VintageVR: Stepping into the Cube World

Hello everyone! Flexhd here from the Nexusralms Team.

Top-tier survival gaming deserves a top-tier immersive experience. For a while now, I've been working on a passion project that I'm finally ready to share more about: VintageVR.

We are building a native Virtual Reality mod for Vintage Story, designed to let you experience the seraph's journey with your own eyes and hands. Here is a look at where we stand today and where we are heading.

Current Status

We have built a strong foundation for the mod, moving beyond simple "screen in face" emulation to true, native VR integration.

⚠️ Known Issues

We are currently fighting with the Stereoscopic overlay to ensure perfect alignment and depth perception. This is our top priority fix at the moment.

Native OpenXR Support

We aren't using external injectors or hacky wrappers. VintageVR implements OpenXR directly into the game's engine.

• Native Rendering: We hook directly into the OpenGL rendering pipeline.
• Stereoscopic 3D: The world renders in true 3D. Seeing the depth of a drifter cave or the scale of a windmill for the first time is a game-changer.
• Head Tracking: Full 6DOF (Six Degrees of Freedom) tracking is live. You can look around, lean in to inspect your chiseling work, and physically walk around your room (Room-scale support).

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Controls & Input

You can already play the game using standard VR controllers (tested with HTC Vive profiles and generic OpenXR controllers):

• Locomotion: Experimental support for smooth movement (currently extremely basic and prone to issues).
• Interaction: Triggers mapped to Attack and Use (Left/Right mouse equivalents).
• Actions: Sprint, Sneak, and Jump are mapped to grip and face buttons.
• Inventory: Cycle your hotbar using the right thumbstick.

Developer Experience

• Dependency Management: The mod is smart enough to detect missing system files (like Visual C++ Runtimes) and guide you to fix them, ensuring a smooth installation.

The Roadmap (Future Plans)

We have the basics, but we want immersion. Here is what we are working on next:

1. Motion Controls

Currently, we emulate mouse and keyboard inputs. The end goal is true motion control:

• Physically swinging your sword or hammer.
• Placing blocks by reaching out with your hand.
• Voxel-perfect chiseling with your actual hand movements.

2. Comfort & Accessibility

VR isn't fun if you're nauseous. We are implementing industry-standard comfort features:

• Vignette: Darkening the edges of the screen during movement to reduce motion sickness.
• Snap Turning: Option to turn in fixed increments rather than smooth rotation.
• Teleportation: Alternative movement modes for those who prefer not to use smooth locomotion.

3. Immersive UI

Vintage Story has a lot of UI. We plan to move these flat 2D menus into the 3D world:

• Floating inventory screens.
• HUD elements that might float near your hands or be attached to your wrist.
• Making the handbook easy to read in VR.

4. Performance

VR demands high framerates. We are constantly optimizing the stereo rendering pipeline to ensure the game runs smoothly, even when you're staring at a complex chiseled build.

We are a small indie mod team, but we're pouring a lot of love into this. We can't wait to show you more as development continues!