Discord in VR

[Rene_Feijen 125]

Yesterday I was flying a multiplayer event with chat via Discord when suddenly, for me for the first time, a Discord message window from another server I am subscribed to popped up in my cockpit. I managed to disable the pop windows from within Discord but it got me thinking:

is there a addon which brings the Discord app in VR? I have something similar for LittleNavmap. I mean a FS2020 native addon, not the WMR follow-me method. With Discord in the cockpit I can easily check who is talking, maybe even watch a stream from a fellow pilot.

[blueshark747 1,843]

Can already be done with Oculus software virtual sticky windows which works great and tons better than WMR follow me method

[Lange_666 167]

Mmm, how?

Because Googling Oculus software sticky windows didn't reveal much (as in nothing) usefull or even to the point.

Oculus software itself doesn't seem to include an option either.

[Rene_Feijen 125]

I have a HP Reverb G2 so Oculus is no option. I know how to Follow Me a window, but that looks strange/terrible and the mouse is focussed on the wrong window. Native window, just like VFR map or the Little Navmap mods one of which I use would be way better.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Rene_Feijen

[dogmanbird 269]

With the mouse and follow-me, try moving the mouse downward off the screen. If I remember correctly, the follow me window is like a virtual monitor below your main screen

[Soulmaril 1]

I have been tinkering with this for a while (almost a week). When I am flying in IVAO network I need at least the connection client (altitude) reachable within the cockpit. Likewise I need a navigation map like LittleNavMap, a browser to check Webeye and tracker and Discord.

Searching for an answer I found this post. I read it but I couldn't get use of this fallow me trick. It was too indirect for my usage. Better calling the desktop altogether is way more practical.

Anyway. Finally I got my answer. Not perfect but does the job done. What  worked for me is:

SteamVR supports overlays. There are some overlay software in the store and they are cheap. I tried OVRtoolkit. With some small issues due to the nature of the overlay logic it turned out for me a "must have" in my toolkit.

I am using ReverbG2. In order to use it properly  I had to switch the renderer to SteamVR rather than OpenXR. OVRtoolkit starts with steamvr on startup (optional). Start the app and then all you have to do is configure the ovrtoolkit and tell which windows you want. Place them in the cockpit where ever you want, adjust the distance and size as you like. You can place them anywhere in the 3D space. You can even bring spotify, netflix, amozon what ever you need. 

Issues I found so far:

- Overlapping windows causes problems. The more window the more space you need.

- Running the MSFS in fullscreen while in VR is not a good idea with overlays. The smaller the msfs msfs projection the better the performance.

- If you can't properly configure the OVRtoolkit you might have game out-of-focus problems. Not an issue but just have in mind and make sure OVRT setup correctly.

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by Soulmaril

[Rene_Feijen 125]

Hm, the overlay sounds good but not using OpenXR anymore does not. Maybe there are OpenXR overlay programs?

[Boomer 1,619]

Any solutions for oculus users?

[SparkerInVR 13]

I have also been testing using SteamVR with my G2 and have joined many group flights where having Discord in the VR cockpit is very helpful. I also have Little Nav Map in the VR cockpit. In SteamVR I have my "Current OpenXR Runtime:" set to "SteamVR". Another thing I have is fpsVR so I can tell how my system is performing.

I am running a i7 9700K @ 4.6 and a RTX 2080 Ti.

My resolution per eye is 3352 x 3276 112% the default.

My "PER-APPLICATIONS VIDEO SETTING" for MSFS is 2372 x 2316 50%

In MSFS I am using the 200% "RENDER SCALING" for PC hack. I have found for this to see any improvement I need to see the 200% on startup. If I do not I will set it to 200% and restart and every time I have done this it will be at 200% on the restart. That might be a pain but it is something I have found over the past few weeks.

I have my VR "RENDER SCALING" set between 60% and 90% depending on how well my system is performing that day which I have found out is quite a bit.

On my system I have found if I want the fonts for the windows from the VR Toolbar to look correct I need to run the desktop MSFS at full screen. If I do not do this the fonts are distorted and very hard to read. I have also found out that the airport and plane name tags font size depend on the "FULL SCREEN RESOLUTION" in the PC section. I have yet to understand why there is so much interaction with the VR and PC settings other than it is just one more bug.

Hope this is useful and just what I have found over the time I have spent in MSFS VR.