Release Candidate 1.0 (RC-1.0)
We're proud to announce our brand new release-candidate for version 1.0.0 (RC-1.0) of the VR Simulator. No new features this time around, however we have improved a number of edge case errors that were present in BETA-0.9 for an overall more stable user experience. We've also provided a clearer indication of the Unity environments that we've tested the VR Simulator against.
Documentation Update
Our Requirements section now provides detailed information on the tests we've run.
Bug Fixes
- Running VR Simulator with Oculus Rift. Starting with version 1.9 of the Oculus API, when attempting to run the VR Simulator with Oculus Rift plugged in, the VR Simulator would throw exceptions and not recognize the headset. This bug is now fixed, and the VR Simulator will no longer misidentify the Oculus Rift if it is plugged in.
- Eliminated deprecated Unity code. Starting in Unity 5.5.0f3, a number of LineRenderer methods that we had been using in our Play Area Management were deprecated. While they still worked, they would throw warnings in the Unity Editor log. We have no resolved this in versions of Unity 5.5.0f3 and higher using the new officially-supported API while still maintaining backwards compatibility for older versions of Unity.
BETA-0.9
We've got a lot of important changes in this new version - so many, that we've decided to up the version number to BETA-0.9. Some of these changes are very important and have major implications for users running older versions of Unity.
IMPORTANT Requirements Changes
New Features
- Auto-detection of InputManager Settings. The VR Simulator now manages your Unity Input Manager logic itself through the Unity Inspector GUI - no more messing about with your ProjectSettings files. If you are using Immerseum's default Input Actions but don't have the right input settings configured in your project, you can now apply those settings with one click in the [VRSimulator] inspector. If you enter play mode without those settings, you'll be prompted to temporarily change your settings if needed.
- Play Area Simulation. Now the VR Simulator can also simulate a play area for both Vive and Oculus. You can configure how the simulated play area looks, its size (either fixed or calibrated), when it displays, and whether it moves with the player or constrains the player's movement. For more information, please see Managing Your Play Area.
- Auto-disable the VR Simulator in a standalone build. There is now a checkbox in the [VRSimulator] inspector that lets you disable the VR Simulator when running your scene / project in a standalone build (outside of the Unity Editor's play mode).
- Added OnMoveAvatarStart and OnMoveAvatarEnd events. These events are now fired when the user's avatar begins to actually move through worldspace and stops moving through worldspace.
Bug Fixes
- No longer throws an exception when a Vive is connected/detected. Instead, the VR Simulator reverts camera control back to the Vive. However, if your scene is using Immerseum's input actions and movement mapping, they will still be processed / available using your input devices.
- Fixed height-adjustment bug when using OVRPlayerController.
BETA-0.8.3
Thanks again to some more new users for bringing two bugs and several feature requests to our attention! We've released a new update with four changes:
Bug Fixes
- MacOS Input Bug Fixed. Previous versions threw an exception on MacOS because they couldn't find one of the necessary input axes. This is now fixed.
- Fixed simulated Oculus Rift heights. We were accidentally setting Oculus Rift camera heights a bit too high when simulating the Rift, and have now adjusted this (no more giant mode).
New Features
- Respecting Initial Camera Positions. Previous versions forced the scene's camera rig to X:0 and Z:0 in your scene's worldspace. This is now changed so that your camera rig's initial X and Z positions are retained when simulating an HMD.
- Added OnInitializeCameraRigEnd. We have added a new event called OnInitializeCameraRigEnd that fires when camera rig initialization has been completed.
- Singletons are destroyed between scenes. While the VRSimulator and its components are still singletons, they are now destroyed between scenes. This ensures that you can adjust the configuration of the VRSimulator's behavior easily in each scene using the Unity Inspector.
BETA-0.8.2
Thanks to all of our current users for providing feedback and helping us fine-tune the VRSimulator's default configuration. This update is relatively minor, but should make developing with the VRSimulator a little easier:
- Clearer Error Messages.
- The most common error reprted was trying to use the VRSimulator with SteamVR and a Vive plugged in using Unity 5.4. In previous versions, this produced an ugly NullReferenceException error. We've cleaned this up a bit, so that while it still produces exceptions those exceptions now provide a useful / human-readable message.
- The second most common error reported were NullReferenceExceptions when moving the mouse or hitting movement keys before camera initialization has completed. We've cleaned this up a bit, so that while doing so still throws an exception, that exception is a little easier for us humans to read. These exceptions can be safely ignored.
- Sample Scenes for Oculus Assets. We've included a couple of sample scenes for Oculus as well (one using OVRCameraRig and the other using OVRPlayerController).
- Suppression of Diagnostic Log Messages. We have overhauled how the VRSimulator logs information to the Unity Console. By default, diagnostic logs are now turned off. To turn them on, you have to enable them in the VRSimulator's Inspector settings.
- Suppression of Input Action Logs. In our previous version, logging of input actions was enabled by default. We've now changed this so that logging of Input Actions is disabled by default. You can turn it back on in the VRSimulator's Inspector settings.
- Documentation Updates. We've made some minor updates to our documentation, just to make a couple of things easier to understand or notice.
BETA-0.8.1
And our first bug fix and documentation fix!
- IMPORTANT: Our suppression of the reference errors does not work properly. As a result, you need to have both Oculus Utilities for Unity in your project, and the SteamVR plugin for the VRSimulator to work correctly.
- We've revised how certain inherited classes are organized in our script files. This is to deal with an intermittent and inconsistent Unity bug that apparently crops up now and again.
BETA-0.8
Our first release! This is the first public release of the Immerseum SDK: VRSimulator. Some important information follows:
Release and License
For the time being, the VRSimulator is released in BETA under a modified version of Unity's Asset Store End User License Agreement (Unity's original version | our modified version). Essentially, what our modified license says is that:
- You use the VRSimulator at your own risk. It is a beta-test product and we accept zero responsibility or liability for anything related to it (including but not limited to whether it works, how it affects your software, how it affects your computer, whether it will burn your house down, etc.).
- You're free to integrate the VRSimulator into any of your own code (i.e. your own games or VR experiences) and distribute that code once it's been compiled to whoever you want.
- What you're not allowed to do, however, is to provide the source code to the VRSimulator to any third parties as uncompiled source-code.
- You're also allowed to modify the VRSimulator's source code, provided that those modifications are not then distributed as source code.
- This license does not confer any rights to upgrades, support, or anything else that we may make available. If we decide to offer you something regarding the VRSimulator (like support or a new version for free), that is entirely our call.
- This license will always apply to this version of the software. Future versions may have wildly different licenses and be distributed under wildly different terms - but those new versions/licenses will have no impact on version: RC-1.0.0.
 |
|
In the near future, we do plan to release the VRSimulator on the Unity Asset Store, which will put the VRSimulator under the terms of Unity's original Asset Store EULA.
We are currently planning to charge for the VRSimulator when we make it available in the Unity Asset Store. |
Requirements & Supported Devices
The VR Simulator's requirements are very simple:
| Platform: |
- RECOMMENDED: Unity 5.4.1p1 or higher. However, has been tested and seems to work fine on on Unity 5.4.0f3 as well.
- Windows or Mac (not tested on Linux).
 |
|
Certain functionality that relies on the Oculus APIs may be limited on MacOS. This particularly relates to the use of calibrated play areas. | |
| Project: |
Your Unity project must contain:
|
| Scene: |
Your scene must contain one or more of the following:
- The SteamVR: [CameraRig] prefab, and/or;
- The Oculus: OVRCameraRig prefab, and/or;
- The OVRPlayerController prefab (which also contains the OVRCameraRig prefab), and/or;
- A custom .
|
|
If you customize one of the camera rig prefabs (changing its name in particular), the VR Simulator will still work. However, you will have to set the CameraRig property explicitly when configuring the VRSimulator.
|
|
And that's it!
Documentation & Support
You can find extensive documentation and support for the VRSimulator on the Immerseum web site at: http://developers.immerseum.io/vr-simulator
If you need help using the VRSimulator, we're here to help you! Reach out using any of the following:
|
|
We're a teensy, tiny team right now. The VR Simulator is a one-person project, so response times will vary. We'll do our best to get back to you ASAP, however. |
