WMR headsets in standalone build (exe)

I understood that these headsets can only be used in Universal Windows 10 Application builds. Is it (ever?) going to be possible to use these headsets in a standalone build (exe)? If yes, any time soon? And if yes, will they also run on previous Windows versions (7/8)?

Geert

 

G33RT, I'd love to understand what you would be trying to achieve by going to a standalone exe. Can you elaborate a bit on the usecase?

 

Hi, I have it up and running already using SteamVR with this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...0-play-steamvr-games-in-windows-mixed-reality

Installation was a breeze since I already had SteamVR installed for the Vive. But I suppose this will only work on Windows 10.

And still, I'd prefer a scenario without Steam ... but it's a start.

About the usecase: I built a system that "generates" VR-apps on-the-fly based on 3D models. I want these apps to run on any maching without any installation, also from a USB stick.

 

Got it... Is there a reason you generate new apps vs. having the models loaded into a single player? Do you have a reference to your product I could take a look at? It sounds really cool, and I'd love to see more about it.

 

would this work for normal exe steam VR projects compiled in unity or just steam vr project that is published on the steam store?

 

Hi! Works perfectly for normal exe's built with Unity, no need for publishing. It works, but still, a pitty that the end user must have Steam installed.

 

Simple answer @G33RT is No, MR apps won't run as EXE's.

The SDK that is MixedReality is embedded within the Windows UWP platform (aka Windows 10), so to use it natively, you have to build / deploy for UWP.

However, as stated above, You can use the SteamVR SDK and build / deploy to an exe, which will run on Windows 10 under Mixed Reality via SteamVR.

Hope that helps

 

thanks for the explanation guys. i tried this yesterday and I can now get all our old Steam VR exe's to work with WMR as a stop gap until we start making UWP native apps (and most likely ditch Steam VR).

 

I have a similar question. I develop very specialized VR Training apps and Presentations using the Vive and Rift. In those situations it's easy enough to deploy the apps to a limited number of devices, less then a dozen in most cases. I just received the Samsung Odyssey HMD and I am really impressed with the quality. I see WMR as a better solution for my clients especially when it comes to the inside out tracking and no need for the cameras or lighthouse components that the Rift and Vive use.

I have two Hololens devices and have developed a few apps to them for in house use and deploying from Visual Studio has worked well but in the above scenario all of the deployed systems are in various locations nationwide and some are even in Semi Truck Trailer rigs going from event to event. I see deploying custom apps and updates to these systems could be an issue with WMR. Most of these systems are rarely connected to the internet.

Downloading a Unity app to a USB drive in a hotel and then installing on the systems is quick and easy. (Unzip file to a folder, run exe...). Even an untrained presenter can do that... although setting up the Rift and Vive can be an issue with the less technically savvy unless permanently mounted in a truck or a display system.

How would deployment in this scenario be best achieved for WMR?

Thanks,

 

Sideloading apps in Windows 10 @Vern_Shurtz requires the PC app install options to be updated, but it is possible.

Check this document for instructions on how to prepare your UWP app from Visual Studio for sideloading.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/packaging/packaging-uwp-apps#sideload-your-app-package

Hope that helps

 

Actually, (many) UWP APIs can also be called from Desktop apps, so theoretically it would be possible to do this. The Remoting Host Sample features a Win32 app and it works (when deployed on Windows 10 >= 1607).

However, in practice this requires explicit support from Unity and complicates the(ir internal) build process by a considerable margin so it's not going happen, unfortunately.

Anyway, I seriously hope OpenXR becomes a thing soon and exposes a single API to deal with all AR/VR devices.

 

I missed this older thread and opened another very similar one recently.

There's no technical reason it can't be done. The Unity editor itself is a Win32 app and can output directly to WMR devices - that should be proof enough for everyone. I've talked with people from the WMR team at Microsoft and they've confirmed there's no technology blocking Win32 apps from accessing WMR.

It appears to be more political in nature. I believe it's this: Microsoft wants to make money by having you make UWP apps which naturally go on the Windows store. Unity doesn't want to upset Microsoft in any way. As a result, direct WMR support is UWP only.

That's unfortunate - UWP has flaws and shortcomings that Win32 apps do not, and so we're forced to use the SteamVR workaround, which costs us haptics (though not for much longer) and likely some performance as well.

 

I was searching for information on this issue and ended up here. So almost a year since the last post, is there anything new on this matter? We are using MR headsets in our VR apps (standalone windows exe:s) with the Steam VR plugin. The practice has shown the running your app on Steam VR which runs on Mixed Reality Portal is far from being reliable - sometimes the controllers do now show up or are oriented wrong, sometimes the processes are not closed properly etc. There is just too many layers of complexity I guess.

It would be great if it would be able to use MR headsets directly in the standalone builds. Is there any change this would be possible at some point?

 

I remember a post a few months ago and was under the impression that Unity was going to take this up. But since then I don't find anything (in their roadmap) … anyone more info on this? Someone from Unity?

Using Steam is a no-go in corporate environments, this really is a major problem. Just being able to use WMR from an exe would be a such a breakthrough ...

 

@Unity_Wesley care to comment on this?
Beign able to use MR headsets directly from (non-UWP) standalone builds would simplify things so much!

 

Still hoping for an answer from someone at Unity...

 

+1 to that, Standalone builds are a must, UWP just doesn't work in our project.

We even participated in a Microsoft hackathon with Microsoft engineers, who basically said making our app in UWP is impossible. Simply because its a desktop and VR application.
UWP assumes one or the other which is slightly ridiculous, our app can never really be FULLY VR or FULLY DESKTOP, they suggested 2 separate UWP apps side by side, but that would require additional complexities that shouldn't be needed in the first place.

The push for "UWP AND ONLY UWP" seems to be a swing and miss.

 

I think I read some time back that WMR would be now also supporting standalone (non UWP) as well. When was the last time you tried doing this? I am building such a standalone build as we speak. In the past I would get a nag that this was not doable. This time no nag screen came up. I'll edit with the results of it after completion.

 

I suppose it will appear on some roadmap? Could anyone give a slightly more precise indication on when this will be available?

 

Interesting @Unity_Wesley I've not seen anything publically road-maped to enable WinMR in a standalone build (not using SteamVR)
So are you saying that Unity is going to enable direct access without the MR Portal in the same way that Unreal already provides?

 

I'm hoping they mean exactly that. It would be so much nicer. And now that software developed in Unity has become more and more popular, this means enterprise companies purchasing VR Software made in unity, don't need to sign up to a Gaming Service and download SteamVR and a WMR bridge.

 

So Unreal has this already? I've been waiting for this since mid 2017 … pls Unity, prioritize this, Steam in a corporate environment is just not possible.

 

> We will support building standalone and UWP builds for Windows MR in furture 2019 builds

Ok, we're halfway 2019. Unity, any updates on this?

 

Spinning up MRP seems ok as long as the exe that's been launched gets focus in VR, right? Sounds good. When can we get access to an Alpha? In which release will it be integrated?

 

It's available in preview mode for 2019.2 right now: https://forum.unity.com/threads/xr-plugins-and-subsystems.693463/

 

@Unity_Wesley Can you inform if with unity 2019.2 we can make a windows mixed reality standalone app.

It appears in XR Management package but I dont understand if this allows to do this

 

Hi All,

I started this thread back in 2017. It's 2020 and I wanted to let you all know that *today* I finally made this work. All works as I always wanted: I can run an exe from a USB stick and if a headset is attached it just runs. No installation required, no user accounts on websites, no driver installations, no proxy problems, no Steam, no nothing, no problem! It just runs!

If I would have known back in 2017 that it would have taken so long I would either have laughed it away or gave up. It's been pretty frustrating … but hell, it works now and it's heaven.

Geert

 

Cool! Sure you will create a tutorial, blog post and/or a youtube video about it? =)

 

Geert, tell us how you did it.

 

Tutorial video or it never happened

 

Turns out it is now possible to use MR headsets on a standalone windows build without Steam VR! I just ran a build on Windows without Steam VR (or even Steam) installed.

This is possible with Unity's new XR Interaction Toolkit (which is still in preview). A blog post about it here: https://blogs.unity3d.com/2019/12/17/xr-interaction-toolkit-preview-package-is-here/

So you just need to add the new XR Plugin Management package, then install Windows XR Plugin via the management GUI and finally add Windows MR Loader, like so: