realvr
patreon
Third time's the charm...
🕑 Added 2025-05-07 19:22:46 +0000 UTC... And by that I mean, it's time to finish one of the hardest, most intriguing, and in some senses weirdest trilogies in gaming history: release 19.1.0 of the R.E.A.L. VR mod, attached at the end of this post, supports DARK SOULS III!
[Update May 10: First person camera now working as intended in release 19.2.0! See the Updates and known issues section at the bottom for more details.]
[Update May 8: Release 19.1.1 fixes the "moonwalk sprinting" game bug.]
This concludes a long effort that for me started sort of backwards, with my VR conversion of Elden Ring that came out almost exactly three years ago, on May 6, 2022. From there we quickly moved on to Dark Souls: Remastered on June 16, 2022, then after a loooong hiatus we circled back to Elden Ring for its huge DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, on June 20, 2024. Several months devoted to other games again, then the VR mod for Dark Souls II - Scholar of the First Sin was ready on February 15 of this year, and finally here we are today with the last chapter in the Dark Souls story, the one that the majority of players consider to be the most interesting and beautiful of the whole franchise.
Just like the previous two installments, this game dates back to when FromSoftware still knew how to write performant engines (*cough* unlike Elden Ring's single-threaded D3D12 renderer *cough*), which means that it should run smoothly at the full frame rate of your headset, without frame interpolation.
It's a Dark Souls game though, so prepare to die! Many, many, many times (*)_(*)
Updates, known issues and small fixes will be added at the bottom of the post. Also, stay tuned because another, completely different game is getting ready for release, and if everything goes well I hope to have it out in a couple of weeks (maybe dear Brandon will do a teaser video for it, wink wink)!
Games list
There is only one package to download, which enables all 32 VR conversions you can find on this Patreon. All titles support AER v2, which is my own version of frame interpolation tailored for Alternate Eye Rendering (see this post for a detailed description). Most of the games also support DL(S)SS, meaning that I fixed the DLSS implementation for them so that it will work correctly in stereoscopic 3D. And 4 titles even allow for Ray Reconstruction!!! Here's the complete list:
Atomic Heart [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Cyberpunk 2077 [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Dark Souls: Remastered [AER v2]
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin [AER v2]
Dark Souls III (new) [AER v2]
Elden Ring (with its massive Shadow of the Erdtree DLC) [AER v2 + DL(S)SS when NVIDIA DLSS is enabled with a third-party mod]
Far Cry 4 [AER v2]
Far Cry 5 [AER v2]
Far Cry 6 [AER v2]
Far Cry New Dawn [AER v2]
Far Cry Primal [AER v2]
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade [AER v2]
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Ghost of Tsushima [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Ghostrunner [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Ghostwire: Tokyo [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Grounded [AER v2]
High On Life [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Hogwarts Legacy [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Horizon: Zero Dawn [AER v2]
Horizon Forbidden West [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Star Wars Outlaws [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Stray [AER v2]
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Watch Dogs [AER v2]
Watch Dogs 2 [AER v2]
Please note that all trademarks belong to the respective owners, and that no copyright infringement is intended or condoned. And of course, you'll need to have a legit copy of the original games that you want to play in VR.
Setup
I developed and tested the Dark Souls III mod using the Steam version of the game; other editions should also work, but if you encounter issues please upload your RealVR.log file somewhere so we can try to sort them out. Also, always make sure that your video drivers are updated to the latest version (especially important for NVIDIA due to a flurry of regressions in driver releases since the 50xx series came out).
Run the game flat (not in VR) at least once, so that it can generate its config files and you can check that it works correctly. Then quit out of it and extract the mod archive into the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls III\Game" folder. Note that you might need to customize the path if you moved your library or own the game from a different store, but it will always be the folder that contains the "DarkSoulsIII.exe" executable file.
Finally run RealConfig.bat. It will perform a few required operations (including the v-sync fix for NVIDIA drivers) and preselect graphics settings that are known to work well in VR. Remember that running RealConfig is mandatory; if you omit this step the mod will not work.
At this point, the next time you launch DS3 it should automatically display in your VR headset. Read on to find out how to get the darkest and most intense experience in VR!
Resolution and HUD
You will need to play in windowed mode. I was able to mod the custom resolutions needed for VR directly into the game, so they can be selected from the System> Graphics in-game menu without any complications. Just like with Elden Ring, occasionally the game seems to ignore resolution changes (the "Settings have been changed" prompt fails to appear, and after a timeout the window reverts to the previous resolution); if that happens to you, just retry and it will work correctly the second time.
The HUD is 16:9, and it scales correctly even with square resolutions (no "squeezed" aspect ratio as happened with DS2). Also, I found a way to resize the game window on the monitor independently from the VR image in the headset, so it will always fit onto your desktop in case you want to play using the mouse.
Cutscenes
Most cutscenes are fully 3D and allow you to look anywhere without restrictions. I removed the letterboxing (horizontal black bars above and below) because it wasn't working correctly in VR, so the full field of view will be accessible.
Some cutscene segments however were prerendered by the developers and stored as movies (notably the initial one when you first start your adventure) so there's nothing I can do about them: they will appear as if projected on a virtual 2D screen in VR.
The cinematics quality is mostly very good, but as usual there will be some missing props, invisible walls, levitating characters and so on in the parts of the scene that you were never supposed to see in the flat game.
Game options
You can set all graphics and gameplay options in the game menus according to your liking and how powerful your GPU is, but there are a few settings that you must leave to the defaults preselected by RealConfig in order for the mod to work properly.
Specifically, in the System> Graphics menu, Screen Mode must be set to Windowed, and under Advanced Settings, Motion blur must be Off (motion blur always needs to be turned off with my mods, otherwise everything will be smeared horizontally).
I also recommend setting Depth of field to Off, as it doesn't make much sense in VR, although it works correctly.
Input
It's best to use a gamepad to play Dark Souls III; XInput-compatible controllers like the ones from Microsoft are usually the best for my mods.
Note that the game has a known issue with the right bumper button, which can cease to work after an Alt-Tab. The bug is not tied to VR; it happens in 2D too, and it was never fixed. See https://steamcommunity.com/app/211420/discussions/0/412448158151338030/ for example. Luckily there's an easy workaround: just left click with your mouse in the game window as explained in the linked Steam forum thread.
Interface
Similarly to my previous Elden Ring and Dark Souls VR conversions, this mod for DS3 implements my Quick Menu system:
You can bring it up at all times during gameplay by pressing Back+Start on the controller (Select+Start with a PS-style gamepad) or Pause on the keyboard.
The Quick Menu behaves in a very special way: it will freeze action while it's open (something the original game never allows you to do, not even while you're navigating its own menus) and it will immediately react to buttons or stick actions on the gamepad. Basically it's meant to be a collection of shortcuts that lets you make the most important changes to the VR mod configuration instantly, especially when muscle memory has set in and your fingers already know where to go, without navigating complex menus and breaking the flow of the game.
You can still access the traditional R.E.A.L. VR mod overlay, either by pressing A or Cross when in the Quick Menu, or by double-clicking on Back+Start instead of single-clicking. The full overlay is needed if you want to set the automatic save backup interval for example, or change the world scale.
As you can see in the picture above, from the Quick Menu you can do all sorts of things like:
removing the overlay itself while keeping the game frozen, to take your time observing epic moments in the action from any perspective in full roomscale;
selecting your favorite VR render mode, in case your GPU is really old and you need to scale down to Legacy AER or even Mono rendering;
fine-tuning the camera positions (more below on the various cameras I implemented);
choosing between 4 immediately available and fully customizable camera presets (see my Dark Souls: Remastered post for a full explanation of how presets work);
controlling the game speed with a simple slider which is active at all times.
And... tourist mode is back!!! You can explore and take in the magnificent VR sights at your own pace, without NPCs, dragons or other fantastic creatures ever bothering you as you stroll peacefully through the lands of Lothric []-D
Special VR cameras
Like other Souls games, the original flat version of DS3 only has one distant camera, which usually hovers about 3-5 meters behind your character and can get even farther during combat or fast movement; the original camera also has the peculiarity of shooting up in the sky whenever you get close to a locked-on enemy, which I find extremely annoying in VR because it forces you to look down toward your feet to see the action, as if you were sitting on a drone.
I left it in for purists (although you can fine tune its position using the offsets shown in the Quick Menu), but the default for the VR mod is my "Closer" camera, which is about half the distance and won't swing up wildly every time you approach enemies.
Then, if you want to actually be in the thick of action, there is the "R.E.A.L. close" camera, which gives you an over-the-shoulder view that allows you to see everything without feeling left behind.
And last but not least, I implemented a full first person camera, which starting from release 19.2.0 is immediately available at the start of each gaming session and will no longer detach from your character (if you're still on release 19.1.0 or 19.1.1, updating the mod is highly recommended to get the best experience).
The 1st person camera is smooth and behaves quite well, although of course it will make the game even harder :-) But if you are into Dark Souls games it's because you can't resist an insane challenge, right? Should you experience clipping with parts of your shield, weapon, or attire, remember that you can offset the camera freely and easily from the Quick Menu.
Updates and known issues
Update 2: Release 19.2.0 fixes the first person camera for DS3, which is now working as intended at all times. There was an issue that went uncaught in preliminary testing, where the camera could reset to the (0, 0, 0) position in the world instead of moving with your character, especially after traveling. As an added bonus, after this fix the first person camera will be immediately available for DS3, without the need to enter aiming mode manually.
Update 1: This title, like all Dark Souls games, is basically hard-coded to render at 60 fps. In particular, there is a game bug where, if the frame rate is unlocked and exceeds 60 by a large factor (i.e., around 110 fps and higher), sprinting will turn into a sort of moonwalk, as if your character's shoes were not getting enough traction on the ground. Release 19.1.1 fixes this anomalous behavior. As usual the fix can be disabled from the mod overlay, in case it breaks anything else in the game. Let me know in the comments if it works for you!
[I'll post new information here as it becomes available.]
◆◆◆
From our initial testing, it looks as though you can even play online while in VR! But beware that FromSoftware's official position is that "players found to be violating the EULA by using cheats, hacks, mods, etc. will have restrictions (permanent or temporary) placed on their online profiles/accounts."
Offline mode, on the other hand, should be as safe as it always was.
If you decide to try your luck and play online, please understand that you're assuming the full risk and responsibility. I added a disclaimer and an explicit request for acknowledgment of the ban risk to RealConfig (the mod installer). While being able to play online in VR would be awesome, I don't want anyone getting banned due to this.
Comments
Brandon(Post Maester)
Make sure to check your settings against the release post, maybe you have something set that is causing it? I don't remember that happening at all. I also use an Aero and it sometimes has HUD doubling when moving the camera with the joystick, but things don't just double outside of that.
Yann(Otaku)
Hi, in DS3 when an enemy is close and his health bar is visible, the health bar is double. If I lock an enemy, I see his life bar and lock dot in double. like I have to close 1 eye to see better. any idea how to fix ? it gives terrible headache. Edit: if I change the worldscale to 10 (max) it is a bit better. but I really don't like the big worldscale. Edit2: same with Varjo Aero and PSVR2 Also I tested DS1 and DS2 and there is no issue at all. thx !
Brandon(Post Maester)
Feels like a lifetime ago since I played through 2 and 3 in VR now. According to the Cinders mod info, is there something else you can rename that file to or is there a like a scripting folder you can put it in that gets called when the game runs? Or are you able to use the Dark Souls mod manager? If you have to have that file in the main folder no matter what, then it will just conflict and not work unfortunately.
Jesse
Can I run DS3 with the This mod and Cinders mod since they both use the dinput8.dll?
Brandon(Post Maester)
Going to copy past so may not apply to you entirely but basically the same info. If you have black borders when turning your head, it is likely either low performance/high latency, the Hfov optimization or some combo of those three. You can try bringing down the "reduce shaking" slider in the main tab of the REAL overlay first. If you are using the default rendering mode of 1/3 that will have the highest latency. You can disable the Hfov optimization in the main tab of the overlay too but that will cost you a chunk of performance. It keeps the game from rendering beyond your headsets fov. VD recently included the ability to adjust this too, but I haven't tried it yet. So you could disable Hfov Opti and try VDs method. Also going to paste this just in case you don't know much about the different rendering modes and would to ask about that next :) Rendering mode is really dependent on your system and what you value. 1/2 will cap at your headset refresh but it interpolates extra frames between, like a built-in motion smoothing, so it has the fluidity of twice the fps but it will cost performance to do that. 1/3 will do the same thing but with more frames in between so it caps at 1/3 of 2x your refresh rate but should feel like 3x the fps or the same fluidity as 1/2 but with a lower fps target you have to hit. 1/3 will have much higher latency, 1/2 will have a bit more, Legacy less and AER V2 will have the least. Legacy is basic Alternate Eye rendering that just caps at your headset refresh rate. So having your headset set to 90hz will have a 90fps cap. Since it is alternating eyes, it is 45fps per eye. AER V2, which is only available in some games where performance is really good, will cap at 2x your refresh rate. So, if you can hit 180fps with AER V2, you are actually getting 90fps per eye which is an Ideal situation and plays like Native VR pretty much. That is really hard to hit with a lot of these AAA games, so that is why you won't find it in most of them. Luke usually just puts it in older titles like the Dark Souls series or Doom Eternal, because performance is great in those games. You can lower your refresh rate to lower the fps cap for all of these, and 144hz with AER V2 is still really solid. 72hz using 1/2 is also really good. You will just have to experiment and see what you like or what works well with your system and a given game.
Gage Scholz
how do i fix these black bars on each side of my screen for cp2077
Brandon(Post Maester)
Make sure you have the Meta Link App installed on your system so you can use Pimax Oculus compatability. You don't have to run the Meta App when using your headset, you just need it installed so your system as access to the dlls for Oculus. Then it should hopefully default to Oculus runtime when set to auto in the REAL overlay.
Douglas G. Harding
I should add the two games I am trying to get working are Cyberpunk and Far Cry 5
Douglas G. Harding
I have been using Luke's mods for two years. I just bought a new computer and the mod no longer works. The games still run flat. I do get all the menus so I know it is installed and operating. I also got a new headset a Pimax Crystal Supper. Could that be the issue? Non Luke Ross games like Myst VR work perfectly. Any ideas? Computer has a RTX 5090 card
Brandon(Post Maester)
I adore these games; VR just made them pure bliss. Enjoy :)
bluntarrow
Spent an hour yesterday and set this up. Man it looks so good. I also love mods (Nexus Mods) so I setup DS3 with modengine2.1, the Cinders mod, Texture Improvement by Bardowastaken, and an Intro skip mod. Just so's you know it's possible. This will be the first time I play DS3 ; this has all been such a wild ride guys !!!
Brandon(Post Maester)
You can look at the games release post :) https://www.patreon.com/posts/r-e-l-vr-mod-for-66077515 Although it is super easy, as the correct game folder is just the main game folder. The DLSS mod is no longer available on Nexus unfortunately. It is a Patreon exclusive, but I have tried it recently and it still works. https://www.patreon.com/c/huutaiii/posts
Male
Are there any current instructions anywhere on how to install the Elden Ring version of this mod?
Brandon(Post Maester)
See reply to double post :)(:
Brandon(Post Maester)
😂
Darren Stoller
Please let the next game be a good one as uevr just annoys me on most games.
Dagotan
Hello can someone help me please, i install all and it works all very fine but i have 70ms latency with my Quest 3 and i use a cable with usb 3.0, and th eother problem i have is i paly dark souls remastered but my first person camera wobbbing out off the head every time i move and run.
Brandon(Post Maester)
Fairly stable flat may not translate very well to VR, as it is much harder on your system to run VR modded games over flat. What kind of hardware do you have? Have you done the cable test in the Meta App to make sure your cable is adequate? For Cyberpunk, the best place to start is by leaving the settings at mostly low, which the config.bat file sets them to and then turn off screen space reflections. They are really grainy and look terrible unless you crank them way up and that will eat up a lot of performance. Even then, they don't look very good in VR vs flat. Then you will want to decide what rendering mode works for you. You can find these in the rendering mode dropdown in the main tab of the REAL overlay. If you don't have decently high-end hardware, 1/2 is going to be out of the question probably. Although, you can try setting your Quest 3 to 72hz in the Meta app and then running 1/2, which will lock you at 72 hz but should feel like 144hz in terms of motion and smoothness. You could also do 1/3 rendering mode at 72hz which brings the required fps down to 48. If the motion artifacts and trails and higher latency don't bother you, this can make things a lot easier on performance. Legacy is easier on performance because it does not have interpolated frames in between like 1/2 or 1/3 rendering modes. It also has the lowest latency, but it comes with motion jitter when things move past you and 72hz on Legacy will really bring that out. 90 hz is recommended for Legacy. Your first goals are going to be trying out the rendering modes and seeing how high you can push resolution depending on which one you choose. Don't worry about in game settings, as resolution will have the greatest visual impact. Also, don't worry about the PPD slider in the overlay for now, just try the custom resolutions added into the games display settings. This is what it will default to when you change settings. Later, you can fine tune with the PPD slider after you have a feel for what you can push. If you are using an Nvidia GPU, make sure to use DLSS, as Luke has included a fix that stabilizes the image and gets rid of shimmering around objects. Plus, the added performance of upscaling. Just the upscaling part, frame gen doesn't work. It should launch into VR automatically if your headset is active, so you shouldn't need to hit the StartVR button unless you have disabled auto start for some reason. You are not running SteamVR or anything right? You just have your headset connected via Link and launch the game?
Olivier Aznar
Hello guys, I would love some help to properly get my cyberpunk to work in VR in my meta quest 3. Is this the right place? Forgive me if not and tell me where to…. Basically I struggle to tweak the Vr real mod. I managed to get fairly stable in cyberpunk flat mode on my PC. But a few seconds after pushing the Start VR button on the vrreal overlay, the quest link (usb 3 cable) crashes each time, except in very low resolution. So my basic question: What is the best way to tweak the settings ? - Realconfig.ini? - the real vr tab in the realvr overlay ? -the controls and the Graphics tabs in the game itself? -the oculus debug tool ? Too may options there and i can’t figure out what to consider first
Brandon(Post Maester)
Yeah, people have used it with coop, not sure about convergence but it should work with the majority of mods unless they change the camera or something important like that. Here is a post by Luke on getting coop to work. I haven't tried it, so I don't know if things have changed since. https://www.patreon.com/posts/you-can-play-co-67300584
Manuel Abascal
Has anyone successfully been able to merge this vr mod into other mods like Convergence and Seamless Coop with Elden ring? I’m starting a playthrough with friends and would love to be able to play it like this.
