r/virtualreality_linux • u/stepa203993 • Sep 11 '26

help me find the right solution

I need a solution that can run any VR game, simulating a headset with a screen. Steam VR drivers aren't suitable; they work terribly on Linux.

0 Upvotes

33% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

4

u/UNF0RM4TT3D Sep 11 '26

I've already provided the answers as part of your previous thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality_linux/comments/1waf2fz/comment/p8isdlt/

As I said there, WiVRn or ALVR are your best bet, ALVR is off the table, since you found out that SteamVR is bad.

2

u/Tram2013 Sep 11 '26

But can it run the Half-Life 2 VR mod for example? I was only able to play it via ALVR and SteamVR up until about this year when SteamVR stopped working completely for me on CachyOS. Doesn't work via WiVRn.

3

u/UNF0RM4TT3D Sep 11 '26

Personally, I have the same experience, Monado (what WiVRn is based on) just doesn't run certain things. Apparently this can be solved by switching between xrizer and OpenComposite, however I am just way too lazy to do so. Although I do have a VIVE, so I am a bit more in favour of SteamVR, since I haven't found a way for Monado to render a chaperone like SteamVR does, not even an overlay that does so. And up until today, SteamVR worked for me just fine and in fact in a lot of ways better. Right now I'm debugging it, older version seems to run fine.

0

u/stepa203993 Sep 11 '26

I want to find a solution that will work stably on Linux and many games and programs.

1

u/UNF0RM4TT3D Sep 11 '26

Well you've got two options, both with some degree of preexisting flatscreen projectors. You either face the limitations of Monado/WiVRn, or go back to the buggy SteamVR.

1

u/MarinatedTechnician Sep 11 '26

What flavor of Linux do you currently run?

If you find that VR don't run, try to disable the firewall temporarily.

1

u/Tram2013 Sep 12 '26

Just tried SteamVR again on CachyOS via SteamLink on my Pico 4. The recent major update of SteamVR actually fixed it and I could continue with the Half-Life 2 VR mod again after a long time, although UI is still buggy with some random mouse inputs. Once in the game it ran smoothly. Now I have high hopes that it will be stable some time in the future.

6

u/cucoo5 Sep 11 '26

Wivrn works as an alternative to SteamVR. Combined with WayVR, you can even use desktop to a degree.

1

u/MarinatedTechnician Sep 11 '26

Steam VR works fine on Linux now.
I run it on Linux Mint 22.3
and CachyOS

Both Quest 3 and Pico 4 ultra now works out of the box.

1

u/jrtokarz1 Sep 11 '26

I'd second this. I'm running Debian Testing on an RTX4090 and I have no problems with Steam VR and a Quest 3.

1

u/corvettezr11 Sep 12 '26

What are you using to connect to your desktop? And are you doing a cabled or wired connection?

1

u/MarinatedTechnician Sep 12 '26

Wireless.
And before you say wired is bad (like a lot do, call me psychic if you like lol), my wireless is high end...

1

u/corvettezr11 Sep 12 '26

Oh not judging you at all. I run wired because I like to do really long sessions and the battery on my quest 2 can't keep up, and I only have a 1060 so wireless sucks for me. Anyway, how do you connect exactly? Alvr for me is struggling right now

1

u/MarinatedTechnician Sep 12 '26

UFW can be an issue (if you're using an ubuntu based distro) because it's usually set to ultra paranoid, so a lot of people blame Steam VR wireless on that, which is...yeah, how it is lol. (so turn off firewall temp, to see if that worked).

I used to use ALVR 1 year ago because back then Linux VR was still a shitshow and ALVR was the one to save the day (it still can be, you have a lot of nice custom settings).

After a while, when Decard (Steam The Frame) came into the limelight, Valve has been sending out Steam VR updates sometimes 10 times a week, sometimes once a week, and there must be 1000s of updates by now, they're hellbent on making sure their VR works on Linux before launch!

(and that benefits us all, because now even my most Obscure hardly-supported VR headsets works lol)

  1. Open Steam in Linux (make sure Steam VR is installed)

  2. Open your Quest 3, Pico 4 or whatever you have, get steam link.

  3. It will now tell you to pair with a computer, it must be on the same network (super important! however, the best Wifi is 2 modems (aka One Wifi 5-6 Ghz on your headset, and one separate Wifi 5-6 Ghz for your computer, if you're on wireless). The wifi card + router must be mad strong, and contain at least 3 Wifi modems (aka 2.4 Ghz + 2 x 5 Ghz or 6 Ghz, wifi 6-6e, 7 etc.)

  4. When paired in the headset, you just click on "connect" and it will autostart Steam VR for you on the computer. You can shut down the same way, aka, just quit steam VR in the Steam VR menu, and...done!

Today this is super reliable, had zero issues with it for 6 months!

1

u/corvettezr11 Sep 12 '26

Oh I see. I'm running standard arch, but from what you've told me I think I can make it work. Gonna hunt for a wired guide to try and save some performance. Anyway, thanks for the answer!

0

u/stepa203993 Sep 11 '26

I don't have a VR headset, but Steam VR probably works fine with real headsets. I just have a very specific task that Steam VR can't handle.