Windows Mixed Reality VR Question - SteamVR or Desktop?

mossfoot · Feb 18, 2018

Cmdr Scorpion said:
You have to play it through Steam, I was having many issues at first CTDs an locking up, But since doing a bit of house keeping using CCleaner it is running like a dream.
Not sure if Steam or Microsoft have anything to do with it.
BTW I got my Lenovo at Christmas.

Yep, I figured out that much, though interestingly enough, you can go to the desktop and run the non-steam launcher if you have it. It will end up loading steamVR to run, but it will be using your other non-steam files to do so.

What kind of house keeping?

govny · Feb 18, 2018

mossfoot said:
Is there an easy way to get rid of the barrier line references

yuo can disable them in the option menu of the windows portal (but you have to do it all the time) or set up the headset for a seated experience during configuration setup and you will neve see those lines anymore.

Avago Earo · May 12, 2018

mossfoot said:
Yep, I figured out that much, though interestingly enough, you can go to the desktop and run the non-steam launcher if you have it. It will end up loading steamVR to run, but it will be using your other non-steam files to do so.

What kind of house keeping?

I'm looking to get the Lenovo Explorer in a couple of weeks. Is it necessary to get a Steam Key from Frontier, or can Elite be 'added' to Steam and still work with Steam VR and launched?

mossfoot · May 12, 2018

Avago Ero said:
I'm looking to get the Lenovo Explorer in a couple of weeks. Is it necessary to get a Steam Key from Frontier, or can Elite be 'added' to Steam and still work with Steam VR and launched?

I used a key, I don't think you can without, but I could be wrong.

Avago Earo · May 12, 2018

mossfoot said:
I used a key, I don't think you can without, but I could be wrong.

Okay. Cheers for the reply.

Retrograde · May 12, 2018

No key needed. You need Steam and SteamVR installed, but Elite doesn't have to be on Steam.

Avago Earo · May 12, 2018

Retrograde said:
No key needed. You need Steam and SteamVR installed, but Elite doesn't have to be on Steam.

Cheers, Retrograde. I suppose Steam has to run in the background? If so, does that have an impact on game performance?

Retrograde · May 12, 2018

I usually have Steam running in the background, but that's not necessary. Impact of Steam is minimal, I think, but I never compared. On Steam, you will need SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR installed.

Avago Earo · May 12, 2018

Retrograde said:
I usually have Steam running in the background, but that's not necessary. Impact of Steam is minimal, I think, but I never compared. On Steam, you will need SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR installed.

I had Steam before to install a game that was free with my GPU, but never used it, thus I'm not sure how it works. So when I install Steam and Steam VR, if I don't have Steam running in the background; I assume there is a Steam VR icon that can be opened independently of the Steam client(?). This would probably suit me better with a 970, as I think going in as light as possible, however small the calorific reduction, is probably best.

Retrograde · May 12, 2018

When I start Elite, it automatically detects and starts the headset, regardless of whether Steam is running or not.
I could be wrong here, but I think SteamVR is mainly "OpenVR.dll", so I guess Elite just looks for that?

Edit: You might need Steam running the first time in order to establish the connection. Not sure. And as mentioned, "Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR" needs to be installed on Steam as well.

mossfoot · May 12, 2018

Yeah I answered earlier first thing in the morning. I forgot I haven't played through Steam directly in ages. In fact, Steam creates a completely separate download from your regular installation.

Now here's a question - I accidentally got a Steam Key thinking I needed one to play the game - but as pointed out you just need Steam VR running (with WRM for Steam). My understanding is that Steam takes a cut of everything you buy from that point on (such as the skin store and future updates). But would this still apply if you completely uninstalled the Steam version? Is there some way to remove your key? Got nothing against Steam. I've bought plenty of games from them, but in this case I want my money to go directly to ED

Avago Earo · May 12, 2018

Cheers for the info Retrograde.

Spruxxx · May 12, 2018

Sorry, off topic but I see quite a few Lenovo users on here - are you generally satisfied with it?

I'm considering a nearly new Rift vs a WMR set like the Lenovo (sadly the Odyssey seems to be heavy and uncomfortable even if the displays are great) vs Pimax 8K (if it actually delivers, my doubts are increasing but I've love to be wrong on that)

mossfoot · May 12, 2018

Spruxxx said:
Sorry, off topic but I see quite a few Lenovo users on here - are you generally satisfied with it?

I'm considering a nearly new Rift vs a WMR set like the Lenovo (sadly the Odyssey seems to be heavy and uncomfortable even if the displays are great) vs Pimax 8K (if it actually delivers, my doubts are increasing but I've love to be wrong on that)

I like the Lenovo just fine. No problems with it other than the initial setup issues I had (and issues when new drivers come out occasionally). I still plan on getting the Pimax 8K (or equivilent) later on, but in the meantime it works just fine. The fact I can run it on my somewaht low spec machine (i5 3.1ghz with 970 card and 16 GB of ram) is a huge plus.

Avago Earo · May 13, 2018

mossfoot said:
I like the Lenovo just fine. No problems with it other than the initial setup issues I had (and issues when new drivers come out occasionally). I still plan on getting the Pimax 8K (or equivilent) later on, but in the meantime it works just fine. The fact I can run it on my somewaht low spec machine (i5 3.1ghz with 970 card and 16 GB of ram) is a huge plus.

My system is virtually the same (.3 Ghz faster and 8GB lower than yours), and I'm considering the Lenovo. I haven't got the blutooth 4 to use controllers (I think I have a card from an old system but it may be out of date), but I'll get round to that.

Mosfoot, did you find you had to overclock the 970? If so, what figures did you reach for a good result? Would another 8GB stick help (mine is Hyper Fury X DDR3)?

Cheers in advance.

mossfoot · May 13, 2018

Avago Ero said:
My system is virtually the same (.3 Ghz faster and 8GB lower than yours), and I'm considering the Lenovo. I haven't got the blutooth 4 to use controllers (I think I have a card from an old system but it may be out of date), but I'll get round to that.

Mosfoot, did you find you had to overclock the 970? If so, what figures did you reach for a good result? Would another 8GB stick help (mine is Hyper Fury X DDR3)?

Cheers in advance.

The extra ram sure can't hurt, and isn't prohibitively expensive. As for overclocking, I don't know. I didn't overclock it, but I also got it used from a friend and don't know if he tweaked it in any way.

Avago Earo · May 13, 2018

Okay, Cheers Mosfoot. Mine's a bit overclocked, 1273 MHz I think with no over-voltage. Probably have to do some stress tests.

I might get the extra RAM anyway as my music projects are getting a bit taxing. I've been lucky. Since being signed off work nearly three years ago I've been strapped for cash. A mate handed me a guitar to fix, knowing I just tinker with a cheap gutar I don't mind breaking. It was just a project as I have basic electric soldering DIY experience. The premise was that if I broke his guitar beyond repair, then it would becaome a donor guitar for spares. I tinkered with the truss rod and did some guess/suck it and see fret levelling and rewired the circuitry. A year later he picked it up and in a week handed me £350, as in his words it 'plays like a dream. It was as much luck as judgement. So now I can get WMR.

Spruxxx · May 13, 2018

mossfoot said:
I like the Lenovo just fine. No problems with it other than the initial setup issues I had (and issues when new drivers come out occasionally). I still plan on getting the Pimax 8K (or equivilent) later on, but in the meantime it works just fine. The fact I can run it on my somewaht low spec machine (i5 3.1ghz with 970 card and 16 GB of ram) is a huge plus.

Thanks, good to know esp as my machine is pretty low spec too. I have a 980Ti and 20Gb RAM but everything is 2011 spec. I'll also consider a Pimax or an Odyssey if the Pimax doesn't deliver, but most likely I'll need a PC upgrade to match. Cheers!

op4dave · May 20, 2018

Thank you MR explorers!

Thank you for all the advice you provide. I got a Dell headset. The weight balance is optimal for my dome. I use steam mixed reality and I launch ED from a shortcut in my homespace. The 3D graphics are excellent. I ended up getting Voice attack as I didn't have enough options on my controller to keep me from constantly peeking at my keyboard. I recommend the addition to your game time.

Avago Earo · May 26, 2018

Well I got my Lenovo Explorer (LE) today. All working. Installed Steam VR for WMR but can't open ED in VR, no matter what order I open things in. I tried adding ED to non Steam games, but when I tick the check box it removes it from the list. I'm going touninstall and reinstall steam I think. The Steam Partner key is confusing on the Frontier store as it says 'Steam Key (Oculus).