TSW VR - UEVR

[A Very Fat Elf]

UEVR has now been released and along with that, you can now play TSW in VR!

If you dont know the keyboard controls and/or dont have a gamepad/raildriver, maybe give this a miss until it has motion controls, if thats ok then please read on.

Download the UEVR Tool/Mod here: https://uevr.io/

Watch these videos to get setup:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyE0aREJRIBLMQREfAFXKSQydoI-h4Vfh&si=OSOcHxo5XzVaR8wM


I can happily say that this seriously bridges an immersion gap that has made the game much more playable for me and others - the more people who have tried this have come back saying how much better they enjoy playing TSW in VR, I dont blame them!

I recently made a post in this thread listing positives/negatives, it's probably worth I post it here too:

Positives:
Practically all critical systems work making the game very playable with UEVR.
Signals, speedboards, 3d markers for objectives and train stop markers all appear as they should.
Visually, it appears most parts of the world and locos and related all render as expected
HUD renders as expected but does have some problems, will post below separately.
Immersion
As expected, the levels of immersion are immense with a mod like this. Anyone familiar with VR is aware of the sense of scale that you notice when you are using VR in any kind of simulator be that flight, racing, hunting etc.
Sense of speed is incredible, especially on faster routes or fast locos/consists.
Being able to gauge coming into platforms is very very cool. You could kinda eyeball it with enough practice on a 2D screen but being able to come into a platform and feel how fast you are going whilst referencing the platform, it just really adds into the immersion and realism.
In-Game Menus
These function exactly as you would expect. with UEVR you do need to make sure you use the option to display the mouse but beyond that, works completely as expected.

Negatives:
HUD Renders and displays information as it should but any markers that are 2D and exist in the HUD area don't always make a lot of sense.
Any markers pointing to buttons/parts/player proximity are hard to decipher as to what they are pointing at due to existing on a plane that doesn't quite align with either eye. That being said, this can be sidestepped if you know the keyboard shortcut or spend time hovering your mouse until you are able to interact with the area. It can slow the game down if your train has a complicated setup I have found.
Render Issues
Any physics based piping in the game only renders in one eye. Only an issue if ghosting annoys you.
The flares on signal aspects also only render in one eye but is not much of a problem depending how picky you are being (IMHO).
FPS drops in built up areas but again this is something to be expected. Lowering your settings can help this.
Conclusion:
Honestly, UEVR gets you 90% there and thats enough for me and what seems most people. The brilliance of UEVR is that the creator of it made if possible to write plugins which are loaded alongside the injection of the VR components. I believe they have to be coded in C++/UE Blueprints and you just pop them into a folder with UEVR and import them in. This opens the door to people making motion control support for games which in the case for TSW, I hope someone does come along and write something which can be used by many. Being able to use your motion controllers would be a dream come true for a game like this. Being able to press the buttons, pull levers etc would make playing the game in VR a breeze and also complete the immersion.

I'll be sticking about to help people where I can but I hope this helps people see that its worth giving VR a shot. The fact a mod like this can work so well blows my mind. If there's room for a collaborative effort with DTG to get the remaining 10% there with motion control support, I'd be more than happy to make sure any devs interested get the right information from the UEVR project. You can see a lot of his work and more here: https://uevr.io/

My Specs:

AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT 8-Core Processor
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
32GB RAM
Windows 10
HMD/VR Headset: Quest 2 (w/ Virtual Desktop)

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My Experience as of 10th January 2024:
So I just wanted to give another update as to my experience with playing TSW in VR, it's been really great if I am honest.

If you can run the minimal hud (found in the accessibility menu) and track monitor with the upcoming speeds displayed in it, I had my most immersive experience last night whilst doing the Birmingham Cross City DLC. Getting my seat to the right height, and being able to learn the controls from the keyboard made it such a fun experience. Taking a service up to one of the stations, I had to couple to another train in front before continuing. What I was able to do in VR that i can't do in the 2D version was that I was able to stand up and lean over my desk (both in real life and the cab controls in VR) so I could see how close i was to the train in front so that I could approach, halt and then move forward to couple without being too rough.

One thing I found massively beneficial too was trying to steal frames from lowering other settings and putting them towards bumping up the Screen Percentage option. This really makes the distance much more crispier.

For what its worth, for anyone struggling with buttons/levers, I will list handy keyboard controls below:

CTRL + W: Master Key (on/off)
SHIFT + ENTER: Safety Systems/AWS (you might need to still use the cab switch lever in older UK locos)
CTRL + ENTER: DSD (on/off)
Y: Left Doors
U: Right Doors
I: Instrument Lights
L: Cab Lights
B: Buzzer

Hopefully this helps, playing this game at the moment in VR is the secret sauce for me right now. Being much better focused whilst also just taking in so much more. Once you've gotten used to the controls and general braking force of a loco/consist, being able to truly eyeball the stop into a station is way more fun.

If anyone is on the fence please feel free to ping me any questions.

As another minor PSA: This game with UEVR can be generally smooth - as expected its not judder free but you can get it running very very smoothly with the right settings. Obviously like with anything VR related, your computer spec is very dependent on the outcome of your experience. Mid-tier and above is really were you need to be for VR gaming in some respects, more so for UEVR because you'll be playing games that weren't optimised for VR. Your best bet is to adjust your in-game settings until you are happy.

I can't stress enough that openXR for a lot of games is a monumental improvement in framerates if your headset supports it. If you have a quest 2 or 3, ACW via Virtual Desktop is a game changer. Keeps things a bit smoother when you get to chunky parts of the route.

[Myron]

can I play this with my phone in a cardboard box

[Eldrick]

I think a 'Guide' would be better than a post. Especially as there is a possibility to change settings and use profiles in UEVR.

[A Very Fat Elf]

Originally posted by MoRoN222:

can I play this with my phone in a cardboard box

There was someone who tried that but I dont believe its supported

[A Very Fat Elf]

Originally posted by Eldrick:

I think a 'Guide' would be better than a post. Especially as there is a possibility to change settings and use profiles in UEVR.

Tbh, the video i linked generally gets you going - I can't post files here (i think?) but yeah, you can load profiles into UEVR with some pre-made settings which can help some people. You might end up needing to fine tune it anyways so it might be worth playing about with the UEVR settings anyways.

I'll try and make a guide eventually, this is the third thread across 3 different places I've posted about this (Discord, DTG Forums, Steam) so still catching up.

[KillingJoke]

Originally posted by Eldrick:

I think a 'Guide' would be better than a post. Especially as there is a possibility to change settings and use profiles in UEVR.

Yeah i tried this a few days back at victoria station and it worked... sort of.
Once i managed to get in the cab the cab view was all over the place and nothing could be touched (except cab door) so im waiting until somebody posts a decent set up tutorial video to follow for TSW4 for UEVR

[A Very Fat Elf]

Originally posted by KillingJoke:

Originally posted by Eldrick:

I think a 'Guide' would be better than a post. Especially as there is a possibility to change settings and use profiles in UEVR.

Yeah i tried this a few days back at victoria station and it worked... sort of.
Once i managed to get in the cab the cab view was all over the place and nothing could be touched (except cab door) so im waiting until somebody posts a decent set up tutorial video to follow for TSW4 for UEVR

For now I would say UEVR with TSW is only playable if you know the keyboard controls or have a gamepad/play with one. The mouse/HUD combo is a basically broken for now due to how it works/interacts with each other. It kinda works for some stuff if you have patience.

I'd say treat this as more of a gateway into VR if you can handle the above for now.

That all being said, it's playable and enjoyable if you take into account the above. In your case it sounds like your HUD was very very skewed and misaligned to the point nothing could be controlled minus the door. Very enjoyable if you can adjust to keyboard controls.

[A Very Fat Elf]

On the same note, if you dont know the keyboard controls and/or dont have a gamepad/raildriver, maybe give this a miss until it has motion controls

[BorisTheBlade]

A couple of things I found that helps are to set your train up to run first then open VR when you are set to leave the station. This saves you taking your headset off and on to setup the train for service.
The other one I found useful is to set the camera to be just in front of the train at cab height and drive from there. This alleviates the problem of the hud being outside of the cab ( one of the bugs).
The xbox controller works as normal.

[A Very Fat Elf]

Originally posted by BorisTheBlade:

This alleviates the problem of the hud being outside of the cab ( one of the bugs).
The xbox controller works as normal.

I'm gonna see if i can upload a UEVR profile to mediafire or something to see if that helps people with the HUD. You can move the UI/HUD in the UEVR options to be closer to you and so that it kinda aligns slightly better. Sometimes right clicking and moving the hud about (including your view) and pointing it at the thing you're trying to control.

[Eldrick]

I have just 'programmed' my X55 to use for the basic/common train controls and I find most UK stock, especially the old BR Stock works great.

[A Very Fat Elf]

Originally posted by Eldrick:

I have just 'programmed' my X55 to use for the basic/common train controls and I find most UK stock, especially the old BR Stock works great.

Nice! Yeah If you know how to do this then its a great alternative to keyboard/gamepad etc. I did it in TS with an old flight sim throttle I had. Very cool!

[diddep]

change the resolution in game down to 1920*1080 then the hud is ok

[A Very Fat Elf]

Just a heads up. For more info, I would probably join the discussion on the TSC Discord or the DTG forum post as its easier to answer questions etc in those two places instead of all 3:

Discord: https://discord.gg/trainsim

DTG Forum Post: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/uevr-train-sim-world-vr.60428/

[remy.t]

I just bought the game specifically for vr compatibility with uevr and the games are fantastic

[A Very Fat Elf]

Originally posted by remy.t:

I just bought the game specifically for vr compatibility with uevr and the games are fantastic

Ayyy! Glad you're enjoying it. Can be clunky to setup but its worth it.