VR Expansion Plugin

[Si1weri]

@Eanir

Add a boolean variable [FONT=Courier New]‘IsOpen’ to the GraspingHand blueprint (VRExpansion/Vive/Testing/GraspingHand) and to the GraspAnimBP as well. Open the GraspAnimBP, on the left hand panel open the EventGraph and add the following:

](filedata/fetch?id=1835855&d=1606259307)

On the left hand panel open the AnimGraph and set it up way:

](filedata/fetch?id=1835856&d=1606259504)

Then open your pawn blueprint or the Vive_Pawn Character, if you are using the default pawn. Find the InputAction PrimaryGripLeft and Right events(yellow box) and change it tho :

](filedata/fetch?id=1835858&d=1606259908)

Basically, These input actions get called when you press trigger. You set the IsOpen variable to true or false in the GraspingHand bp, make sure you get checkboxes right. The animation blueprint reads value on every update(first screenshot) and the AnimGraph will play your open or fist animations, depending on the value of that bool. Let us know if it works or not

There are probably better solutions, but hey it works.

Thank you very much Eanir! I really appreciate your help!

worked perfectly!

[Plenty10]

You may want to specifically attach the character to the train in case, character movement components “catch up” to moving objects they are standing on and due to things not ticking at the same time the hands would be brought out of overlap with the button. While in the cabin going high speeds you look like you are mostly stationary, so if you treat it like the SeatedMode of the example car you should move “with” the train and not be brought out of overlap.

Another solution would be to handle the overlaps with a delay before de-interacting, or to use a physically simulating button instead which would be brought back in line before the physics thread is ran.

Hey, thanks for your response, I tried turning on the seated mode, but my character just falls trough everything (when seated mode is off it does not). Thank you for your help!

PS: Also I encountered a different problem, I am using VR interactive assembling (if it is out of your support range I will try to figure out myself ), I converted the interactive objects that the parents would be GrippableStaticMeshes but when I try to pick it up the hand grips it correctly, but it fixes onto the object and I cannot move neither the object nor the hand.

Is there a way to attach objects to a socket so it would appear on the hand with pre-programmed transform?

[mordentral]

@Plenty10

Hey, thanks for your response, I tried turning on the seated mode, but my character just falls trough everything (when seated mode is off it does not). Thank you for your help!

PS: Also I encountered a different problem, I am using VR interactive assembling (if it is out of your support range I will try to figure out myself ), I converted the interactive objects that the parents would be GrippableStaticMeshes but when I try to pick it up the hand grips it correctly, but it fixes onto the object and I cannot move neither the object nor the hand.

Is there a way to attach objects to a socket so it would appear on the hand with pre-programmed transform?

1. You have to provide a valid seat attachment parent for it to attach too. Its not actually seated if it is “falling”, SetSeatedMode literally attaches the character to a given parent component. But you can just use normal attachment as well.

2. As to their framework, no idea what its doing, can’t provide you with an answer there.

3. Basic Gripping – VR Expansion Plugin you can actually do really advanced snap transforms as well but that is the basic form

[Si1weri]

Thank you all for your precious help already!
Now that I got the animations working with physical grasping hands on Quest, next I’m trying to find out how can I change the hand models all together for the physical grasping hands from default matinee hands to something more human?

Is there any tutorial available or does anyone have any instructions about how to do it?

Edit:
Never mind. Figured out myself. Sorry if I’m asking too beginner questions here, as everything still is very new in UE4 for me. I’m coming from Unity.

[mordentral]

@Si1weri

Thank you all for your precious help already!
Now that I got the animations working with physical grasping hands on Quest, next I’m trying to find out how can I change the hand models all together for the physical grasping hands from default matinee hands to something more human?

Is there any tutorial available or does anyone have any instructions about how to do it?

Edit:
Never mind. Figured out myself. Sorry if I’m asking too beginner questions here, as everything still is very new in UE4 for me. I’m coming from Unity.

No problems, questions are always fine.

[GRADgr]

Hello , now that 4.26 released is there any release date for the binary of VR Expansion Plugin? Thank you!

[mordentral]

@GRADgr

Hello , now that 4.26 released is there any release date for the binary of VR Expansion Plugin? Thank you!

Today after some stability checks against the release version of 4.26.

It would be something I would caution against trying to move an entire project over too right away though, its going to be one of the rougher migrations as its being used as a prep version for ue5.

[GRADgr]

Are there any changes that I should apply moving from 25 to 26 regarding Expansion Plugin? Does v26 on Expansion Plugin support by default Chaos Physics? Are you aware of Chaos situation at the moment, like if all physics features from PhysX work?

[mordentral]

@GRADgr

Are there any changes that I should apply moving from 25 to 26 regarding Expansion Plugin? Does v26 on Expansion Plugin support by default Chaos Physics? Are you aware of Chaos situation at the moment, like if all physics features from PhysX work?

Yeah there is a migration guide one www.vreue4.com for changes that have to be done to projects to go from .25 to .26.

I ported VRE to chaos when it was default in early previews of 4.26, but chaos was far too unstable and broken to be useable (which is why they reverted it being default and made physx default again for now). And no, chaos is not at all currently feature complete with physx.

VRE will still run on chaos currently, I didn’t strip out the chaos pathway code, the only major caveat is that the vehicle class is not cross compatible due to how they changed things so it has to be changed between chaos and physx.

I “may” release a chaos specific branch with the chaos vehicle class if the chaos default version of 4.26 is actually stable enough to care about. Last impressions of it were that it needs months of iteration more, literally could not test features on it due to crashes, performance issues, and lack of actual 1:1 with physx, meaning that I don’t know if the current force units of measure are actually going to remain or be changed.

Edit As negative as that sounded regarding chaos, it is only because chaos was attempted to be pushed far too early. I’m sure that after enough development time they will iron out these issues, and the upsides to chaos with its additional feature set and better framework are huge, I very much look forward to it being stable.

[mordentral]

Pushed 4.26 live to both repositories (under master branch) and locked the 4.25 version into its own branch.

Pre-built binaries are live and patch notes and migration guide is here: 4.26 Patch Notes – VR Expansion Plugin

[Isjtar]

Hi,

I’m trying to get my index controllers to work with animated hands. I realize the OpenInput plug-in is theoretically no longer needed, but it seems still the easiest way to get it working in multiplayer.

I’ve followed the instructions, but only the right hand animates. The set-up is exactly the same, just changed the enumerators and animbp to left hand. Even if I just drag the OpenInputSkeletalMesh from RightMotionController to LeftMotionController, it doesn’t work. Changing the enums doesn’t change that. The hand is static and offset to the controller.

is all in UE4.24 single player, in editor. My pawn inherits from VRCharacter.

Am I missing something?

Many thanks

Edit: Nevermind, I manged to make it work. For reference, I’m using the same mesh as the right hand, same animbp, scale -1 on x-axis and enable mirror left-right. I’m using the vr_glove_right_model_slim that’s included with the plug-in.

[Magneto]

Pushed 4.26 live to both repositories (under master branch) and locked the 4.25 version into its own branch.

Pre-built binaries are live and patch notes and migration guide is here: 4.26 Patch Notes – VR Expansion Plugin

Hey I was wondering as you’re the most knowledgeable with vr here if you could please help. I’ve always had trouble using more complex templates like yours and i only need something simple so the below one is ideal for me. Im just now getting back into unreal after over a year away. Thanks.

https://forums.unrealengine.com/deve…45#post1837845

[mordentral]

@Isjtar

Hi,

I’m trying to get my index controllers to work with animated hands. I realize the OpenInput plug-in is theoretically no longer needed, but it seems still the easiest way to get it working in multiplayer.

I’ve followed the instructions, but only the right hand animates. The set-up is exactly the same, just changed the enumerators and animbp to left hand. Even if I just drag the OpenInputSkeletalMesh from RightMotionController to LeftMotionController, it doesn’t work. Changing the enums doesn’t change that. The hand is static and offset to the controller.

is all in UE4.24 single player, in editor. My pawn inherits from VRCharacter.

Am I missing something?

Many thanks

Edit: Nevermind, I manged to make it work. For reference, I’m using the same mesh as the right hand, same animbp, scale -1 on x-axis and enable mirror left-right. I’m using the vr_glove_right_model_slim that’s included with the plug-in.

Actually unless you are going to replicate curls and blend animations, the open input plugin is the only pre-built way to do it multiplayer currently.
I do plan on killing it off eventually though when I get everything in it ported to the OpenXR hand extension now that OpenXR doesn’t crash on launch for me anymore.​​​​​​​

The plan is actually to move the entire example template and my primary development focus to OpenXR asap (when its implementation on vr platforms and engine seems stable enough), since it will allow platform agnostic features more easily.

[mordentral]

@Magneto

Hey I was wondering as you’re the most knowledgeable with vr here if you could please help. I’ve always had trouble using more complex templates like yours and i only need something simple so the below one is ideal for me. Im just now getting back into unreal after over a year away. Thanks.

https://forums.unrealengine.com/deve…45#post1837845

I’m not going to provide support on other templates as I don’t know how they are setup and would have to download and look at them, the author will generally be a better contact for their specific work. However, generally if bLockToHMD is off in order to sync the character to the hmd movements than the approach is wrong, there are cases for doing but they are rare.

[anonymous_user_98e3360f]

Yeah there is a migration guide one www.vreue4.com for changes that have to be done to projects to go from .25 to .26.

I ported VRE to chaos when it was default in early previews of 4.26, but chaos was far too unstable and broken to be useable (which is why they reverted it being default and made physx default again for now). And no, chaos is not at all currently feature complete with physx.

VRE will still run on chaos currently, I didn’t strip out the chaos pathway code, the only major caveat is that the vehicle class is not cross compatible due to how they changed things so it has to be changed between chaos and physx.

I “may” release a chaos specific branch with the chaos vehicle class if the chaos default version of 4.26 is actually stable enough to care about. Last impressions of it were that it needs months of iteration more, literally could not test features on it due to crashes, performance issues, and lack of actual 1:1 with physx, meaning that I don’t know if the current force units of measure are actually going to remain or be changed.

Edit As negative as that sounded regarding chaos, it is only because chaos was attempted to be pushed far too early. I’m sure that after enough development time they will iron out these issues, and the upsides to chaos with its additional feature set and better framework are huge, I very much look forward to it being stable.

Don’t think you were overly negative at all about Chaos, just sounds honest to me. Rushing Chaos forward for UE4 then jumping ship to UE5 was disappointing to me.

Also have a quick question – is there any way to disable HMD-directed movement temporarily at run time so that I can, for instance, allow a player to look over a ledge without the VR pawn thinking the head movement forward was full body movement, thus sending the character off the edge? Same principle for leaning left and right. Any ideas? Thanks

[mordentral]

@ZebrahawkActual

Don’t think you were overly negative at all about Chaos, just sounds honest to me. Rushing Chaos forward for UE4 then jumping ship to UE5 was disappointing to me.

Also have a quick question – is there any way to disable HMD-directed movement temporarily at run time so that I can, for instance, allow a player to look over a ledge without the VR pawn thinking the head movement forward was full body movement, thus sending the character off the edge? Same principle for leaning left and right. Any ideas? Thanks

Just put the pawn not into walking mode generally.

[Magneto]

I’m not going to provide support on other templates as I don’t know how they are setup and would have to download and look at them, the author will generally be a better contact for their specific work. However, generally if bLockToHMD is off in order to sync the character to the hmd movements than the approach is wrong, there are cases for doing but they are rare.

Yeah i understand thanks anyway. His template was what i was after all time since the old ones stopped getting updates. It’s just a shame i can’t use it due to motion sickness. The camera has a surprising amount of lag when that’s off. I’m not sure what to do now…

[anonymous_user_98e3360f]

Just put the pawn not into walking mode generally.

hmm, that seems to have just disabled my ability to use my controller for locomotion but the pawn still tracks with my head.

A much more vital question that would be much appreciated if answered: when simulating a dedicated server, my VRCharacter-derived class is moving very slowly compared to what it should be, seemingly throttled by the server prediction or something. When I uncheck replicate movement on its BP, it works normally but of course no longer replicates its position. Am I doing something wrong?

EDIT: update, enabling Ignore Client Movement Error Checks and Correction seems to fix but that doesn’t seem like a good permanent option especially since the tool tip explicitly says to disable when “done”. Seems that my assertion was right, prediction seems to be correcting my character’s quick movements. Maybe I can make do with unless anyone has other ideas. Will leave for future reference

[Si1weri]

I love the physical grasping hands, but I have one problem with them. They sometimes get stuck behind objects and walls and I would want them to reset (jump back to motion Controller tracking position) after some distance limit is reached, for example if they’re 1meter away from tracking position. Is possible? How could I get it to work?

[arcan_studios (Juan Manuel Ferrer Martin)]

hi, i just updated to 4.26, and tried again the plugin, look amazing, i want to change the joystick behaviour, i want to move and snap turn with joystick, but not with joystick press and then change direction, only change direction of joystick without pressd down joystick, like usual vr games do. How can i change that ? thanks