Hello everyone,
A new release is upon us for Shadow VR (Alpha). Go get it on Sidequest!
We have focused this release on the three Pillars I wrote down in our previous changelog a month ago: Changelog 3.2.4 (19/11/20)
- Supporting Oculus Quest 2 at 72hz
- Improving head movement fluidity by implementing VSync
- Removing update times between Alpha Desktop clients & Shadow VR (Alpha).
Changelog:
Oculus Quest 2 support
You can now use the app on Oculus Quest 2 natively without resorting to an IPD change workaround. The proper resolution is applied at launch.
Vsync implementation
We are aware that shaky/jittery head movement is the biggest turn-off of the app at the moment. It makes it hard to enjoy VR at this stage.
We believe with the implementation of Vsync we are making a step forward to a more acceptable experience. We still have work to do on the way we predict and send frames but you should already notice a difference.
This comes with improved frame timing & improved prediction.
Faster switches with desktop alpha apps
This is done. When using the desktop alpha clients and switching toward Shadow VR you will not experience lengthy environment updates anymore. The switch from one desktop client to the Oculus Quest’s should take less than 30 seconds now!
We are very happy with this improvement as the app in its previous state was not that user friendly.
In addition to this we have also worked on the following:
- Continuous Integration is now implemented, making our release lifecycle more robust and less time consuming for the team :)
- There was a conflict with Virtual Desktop because our drivers would not uninstall properly at the end of a session, this is now fixed. 💡If you had the issue, just run Shadow VR once then you will be able to get back to using Virtual Desktop normally
- Fixed several cases of users who would get stuck at ‘’Starting Shadow VR’’
- QoL: Email is saved in the login screen when you log out from the launcher
New known bugs:
Unfortunately this release comes with two new bugs that we will be addressing in a later patch:
- On Oculus Quest 2, in the Shadow VR launcher, Oculus Touch pointers blink permanently.
- Starting Shadow VR while your Shadow is turned off will result in a session with very poor performances. Please start Shadow VR only with your Shadow session already turned on through a desktop client (That is unless you want to have the kind of performance below):
Next Steps:
-
Desktop mode (2D) to handle Steam, SteamVR, Windows update and allow for interaction with the Shadow environment within Shadow VR (so as to avoid having to go to a desktop client when stuck).
-
Fix Performance issues when starting Shadow VR from a shut down Shadow
-
Improve late starts GPU & CPU that generate in game lag
We have updated our list of known issues and planned feature with this release’s content so you can follow up on our progress.
And keep sharing your feedback and bug reports in the appropriate forum section, it really helps!