Current state of Oculus Rift + Linux + Steam?

[Penguin Apocalypse]

I have the chance to pick up an Oculus Rift cheap at the moment, but I only use steam on Linux. Basically I'm wondering if it's worth it?

I see a ton of articles online, but most seem really old.

So what's the current state of support for the rift on Linux with steam? Easy? Difficult? Non existent? How many games support this?

Ultimately is it worth throwing some money at for a cheap headset?

[DirtyCamper]

I wouldn't bother with anything from Oculus. I have a DK2 collecting dust, while I have no problems writing/fixing drivers for the kernel.
There is no Oculus support. There might be some OSVR support though, and that might be supported in steam VR.
All in all it's a lot of work. I haven't heard from anybody on IRC having an Oculus work on Linux.

If you can get your hands on a Vive however... The money may not be that wasted. There is really active support, people are getting paid to make it work (and VR in general )on Linux.

So if you can buy a vive for cheap things should work. The list of VR on linux supporting games is still thin though. Of course cro-team always work :-). And VR support on linux is still a moving target. While the platform is still not actively used, it gives (the people paid by) Valve the time to fix kernel and mesa side and request vulkan standard updates.

Last time I tried VR it was on the DK2 with the old SDK and steam VR.
That setup will not work anymore.

Anyway: if you are really interested, visit #vronlinux . Mostly software developers and VR infra developers/testers.

[chrix]

The DK2 worked with a very old version of the SDK: https://developer.oculus.com/downloads/package/oculus-sdk-for-linux/. Pretty sure SteamVR's Oculus plugin doesn't support it anymore, but OSVR-Oculus-Rift should and with SteamVR-OSVR it could be brought to SteamVR. That is not a very user friendly setup though.There also were a few native linux oculus demos/games depending on the old version of the SDK back in the day, but good luck finding them today.

The CV1 has zero official support on Linux.

It's difficult mainly it's because Oculus never released their optical positional tracking algorithm.
OpenHMD is in the process of implementing optical tracking. The rest of the hardware protocols is already sufficiently reverse engineered, including the controllers, only the tracking algorithm is TBD.

Right now you can use the DK2 and CV1 with rotational tracking and proper rendering/distortion correction, and with some luck positional tracking and CV1 controller support will be added soon...

[DirtyCamper]

Opprinnelig skrevet av chrix:

There also were a few native linux oculus demos/games depending on the old version of the SDK back in the day, but good luck finding them today.

Yeah... HL2 in 720P/DK1 mode :-).
At least at that time on linux it just worked because there was no hassle between direct/extended mode.
It was a lot harder to get it to work on windows in the early DK2 times. (As a matter of fact it took me a few hours and then I gave up.)
But suddenly they began forcing windows problems onto linux users (the direct /extended desktop "problem") and tried solving those by first trying to create them.
Maybe they had problems because they used nvidia drivers in special proprietary nvidia mode instead of standard mutihead.

I hope indeed my DK2 will become useful someday. OTOH, it's a low resolution screendoor brick. Maybe I'm just going to give it away when I can find me a good Vive.

And as for OSVR, if he stil has to buy a headset, he can better buy an OSVR HDK2 instead of an Oculus. At least that's supposed to work ;-).

[Hicks]

Oculus has zero interest in Linux despite getting people hooked early on with support for the DK2 and many threads saying they'd add Linux support as soon as they released on Windows. That then came and went, then it was once we stabalise on Windows, that came and went, I've lost track of what the current excuse is.

They dumped the DK2 on Linux pretty rapidly. Even if they add support for Linux with the latest Rift, I wouldn't trust them not to repeat that.

Mine has been collecting dust since then and whilst I might get it out to play around on Linux if someone develops an open sdk/runtime for it, I doubt it'll get any real usage again gaming wise.

With no official support, runtime or SDK releases, you are much better off imo putting cash into a Vive.

[Marlock]

Can this new feature for Steam help improve support for Oculus and other VR sets that haven't been getting much love on linux?

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/valve-continue-to-make-vr-easier-with-their-new-steamvr-input-system.11775

[celkaris]

the CV1 support got an important update (last month) thanks to http://www.openhmd.net/ , i was just (last night) able to enter the steamVR room using my cv1 oculus rift, but damn ... the whole thing is random and painful..

It took me the entire night to get the steamvr room up&running with an actual display in the oculus rift cv1 headset.....

The openHMD driver only supports ROTATIONS for now (both headset and handheld controllers), so your rift acts as a simple headtracker with integrated video for now.

The tracking works just fine.

This may be related to my old radeon hd 7870, but in every vr application, i have red and blue vertical lines, whatever the video mode i set using xrandr and ingame.

The thing that wasn't clear to me (yeah, i'm stupid) is that your rift monitor (as listed in "xrandr --props" output HAVE TO BE THE PRIMARY

So far i've been able to
- enter the steamVR room, but without working controllers (they are recognized, but no button works, and without translation, they are just useless) - you can't exit the room without controllers too :)

- sit in my cockpit in Elite dangerous, headtracking working and display kinda : i have vertical red and blue lines all around the scene, plus weird blinking on every object in the scene.

what i used to try this :
- https://github.com/OpenHMD (requires at least 0.3 - i used master branch)
- https://github.com/ChristophHaag/SteamVR-OpenHMD
- steamvr[beta] on steam
- debian buster
- amd radeon hd 7870 videocard with amdgpu driver
- and .. a lot of xrandr .. quite a lot till i found the arch guys wiki page :)

I use the following script to set proper video modes (which may not be correct, because i'm still getting those vertical lines all over the place) :

#!/bin/bash

MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT="DisplayPort-0"
MONITOR_ONE="HDMI-A-0"

# rift : 1152x864 @75 hz


xrandr --addmode ${MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT} 1152x864 --rate 75
xrandr --output ${MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT} --set non-desktop 1

xrandr --output ${MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT} --primary --mode 1152x864 --rate 75
xrandr --output ${MONITOR_ONE} --mode 1920x1080 --rate 60 --auto --same-as ${MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT} --panning 1920x1080

I just can't properly set the rotate mode yet, but this looks promissing (if only i did not have those glitches and vertical lines on the headset display !

For those curious, here are the steps i used to get the whole thing working :
I'll try to write something better once i fixed the visual glitches in the headset


1. install steamVR from steam store, immediately enable beta, as suggested in steamvr forum's pinned post

2. udev rules for my cv1 rift :

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2833", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
KERNEL=="hidraw*", ATTRS{busnum}=="1", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2833", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

Only the usb one may be needed, will try with it alone right after i posted this (already started..)

the user i use to start steam is a member of video, plugdev, input

i can't really give accurate deb packages requirements, cause i already have/had many of those installed

git clone --recursive  https://github.com/OpenHMD/OpenHMD.git
cd OpenHMD
mkdir build
cd build
cmake-gui ../
# hit configure once
# checked only OPENHMD_DRIVER_OCULUS_RIFT
# configura again and generate
make
sudo make install

openHMD config : create this file

cat ~/.ohmd_config.txt
hmddisplay 0
hmdtracker 0
leftcontroller 1
rightcontroller 2

installed libcap2-bin debian package for steamvr setup to kinda work (finally had to run the setcap commands from logs manually)

next, https://github.com/ChristophHaag/SteamVR-OpenHMD :

sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake libhidapi-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/ChristophHaag/SteamVR-OpenHMD.git
cd SteamVR-OpenHMD
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
cd ..
./register.sh

execute my above xrandr shellscript to set monitor parameters,

steamVR startup, temporarily added /sbin/ to my user's PATH env var, finally ran the setcap commands manually (uid 0)


Now, i can start steamvr, my main monitor display stays the same, the rift displays the steamvr room,

i rightclick my vr game (elite dangerous in this case), start vr with oculus, and here it is .. in the cv1 headset, with tracking support (no controller, but that is not a problem in many games).

Will try project cars right away :)

EDIT : according to multiple posts on the interweb, the red and blue lines may be caused by me using a hdmi to displayport adapter .. will try without it (those having the same issue reports problems when using the hdmi directly on same type of graphics cards, will try).

EDIT2 : i quit ... i tried everything i could while having the rift cv1 plugged into my hdmi port directly ; i can't get any output in that situation. The only way i have it (steamvr and elite ganderous) rendering on the rift is by plugging the rift's hdmi cable into my display port using my adapter.
I found multiple posts on people having the same problem under windows when using the same kind of cheap (non 4k that is) hdmi to displayport adapters..

EDIT3 : my vertical red lines problem may have been caused by dpm on amdgpu ; i now use those kernel parameters (but unfortunately my rift cv1 is back on the shelf ; will try again later) to disable dpm on amdgpu which appears to be faulty on 4.19 kernel with current amdgpu driver :
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet amdgpu.si_support=1 amdgpu.cik_support=0 amdgpu.dc=0 amdgpu.dpm=0 modprobe.blacklist=radeon"

the hdmi to displayport i'm using is "MCL CG-291CAZ" which appears to be announced as active, 4k.

Looks like VR under linux using the oculus rift cv1 is finally there, but ... not for me yet :(

[The Light]

Hey sorry this is a bit complicated for me,

xrandr --output ${MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT} --primary --mode 1152x864 --rate 75

outputs

warning: output --primary not found; ignoring

then when the gui loads with cmake-gui ../ and I click configure

I get a pop-up that says specify the generator for this project is used "Use default native compilers" then click finish.

output is error is

CMake Error at /usr/share/cmake-3.10/Modules/FindPackageHandleStandardArgs.cmake:137 (message):
Could NOT find HIDAPI (missing: HIDAPI_LIBRARY HIDAPI_INCLUDE_DIR)
Call Stack (most recent call first):
/usr/share/cmake-3.10/Modules/FindPackageHandleStandardArgs.cmake:378 (_FPHSA_FAILURE_MESSAGE)
cmake/FindHIDAPI.cmake:35 (find_package_handle_standard_args)
CMakeLists.txt:51 (find_package)

installed some packages recommended by

https://github.com/signal11/hidapi/

I don't understand how to compile can you help?

[celkaris]

hi,

Opprinnelig skrevet av The Light:

Hey sorry this is a bit complicated for me,

xrandr --output ${MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT} --primary --mode 1152x864 --rate 75

outputs

warning: output --primary not found; ignoring

looks like MONIT_RIFT_OUTPUT variable is set to an empty string in your case ; echo it to confirm (within the script or env you're running the command into)

Opprinnelig skrevet av The Light:

CMake Error at /usr/share/cmake-3.10/Modules/FindPackageHandleStandardArgs.cmake:137 (message):
Could NOT find HIDAPI (missing: HIDAPI_LIBRARY HIDAPI_INCLUDE_DIR)

i just checked on my system, you may lack the following package:

libhidapi-dev

it's installed system-wide on my side, i guess FindHIDAPI.cmake couldn't find your local/manual installation ; check your hidapi headers+lib paths and pass them to cmake

[The Light]

I'll take a look, should the occulus rift appear in xrandr before installing OpenHMD? My system has never detected the occulus rift with xrandr as of yet. Also do you need to have sensors plugged in at first? I figure I'll just plug in the headset for now tell I get it detected and OpenHMD properly installed.

thanks

[The Light]

based off where I'm at it seems I successful installed OpenHMD and SteamVR-OpenHMD.

I ran echo with xrandr, but when I launch steamvr it crashed into safe mode.

This is my xrandr with occulus rift plugged in through hdmi and usb

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 16384 x 16384
eDP disconnected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 382mm x 214mm
1920x1080 144.01 + 60.06*
1680x1050 144.01
1280x1024 144.01
1440x900 144.01
1280x800 144.01
1280x720 144.01
1024x768 144.01
800x600 144.01
640x480 144.01
DisplayPort-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-A-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

Occulus hdmi is plugged into HDMI-A-0 main display is eDP which is a strange name.

[The Light]

Should I be using beta - SteamVR Beta Update or linux_temp?

[chrix]

With nvidia xrandr does not show any trace of the HMD, it can only be enumerated and used from vulkan with VK_KHR_display, and VK_EXT_acquire_xlib_display / VK_EXT_direct_mode_display. (Unless nvidia's direct mode treatment is disabled in xorg.conf, but when trying SteamVR, you don't want that).

With AMD and Intel graphics, the HMD's display modes (resolutions) should appear in xrandr, though it should pretend it is "disconnected" to avoid accidentally extending the desktop to the HMD.

Though SteamVR should be able to start up no matter the display setup, even without any HMD display connected.

Proper logs can be found in ~/.local/share/Steam/logs/vrserver.txt or ~/.steam/steam/logs/vrserver.txt

[The Light]

Because steamvr crashes and loads into safe mode it won't load the OpenHMD driver. Can anyone tell from the log what's wrong?

Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.631383 - Found saved crash timestamp time 1581560282 v1581550886 uptime 0 -- Using safe mode
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.632376 - Unable to connect to pipe errno=111
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.632397 - CSharedResourceNamespaceClient::Init(): failed connect
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.639511 - Set thread 0x7fd99e3ba700 priority to: 5
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.639605 - CIPCPipe::CreatePipe(SteamVR_Namespace) bound to steamvr:SteamVR_Namespace
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.639740 - Set thread 0x7fd999b50700 priority to: -15
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.732541 - CIPCPipe::ConnectPipe(SteamVR_Namespace)
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.734710 - CIPCPipe::CreatePipe(VR_ServerPipe_3847) bound to steamvr:VR_ServerPipe_3847
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.741115 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/drivers/htc/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.741231 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/drivers/lighthouse/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.771138 - Unable to read app config file from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/config/appconfig.json. No applications will be available
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.772822 - /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/tools/tools.vrmanifest - App openvr.tool.steamvr_media_player must specify binary_path for launch_type binary. Skipping
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.773007 - /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/tools/tools.vrmanifest - App openvr.tool.steamvr_desktop_gametheatre Working directory /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/tools/steamvr_desktop_game_theater/linux64 is invalid. Skipping. Skipping
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.774312 - /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/resources/config/runtime.vrmanifest - App openvr.component.vrwebhelper binary_path /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/vrwebhelper/vrwebhelper is invalid. SKipping. Skipping
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.774885 - [Settings] Save Json Settings to /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.846617 - Not loading driver oculus because it is disabled in settings
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.846641 - Not loading driver oculus_legacy because it is disabled in settings
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.846664 - Not loading driver openhmd because we are in safe mode
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.872074 - Unable to read message from socket: 0
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.872117 - Process vrstartup (3772) disconnected (Thread(0x0x7fd91c000bc0/0x0x7f)
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.872167 - AppInfoManager.ProcessQuit processid=3772 eLaunchingApp=LaunchingApp_None
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.872204 - AppInfoManager.ProcessQuit: Clearing application openvr.component.vrstartup PID was 3772
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.872233 - AppInfoManager.ProcessQuit: Clearing application openvr.component.vrstartup PID because 3772 has exited
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:09.590635 - CSharedResourceNamespaceServer sent namespace data: 3847
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.755954 - Process vrmonitor (3877) has initiated a quit all
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.759706 - Sending Quit event to process vrmonitor (3877)
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.787930 - Socket closed
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.787989 - Unable to read message from socket: 3
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.788029 - Process vrmonitor (3877) disconnected (Thread(0x0x7fd91c002e30/0x0x7f)
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.788065 - AppInfoManager.ProcessQuit processid=3877 eLaunchingApp=LaunchingApp_Key
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.788090 - AppInfoManager.ProcessQuit: Clearing application openvr.component.vrmonitor PID was 3877
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.788114 - AppInfoManager.ProcessQuit: Clearing application openvr.component.vrmonitor PID because 3877 has exited
Wed Feb 12 2020 18:33:03.788206 - Lost master process 3877 for an unknown reaso
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.687985 - CSharedResourceNamespaceServer starting up
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.688105 - CIPCPipe::ConnectPipe(SteamVR_Namespace) attempting connect to steamvr:SteamVR_Namespace
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.688144 - Unable to connect to pipe errno=111
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.688168 - CSharedResourceNamespaceClient::Init(): failed connect
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.688183 - CSharedResourceNamespaceClient::Init(): still waiting for vrserver to reply with namespace data
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.696426 - Set thread 0x7fba516be700 priority to: 5
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.696528 - CIPCPipe::CreatePipe(SteamVR_Namespace) bound to steamvr:SteamVR_Namespace
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.696697 - Set thread 0x7fba4ce54700 priority to: -15
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.788307 - CIPCPipe::ConnectPipe(SteamVR_Namespace) attempting connect to steamvr:SteamVR_Namespace
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.788430 - CSharedResourceNamespaceServer sent namespace data: 3773
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.788497 - CSharedResourceNamespaceClient::Init(): received namespace data 3773
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.788546 - Self queried namespace: 3773
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.790306 - VR server 1.10.14 (v1581550886) starting up with config=/home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/config
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.790352 - VRServer will wait for VRMonitor before exiting
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.790469 - CIPCPipe::CreatePipe(VR_ServerPipe_3773) bound to steamvr:VR_ServerPipe_3773
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.798320 - [Settings] Load Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.825298 - CSharedResourceNamespaceServer sent namespace data: 3773
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.830259 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/drivers/htc/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.830376 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/drivers/lighthouse/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.830473 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/SteamVR-OpenHMD/build/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.830557 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/drivers/null/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.830934 - [Settings] Load Default Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/resources/settings/default.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.831827 - [Settings] Load Json Settings from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/config/steamvr.vrsettings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.832306 - Unable to read app config file from /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/config/appconfig.json. No applications will be available
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.833915 - /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/tools/tools.vrmanifest - App openvr.tool.steamvr_media_player must specify binary_path for launch_type binary. Skipping
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.834164 - /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/tools/tools.vrmanifest - App openvr.tool.steamvr_desktop_gametheatre Working directory /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/tools/steamvr_desktop_game_theater/linux64 is invalid. Skipping. Skipping
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.835914 - /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/resources/config/runtime.vrmanifest - App openvr.component.vrwebhelper binary_path /home/dp27thelight/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/vrwebhelper/vrwebhelper is invalid. SKipping. Skipping
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.905889 - Not loading driver lighthouse because it is disabled in settings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.905931 - Not loading driver oculus because it is disabled in settings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.905956 - Not loading driver oculus_legacy because it is disabled in settings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.905982 - Not loading driver openhmd because we are in safe mode
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.906006 - Not loading driver gamepad because we are in safe mode
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.906030 - Not loading driver null because it is disabled in settings
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.906056 - Not loading driver gamepad because we are in safe mode
Thu Feb 13 2020 08:50:44.906081 - No connected devices found. Returning best error VRInitError_None

[chrix]

In this log you only have

Wed Feb 12 2020 18:20:08.846664 - Not loading driver openhmd because we are in safe mode

SteamVR should show a popup window with a button to disable safe mode, after clicking that and restart SteamVR, there might be a more clear error message in the log.