2/11 [bugfixes] VR Game Manager -By Bilago

[bilago]

Update 2/11/2014: v2.0.5520.12323


Bug fixes:

Fixed an issue where the automatic program update would say the update failed, when it didn't. (you may see this one more time, but after this update it will be gone)

Fixed an issue where UAC on Windows 8 would prevent the application from properly detecting if a user was running as an Administrator.

Fixed an issue where the application was asking for Elevated rights (No longer required - you just need to be an administrator that can maniplulate services)

Now that you don't require Administrative rights, drag and drop will now work on Windows 8 (UAC blocking it when running Elevated)

Fixed an issue where using "Disable Monitors" could cause your machine to not revert back if the Rift was set as an extended monitor instead of disabled. It will now restore back to extended with the Rift as secondary when the game closes.


Features:

Manager will now automatically minimize when starting a game, as I've personally seen games start behind the manager on occasion.


Have a happy Valentines day!!
Bilago



Update 12/26/2014: v2.0.5473.22881

Added Support to have the Rift as the only attached Monitor when playing games!
This should reduce a lot of judder issues for most people.
The option can be found in the "Force Adapter" list.

The first time you use this, it may start your Rift in Portrait mode. If this happens, ALT + F4 out of the game to revert your settings, press Windows+P to select Projector Only, now on the rift, right click the desktop go to Resolution, and rotate your Rift to the right orientation. Now that you've done that, put the Computer back into "computer only mode" with Windows+P and it should work perfectly moving forward.



*See Bottom of Post for Older updates*
===============================================

Usage is simple, either drag and drop the executable into the program and set a name, or press "Add...", browse for the game executable and then set a name. From there you can choose which options you prefer on a per-game basis and press "Save Launch Settings" so you don't have to set it in the future.

I have a lot more I am going to add to this program so this is strictly being released as a beta test only.




DOWNLOAD http://goo.gl/Pb8Qpq

If you enjoy this software and want to keep me awake with a cup of coffee click here: (Not Required or expected)
http://goo.gl/QNYTsX
_____________________________________________________________________

If you have problems running my Manager, make sure you have the following Installed:
**These should be installed on your computer, but some reports of fresh windows installations not having it.**

VC++ Redistributable 2012:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40784

VC++ Redistributable 2010:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=75568aa6-8107-475d-948a-ef22627e57a5&dis...

VC++ Redistributable 2008:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FBEE1648-7106-44A7-9649-6D9F6D58056E&displa...

___________________________________________________________________

Previous Updates:

[u][b]Update 12/22/2014: v2.0.5469.20187[/b][/u]
New Updates:

Added error logging. If you come across an issue, check the installation directory for a file called Error.log. Send that to me and I'll do my best to assist you.

Changed the code used to load your game database. It should now load significantly faster than before (usually was slow on larger databases)



Update 12/10/2014: v2.0.5457.16898
Minor Performance tweaks
Minor Adjustments to the GUI for Update Notifications

Re-implemented automatic update notifications!
Now, every 10 minutes it will reach out to those games set up with automatic updates to check to see if the user has the latest version. This check does not happen while the user is playing a game.

Current Games supported:

Titans of Space
New Retro Arcade

*Valiant is coming soon!*

Please contact me if you want your game to automatically notify users of updates!

Update 12/5/2014: v2.0.5436.25927

Quick Bugfixes today:

Fixed an issue where the Manager would close if you tried modifying and saving settings on a newly added game.

Fixed an issue where pressing the Delete key to remove a game would prompt you to delete an additional game.


[u]Enhancements:[/u]
Added tooltips back to help new users understand which settings do what.

Update 11/25/2014 v2.0.5442.18588:

Two Themes to choose from now (Light and Dark)
Title Bar removed to make it look prettier
Minor Bug fixes

Update 11/24/2014 v2.0.5441.25125:

Version 2.0 has been Released!
[b]Whats new?[/b]

[*]Program rewritten from scratch to use WPF, now it can be skinned easily to suit user tastes (customization coming soon)

[*]Code Optimizations

[*]Removed Most External DLL dependencies - All embedded now

Let me know what you think!

-Bilago


Update - 10/24/2014

Quick hotfix to support the latest SDK.
You will be prompted the first time you run the updated version to run a Oculus Service fix, I highly recommend pressing YES as it sets the windows recovery options to restart upon failure. I spoke to a dev at Oculus and he said he would have it implemented by default, but it wasn't.


 Update - 10/23/2014

Now added Support for Automatic update notifications!

With the help of Drash, we have gotten Titans of space up and running with automatic update notifications!

See the screens:

[img]http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/3c75/wqa6ympescnrrbe6g.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/323e/k46nbzcozdje3u46g.jpg[/img]

If you want this level of support for your Game, contact me 😉

Update - 10/22/2014:

[u]Added a new button for All games to let you check for Updates![/u]
To make this work, either the developer must hook me up with a download link, or you can add it manually. 
(Pressing "Check for updates" will prompt you to save a URL location if one doesnt already exist)

[u]Added game thumbnail preview![/u]
Again, to make this work the developer can supply me with the URL to their image, or you can place a thumbnail.jgp/png/gif in the root folder of the game demo and it will use that.

To see working examples, add or select one of the following games I added support for:

Titans of Space
Guided Meditation
Riftmax Theater
Windlands

Detection is based off of the executable name, not the name you give it in the Manager 😉



[u]Calling all developers! If you want full support of your App in the Manager, please contact me  @ bilago@gmail.com[/u]



Update - 10/21/2014:

Small update today:
Added tooltip description for CPU Parking
Added tooltip description for the game list
Added a Link to the Developer forum post for changelogs
Fixed some Alien Isolation bugs in the manager
Added a button that lets you check for Riftmax updates (would be nice to do this for every game)



Update -10/15/2014:

Added "Application Steering"!
Now you can move the location of the Launcher left and right by holding ALT + Left Arrow/Right Arrow
Added a snazzy icon
Returned the ability to minimize the application

Update - 10/14/2014:

Just added CPU Parking Toggle, to help fix judder issues related to CPU (will not help with FPS Judder)

To use:
Press the "CPU Parking" button (located at the bottom of the program)
Check "Enable CPU Parking Toggle"
Set the Default % parked (Default is usually 10%) 
Set your Maximum unparked (Recommend 100%)
Press Apply

Now when ever you start a game via the Launcher, it will unpark the CPU at your specified value and when the game restarts, it will put it back to your Default value! Should help some with Tracking Judder.

This feature REQUIRES administrative privileges to work


Update - 10/9/2014 : 

Just added Alien Isolation support! One click enable and Disable Rift mode! Doesn't get any easier than that 😉
Just add the AI.exe to the manager and almost magically an "Enable Rift mode" button will appear! Let me know how it works!

EDIT: Due to apparent confusion, you must leave "Disable OVRService" checked, or you're going to get crazy split Chromatic Aberration and no positional tracking!

Update - 10/8/2014 : 
Due to many requests, I now include an "Extended mode ScreenSaver".

What this does, is launch a fullscreen black scene to your Rift with floating orbs that change color (SDK is built in so you could actually look around in the screensaver if you want)

Installation is pretty seamless. 

If the screensaver opens on the wrong monitor, you will need to navigate to the directory you installed my manager, and hold CTRL while launching screensaves.exe. This will open the configuration window. Just change the Display on the drop down to the correct display, and from that moment on it will work as intended.[/b]

Update - 9/30/2014 : 

Due to many requests, you can now add custom arguments to the notes section!

To use:
accepts any argument that starts with "-" or "/" 
wrap quotes around an argument that uses spaces (ie "-freq 75")
You can add as many as you want/need. It will populate below the notes section.

Example usage: 
http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/a553/6r16smi4zd0wwmr6g.jpg

Quick update for SDK 0.4.2, fixed the "Disable OVRService" option to work with the new service. You should check out my service manager and use it to optimise the service since it wasn't configured correctly by the Oculus team 😉 Link in my signature!

Latest Update now includes Update notifications! When you start the Game manager, If I have released an update, you will be notified. Accepting the update will automatically download and install it! Let me know how it works 😉

Also includes an Oculus Share Browser/Download: (Removed due to Site changes on the Share)


Latest Update: v1.0.5345.12273

Added a "Notes" Section by request, you may now put notes about the game/setup info. Just press "Save Launch Settings" To commit changes to the notes.

Added "Make Rift Primary" to the Adapter drop down. This only works if you have ONLY ONE other monitor connected. I may include the ability with multi-monitor setup in the future.

When using "DirectToRift" executables it will now detect when it hands off to the main exe so toggles such as "Make Rift Primary" or "DIsable Aero" will not untoggle until you actually quit the game.

[Peejle]

Thanks Bilago!

Your front end worked perfectly for me, no fiddling with the files. Got lucky cause I was away and saw your update before I tried AI.

PS anyone see the solution for crafting? I can add the components but can't activate the 'Craft Item' button with KB/M

Peejle

[bilago]

"Peejle" wrote:
Thanks Bilago!

Your front end worked perfectly for me, no fiddling with the files. Got lucky cause I was away and saw your update before I tried AI.

PS anyone see the solution for crafting? I can add the components but can't activate the 'Craft Item' button with KB/M

Peejle

The games GUI doesn't line up to the mouse's hover area, so you'll have to use a gamepad unfortunately

[Wireline]

Hello there

I am struggling to get this work unfortunately 😞 If I launch with the launcher (it updated a short time ago, about GMT 7pm) I am getting the no head tracking, chroma problem. The OVR disable box is checked, and the blue light is not on the camera.

I tried downloading the alternative above, but for some reason it just crashes for me. I am running the Steam version 🙂 Any suggestions would be gladly appreciated, I may give the 'manual' approach a go later but its been "one of those days at work" today if you know what I mean lol :evil:

[bilago]

"Wireline" wrote:
Hello there

I am struggling to get this work unfortunately 😞 If I launch with the launcher (it updated a short time ago, about GMT 7pm) I am getting the no head tracking, chroma problem. The OVR disable box is checked, and the blue light is not on the camera.

I tried downloading the alternative above, but for some reason it just crashes for me. I am running the Steam version 🙂 Any suggestions would be gladly appreciated, I may give the 'manual' approach a go later but its been "one of those days at work" today if you know what I mean lol :evil:

Disable OVR Service must be checked and you must be running my Launcher as Administrator. If it still doesn't work, pause the OVRService manually in the configuration utility

[DRock]

Worked for me - how cool and thank you! I remember playing AVP on my old VFX3D HMD back in the 90's. This is quite a step up 🙂 Only disappointing part is that it's not a very comfortable VR experience. Pretty bad motion blur and sickness trying to play. Hopefully as more games are specifically designed for the hardware and the optics technology gets better and better this will improve.

[bilago]

"DRock" wrote:
Worked for me - how cool and thank you! I remember playing AVP on my old VFX3D HMD back in the 90's. This is quite a step up 🙂 Only disappointing part is that it's not a very comfortable VR experience. Pretty bad motion blur and sickness trying to play. Hopefully as more games are specifically designed for the hardware and the optics technology gets better and better this will improve.

Make sure you have motion blur turned off in the graphic settings. I have only black smearing, no blur here

[Wireline]

"bilago" wrote:

"Wireline" wrote:
Hello there

I am struggling to get this work unfortunately 😞 If I launch with the launcher (it updated a short time ago, about GMT 7pm) I am getting the no head tracking, chroma problem. The OVR disable box is checked, and the blue light is not on the camera.

I tried downloading the alternative above, but for some reason it just crashes for me. I am running the Steam version 🙂 Any suggestions would be gladly appreciated, I may give the 'manual' approach a go later but its been "one of those days at work" today if you know what I mean lol :evil:

Disable OVR Service must be checked and you must be running my Launcher as Administrator. If it still doesn't work, pause the OVRService manually in the configuration utility

Thanks Bilago 🙂 I ran into an odd thing, maybe what you were talking about above ... I paused the service manually, but it would automatically restart when the steam message box about the arguments came up. I found if I re-paused the service when the box came up, all ran well 🙂 Maybe thats what you put in that alternative version up there, but my computer threw a tantrum and wouldn't run it. Never mind, runs OK now 😄

I am going to save this experience until I have my new rig, as it looks like I am getting a poor frame rate, which doesn't do the game justice at all. Would rather wait and play it on full pretties and smooth as an aliens head. Thanks again!

[Falan]

Hey bilago seeing as you must be quite into modding and stuff - any clue on what is going on with the weird 'tilt' effect looking around? I don't think its a pure FOV issue, seems the in-game camera is offsetting or something like that. Any thoughts as iv never come across this irritating nauseating issue before in dk2 ports?

[Sharkku]

"Peejle" wrote:
PS anyone see the solution for crafting? I can add the components but can't activate the 'Craft Item' button with KB/M

Peejle

Just close your left eye and try clicking blindly just outside your view on the top left. Works for me every time.

[bilago]

"Falan" wrote:
Hey bilago seeing as you must be quite into modding and stuff - any clue on what is going on with the weird 'tilt' effect looking around? I don't think its a pure FOV issue, seems the in-game camera is offsetting or something like that. Any thoughts as iv never come across this irritating nauseating issue before in dk2 ports?

You have to look 100% straight and level during loading screens it it will be tilted