up for anyone wanting to use DLDSR with a multi monitor setup; disabling your other monitors seems to prevent the game stretching across both screens that can make menus impossible to navigate. After that the aspect ratio remains nice and square and everything scales fine (tested on a 1440p monitor running at 5120x2880p, 200% scaling in Windows). 

Edited August 5 by boilingmetal

[Ronno72]

57 minutes ago, boilingmetal said:

The real difficulty actually lies in fully replicating the original game's rendering pipeline on the Java side, which is the part I took a shortcut and bypassed in my current version, resulting in the huge desktop window, which is indeed inconvenient. I expect that within one to two weeks I might be able to break through this obstacle (currently still missing two to three technical elements and a lot of testing), fully implementing flawless standalone VR rendering in the background, as well as mapping the menu to a VR stereoscopic menu.

Actually what I'm really interested in and hoping to added is a complete custom VR HUD system that lets you define your own preferred digital display areas in various positions within the cockpit, with gaze-based interaction support to replace keyboard shortcuts. For example, you could define a marker at the landing gear handle position, and when you gaze at it and press the interaction button on your HOTAS, it's equivalent to pressing the G key, thus starting to lower the landing gear. A digital speedometer could be placed right next to the corresponding gauge, allowing you to switch between imperial and metric units while gazing at it and pressing the interaction button, and so on.

As it stands, the minor bugs and workarounds are worth the overall experience given how well the mod runs and feels overall. I'm perfectly happy playing through a career with the mod in its current state. Whenever BAT eventually gets done, I might not ever go back to Great Battles for my VR gameplay lol

The gazing function sounds like a good idea. It'd be a nice alternative to clickable cockpits. I know someone made a mod years back showcasing a clickable SBD but it seemed like a lot of work making it for every plane. Its still a shame Great Battles doesn't have clickable cockpits, even more so Korea, when it comes to VR

[boilingmetal]

Around 2017, when GB had just recently added VR support, there was an open-source universal cockpit button software—I've forgotten its name. Its principle was to let you define an interaction system in VR, where you could map different keyboard actions to interactive panels and blocks in VR space. You could enable it in any simulation game (that's right, even driving sims like Euro Truck Simulator).

If we combine its creativity with the depth of flight simulation, using a mod to identify your aircraft model and current cockpit position, then automatically load your previously configured panels and key bindings, you would have a complete  simulated cockpit.

However, that open-source software had performance issues at the time, and the VR cockpit mapping in GB was very strange—it would slightly shift as you moved, to prevent your head from poking outside the cockpit into positions it shouldn't be in. This made it impossible to keep specific buttons fixed in place without them moving. 

The system I plan to create will implement this in 1946. When you load a new aircraft, it will automatically generate a ini configuration file for it, in which you can define the instruments, button styles, spatial positions, and delivery methods you need. The next time you load that aircraft, your configuration will be called up.

Some hardcore players might call it cheating, but I want to add a small HUD on the sight that shows the current sideslip of the aircraft, which is actually compensating for the lack of balance organ cues in a simulated environment. It can hardly be called cheating. Also, not everyone is accustomed to nautical and imperial units.

I plan to start working on this after completing the VR conversion of the full game menu.

 

@Ronno72

Edited August 5 by boilingmetal

[Sparviero]

I really think that the future of ww2-VR-sims is not so great for the next 3-4 years: 1) Korea is... Korea, with very few contents for years to come and terrible VR; 2) il2 GB is an end-of- life game with closed future due to limits in modding; 3) ClOD will never be a VR sim and single player gameplay is problematic; 4) combat pilot is a sim with difficult development and with low hopes for VR; 5) dcs is very limited in contents and aseptycal in simulating a ww2 combat scenario.

So... come back to il2 1946 if all these VR stuff will become reality!

Edited August 5 by Sparviero

[boilingmetal]

This is the current state of the gaming industry, and there is no way to reverse it.

When it comes to flight simulation specifically, WWII, which truly sits in the early industrial era in terms of tactics and technique, is actually the most entertaining. However, the paradox we encounter is that developing flight aerodynamics is extremely difficult, and the enthusiasm of the hobbyist community is not enough to support the aerodynamic tuning of a modern simulation game like Great Battles. In terms of complexity, the scale of a large-scale mod ecosystem that player community enthusiasts can technically support is essentially at the level of IL-2 1946. This is even more true when it comes to map-level detail—without the industrial-scale operations of a professional studio, you cannot achieve terrain quality on the level of Great Battles or Korea. Although 1946's graphics are too dated to attract new players, it sits in the sweet spot that a large mod community model can support. This is why the uniqueness of 1946 cannot be replaced.

If DT could be more creative with modernization and mod support, 1946 would remain a lasting trend for a long time to come.

1 hour ago, Sparviero said:

I really think that the future of ww2-VR-sims is not so great for the next 3-4 years: 1) Korea is... Korea, with very few contents for years to come and terrible VR; 2) il2 GB is an end-of- life game with closed future due to limits in modding; 3) ClOD will never be a VR sim and single player gameplay is problematic; 4) combat pilot is a sim with difficult development and with low hopes for VR; 5) dcs is very limited in contents and aseptycal in simulating a ww2 combat scenario.

So... come back to il2 1946 if all these VR stuff will become reality!

 

[boilingmetal]

Fellows, try the new 4122 VR mod, it has some new features:

A VR menu, you can fully operate the game menu in VR, though you will still need to use the mouse to click.

Full HMD resolution, resolution is no longer coupled to the desktop window, you can have a normal-sized desktop window.

Next, I will focus on ross_papa's spatial positioning issue. I have some new ideas and hope to resolve some of the problems.

 

@Sparviero @ROSS_Papa_JA2@Ronno72 

Edited August 6 by boilingmetal

[Ronno72]

Encountered something strange, objects like vehicles, AA, and other planes seem to have a black dot above them (maybe 50-100 meters high), Seems to occur at longer ranges, it didn't look like they appeared when up close. Doesn't seem to show on screenshots though, just in the headset itself

Edited August 6 by Ronno72

[boilingmetal]

This sounds like the label mechanism in 1946? When unit type numbers are not displayed, only a black dot is shown to enhance visibility?

2 hours ago, Ronno72 said:

Encountered something strange, objects like vehicles, AA, and other planes seem to have a black dot above them (maybe 50-100 meters high), Seems to occur at longer ranges, it didn't look like they appeared when up close. Doesn't seem to show on screenshots though, just in the headset itself

 

[Sparviero]

13 hours ago, boilingmetal said:

Fellows, try the new 4122 VR mod, it has some new features:

A VR menu, you can fully operate the game menu in VR, though you will still need to use the mouse to click.

Full HMD resolution, resolution is no longer coupled to the desktop window, you can have a normal-sized desktop window.

Next, I will focus on ross_papa's spatial positioning issue. I have some new ideas and hope to resolve some of the problems.

 

@Sparviero @ROSS_Papa_JA2@Ronno72 

Unfortunatly I cannot testing for the next couple of weeks but I'm really excited for the feedback from others testers!