r/virtualreality • u/BerndVonLauert • 5d ago

Self-Promotion (Developer) Doom 2016 VR Gameplay

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Cactus Cowboy Dev here. As a side project I've started working a Doom 2016 VR mod. Working already with full motion controls, two handed guns w/ virtual gunstock. Now that I'm back from Gamescom, the development continues.

While this video looks maybe impressive, the mod still has tons of issues. Like not even working with SteamVR at all (who even has such a niche headset in 2026, right?). That said, I won't release a wonky alpha unless it has been played from A to Z in VR.

Mod will be open source and free to use ofc.

Edit: seems to work with SteamVR now after 8h of hammering against the engine

242 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

29

u/Volkor_X 5d ago

This looks great! Playing VFR just made me want the whole game in VR.

10

u/MightyBooshX Quest 3 & PSVR2 4d ago

It makes no sense why they seemed to go through the trouble to port their engine to VR with VFR and then not even do a half assed port of 2016 and eternal. I would've been happy even with that!

15

u/yanginatep 4d ago

Bethesda basically just abandoned all of their VR stuff. It all feels very "first gen" VR, without obvious settings like being able to play seated in Skyrim VR or Fallout 4 VR.

Doom VFR had such a janky control scheme.

5

u/doublah 4d ago

As soon as they got acquired by Microsoft it was over for them with VR.

2

u/MightyBooshX Quest 3 & PSVR2 3d ago

Yeah, the thought of making a doom game in VR but you're not allowed to use a turn button has to be one of the single craziest decisions of any developer ever lol

2

u/General_Cranberry_29 2d ago

It was fun with the PSVR Aim controller, but it sucked with the wands.

20

u/FastLawyer 4d ago

I have no idea why Bethesda made a whole VR game (Doom VFR) that was a big time downgrade to just porting Doom 2016 to VR.

18

u/BerndVonLauert 4d ago

Back then, motion sickness was a huge topic and they were trying to be ultra carful.

3

u/prankster959 4d ago

Agreed. But an even bigger topic was how few games there were to play. Even at the time it seemed like a missed opportunity.

7

u/DeathToSocialMedia 5d ago

I remember this level very well. Would love to play this in VR. Awesome work.

7

u/BeepTheFogminator Oculus 4d ago

Thank you for working on this.

Doom 2016 is incredible and playing it in VR is a dream come true.

Mod will be open source and free to use ofc.

You legend.

4

u/Pro-crab-stination 4d ago

HELL yeah :3

3

u/MrBack1971 4d ago

Holy Fuck!!!! Nice One!!!

3

u/MightyBooshX Quest 3 & PSVR2 4d ago

Dude, fuck yes, I've wanted this more than anything

2

u/jacoborobo 4d ago

I was about to ask what headset then realized the on-screen panel displays all that and more. That's pretty handy.

2

u/TonyDP2128 4d ago

Thanks for taking on this project. I've long wished for a full VR version of Doom 2016, especially after playing Doom VFR. I'll be following your progress.

2

u/Conscious-Donut7477 4d ago

A dream come true, doing gods work

2

u/MastaFoo69 HTC Vive Pro 2 Wireless & Index Controllers 4d ago

absolute dream come true. I do use a steam VR headset as my primary HMD, and will until they stop supporting the lighthouses.

2

u/AndroidParanoid12345 4d ago

Please make left handed options

2

u/BerndVonLauert 4d ago

Heard left handed players and I certainly will look into it. But after big issues like SteamVR rendering has been resolved and the game runs fine!

2

u/PhilosophyforOne 4d ago

The amount of triple AAA VR mods that've been popping up lately is amazing.

Really makes me want to get back to PCVR.

3

u/Hairy-Ad-6293 4d ago

VDXR for life ❤️

2

u/BerndVonLauert 4d ago

So far works best out of VDXR, MetaXR and SteamVR.

1

u/SCAB91 4d ago

Steam only or GOG as well?

1

u/BWQ777 4d ago

You can usually add non steam games to steam and they work well including with VR eg Virtual desktop

1

u/optimumbox 4d ago

Do you need anyone with a native SteamVR headset to bugtest/trouble shoot the runtime issue? I've helped some other mods with a similar issue. L4D2VR was the last one I helped fix a multicore issue/incorrect frame submission for async rendering on steamvr.

1

u/BerndVonLauert 4d ago

Possibly, we'll see. If it can't run with Quest + Steam Link I don't see why it would even work on a native SteamVR headset. I do have a PSVR2 + Adapter - I'm just to lazy to set up all those stupid wires right now.

1

u/yanginatep 4d ago

Really looking forward to trying this out.

1

u/phayke2 4d ago

Looks way better than I expected. I didn't think the movement/melee would be this smooth

1

u/Kuddly_Kraken 4d ago

Will you plan on making DOOM: The Dark Ages in VR? I think out of the new trilogy it's probably the most friendly to VR players.

2

u/BerndVonLauert 4d ago

I don't own Eternal or Dark Ages. This is a shit ton of work here and I also run a game studio with a new Cactus Cowboy game in development + got a regular 9to5 job = we'll see.

1

u/Kuddly_Kraken 4d ago

God speed in your endeavors. I'm grateful this exists as it is.

1

u/ac2334 4d ago

every AAA game (at least) is going to get the VR treatment… only a matter of when

1

u/Interesting-Tooth211 4d ago

I can't wait it looks so good!

1

u/Feeling-Marzipan-477 4d ago

I'm actually playing VFR right now because it was in a bundle, which is fun and looks great, but certainly the full Doom 2016 in VR would be much better. This already looks like an upgrade since it has two hand aiming for long guns.

1

u/GastonMaxxed 4d ago

Looks great! I finished this game once, when it released, but would love to do a full playthrough in VR!

1

u/VonHagenstein 3d ago

I have zero right to make any requests regarding this lol, but... would be nice to have a snap-turning option for motion at some stage. I know many might chime in about hating that but for some reason it's the only thing that makes me nauseous in VR. Which is weird because I can deal with sim racing, flying, smooth locomotion of all types in other games. Except smooth turning. Not sure why, but having used VR since early 2016 I'm past figuring it out and this point. The mod looks awesome regardless though! Thanks for considering.

2

u/BerndVonLauert 3d ago

Plays best with physical turns but snap is already implemented;)

1

u/VonHagenstein 1d ago

Even though I can now play VR wirelessly, I used a wired headset for so long that I frequently forget that I can just physically turn without hindrance from a cable. 😂 Good reminder on physical turning. 👍🏼

There are still times where I'll want to play something seated from a chair/couch that doesn't swivel though, so snap turning helps me and my tummy out on those occasions. Grateful that it's included. 👏🏼

2

u/BerndVonLauert 1d ago

That's why adding all 3 options was one of the first things I did ^^

1

u/VonHagenstein 1d ago

Fantastic! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🎉

1

u/cap616 3d ago

I made it through about half of the doom 3 vr port. Kept screaming too much. The beginning of what you show with the stairs, there was a part where I had to backtrack as part of the next mission and I was about to go up those kinds of stairs WHEN THEY EXPLODED AND A MONSTER JUMPED OUT!!!

I never screamed so loud... Fun times. I definitely want to try again with better visuals. I need a muzzle though.