Luke Ross, the modder dedicated to bringing unofficial VR support to flatscreen games,released a new VR mod for the PC version of Horizon Forbidden West.
Only released on PC on March 21st, Horizon Forbidden West again follows series protagonist Aloy as she braves a majestic but dangerous new frontier that’s filled to the brim with bigger and more awe-inspiring machines.
Ross is already well-known in the space for having previously modded VR support for GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia II via the R.E.A.L. VR mod injector, however due to a dispute with Rockstar Games, many of have been removed from the project’s Patreon, although continue to be available on GitHub.
Like the Luke Ross VR mod for Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn, which is built on the studio’s proprietary Decima game engine, the Horizon Forbidden West VR mod allows you to play in third-person, letting you essentially be a floating head over Aloy’s shoulder to take in all of the lush scenery. The mod also has a first-person mode, however as Eurogamer’s Ian Higton reports the latter is “not great at the moment,” as it makes combat significantly harder.
As with many of the latest R.E.A.L. VR mods, you’ll need to be a Patreon supporter to get access, which starts at $10 per month. If you’re looking to follow Ross, you can check out regular updates over at his Patreon page.
To see Horizon Forbidden West in action in VR, check out Higton’s full 20-minute video below:
One of the most prolific modders in the virtual reality (VR) scene is Luke Ross who’s created PC VR mods for videogames like GTA V, Cyberpunk 2077and now From Software’s Elden Ring. The epic adventure has now got the R.E.A.L VR Mod treatment meaning PC owners can now grab their VR headsets and truly step into the Lands Between.
Initially teased in April, the mod went live a few days ago and like all of Ross’ previous projects, you’ll need to signup and be a member of his Patreon page ($10 USD/ £8 GBP per month) to access the files. Bear in mind that this is still an early version of the mod so the features are limited in comparison to Ross’ other projects.
What you get is the ability to play Elden Ring in first person, with the ability to switch to third-person if you need it. The mod only supports controller input but you do still get a fully 360-degree, 6DOF experience, with selectable options to turn off enemy aggression should you simply wish to wander the lands freely or slow downtime.
Essential actions such as rolling to evade enemy attacks do work in the first-person VR mode, with the camera staying fixed to the horizon rather than horribly spinning around causing nausea. Even so, expect Elden Ring in VR to be a fairly intense experience.
Elden Ring VR mod in action
That’s not all in the world of VR modding news. Another modder Raicuparta is currently developing a Stanley Parable VR mod, releasing an early video to showcase his work. Again, like many modders who do these as side projects, Raicuparta has a Patreon if you want to know more and help financially support the project.
Eurogamer’s Ian Higton gave the Elden Ring VR mod a whirl so you can see it in all of its glory. For continued updates, keep reading gmw3.
We now have the opportunity to come face-to-face with the myriad eldritch horrors that lurk within Elden Ring (2022). One of the most well-known names in the VR modding community, Luke Ross, has released his Elden Ring VR mod for the PC version of the game.
This is an early version of the mod and our understanding is that work is still ongoing. For now it supports only controller play, but gives you a full 6DOF experience, the ability to toggle between first-person and third-person views, slow down time, and even turn off enemy aggro so you can roam the lands without fear of being destroyed by horrible beasts. Our friend Cas dove into the mod to check it out first-hand:
The original article, which overviews the mod’s origins, continues below.
Original Article (April 25th, 2022): Over the past few months, Ross has worked to bring VR support to a host of non-VR games, including GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia II,Horizon Zero Dawn, and Cyberpunk 2077. Now it’s time for the hit fantasy action RPG, which bids you to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the ominous Lands Between.
Ross dropped a preview of the Elden Ring VR mod on their YouTube channel, which shows off the immersive first-person exploration and melee-heavy combat, which for now doesn’t appear to be tracked to the player’s motion controllers. And yes: that’s the first enemy in the game.
Ross says on the REAL VR Patreon that the Elden Ring VR mod will “likely be a work-in-progress for quite some time.” The first playable version however should arrive “by the end of next week,” Ross says.
Additionally, Ross warns users should “[k]eep your VR legs in shape, because they’re really going to be put to the test.”
For the uninitiated, “VR legs” refers to the ability to handle discomfort resulting from the mismatch between visual sensory and the physical motion your body expects to feel in your inner ear. The so-called vestibular system provides a sense of balance and spatial orientation which can be thrown out of whack when VR games force you to do things like run and jump too fast, or otherwise encourage frenetic artificial movement.
Native VR games mostly side-step this with a set of clever locomotion settings, however a ground-up world-building approach is usually the key to deemphasizing offending behavior in the first place. Ross can’t do much about players being forced to ascend long and winding staircases, strafing continuously during combat, or platforming and falling to their deaths—all of which can bring on the dreaded flop sweats that typically precede full-on motion sickness.
Additionally, some of the unique scripted animations seen in the flatscreen game won’t directly translate to the VR, i.e. constantly rolling and dodging out of the way. Speaking to PC Gamer, Ross says this:
“When rolling or performing other scripted animations like the combat moves, the camera follows the character’s head (so its position changes) but it remains oriented correctly according to what your head is doing in real life. So the horizon will stay level and the world will always look stable.”
It’s unsure how this will affect general playability, but it may not matter much. Being able to go face-to-face with the world’s unspeakable monsters and marvel at the game’s highly detailed dungeons and open-world environments is definitely going to be an eye-opening experience any which way you slice it.
If you’re looking to follow Luke Ross, you can check out updates posted to their Patreon page and Twitter. There you’ll be able to signup to become a member and gain access to this and all past mods Ross has created.
As gmw3 reported last week virtual reality (VR) modder Luke Ross has been working on a new mod for CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Ross has now released the Cyberpunk 2077 R.E.A.L VR Mod and here’s how you can access and play the futuristic open-world title in VR.
Having previously developed mods for the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V, Ross is very well acquainted with bringing flatscreen titles into VR. There are some caveats, of course, these videogames haven’t been designed for VR so the mod doesn’t offer motion controller support for example.
Even so, there’s still full head tracking which can be used for aiming and locomotion. And it still means you can immerse yourself CD Projekt Red’s cyberpunk universe, if you’re still playing that is. Cyberpunk 2077 got off to a very rocky start when it launched back in 2020. The studio released its latest patch for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 last month, improving the experience for users.
Now onto Cyberpunk 2077 in VR! This is only for the PC version so you’ll need a copy of the videogame on Steam before proceeding.
First up you’ll need to join Ross’ official Patreon – you can join from £8 GBP ($10 USD per month. You’ll also gain access to all of his other R.E.A.L. VR mods (which should keep you busy).
Next, download the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod and unzip the file (there will be three files after unzipping).
Then head to Steam and right-click Cyberpunk 2077 in your library list, select properties>local files>browse.
Locate the “bin” folder, open that and then open the “x64” folder. Copy and paste the three unzipped files, replacing them if prompted.
You’ll then need to run the “RealConfig.bat” file in the “x64” folder by double-clicking it. If a Windows notification appears select “run anyway”.
And that’s it, enjoy Cyberpunk 2077 in VR.
To see the VR mod in action Cas and Chary have a whole gameplay video for you, plus at the end there’s more info on how to install the mod. For further updates on the latest VR mods, keep reading gmw3.
Mention Cyberpunk 2077 to any gamer and you’ll likely hear a groan because the most hyped videogame of the last few years was a bit of a letdown. That’s not stopped prolific virtual reality (VR) modder, Luke Ross, from taking a stab at bringing the game to VR fans, releasing a new trailer for the project over the weekend.
Image credit: CD Projekt Red
Having first revealed his plans to mod Cyberpunk 2077 back in December, the teaser trailer goes fairly in-depth regarding the mod’s features; from showcasing map navigation and driving in third-person to talking to an NPC and, of course, some combat. And from what’s been shown so far the VR mod is shaping up very nicely for a game that was never designed with VR in mind.
There are always challenges to mods like this but Ross has previously created them for Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V. Just like these titles, the Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod won’t employ motion controls but it will have full head tracking. That can be used for aiming and locomotion. Ross’s mods have all previously used gaze-based aiming (crosshair and ADS modes are supported) with the developer also saying on his Patreon account that the: “sights perfectly aligned with your dominant eye.”
When it comes to performance the new gameplay trailer was shot and recorded using a Core i9-9900K and RTX 3090 at 2160p and 60fps. The dev says when not recording he usually gets 80-90fps which is essential for VR.
Image credit: CD Projekt Red
He adds that while the VR mod will support full-blown raytracing with Ultra settings on to make Cyberpunk 2022 as gorgeous as possible, it’s not recommended. It “actually makes for a hazier view in VR,” plus the FPS will likely tank.
Most importantly, after initially planning a January release Ross is now aiming to make his Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod available in early March. “No matter how things turn out, at this point I’m going to release by the end of next week,” he notes.
For continued updates on the latest VR mods, keep reading gmw3.
Enthusiast VR modder Luke Ross dropped new gameplay footage of his VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077, which is set to release soon.
The footage shows the player walking around Night City and engaging in some gun fights, showing off the various features available in Cyberpunk that have been transferred into VR.
Ross has created a few other VR mods for PC games in the past, most notably for Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2. These mods still used a gamepad for movement and general controls, not offering complete VR motion controls, however they did support full VR head tracking that could be used for movement and aiming via your dominant eye.
The upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 mod will follow suite, offering a very similar control scheme that merges gamepad controls with VR head tracking. You can see how it works in the video embedded above, which features five minutes of new gameplay using Ross’ upcoming mod for the PC version of Cyberpunk 2077.
As you can see in the footage, it looks like a remarkably good translation, on par with Ross’ other conversions in the last few years. The mod was announced last year, originally aiming for a January 2022 release. Having missed that window, we can expect a release at some point in the near future, available exclusively on his Patreon.
On his Patreon page, Ross gave some more details about performance and options for the mod, stating that the former was “unexpectedly” good. The video above was captured using Core i9-9900K and RTX 3090 at 2700×2700 resolution. As you can see on the UI, the FPS hovers around 60-65 for the video, but Ross says when not recording he gets a stable 80-90fps.
Ross also says he’s found the best way of playing in VR is to “keep most graphics options on low with no DLSS” which gives you a high level of clarity and detail that he call “astounding”. While you can enable the Ultra settings, along with raytracing, Ross’ opinion is that this looks good in screenshots but “actually makes for a hazier view in VR.”
You can read more details over on Ross’ Patreon page. There’s no set release date just yet, but we should find out more soon. With Cyberpunk’s recent 1.5 update improving performance and fixing many bugs, there’s never been a better for the mod to release either.
Will you be checking out Luke Ross’ Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Luke Ross, the modder who brought VR support to a host of non-VR games such as GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia II, surprise-released a VR mod for the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn.
YouTube channel Cas and Chary got an exclusive first look at the mod. Casandra Vuong (aka ‘Cas’) went hands on, revealing just how the mod’s first and third-person modes look in a 20-minute video.
In the video, we get a look at Cas playing the full game with a gamepad, riding tamed beasts and attacking the game’s rougher mechanical wildlife. In the third-person, we see Cas experiencing cutscenes and following the game’s protagonist Aloy from overhead.
Both first and third-person appear to be pretty intense from a VR comfort standpoint, since the game requires fast and frenetic movement. It also doesn’t appear to include motion controller support.
Granted, it’s still early days for the mod, which was originally supposed to be a third-person only experience—just like the unmodded game itself. Luke Ross says in a paywalled Patreon update that the bugs are still being ironed out, but it was just too tempting to pass up:
I hate last-minute ideas, because they inevitably bring crunch and a huge risk of failure and disappointment. Yet, there was zero chance that I could pass up on something that looked so promising. I decided to at least try to implement it, even if that meant delating the release for some indeterminate (hopefully not too large) amount of time. Then the curiosity to actually see the dame form the new perspective got the better of me, and I literally worked day and night, first to prove that it was actually possible, and after that to iron out all of the kinks. Well, most of them :-)
If you’re looking to install the mod, Cas provides a step-by-step tutorial at the end of the video (timestamped 19:33). You’ll need to be a Patreon supporter to get access, which starts at $10 per month. If you’re looking to follow Luke Ross, you can check out updates posted to his Patreon page and Twitter.
In the meantime, we’ll be waiting to hear more news on the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod that Luke Ross says should arrive sometime in January 2022.
Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t officially support VR headsets, but leave it to prolific VR modder Luke Ross to get under the hood and beat CD Projekt Red to the punch—one they haven’t exactly prioritized given the litany of bugs the studio has needed to fix since launch. Now with the mod in the wild, we’ve gotten a better look at what to expect, courtesy of VR YouTubers Cas & Chary.
Luke Ross has released the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 mod. You can nab it now by becoming a member of their REAL VR Patreon.
If you’re wondering what to expect, Cas from YouTube channel Cas & Chary has taken a deep dive into the VR mod. Cas says that most things are very well done, considering it’s more on the ‘port’ side of things and less a native VR adaptation. It requires the user to play via a gamepad, and includes much of the camera-shifting first-person things you expect from a game not designed for VR. Still, Cas says the vistas are incredible and “way better than expected” in terms of performance.
If you’ve never installed a REAL VR mod from Ross, Cas includes a handy install guide at the end of her final impressions.
Just in time for the Cyberpunk 2077 sale on Steam, VR modder Luke Ross showed off a five-minute teaser of what’s to come, something the modder says is coming “very soon now.”
“I still want to polish a few rough spots here and there, and some missions need more testing, but as you can see from the video we’re getting R.E.A.L. close (ahem),” Ross writes in a Patreon update. “No matter how things turn out, at this point I’m going to release by the end of next week. I hope that everything will work correctly by then, but even if it doesn’t, most of the game will be playable in VR.”
As you’d expect, running Cyberpunk 2077 in VR will require a hefty PC. The video, linked below this update, was shot using a Core i9-9900K and RTX 3090, playing at native 2700×2700 resolution, and recording to SSD on the same PC at 2160p 60 fps. Whilst not recording, Ross was able to maintain 80-90 fps.
Unfortunately it appears motion controller support isn’t available (yet?), as shooting follows your gaze and arms are still the same canned animation from the flatscreen game. You can read more about what to expect from the Cyberpunk 2077 mod here.
The original article detailing the inclusion of motion controller support follows below:
Original Article (December 9th, 2021): As first reported by PC Gamer, the mind behind R.E.A.L. VR mod for a host of flatscreen games including Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia II is vowing to tackle the open-world RPG Cyberpunk 2077.
In a chat with PC Gamer, Ross confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 was at the top of the list of flatscreen games to scaffold around his R.E.A.L. VR injection framework, saying that if all goes according to plan, Cyberpunk 2077 owners on PC should be able to take their first virtual braindance sometime in January 2022.
“One major bonus about CP2077 is that it’s already played in first person,” Ross tells PC Gamer, “which is very good for VR immersiveness, unlike for example the Mafia Trilogy where I had to implement my own ‘fake-first-person’ camera.”
Ross says the VR modding framework is now approaching “some level of maturity,” which he estimates will allow him to release VR mod support for around one flatscreen game per month, provided there aren’t any overly challenging problems to address.
And with Cyberpunk 2077’s storied history of bugs and game-breaking glitches, many of which have since been patched after the game’s release one year ago, Ross has his work cut out for him in making sure everything is stable.
That’s not the only thing in the works though; Ross revealed he’s already looking to release another VR mod for a still unnamed title. He says the game is “DX12-based, open-world, and will look epic in VR, especially the vistas and the battles with […].”
If you’re looking to follow Luke Ross, you can check out updates posted to his Patreon page and Twitter.
A few years ago VRFocus used to run a feature called “Make It A (Virtual) Reality,” looking at the VR potential of certain flatscreen videogames, and in 2018 Cyberpunk 2077 made its entry. As we all very well know, CD Projekt Red’s massively hyped title didn’t quite live up to expectations when it launched last year, nevertheless, experienced VR modder Luke Ross has said this week that a VR mod could be available as early as January.
As reported by PC Gamer, Ross is best known for creating R.E.A.L. VR mods for Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V, and is currently working on one for Cyberpunk 2077. Backers supporting his work on Patreon were asked which videogame they’d like to see him mod next, with CD Projekt Red’s dystopian adventure getting the most votes. And it seems development is well underway with a release later for next month. “If nothing goes wrong, I’d say it should come out in January,” Ross told PC Gamer.
While Cyberpunk 2077 has had its fair share of issues – updates including the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions have been pushed back to 2022 – Ross says that unlike previous projects Cyberpunk 2077 has been easier to implement as its not in third-person. “One major bonus about CP2077 is that it’s already played in first person, which is very good for VR immersiveness, unlike for example the Mafia Trilogy where I had to implement my own ‘fake-first-person’ camera.
It also helps that Ross has been doing this for so long that his system allows for a speedier delivery: “Now that my modding framework is approaching some level of maturity, I can probably release one game per month (on average),” he continues. “Of course that depends on the specific challenges that each game poses, and there’s always a possibility that a certain game turns out not to be moddable at all due to some unforeseen issues.”
Hopefully, Ross’ work won’t be undone by CD Projekt Red’s continual rollout of updates and patches to improve Cyberpunk 2077’s stability across all platforms. Whilst it’s by no means perfect, the videogame has come a long way since that ill-fated launch just over a year ago.
Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the only VR mod Ross is currently working on. Not going so far as to reveal the name, he did tease its an: “DX12-based, open-world, and will look epic in VR, especially the vistas and the battles.” Hopefully, he won’t keep that secret for too long.
