Issue : Getting into VR with true versions( compitability )

Hi. I m new to VR and Unity and i have watched Many videos and tuts before i jump into Unity. I always thought that the newest version is always better, because newest version has new features and also Bug Fixes. True?

But in videos i m told that i need to download from Patch Releases page( i cldnt get the point ) so i didnt install the newest 2018 version but i installed version Unity 2017.2.3p1 (64-bit) on WIN10 and using ovr_sdk_mobile_1.14.0 also As i m told again.
Whats the logic to use Patch Release versions. And its a Patch that i need to install on a specific version unity? or its a full unity version? Whats patch releases. Why i shldnt install latest 2018 version.?

I m having some errors at the bottom about Oculus SDK cant initialize and things like that. Well i m stuck. What to do?

And also i created a very basic scene with a mountain ,textured ground and some Low Poly trees. When i run it on GearVR with OculusSDK of course, then its smooth enough, but when i compile SAME basic scene for standard headsets with GoogleSDK then its umm wabbling and its full of motion blur when i look around. There is problem with refresh rate ? Or SDK? Or is it because GearVR has its own gyro inside and it has more quality? So what to do? Any suggestion? Because i m stuck.

 

A lot of times VR is broken inbetween versions of Unity, although I haven't had any problems with Oculus so far.
Mostly Google VR being broken on either iOS or Android.
Example:
2017.2.0p3 it works fine, just upgraded to 2017.4.x LTS(supposedly the most stable version) and Google VR broke with OpenGLES 3.0 on iOS awesome (going from portrait mode to landscape left & VR). But on Metal it works fine.

I'd still stick with the latest version of the LTS releases though. As for the wabbling you're probably referring to the eyes being wobbly while moving. Thats because your device is probably capable of Daydream but you use Cardboard instead.
SDK & NDK are 2 seperate things. The GVR SDK is mostly just for UI & some audio support and other components. The NDK which is embedded into the Unity install is what drives the GVR.
The Gear VR is more stable than Google VR because of its own tracking rather than using the phone's hardware.

I'd suggest you try the Google VR SDK's demo scenes. See if you get the same experience as your own app.

 

Hi MaskedMouse, i appreciate your widely explined answer but i cldnt get that part;

I try to make my app work also for other android phones beside GearVR capable Samsung devices, so others use cardboards or thoose famous plastic cardboards which have no electronic connection with the phone as you know. So you say "Thats because your device is probably capable of Daydream but you use Cardboard instead." Sorry i cldnt get this. My phone capable of daydream but i use a less quality one as cardboard? So i should have more performance then. Why i m having wobbling? Sorry. Cld you explain that part? English is not my mother language by the way.

Also you mentioned 2017.4.x LTS is most stable version as we talk for VR development. But i know i should have 2018 version for usage of ShaderGraph and some other assets as ProBuilder. So what to do then?

Thanks

 

When you enable GVR you get a gear icon at the right top. It allows you to switch the kind of headset you could use.
It may require you to download the Cardboard app (you probably had the popup before when opening it up the first time, if you hadn't installed it already). But either way there you can set the Headset to Cardboard 2015 (which is cardboard V2, the one with the button)

When cardboard mode is used on a Daydream compatible device it usually runs with a higher frame rate of the Daydream. It kind of weird to see if you don't put it in a headset but still move around. I'd say try it out with the Cardboard SDK demo scenes, they run out of the box. Set the headset to cardboard 2015 in the settings using the cog at the right top of the screen.

The ShaderGraph requires you to use the LW / HD rendering pipeline because it is incompatible with the regular pipeline that is default. They are all "preview" packages and can be unstable. I would advise against it to use these unless you know your game will take long to release, i.e somewhere end of the year or next year. But that is of course up to you.
If you really require these features go for Unity 2018.2.1f1, but do keep up with engine updates and workarounds.

Personally I'm excited for some of these new features in 2018.2 and 2018.3, such as the addressable asset system and nested prefabs. They are ready for preview, but not really suitable for development or let alone release.
I do develop with 2018.2.1f1 but it is purely hobbying, not commercial release. At work I use Unity 2017.4.x LTS and try to keep up with the engine updates as much as possible.

Eventually any project made for Android will require 2018.2 or higher, since Google is going to force 64 bit builds and deprecate 32 bit builds. Which means that anyone developing for Android will require to use 2018.2 or higher if they want to update or submit new binaries to the Google Play Store in 2019 (March or April somewhere).
Due to me keeping up with the engine updates it is more easy to transition from 2017.4.x to 2018.4.x(at that point). If it were 2017.1.0 or 2017.2.0 our project would need quite some work due to all those workarounds required.
I find it quite annoying that it is so difficult to get a hybrid 2D / VR app running appropriately. due to so many bugs i've seen throughout 5.6.0 to 2017.1 to 2017.2 to 2017.4 (skipped .3 as I was too busy with another project)

TLDR; GVR is unpleasant to work with if you have a hybrid 2D / VR application

 

I am soryy i cldnt get u. Daydream and googlecardboard. Whats differnce. They are just Things because there is no electronical connection between phone and them. Not like Gear VR. I set it to G. Cardboard but my low poly scene still much laggy and wobbling.

Cardboards have no electronic connection between phone and board so i basicly open my app or G cardboard app and my screen divides into 2 and starts Vr tracking and let me see around without a phone! Because phone dont know if i move with a headset or no..basic. G cardboard app itself also laggy and wobblig. But i ll try G sdk default scene if i can find it. I dont know how i ll find and where.

Sorry i didnt understand. You advice what what is These that you mentioned? What is regular pipeline. And i never got what is pipeline. As i know i need use Low pipeline if i want to develop for VR. Thats all i know.now what u advise?

I dont have a hybrid 2d vr. I dont know whats it. I just jave a design in my head for VR and i dont k ow which version to have and why.. for shadergraph you say i need 2018.2 but they are unstable . So what to do? You say you use Unity 2017.4.x LTS because its stabil but you say for 2019 Playstore then people will need to use 2018.x so what to do?

 

https://developers.google.com/vr/develop/unity/download

What I am saying there is, to be able to use the ShaderGraph you need to use the Lightweight Rendering pipeline. The shader graph only works with the new rendering pipelines. But those rendering pipelines are in preview. Not finished. They aren't supposed to be used in a release build. Hence me advising to not use them unless you know your game is going to be in development for a long time and the rendering pipeline will release in the meanwhile of development.

Like I said before, if you require the features of 2018.x then keep up with the engine updates as much as possible.
But do keep in mind that in 2019, Google will force Android developers to submit 64 bit builds only. Unity 2018.2 is the first Unity release that supports Android 64 bit builds. Which automatically means that everyone will have to upgrade their project to Unity 2018.2 or higher to be able to build 64 bit android builds, any previous version such as 2017.4.x is not capable of building 64 bit builds of Android.