Nov 17, 2023

SteamVR - nathan

With this update, we are introducing the new SteamVR Theater Screen. To make room, we have sunset the old Desktop Game Theater app. Moving forward, launching any non-VR application from Steam will be displayed on the Theater Screen and auto-hide the dashboard.

Theater Screen is a new method for undocking screens from the dashboard and functions similarly to the existing undocking options. From a dashboard tab, you can find the new Theater Screen toggle at the bottom of the screen. Toggling it will hide the dashboard and display the content on the new Theater Screen.

Controls for the Theater Screen can be found by clicking on the screen, which will activate the laser mouse. Here you will find actions to toggle the screen off, dark mode, screen curvature, and controls to resize and reposition the screen.

While not required, we recommend exiting any VR app (including SteamVR Home) before launching a non-VR game.

Known issues:

Apps with VR and non-VR launch options can only be launched in non-VR mode via the desktop Steam interface. However, doing so switches the dashboard away from the Desktop tab to the Steam tab showing the app’s details page with no indication that the desktop Steam interface is waiting for you to select a launch option still.

If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a SteamVR System Report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.

SteamVR:

The old Game Theater app has been removed and no longer ships with SteamVR.
Improved warning message that tells you to update Steam if you're running an older one.
Laser mouse lock radius is now the right size for certain scaled overlays such as undocked Desktop views.
Added “Exit Home” button to SteamVR Home’s “Now Playing” tab in the dashboard.
Undocked dashboard overlays can now be interacted with while the dashboard is dismissed.
Allow floating screens to scale down to 25%, and screens attached to controllers down to 10%. Shrunk respective control bars to fit.
Sort dashboard overlays from scene apps as "other" (instead of scene). This keeps them from getting tinted when the dashboard is up. https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/3887226763721362106/
Added middle click support to the laser mouse. Default bindings for Index and Touch only for now. Can be set by editing vrcompositor input bindings.
To fix some users with unusual settings, using “forcedDriver” with a disabled driver is once again a no-op. If you previously hand-edited your settings to refer to the “null” driver as part of an attempt to use multiple tracking systems or to run without an HMD, this change may fix issues you were having using your real HMD.
Fix Windows Explorer sometimes popping up when SteamVR starts.

Keyboard:

Keyboard button on floating Desktop windows.
Keyboard is positioned much better for overlays.
Grab handle for legacy keyboard.

Desktop:

Desktop view keyboard now has arrow keys.
Desktop view keyboard now has a hide keyboard key instead of a done key.
Hide physical mouse cursor on Desktop views when it's off screen.

OpenXR:

Added an experimental, advanced setting to allow SteamVR to attempt to claim compatibility with Meta’s OpenXR Unity plugins. With this setting disabled, Unity titles shipped with Meta’s more recent plugins will not use the Meta plugin. We’re still gathering performance data and bugs and suggest most users leave this ‘off’ for now.
Release last submitted frame when app ends session. This prevents apps (e.g. FS2020) leaving a stuck frame when exiting VR-mode.

OpenVR:

Set Prop_AllWirelessDongleDescriptions_String on the HMD when lighthouse devices are present even if the HMD isn’t lighthouse and even if the HMD hotplugs after lighthouse device discovery is complete.

Meta:

Added render models for Touch Pro and Touch Plus controllers.

Nov 15, 2023

SteamVR Beta Updated - 2.1.2

SteamVR - nathan

In order to get all of these changes, make sure you're opted into both the Steam Client Beta and SteamVR Beta.

If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a SteamVR System Report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.

SteamVR:

Allow floating screens to scale down to 25%, and screens attached to controllers down to 10%. Shrunk respective control bars to fit.
Fix for a crash when rendering panorama overlays while floor reflections are enabled. https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/3941273178893434941/
Sort dashboard overlays from scene apps as "other" (instead of scene). This keeps them from getting tinted when the dashboard is up. https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/3/3887226763721362106/
Restore theater screen when exiting a VR app if desktop game theater is still running.
Added middle click support to the laser mouse. Default bindings for Index and Touch only for now. Can be set by editing vrcompositor input bindings.
Misc fixes for theater screen floor reflections.
To fix some users with unusual settings, using “forcedDriver” with a disabled driver is once again a no-op. If you previously hand-edited your settings to refer to the “null” driver as part of an attempt to use multiple tracking systems or to run without an HMD, this change may fix issues you were having using your real HMD.
Fix Windows Explorer sometimes popping up when SteamVR starts.
The old Game Theater app has been removed and no longer ships with SteamVR.

OpenXR:

Added an experimental, advanced setting to allow SteamVR to attempt to claim compatibility with Meta’s OpenXR Unity plugins. With this setting disabled, Unity titles shipped with Meta’s more recent plugins will not use the Meta plugin. We’re still gathering performance data and bugs and suggest most users leave this ‘off’ for now.
Release last submitted frame when app ends session. This prevents apps (e.g. FS2020) leaving a stuck frame when exiting VR-mode.

Nov 15, 2023

VR Changes in Steam Client Beta - November 14th

SteamVR - nathan

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4397053/view/3780269713976536545
The latest Steam Client Beta includes the following VR-specific changes. In order to get all of these changes, make sure you're opted into both the Steam Client Beta and SteamVR Beta.

If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a system report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.

Desktop Game Theater:

Support for games that lock mouse to center of screen and use mouse deltas.
Hook up scroll events.
Fix for games sometime coming up displaying the entire desktop instead of just their window.
Hook up any existing non-VR game when launching VR.

Nov 3, 2023

VR Changes in Steam Client Beta - November 2nd

SteamVR - Aaron-W

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4397053/view/3766758277175894884
Today's Steam Client Beta includes the following VR-specific changes. In order to get all of these changes, make sure you're opted into both the Steam Client Beta and SteamVR Beta.

If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a system report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.

General

Steam client refreshes when SteamVR exits in order to free up held memory.
Fix issue where scrolling in the Library could sometimes jump around.

Keyboard

You could sometimes get duplicated letters when keys were typed really quickly.
Keyboard buttons could get stuck in a pressed state when a key was depressed and the laser pointer was dragged off the keyboard and released.

Nov 3, 2023

SteamVR Beta Updated - 2.1.1

SteamVR - nathan

With this update, we are introducing the new SteamVR Theater Screen. To make room, we will be sunsetting the old Desktop Game Theater app. Moving forward, launching any non-VR application from Steam will be displayed on the Theater Screen and auto-hide the dashboard.

Sometimes the entire desktop is shown rather than just the launched app’s window. Relaunching the application typically resolves the issue.
Apps with VR and non-VR launch options can only be launched in non-VR mode via the desktop Steam interface. However, doing so switches the dashboard away from the Desktop tab to the Steam tab showing the app’s details page with no indication that the desktop Steam interface is waiting for you to select a launch option still.

In order to use all the features in this beta, you must also opt into the Steam Beta (see instructions below). If you are opted into the Steam Beta but not the SteamVR Beta (this configuration is not recommended), you will see the old theater mode launching with your desktop apps.

To opt into the SteamVR Beta, follow the instructions in this article.

To opt into the Steam Beta, follow the instructions in this article.

If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a SteamVR System Report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.

General:

Improved warning message that tells you to update Steam if you're running an older one.
Laser mouse lock radius is now the right size for certain scaled overlays such as undocked Desktop views.
Added “Exit Home” button to SteamVR Home’s “Now Playing” tab in the dashboard.
Undocked dashboard overlays can now be interacted with while the dashboard is dismissed.

Keyboard:

Keyboard button on floating Desktop windows.
Keyboard is positioned much better for overlays.
Grab handle for legacy keyboard.

Desktop:

Desktop view keyboard now has arrow keys.
Desktop view keyboard now has a hide keyboard key instead of a done key.
Hide physical mouse cursor on Desktop views when it's off screen.

OpenVR:

Set Prop_AllWirelessDongleDescriptions_String on the HMD when lighthouse devices are present even if the HMD isn’t lighthouse and even if the HMD hotplugs after lighthouse device discovery is complete.

Meta:

Added render models for Touch Pro and Touch Plus controllers.

Nov 1, 2023

VR Changes in Steam Client Beta - November 1st

SteamVR - bendotcom

Today's Steam Client Beta includes the following VR-specific changes. In order to get all of these changes, make sure you're opted into both the Steam Client Beta and SteamVR Beta.

If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a system report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.

General

Fixed an issue where some dialogs or notifications were showing up on the desktop instead of in VR after you first put on your headset.
Games with multiple launch options will auto-select VR mode when you launch them from the VR dashboard. Launching from the desktop client (even via the desktop view in VR) will still prompt, allowing you to launch games in desktop mode if desired. (This was the pre-2.0 behavior which was lost in 2.0).