Training Stream - Up and Running with Gear VR - March 31st, 2015

General Announcements
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WHAT
Training Content Creator walks us through getting up and running with a project for GearVR! He will show you the ins and outs of setting up the project and getting your GearVR working with Unreal Engine.

WHEN
Tuesday, March 31st @ 3:30PM-5:00PM ET - Countdown]

WHERE
www.twitch.tv/unrealengine

WHO

  • Training Content Creator

Feel free to ask any questions on the topic in the thread below, and remember, while we try to give attention to all inquiries, it’s not always possible to answer everyone’s questions as they come up. This is especially true for off-topic requests, as it’s rather likely that we don’t have the appropriate person around to answer. Thanks for understanding!

Edit: The YouTube archive is now available here](Up & Running with Gear VR | Live Training | Unreal Engine - YouTube)

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sorry I missed the live stream; check it out in the morning …thx for a stream on the gear !

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Hey Everybody,

I asked the people on the VR team to answer the questions that you had during the Twitch stream and here are there answers.

Can we expect a virtual head model to be implemented in UE4 for Gear VR in the near future, such as for the Mobile VR Jam?

We’ll look into this shortly. It’s something that we really should add.

What about Google Cardboard support? iOS?

  • Cardboard has come up quite a bit. The API is all in Java, so it’s a bit more problematic to add support for it, but it’s something that we’ve been considering.

What are the refresh rates for the galaxy?

  • 60Hz, with each eye rendering at 1024x1024.

How does it work for people with prescription glasses?

  • Oculus doesn’t recommend wearing glasses inside the Gear VR, and it doesn’t have interchangeable optics like the DK2 does. That said, there is an adjustment knob that may help if you’re nearsighted.

Does it do head position tracking or just rotation?

  • GearVR is currently orientation only. Carmack has stated an interest in doing some form of positional tracking with the camera on the phone, but that is a very difficult problem.

is it possible to show videos from PC to Gear VR display?

  • The GearVR includes several different movie players that support user content. They’re actually a very good use for the device.

will Gear VR only work with The Note 4. Or Are There Plans To Fit Other Phones

  • Currently it is only the Note 4. They have announced a version for the S6 as well, but that will be a different piece of hardware from the Note 4 version. Be careful, because there Note 4 models that are not compatible with GearVR, so verify your model numbers before purchasing!

Is there any option “preview in editor” as for Oculus Rift?

  • Currently there is not. We recommend developing with a DK2 with positional tracking disabled. When the Note 4 is plugged into the headset, it has to be disconnected from the PC.

About input, VR on Gear VR is more passive or gameplay that revolve around rotation+acceleration or aim and confirm, correct?

  • There certainly isn’t a shortage of turret shooters on GearVR, but coming up with new approaches to gameplay on the GearVR should be seen as an interesting challenge for designers :slight_smile:

Can Mfi Controllers still connect to The Phone in Gear VR?

  • Bluetooth controllers should continue to work fine with GearVR as long as they work with normal UE4 Android titles. Controllers that require connection to the USB port of the phone will not work when the phone is plugged into the headset.

How Is Latency on Gear VR?

  • As long as your title is able to maintain a solid 60FPS, it is actually extremely good. GearVR uses a technique called ‘timewarp’ that takes the most recently available frame and corrects it’s location on screen based on the orientation of the device at the moment the image is presented on screen. This results in some of the smoothest feeling VR available at the moment.

What about the Hydra controller? (We’ve got it working in Support before with Oculus, not bluetooth)

  • I haven’t looked into this. If it can connect to an Android app over bluetooth, it should continue to work in VR mode.

Will you be releasing any GearVR specific features with the 4.8 release?

  • We plan on making the GearVR experience a bit more smooth in the 4.8 release. Stay tuned!

Wouldn’t eye tracking lessen the burden with foveated rendering?

  • It’s a complicated topic. Eyes can move extremely quick.

So it uses the gyro in the phone to do the tracking? Some sort of back camera tracking at all?

  • GearVR uses sensors in the headset that are better tuned to the needs of VR. They are quite fast and very precise.

Here is the list of links to required software that you will need as well.

Galaxy Note 4’s that work with Gear VR
https://support.oculus.com/hc/en-us/articles/204113096-Samsung-Gear-VR-Innovator-Edition-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4-Compatibility

Samsung Note 4 USB Drivers

Visual Studio 2013

UE4 version 4.7 or Later

Tegra Android Development Pack 4.0r1 or later

Enable Developer Mode
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Platforms/Android/GettingStarted/2/index.html

OSIG File Generation
https://developer.oculus.com/tools/osig/

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Hey Sam.

Thanks for answering my virtual head model question. I hope you guys get that in there in time for the Mobile Jam as it is essential for a comfortable experience.

Here are some other questions I would have asked if I had known I had your ear. :slight_smile:

  1. How about built-in support for touchpad swipes? Looks like this is implemented in ThirdParty\Oculus\LibOVRMobile\LibOVRMobile_042\VRLib\jni\App.cpp as InterpretTouchpad(), and needs to bubble up to UE4.

  2. How about displaying the Platform UI such as for when the volume changes? Or a long press with the circle that fills in and then displays the global menu? Or confirm quit on back from the app’s main menu? It looks like these should be automatically handled by AppLocal::VrThreadFunction() in ThirdParty\Oculus\LibOVRMobile\LibOVRMobile_042\VRLib\jni\App.cpp. All of this built-in functionality is likely required to remain compliant with the Gear VR store.

Thanks!

  • Dave
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Just would like to say a sincere “Thank You!” to Epic for this stream and to Sam for putting in the time and research for creating this document and for explaining the process so clearly.

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As Oculus and Samsung promised the since the lollipop March 13th Update:

& added to the official oculus supported list:

https://support.oculus.com/hc/en-us/articles/204113096-Samsung-Gear-VR-Innovator-Edition-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4-Compatibility

**Note: Most models including Exynos chips are now on that list!
**

EDIT: After testing UE4 with this latest update from Oculus it’s actually all working I stand corrected! :slight_smile:

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I have exact same questions as Gnometech, so again, support for hardware buttons and touchpad on GearVR?