I'm excited to release the next version of my VR-first gamestream client for the Quest 3/3s. This release has been focused on improving stream control.
My general use case has been trying to use it in the dark while lying down. The previous release had a bunch of problems such as the click pointer being slightly off, only supporting an external controller, etc.
This takes aim at the Steam Frame at introducing controller and keyboard and mouse emulation using the Quest controllers themselves. I can easily play controller-based games now, and 2D point-and-click games are also pretty easy.
You change between controller modes with double thumb click (but Controller or Keyboard Mouse mode needs to be chosen from the menu).
I'm not going to be adding any new features to the app now, but rather just polish and try to improve performance and compatibility (lots of requests for the Quest 2!). Looking into the future will be a server layer on top of Sunshine, or will need to look into integrating with it in some way.
New Features
- Much improved stream pointer control
- Xbox controller emulation
- Keyboard + mouse emulation
- Hand tracking with head pointing mode
- Improved codec support (fixes discoloration on newer Sunshine/NVIDIA drivers)
- X11 local capture for Linux desktop (low-latency screen capture on same machine)
Known Issues
- AI 3D conversion: the weak effect is probably the best possible on the headset itself. A server-side component with processing done there will be needed to improve it. Performance isn't great with 1440p (1080p is fine).
- Passthrough tanks performance. 1080p is fine but not great for 1440p and above.
- Quest 3 performance is WORSE than Quest 3s, probably due to having to render more pixels — but the image quality is really good!
Recommendations
- 1440p passthrough off for games
- 1440p passthrough on for office work and videos
- 1080p passthrough off for AI 3D conversion
- 72fps streaming option added over 60fps (for better frame smoothing)
Improving the smoothness of the stream will be my next big focus.