InstanceBrick--nightcap/docs/VR.md

VR

Experimental OpenXR VR is opt-in: launch with --vr, or set vr.mode in config.yaml:

• off (default) always starts on the desktop.
• on always starts in VR.
• auto starts in VR when SteamVR is already running with a connected headset, ALVR included, and on the desktop otherwise. It never starts SteamVR, so start SteamVR and connect the headset first.

--vr and --no-vr override vr.mode for one launch. The older vr.enabled: true/false still works as on/off. Everything here only applies while VR is active. The README covers building and running.

Menus and typing

The home menu uses Roblox's More button. The desktop side panel is turned off in VR, because the VR pointer cannot click it.

When a text box takes focus (chat, search), a keyboard opens in front of you, below eye level. It is a full US layout without the function row or Ctrl/Alt. Point at a key and pull the trigger. While you point at the keyboard, the trigger types and does not click the game behind it. Hold Backspace to delete repeatedly. Shift applies to the next key and selects its upper symbol; Caps Lock stays on until you tap it again. Close dismisses the keyboard and leaves the text box. Set MOCKTAIL_VR_KEYBOARD=0 to turn the keyboard off.

Environment variables

Runtime and display

Variable	Default	Effect
MOCKTAIL_VR_ENABLED	0	Same as --vr (1) or --no-vr (0).
MOCKTAIL_VR_RUNTIME	auto	OpenXR runtime: auto, system, wivrn, steamvr or alvr. XR_RUNTIME_JSON overrides it.
MOCKTAIL_VR_BACKEND	xr	native keeps Roblox's stereo rendering without an OpenXR runtime, for debugging.
MOCKTAIL_VR_FRAME_RATE_LIMIT	unlimited	Frame-rate cap in VR, same values as graphics.frame_rate_limit (also vr.frame_rate_limit). With unlimited the headset's refresh rate paces frames.
MOCKTAIL_VR_ANTI_ALIASING	fxaa	Same as vr.anti_aliasing. Roblox draws the VR eyes without anti-aliasing, so each eye is filtered on its way to the headset (Vulkan only). fxaa is the cheapest; smaa finds edges more precisely and keeps text sharper; off sends them as rendered.
MOCKTAIL_VR_RENDER_SCALE	1.0	Scales each axis of the runtime's recommended eye size, 0.25 to 2.0.
MOCKTAIL_VR_UNPACED	0	1 stops waiting for the headset between frames, to measure the maximum frame rate. Frames past the headset refresh are not shown. Not for playing.
MOCKTAIL_VR_DESKTOP_MIRROR	1	0 stops copying the left eye to the desktop window.
MOCKTAIL_VR_MIRROR_SHM	unset	A shared-memory name such as /nightcap-mirror publishes both eyes for an external viewer. The segment is private to your user.
MOCKTAIL_VR_KEYBOARD	1	0 turns off the in-headset keyboard.

Hands and scale

Variable	Default	Effect
MOCKTAIL_VR_HAND_POSE_SOURCE	aim	grip orients hands from the controller grip pose instead of the aim pose.
MOCKTAIL_VR_HAND_PITCH_OFFSET	-20	Degrees added to Roblox's own hand pitch.
MOCKTAIL_VR_HAND_PITCH	unset	Replaces the total hand pitch, in degrees.
MOCKTAIL_VR_WORLD_SCALE	1.0	Scales head, hand and eye offsets. MOCKTAIL_VR_EYE_OFFSET_SCALE is an older name for it.

Performance tracing

Variable	Default	Effect
MOCKTAIL_VR_PERF	unset	1 logs per-stage frame timings and counters once a second. present_interval is the frame time; desktop_mirror, copy_record and copy_fence_wait show time the CPU spent on VR copies.
MOCKTAIL_VR_MEASURE_START_NS, MOCKTAIL_VR_MEASURE_END_NS	unset	Limit MOCKTAIL_VR_PERF to a CLOCK_MONOTONIC window.
MOCKTAIL_VR_POSE_LOG_INTERVAL	240	Frames between head-pose log lines.

Diagnostics builds

These only work in builds configured with -DMOCKTAIL_VR_DIAGNOSTICS=ON. Release builds ignore them.

Variable	Default	Effect
MOCKTAIL_VR_POSE_SOURCE	runtime	script drives the head from a scripted motion instead of the headset, for testing without wearing it.
MOCKTAIL_VR_POSE_AMPLITUDE_POSITION, _YAW, _PITCH	0.25, 0.5, 0.17	Scripted motion size, in metres and radians.
MOCKTAIL_VR_POSE_PERIOD_POSITION, _ROTATION	240, 360	Scripted motion period, in frames.
MOCKTAIL_VR_XR_EVIDENCE_DIR	unset	Writes submitted eye images to this directory.
MOCKTAIL_VR_XR_EVIDENCE_INTERVAL	20	Frames between evidence images.

Adding a Roblox build

VR needs addresses that are specific to each Roblox build. To use a supported build that is not the active one, point --roblox-lib at its libroblox.so.

To add a build, run the offset finder on its library:

python3 scripts/find_roblox_vr_offsets.py --elf <libroblox.so> --output offsets.json

It needs the capstone Python package. Add its values to kContracts in src/vr/roblox_vr_device_bridge.cc. Nightcap checks those addresses against Roblox's code before it hooks anything, and leaves VR off if they do not match. To run the same checks on real libraries, set MOCKTAIL_TEST_VR_PAYLOADS to a folder of <build>-<build id>/libroblox.so payloads and run ctest -R VrSupportedBuilds.

For a second opinion, solve the new build from the previous one and compare the two answers. It needs the previous build's HostAbi profile and compatibility manifest:

python3 scripts/roblox_abi_check.py --reference-lib <old libroblox.so> \
  --reference-profile <old profile.json> \
  --reference-compatibility config/roblox_compatibility.json \
  --candidate-lib <new libroblox.so> --vr

It lists every field where the finder and the solver disagree and exits 0 when they agree on all of them.

Testing without a headset

Monado can stand in for a headset. Its qwerty driver gives a head and two controllers that you move with the keyboard and mouse:

QWERTY_ENABLE=1 XRT_DEBUG_GUI=1 monado-service

Then, in another terminal:

XR_RUNTIME_JSON=/usr/share/openxr/1/openxr_monado.json ./build/mocktail --vr

The keys work while Monado's debug window has focus. The simulated display is small, so text in the headset view looks coarse.

Two tests need an OpenXR runtime and skip without one. To run them, start Monado with no window and opt in:

XRT_COMPOSITOR_NULL=1 monado-service &
XR_RUNTIME_JSON=/usr/share/openxr/1/openxr_monado.json MOCKTAIL_TEST_XR_GLES=1 \
  ctest --test-dir build -R GlesVrTransportTest.OpenXr