Forum Discussion
Rift output duplication experiments
So I've been playing around with the idea that I could duplicate the rift output onto the main display when the monitors are setup in extended mode. The goal is to allow other people to see what the user wearing the rift is seeing but without requiring a special HDMI splitter or setting the displays in clone mode. I was thinking of adding this as a feature to Virtual Desktop.
For most fullscreen games that unfortunately isn't possible because they don't allow the screen to be captured (at least not through public APIs). It does work however when a game is in windowed mode. Unity supports a -popupwindow parameter on the command line which makes the game window borderless. Unfortunately that parameter doesn't work with the -adapter X option (-adapter X only works for fullscreen games). If I use -popupwindow, launch the game in windowed mode then manually move it to the rift screen with Win+Shift+Arrow then I'm able to duplicate the game onto the main display but that's kinda quirky..
Anyone knows if its possible to launch an already built Unity game on a specific monitor and in windowed mode at the same time?
I've been in discussion with Nvidia so they could license me a subset of their ShadowPlay API (which isn't public atm) but I highly doubt it's going to happen. Even if they did that would only work with NVidia cards.
Games like Eve:Valkyrie are able to display a non distorted view of the game on a different display (from their demo @ GDC). I'm guessing their engine renders a third view of the game (after both eyes) on a different screen.
Thoughts?
For most fullscreen games that unfortunately isn't possible because they don't allow the screen to be captured (at least not through public APIs). It does work however when a game is in windowed mode. Unity supports a -popupwindow parameter on the command line which makes the game window borderless. Unfortunately that parameter doesn't work with the -adapter X option (-adapter X only works for fullscreen games). If I use -popupwindow, launch the game in windowed mode then manually move it to the rift screen with Win+Shift+Arrow then I'm able to duplicate the game onto the main display but that's kinda quirky..
Anyone knows if its possible to launch an already built Unity game on a specific monitor and in windowed mode at the same time?
I've been in discussion with Nvidia so they could license me a subset of their ShadowPlay API (which isn't public atm) but I highly doubt it's going to happen. Even if they did that would only work with NVidia cards.
Games like Eve:Valkyrie are able to display a non distorted view of the game on a different display (from their demo @ GDC). I'm guessing their engine renders a third view of the game (after both eyes) on a different screen.
Thoughts?
3 Replies
- My thoughts are, if that's required and there's no other way, then set up a server/client on the local machine and run another copy purely for display (possibly what eve is doing?). It will cost performance of course and a bit wasteful if only rendering exactly what it's already rendering (the same view if not the stereoscopic overhead). Certainly this is doable, but not sure it's viable esp with already taxed systems under VR.
In future I'm sure hmds will have built in, maybe wireless functionality to beam their (cloned) display to a 2D device of choice at the press of a button. "Sharpfish" wrote:
then set up a server/client on the local machine and run another copy purely for display
That would require access to the game's code and making changes to it, so that's not a viable solution. Not to mention running the game twice would cut the framerate in half :P"guygodin" wrote:
"Sharpfish" wrote:
then set up a server/client on the local machine and run another copy purely for display
That would require access to the game's code and making changes to it, so that's not a viable solution. Not to mention running the game twice would cut the framerate in half :P
I thought you were talking about it from a development angle, as in how to make our own games do this? I basically only read your first and last paragraph, hey I'm a busy man what can I say ;) , and because you'd talked about Nvidia licensing you their shadowplay sdk I jumped to the conclusion you must mean for your own software (as a developer)
I missed the part about 'already built unity game', sorry. Still, for future it might be an option for others to put in IF there is no other, better, choice. :D
