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Instruction for usage of SUVA with Trackers but without a VR Headset

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Guribo edited this page Nov 20, 2020 · 7 revisions

You can find the original tutorial here: Using HTC Vive Trackers without Headset

DISCLAIMER:

PLEASE DON'T USE THIS METHOD IF YOU HAVE A VR HEADSET! IT WILL WORK BUT IN MOST CASES PEOPLE RUN INTO UNNECESSARY PROBLEMS. PLEASE JUST LEAVE THE HEADSET PLUGGED IN.

THANK YOU.

In case you do run into problems I will of course help resolve them. This way I can learn what causes them and improve the documentation.

Instruction for usage of SUVA with Trackers but without a VR Headset

Updated and validated Instructions (2020/11/20 SteamVR 1.15.10)

  1. Start SteamVR and wait for it to be completely loaded. (this is to generate the Settings-file that needs to be edited) Without a VR-Headset it will say something like Welcome Please plug in your VR headset
  2. Close SteamVR (make sure it is no longer running any components e.g. Taskmanager)
  3. Open the following file in Notepad++ or any Editor of your choice: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config\steamvr.vrsettings (this file will not be overwritten with future SteamVR updates like the in previous tutorials used default.vrsettings)
  4. MAKE A BACKUP OF THAT FILE!!! Just save a copy to another location!
  5. Look for a line containing the following:
"steamvr" : {

6a. If it doesn't exist you can copy and insert the following into that file:

  "LastKnown" : {
      "HMDModel" : "Null Model Number"
   },
   "power" : {
      "turnOffControllersTimeout" : 0
   },
   "steamvr" : {
      "activateMultipleDrivers" : true,
      "enableHomeApp" : false
   }

Depending of where you insert it, it should look similar to one of the following three examples:

6.1 Somewhere in the middle of the file

      ... : ...
   },
  "LastKnown" : {
      "HMDModel" : "Null Model Number"
   },
   "power" : {
      "turnOffControllersTimeout" : 0
   },
   "steamvr" : {
      "activateMultipleDrivers" : true,
      "enableHomeApp" : false
   },
   "..." : {

6.2 The end of the file

      ... : ...
   },
   "LastKnown" : {
      "HMDModel" : "Null Model Number"
   },
   "power" : {
      "turnOffControllersTimeout" : 0
   },
   "steamvr" : {
      "activateMultipleDrivers" : true,
      "enableHomeApp" : false
   }
}

6.3 Just steamvr

{
  "LastKnown" : {
      "HMDModel" : "Null Model Number"
   },
   "power" : {
      "turnOffControllersTimeout" : 0
   },
   "steamvr" : {
      "activateMultipleDrivers" : true,
      "enableHomeApp" : false
   }
}

Make sure that entries within brackets are always separated by a ,! (Otherwise the file will not be loaded, a new file will be created and all saved settings like playspace setup will be lost! Make sure to have a backup of that file!

6b. If it does exist you can add the following entries so that the it looks similar to this:

   },
   "LastKnown" : {
      "HMDModel" : "Null Model Number"
   },
   "power" : {
      "turnOffControllersTimeout" : 0
   },
   "steamvr" : {
      "activateMultipleDrivers" : true,
      "enableHomeApp" : false,
      ...,
      ...
   },
   "..." : {

  1. Save the modified file.

  2. Navigate to the following file and edit it with for example Notepad++: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\drivers\null\resources\settings\default.vrsettings If you moved your Steam library to a different drive you will have do locate the SteamVR directory there!

  3. Replace the file content with the following and save it:

{
    "driver_null": {
        "enable": true,
        "loadPriority": -999,
        "serialNumber": "Null Serial Number",
        "modelNumber": "Null Model Number",
        "windowX": 0,
        "windowY": 0,
        "windowWidth": 0,
        "windowHeight": 0,
        "renderWidth": 0,
        "renderHeight": 0,
        "secondsFromVsyncToPhotons": 0.01666666,
        "displayFrequency": 60.0
    }
}

  1. Without a HMD plugged in you can now start SteamVR, for the base stations to start you may have to unplug them from the wall and plug them back in to turn on (A Headset notice might pop up, saying the headset is running as a monitor: it can be ignored).

  2. Make sure the Tracker dongles are plugged into the PC.

  3. Got to SteamVR->Menu->Devices->Pair Controller

  4. Select HTC Vive Tracker and pair the trackers.

  5. Press Done and the base stations and the trackers should appear on the SteamVR window.

  6. You may have to perform the room setup once, choose standing setup and just click on the continue buttons (It might keep asking to perform room setup afterwards but it can be ignored).

Old Documentation

Credit for the following instructions goes to Kamizhou. They aim to solve some issues with SUVA and the recent SteamVR updates.

1. Navigate to the following file and edit it with for example Notepad++:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\drivers\null\resources\settings\default.vrsettings

1.1 Change "enable": false, to "enable": true,

2. Navigate to the following file and edit it with for example Notepad++:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\resources\settings\default.vrsettings

2.1 Change "forcedDriver": "", to "forcedDriver": "null",

2.2 Change "forcedHmd": "", to "forcedHmd": "false",

2.3 Change "activateMultipleDrivers": false, to "activateMultipleDrivers": true,

3. Navigate to the the SteamVR app settings and uncheck Use SteamVR Home

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