Resolved Unity OpenXR Support?

Just seen Oculus Quest is announcing OpenXR support
https://uploadvr.com/quest-openxr-prototype-support/

When can we expect to see OpenXR support with Unity in this growing fragmented market? I am aware the XR Management Subsystems handle some of this but when can we see some OpenXR support?

 

I already asked without any reply. I don't think we can expect that anytime soon.

 

It is frustrating to work in this field where you can see the standardisation happening in the right place (OpenXR) but not in the game engine you use.

Usually I kick up a fuss until I get the answer I need but it really is tiresome when I just want to focus on developing and being successful with the applications I make.

 

OpenXR is available in UE4 as a preview, I guess it's not yet stable to ship it.

 

Quote from Khronos site (so I guess it's in the baking):

“Unity is committed to being an open and accessible platform and we remain supportive of open standards for XR applications and devices. To that end, we're excited about OpenXR and believe this is a significant step towards a more open ecosystem.”

Ralph Hauwert
Vice president of platforms at Unity Technologies

 

https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/01/24/unity-xr-platform-updates/ This is Unity's official position.

 

The famous blog post.. it is likely OpenXR will be another XR Plugin alongside Oculus plugin, OpenVR plugin, WMR plugin etc

 

Let's hope so..

If not, Unity developers will be facing considerable timelines awaiting for hardware vendor support.

 

Hey Guys, Can anyone tell me what's up with Open XR and Unity, Upon reading I am guessing that Unity XR plugin will be clashing with Open XR, or am I wrong about this? I'll be happy if someone can educate me on this? Thanks, guys!

 

Little update from SteamVR here, sort of calls Unity out by mentioning that Unreal has OpenXR out the box now and is just a checkbox away. Then goes on to mention Unity doesn't really have OpenXR support.

Bit odd huh? Would love an update on this from Unity. OpenXR could greatly simplify VR Development for us all and enable us to focus more on our games/applications rather than specific platform support.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/250820/announcements/detail/2522527900755718764

 

It was already stated many times that it is up to Steam the development of the OpenXR plugin, it is even re-confirmed in the link you mentioned:

On Unity, the latest SteamVR Unity Plugin (beta) supports Unity XR for rendering and SteamVR Input for controller processing, currently via the OpenVR API. We intend to continue development of this plugin in the push towards OpenXR.

It should be also "one checkbox away" on Unity once they have a stable version.

 

Unless you have another source, this quote from the article is a bit fluffy around what it means. It could mean that Valve will be responsible for making the OpenXR plugin in Unity as part of their OpenVR plugin, which doesn't make sense really as the OpenVR loader in XR Plugin Management is intended for deployment to Steam with OpenVR. Surely it would be renamed.

Or it could mean that they will maintain their OpenVR XR plugin in Unity as part of their efforts to encourage Unity developers to use XR Plugin management in Unity so they can have the multiple plugin targets using it so they can deploy to Oculus, Windows MR, SteamVR in one app and allow the plugin manager to select with XR Plugin Loader to run at runtime.

To be honest the water becomes muddied at this point with XR Plugin Management and OpenXR diverging in the areas of build targets. We should ideally be able to use OpenXR as the base, then the plugin manager or similar could handle a runtime check of what system is used ie. Windows MR/Oculus/OpenVR and the devs can make platform specific code that runs there for platform specific features like achievements, steamVR overlays, Oculus overlays and similar native platform functionality.

Maybe this is all intended to diverge there, if you have any other sources on this please post them here to help me and others.

 

I like how this article doesn't mention OpenXR once in it!

 

Not directly, but:

The first link leads to here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2508...1.1189897844.1592217073-2011736305.1579460397
Which have more info about the current state and contains a link to a preview version of the OpenXR package: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steamvr_unity_plugin/tree/2.6.0b1

EDIT: sent the wrong link to the package, here is the right one https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steamvr_unity_plugin/tree/UnityXRPlugin

 

You are confusing OpenVR with OpenXR, run a ctrl+f search for 'OpenXR' on any of those links including the one from my comment. OpenVR and OpenXR are different things.

I would like to keep this thread to talking about OpenXR to avoid any further confusion. I have been using the OpenVR Xr Plugin beta version for quite some time now but am more interested in using OpenXR for wide platform support.

 

lol sorry, I copied the wrong link, edited the post. Anyway, I think it is not Unity's fault that Valve is developing an "OpenVR XR plugin" instead of just integrating their OpenXR plugin with the Unity XR SDK.

Maybe opening a thread on the steamcommunity forums to question this would be more effective (but I am curious too if Unity has anything to say about that).

 

^THIS

It's really unbelievable. The first thing I did when I saw hippocoder's reply:
Open link in new tab > Ctrl F "OpenXR" > *facepalm*

 

https://uploadvr.com/oculus-rift-basic-openxr-support/
What?
paleae we need info about OpenXR for unity

 

I have mixed feelings about that. In the end, it could be the awaited, disruptive standard that would change XR development. But how does it translate in 'Unity time' and strategy? While they are publicly 'supportive' about it, I don't see anything besides a vague statement and lack of communication. Who will implement the plugin? I also think about all the certification checks between versions on both sides...

 

Sometimes I wonder if Unity guys really understand OpenXR or not. It seems they don't give a damn about this while Unreal, Steam, Oculus put resources to it.

 

Any updates on this Unity?

 

A big update here on OpenXR support from Oculus. UploadVR also kindly take time to call out Unity on lack of support for OpenXR

https://uploadvr.com/oculus-store-accepts-openxr

 

Related: Valve's XR management OpenVR plugin will not support Unity's Input System, instead opting to consider support in a future setup (OpenXR).

 

It will be available ok but the question is When!!!

 

OpenVR is supposed to be a superset of the functionality provided by the unity XR plugin architecture, right?
Why can't they just wrap the SteamVR lib and provide basic controller support? They almost had it on the previous repo

 

Please no confusing OpenVR with OpenXR. This thread is about OpenXR support in Unity not (OpenVR aka SteamVR).

I wish they would rename OpenVR because the name is misleading and it's locked to Steam storefront essentially.

 

Currently running "UnityXR" from Valve, can only use prev.2, as they removed all legacy & Unity Input in Prev.3+.
Now im stuck with prev.2 or switch to "Steam VR Beta".

As they made a Plugin called UnityXR,which now no longer supports any Unity Input, I gues Unity will support OpenXR at some point ?!

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/unity-xr-plugin/issues/16

 

Just to be clear... all my work that i put in Unitys XR Stuff will not work with SteamVR but all the others?

It's all so confusing!
And it's hot outside... that isn't helping either.

 

Would really love to see support for OpenXR in Unity so that there can be widespread support for various devices, making multi-platform experiences using devices outside of the main stream much more feasible. Especially for enterprise, this would be very useful.

Unity can only support so many devices on their own. Opening up to using a universal open source standard will greatly help the ecosystem.

 

I understand that with a rapidly evolving technology like XR it can be hard to implement or support all of the latest changes and platforms, but developing for VR with Unity has become such a confusing mess recently, and is making me reconsider using it for my next project.

Adding support for OpenXR would at least be a step in the right direction, and hopefully lead to a more streamlined and manageable process further down the line.

 

Seeing as Steam is also moving to use OpenXR, it must only be a matter of time before we get an official update from Unity on this too!

 

Feels like Unity is just waiting for somebody else to fix the problem for them. Apparently Valve is working on bringing OpenXR support to SteamVR and we might get OpenXR support to Unity through that. Even then, there are no (public) release dates for anything, and all we can do is wait and pray. The idea of an OpenXR plugin in the XR Plugin Management window is also a bit silly, since it kinda makes all the other plugins somewhat obsolete.

Unity's message has basically been "we do not oppose the idea of somebody making an OpenXR plugin for our system", while Unreal Engine has had built in OpenXR support for almost a year.

 

I have not tested this with a device. But i think the new version of SteamVR asset allows the openXR thing to be used. (Version 2.6.1 for 4 august 2020).

To install I needed to remove the steamVR packages from the computer cache and the project, the package manager did not see the latest version.

Now I can see a OpenVR sub-item below my XR Plug-in Management. I am using Unity 2020.1.1f1 with XRpluginManagement 3.2.13 and OpenVR XR Plugin 1.0.1

https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/integration/steamvr-plugin-32647#releases
says : "Added support for Unity XR API"

 

I thought about that, but I don't think it does. Not all hardware (Edit I should have said constructor/platform) will be 'open' to OpenXR (and even if so, not for some time anyway), and OpenXR may not compare exactly to the first-party implementation in term of features.
@Arnold_2013 again, aren't you confusing OpenVR/OpenXR(and Unity XR API)?
I know that Valve is looking at focusing on (shifting to ?) OpenXR in the future but it is not a thing yet AFAIK.

 

A big question is, who will develop and maintain the OpenXR XR Plugin for Unity? What happens if Unity scrap XR Plugin Management in the near future like they did with the legacy VR support?

 

On the note of this, some people may want to develop only for one platform and use the platform's specific features. For whatever reason. However other cross-platform developers would choose to build for OpenXR only as an across-the-board build target.

 

Why are you considering that? I don't think it's fair to the actual efforts. Things are unclear enough ^^'
Offtopic (maybe) but: once again the lack of communication is showing results.

 

They may remove it if all vendors switch to OpenXR as a standard or simplify the functionality of it to suit OpenXR (wouldn't be a bad thing).

Btw the asset store links in your forum signature take me to an error page

 

@ROBYER1 I guess that would not be in the 'near future' anyway.
I don't think it should amend the work being done on the new API.
I doubt that the new XR API (in conjunction with SRP etc.) in the current state is fully production-ready (I honestly don't know, but my previous tries were not good), and as I'd love to see OpenXR taking the lead, I think it's way too soon to think about deprecation.
(thanks, I know my signature is quite dated, me being lazy)

 

My guess is: Unity was developing XR Management before OpenXR is finished, and Unity thought, oh S***, now what. And they decided to continue UnityXR and leave OpenXR for another day.

The problem is, as always, Unity develop things long, and somehow slow, that many things are somehow not production ready in some perspectives, just like this UnityXR and Input System, and maybe SRP.

And I think Unity don't have the resources to take care of all of them.

 

What was wrong with the UnityXR and InputSys?
(I am just wondering)

I had it setup and working fine in the LDR Pipeline and could export my App to the Quest, the Rift and the Vive.
It only stopped working for the Steam/Vive.

 

Please post about this on a separate thread, this thread is about OpenXR, not OpenVR which you are probably confusing this thread with.

 

No no, not confusing it, i've just wanted to know why cdytoby saying what he is saying, especially since it sounds very negative.

 

Generally I think UnityXR is not bad, but not good either, with a few bugs. But some biggest platforms are supporting OpenXR, especially SteamVR now go to that direction and consider UnityXR as "legacy support", and we hope OpenXR can be considered as a xr platform in Unity, but this is not the case, and I believe Unity don't have the resources to develop them.

 

My only concern is that SteamVR breaks in Unity 2020. I just want that to not happen before it has an official release. Otherwise I guess I am stuck with the very last 2019 release for the lifetime of my project.

 

I just want Vive support under Unity XR Plugin Management without having to use SteamVR plugin. Any suggestions? No Vive inputs are passed through the Unity InputSystem using XR Plugin Management, which is where I decided to read inputs from other devices like Hololens and Quest.
Guess I'm just waiting for Valve to work with Unity on getting it to work with OpenXR implementation under the covers?
- "We're handling input through our own plugin while we work with Unity on a solution to get their input system working with modern input standards (OpenVR / OpenXR)."

 

I'll bump this thread. It's pretty weird that it's not even in the Roadmap yet.

Looking forward to hearing more from Unity.

 

They have many more employees than Unreal and Unreal somehow managed to have support instantly.

Why do you think they have no resources?

 

So am I. And I'll probably wait with upgrading Unity to 202x.y until they have OpenXR propertly built into the engine. I am a little scared because I just started using DOTS and really love it so far, and they're already continuing development of that in 2020 ... so ... we'll see if that will force me over to 2020 at some point. But then again, the porting effort I've had with porting from one Unity version to another, or from one official system that got deprecated, to another, has been so severe that switching engine seems much more reasonable than it should.

 

I'm starting to feel I made a mistake trusting Unity for my current project instead of using Unreal, looking at this months old thread and not reading even one answer from any Unity employee is so sad, they avoid problems as if they didn't exist.

They make legacy something that didn't last much more than a year out of preview, it's so frustrating not knowing what the future of such an essential tool is.

I'm using the XR Interaction Toolkit and love the way it works, but knowing the future is so unpredictable in the Unity XR ecosystem feels like a constant risk.