Want to play via Steam, in VR, but not through SteamVR

[RekoRed_]

The TL;DR to this is that I got the game on Steam and would like it to remain there but launch it (in VR) though the Oculus API solely and NOT have to use SteamVR when playing.
Nobody has yet found this to be possible but Frontier DO have an Oculus version so there has to be a way to run it like this.

======================================================================================================================================

I know it's a pretty awkward question, but essentially I have a CV1 Rift want to keep all my games in one place but for some bizarre reason the Steam version can only run through SteamVR and can't solely use OVR on its own despite the fact of there being also an Oculus version of ED.

The only way I have gotten OVR to work without SteamVR is to run the game directly but doing that it dosen't remember my credentials but when I do enter them and get the verification code, it asks me to buy.obtain the game again, what? I just did. I looked at my accounts page for my Frontier account and it says they are linked. So X can see Y but the launcher can't see the connection.

Someone on Steam (yes I posted it on their discussions too) regarding the fact they said they did the same as I just did but because they bought the game from Frontier directly, it worked for them. In OVR without SteamVR. So I started to look into how Steam launches ED in an attempt to load ED + OVR and for that to work but not SteamVR.

On SteamDB I found this:

Tried a mixture of these commands and only found limited success.
I was logged in now and before when it failed to log in it never loaded Horizons but when I could log in it did.
The game never manages to enable VR, you can tell because the window will only see in the left eye,
making the Frontier logo look a bit down right from the centre if it does this correctly, and it would just be in the centre if this fails.

So the only commands that actually worked was /Steam that looking at it doesn't even look like a command from Steam that leads me to believe that Steam isn't the one that is triggering SteamVR to appear but Frontier and seeing that you have an oculus version IIRC you have a command for OVR too.

 

[Glen Fiddik]

Try this https://gitlab.com/znixian/OpenOVR

 

[A D]

See if you can download the ED version from the FD store using your existing account. If not, ask FD support to activate this product on your existing Store account explaining that you have already purchased the game through Steam but don't want to use Steam VR. They may be sympathetic.

If you do have or manage to gain access to the FD version of the game, then you can uninstall the Steam version (using the Steam app) and install the FD version. You can then start ED from the launcher and Oculus will start (don't have Steam running when doing this). That's how I use ED in VR and pretty sure it will solve your problem if you can be bothered with all the mucking around. Its a messy solution cos you didn't buy from the FD store originally (no criticism, just a fact).

Here's a little tibit of info which some might not know. With the FD version you can manually set the VR (then you default VR software starts when the game does). However, with the Steam version that option is removed (or hidden) from the game settings so you must start the game with Steam VR otherwise it defaults to desktop mode when you use the launcher. Seems to be a deliberate mod to the game to force players to use Steam VR.