Simple tool to check your six

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Guys, since a short while I started flying in VR exclusively and soon started to feel some pain in my not so young neck, caused by panically trying to see the guy on my six.

 

There is a solution to this by using OVR Advanced Settings in combination with some other tools in order to map an angular offset to your viewing angle by pressing a joystick button as shown by @c6_lefuneste and others. This solution however felt a bit complicated and also not perfectly intuitive. I wanted to have the viewing offset only while pressing the button and reset to normal when releasing it. So I created a simple standalone tool VRNeckSafer to do exactly this.

 

         

 

How to use it:

No installation necessary. Just unzip the zip file to a folder of your liking and run VRNeckSafer.exe from there. On first run it will create a VRNeckSafer.cfg file in the same folder that will hold your specific settings.

 

Simply choose the two joystick/HOTAS buttons you want to use for left and right offset and the required rotation angle and set the "Reset Button" as shown on the app.
When in the game, press the assigned reset button to calibrate. Thats it. It works with normal SteamVR (no Beta required).

 

If you prefer the way OVR Advanced Settings is adding up the offset angle with every button click, select the "Accumulative" option.

 

If you want to move your head position a few centimeters when using snap view (e.g. to look around your seat) use the Translation feature.

 

Enable the "Autorotation" feature to automatically activate the offset when turning your head over defined activation angles and deactivate when below the corresponding deactivation angle. No joystick buttons required. This can be done in several steps. To temporarily inhibit autorotation use the Hold buttons.

 

More Info on the autorotation values:

Spoiler

There is a (very) small explanation coming up when you hover your mouse over the labels on top of the table in the app.

 

"act" is the turn angle of your head when the extra rotation "rot" is activated. In my example this means when you turn your head more than 60 deg it will add an extra 10 deg. More than 70 deg head movement will add 20 deg extra rotation and so on.

 

"de" ist the turn angle of your head when an extra rotation angle is beeing deactivated again.

 

Lets assume you turned your head 85 deg to the right. This will have activated an extra rotation of 30 deg. Now, when turning your head back to to say 75 deg you will still have that 30 deg extra rotation because 75 is more than "de"=71. Only if you reduce your head rotation to less tha 71 deg the extra offset will be reduced to 20 deg and so on. When your head is turned back to the front to less than 51 deg there is no extra extra angle added any more.

 

"L/R" and "Fwd" are the amounts of cm that your virtual position is shifted Left/Right and Forward, whith respect to the activation/deactivation angles, similar to the rotation.

 

In the picture above you see my autorotation setting. For me it's now very easy to follow a plane in dogfight, no big offset jumps any more! When not in a dogfight, I disable autorotation with a Hold button (toggled).

 

Oh, and since I've been asked a few times: please, no donations... preorder FC2 instead! 😉

 

Here is the link:

VRNeckSaferV207.zip

 

Old versions:

VRNeckSaferV206.zip

VRNeckSaferV16.zip

 

Old updates:

Spoiler

Update v1.1:

I added the option to use a joystick button to reset the HMD Yaw angle. To use the autorotate feature look straight ahead and press that button (or the reset button in the GUI). This will tell the app from which central Yaw position the activation/deactivation angles are measured.  If something is unclear (or not working as supposed) let me know.

 

Sources can be found here: https://gitlab.com/NobiWan/vrnecksafer

 

Update v1.2:

I think I got the centering issues managed now. No recentering of the chaperone/guardian should be needed any more.

By popular demand I also included a feature to define translational offsets. Better use only a few centimeters here and reset HMD yaw...

Still some  AV checker might give false alerts, haven't got an idea how to avoid that.  

Please give it a try and let me know of any issues.

Im particularly interested if the offset issues that some Index users experinced are solved.

 

Update v1.3:

Minor bugfix when no button was selected and a beautiful new icon!

 

Update v1.4:

Added an option to use diagonal Hat positions.

To use it:

1. run VRNeckSafer v1.4 once to update the VRNeckSafer.cfg file
2. exit VRNeckSafer v1.4
3. open VRNeckSafer.cfg in a text editor
4. at the line "Use8WayHat" change false to true
5. safe and exit editor

Now you can choose from the 8 directions. 

No need to update if you are fine with the 4 Hat positions

 

Update v1.5:

Separate rotation angles for snap and autorotation

 

Update:

Added a link to a zip file with seperated exe and dlls.

The version is the same as the standalone.

If you are experiencing those annoying false av alerts with the standalone exe try this version...

 

Update v1.6:

Compatibility to other major combat sim. (thanks @c6_lefuneste and @shaun57 for testing)

Added a "temporary freeze" button for autorotation (thanks for the idea @ACG_Mephisto)

I'll stay with the zipped folder this time, the standalone versions gave too much trouble with false av alerts... 🥴 There is no difference in usage.

It's still a good idea to use the same button for HMD yaw reset and the in game "Default VR view"!

Also, better keep the HMD standard orientation (arrow on ground on the SteamVR plains) close to your normal front direction. (the HMD yaw reset function trys to compensate, but big angular differences are problematic)

 

Update v2.0:

new features/changes:
+ seperate joysticks for each button
+ modifiers
+ several steps for autorotate
+ buttons can be scanned/recognized
+ buttons can be inverted
+ buttons can toggle
+ More than one Hold button (e.g. for zooming or to enable/disable autorotation with a toggle button)
+ only a single instance allowed to run
+ start minimized option
+ minimize to tray option
+ config file can be given as parameter (VRNeckSafer.exe your_config_file)
+ options to fiddle with if things are not working as expected:
       - force seated/standing mode
       - position compensation
       - app mode can be "Background" (requires SteamVR to already run) or "Overlay" (starts SteamVR on its own)

 

Update v2.01:

minor change: typo fix in GUI and allowed Autorotation with Accumulative mode.

 

Update v2.02:

hotfix for DCS

 

Update v2.03:

fix for fwd translation when autorotation to left

 

Update v2.04:

better default autorot values

fix for validation check of autorot values

fix for hang up if SteamVR is not responding.

 

Update v2.05:

 - added fancy diagram to help understand the autorot values (also look for the explanations in the spoiler box above!)

 - fixed DCS offset bug reintroduced in v2.04 (hopefully)

 

Update v2.06:
 - corrected error in translation when HMD misalignment is big (for IL-2)
 - reset button resets accumulative offset
 - added pitch limit (options menu). when HMD pitch (looking up) is bigger than limit autorot goes on hold. default is 90 deg = not effective

 

Update v2.07:
 - fixed GUI font
 - Added option to select more than one button for manual rotation

 

known issues:
still problems with Valve Index and DCS. (On hold for now unfortunately. Just can't find a way to debug this without access to an Index...)

 

Please let me know if I broke something!

 

As always, I hope this all makes sense...  

 

Cheers, J2_NobiWan

 

Edited 19 hours ago by J2_NobiWan
update v2.07

[Hetzer-JG51 296]

It looks awesome but my windows is not being allowed to access when I try to install.

Edit. Weird, it installed anyway (it ignored its own error box, lol). Going to try it now...

Edited December 20, 2020 by J3Hetzer

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Ah, yes, looks like windows gives a warning because its from an "unknown publisher". You can safely bypass this warning and unblock the app.

 

Btw.: Source code is available here https://gitlab.com/NobiWan/vrnecksafer

 

[Hetzer-JG51 296]

Oh my frikking god, it's real, it works! 🤩😍 Where the hell did you come from, you're a bloody genius!

Ok, the auto bit spazzes the screens out, only works to the right and ends up disabling the in-game VR centering (I pressed the reset button while in-game too, it didn't fix it). So I disabled the auto bit and used the POV hat, absolute perfection.

Thank you!!!

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Lol! Good that it works for you!

For the autorotation to work you have to press the reset button once while looking forward, so that the app knows where the zero angle is.

[RAAF492SQNOz_Steve 85]

It is a big THANK YOU from me!    Works very well with useful options in very simple user interface!👍

Not sure that everyone's Physio or Chiropractor is going to be as grateful as I am with this really useful game enhancement.......  😉 

[SvAF/F16_Goblin 192]

Excellent, will try this. VR is great but the tunnel view makes it real hard to look over the shoulder 😄

Perhaps, if I could make a suggestion, to make it possible to assign a button or a key to reset autorotate in the tool?

Then I could use the same key for that as to centre the view in game and make everything line up perfectly.

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by MA_Goblin

[J2_NobiWan 133]

3 hours ago, MA_Goblin said:

Perhaps, if I could make a suggestion, to make it possible to assign a button or a key to reset autorotate in the tool?

Then I could use the same key for that as to centre the view in game and make everything line up perfectly.

 

 

This is actually a good idea! Even though you have to reset only once and only if you want to use the auto rotate... Will update the app soon. 😊

Edited December 21, 2020 by J2_NobiWan

[SvAF/F16_Goblin 192]

It took me 5 minutes to make this work and that was only because I couldn't figure out the numbers on the buttons 😄

This is absolutely great work mate, do You have a way to donate?
Absolutely essential little software for VR, now i can glance over my shoulder just as in IRL.
I set it to 35 degrees and that was perfect for me.

[SvAF/F16_radek 219]

While others are working on accurate gaz truck suspension simulations, NobiWan went and gave us something thats’s been requested for years. Thank you!

[335th_GRFirdimigdi 133]

Quick, hide it before the "it's another VR cheat" brigade waltzes in.

[c6_lefuneste 790]

Hello, I updated my thread to point to this one, your tool is definitively what I was looking for....You should request to have it pinned.

Why didn't you release it before 😀 ?

One request, should it be possible to add lateral offset with the angle ?

When you turn your head, you have also to move your shoulder, especially at big angle, so it should be more realitic to have this offset...I do not know if it is something difficult to do...The dev of driver4VR said adding rotation was a tricky thing and you did it, so...

[SvAF/F16_horsky 40]

I cant thank you enough NobiWan, this is just incredible! Hasslefree, plug n play! Where were you earlier this year? 😃

 

And also a big thanks to c6_lefuneste and all the ppls involved in "check your six in VR" for making VR a better place ❤️
 

[NN_Vaucouleurs 3]

absolutely awesome, I can't think of any other words to describe this tool. thank you a thousand times.

[Alonzo 2323]

This looks great I'm gonna try it out. @dburne did you see this thing yet? Anyone else have mobility issues? I remember some folks in the VR sub very much need this kind of thing.

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Thank you guys! I'm glad you find it useful.

I just updated the first post.

 

Thanks @c6_lefuneste for linking here!

5 hours ago, c6_lefuneste said:

One request, should it be possible to add lateral offset with the angle ?

When you turn your head, you have also to move your shoulder, especially at big angle, so it should be more realitic to have this offset...I do not know if it is something difficult to do...The dev of driver4VR said adding rotation was a tricky thing and you did it, so...

I'll have to look into it. Actually rotation is very straight forward (have a look at the sources). I think a lateral offset will be a bit more complicated...

 

Ah, and please, no donations... preorder FC2 instead! 😉

 

Cheers, J2_NobiWan

[Drum 31]

NobiWan's new NogginTron is turning heads everywhere, get your free copy today!

[Alonzo 2323]

22 hours ago, J2_NobiWan said:

Also, as an experimental feature, there is an "Autorotate" setting that can be enabled. Here the Offset angle is automatically activated when turning your head over a defined activation angle and deactivated when below a deactivation angle. No joystick buttons required.

It works surpringly well, but can also be a bit confusing in a hectic situation.

 

What might be interesting (and yes, this is feature creep, feel free to decline!) is to have automatic non-linear rotation 'boost' for the final portion of someone's ability to turn their head. So if I can comfortably turn my head 120 degrees and uncomfortably crank to 130, but I want a physical 130 degree turn to be a virtual 150 degree turn, could I get the software to 'boost' my head turn in that final portion? Kind of like a curve on a joystick or something. That might make it less noticeable in a dogfight, it's not a sudden increase, it's a "head crank helper" sort of thing.

 

Physical Rotation / Mapped Rotation:

• 100 / 100
• 110 / 110
• 120 / 130
• 130 / 150

I have no idea if these numbers are reasonable, I actually find it pretty hard to rotate my head further than 90 degrees while keeping shoulders straight, but of course that's not how I fly the plane, I'm moving my whole body to look behind me. If the boost only kicks in fairly far round my rotation, I can still comfortably look at a wingman left/right without having anything odd happen, it would only take effect when I'm really trying hard to see behind me.

[dburne 2620]

2 hours ago, Alonzo said:

This looks great I'm gonna try it out. @dburne did you see this thing yet? Anyone else have mobility issues? I remember some folks in the VR sub very much need this kind of thing.

 

While yes I do have issues, I prefer to just make the best out of it with the 1:1 tracking.

I got a new gaming chair that swivels nicely which helps a little.

[Toxin1 72]

File is getting blocked from downloading by windows as Trojan virus??

[Hetzer-JG51 296]

3 minutes ago, Toxin1 said:

File is getting blocked from downloading by windows as Trojan virus??

It's a common issue with indie software, just tell it to "Keep anyway".

[Vortice 143]

Works great and I will always use it in future. Many thanks to you Nobi.

[Jack59 12]

NobiWan, thanks so much for creating this utility....it looks awesome! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get it to work.

 

I know that my mapped buttons are talking to the utility, because the "deg" indicator in the upper left changes to 30 or -30 as appropriate. And when I press the mapped button I often get a bit of a flicker, but not the expected shift in view. The reset button seems to be working ok; the HMD yaw value zeroes out on the dialog when I press the mapped button.

 

Am I perhaps missing a setting in either SteamVR or the game itself? Any pointers would be much appreciated; I'd love to get this working!

 

[J2_NobiWan 133]

34 minutes ago, Jack59 said:

I know that my mapped buttons are talking to the utility, because the "deg" indicator in the upper left changes to 30 or -30 as appropriate. And when I press the mapped button I often get a bit of a flicker, but not the expected shift in view. The reset button seems to be working ok; the HMD yaw value zeroes out on the dialog when I press the mapped button.

 

Hmm, does it work with auto rotation disabled?

Which headset are you using?

Do you maybe use the same buttons in the game settings for something? like reset VR view?

Edited December 22, 2020 by J2_NobiWan

[Jack59 12]

24 minutes ago, J2_NobiWan said:

 

Hmm, does it work with auto rotation disabled?

Which headset are you using?

Do you maybe use the same buttons in the game settings for something? like reset VR view?

 

Thanks for getting back so quickly!

 

I've tried it with auto rotation both enabled and disabled; no joy. I'm using the Valve Index.  I cleared out any shared mappings between your utility and my joystick, other than sharing your reset button with my VR reset/centering button.

 

Incidentally, when I enable the auto function, and move the HMD the requisite amount to trigger rotation, the upper left of your dialog boxes flashes between 0 and 30 (or -30) almost too fast for the eye to see.

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Could you redownload the app and try it again? The earlier version had a bug that might have caused something like that...

Also, what is the HMD yaw angle initially shown, before reset when looking straight ahead?

[Jack59 12]

I tried the latest version, with no change.

 

When I first punch up the utility, looking straight ahead, it shows a yaw angle of 67 degrees.

[JimmySolarium_VR 57]

Thank you so much for this wonderful tool, my neck is absolutely appreciating it! 😃

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Quote

I tried the latest version, with no change.

 

When I first punch up the utility, looking straight ahead, it shows a yaw angle of 67 degrees

Hmm, I'll have to look deeper into this. Will come back to you tomorrow... getting late here... 😴

Edited December 22, 2020 by J2_NobiWan

[56RAF_klem 39]

WARNING: According to Windows defender  the downloadable file cointains a threat.

 

Trojan:MSIL/Masslogger.VN!MTB

 

"This program is dangerous and executes commands from an attacker."

Edited December 22, 2020 by 56RAF_klem

[RAAF492SQNOz_Steve 85]

39 minutes ago, 56RAF_klem said:

WARNING: According to Windows defender  the downloadable file cointains a threat.

 

Trojan:MSIL/Masslogger.VN!MTB

 

"This program is dangerous and executes commands from an attacker."

 

Suspect that this is a false positive. I have scanned both versions of the .exe file with Kapersky & Symantec (on a separate computer) and it reported no issue.

 

It is un-signed, that will trigger a warning when downloading it.

Edited December 22, 2020 by RAAF492SQNOz_Steve
added results of Symantec scan

[gascan 163]

Well I tried the VR Neck Saver. It worked, but had a strange issue. Whenever it added to my head rotation, it also displaced my head to the side. I took a few screenshots to show what it looked like (low resolution, sorry), and you can see that my head is well outside the cockpit. This gave me a great view of the side of my machine, which is a bit beside the point. If my head were still inside the cockpit, it would make it much easier to look behind me. Any ideas why it's displacing my head as well as rotating? I tried with both the buttons and the autorotate, and they seem to be working correctly. The issue is that whenever the head rotation is applied (whether from the buttons or the autorotate), the head moves as well. Otherwise, it looks like it'll really be nice. Thanks, @J2_NobiWan.

Oh, and I second @Alonzo's request for progressive rotation (more rotation as you rotate your head). That could make it a smoother experience to scan behind you. I did something similar for a pan/tilt FPV setup on a set of radio controlled B-17's my brother and I flew a few years ago.

 

[SvAF/F16_radek 219]

Having tested all the modes I see no issues. My neck can't thank you enough and coffee is happy to stay in it's cup, on the table.

Seems you did add lateral offset? And it really is working great!  Should you be in an experimentative mode perhaps try some medial offset? Meaning offset head pos a bit forward (towards prop) when snap6, so that the headrest doesn't flood fill your view so much. Though I realize the ranges allowed here are very small.

Edited December 22, 2020 by SvAF/F16_radek

[5BMR_nikit 0]

Hi Nobiwan, could you tell me the location where the program is installed? Despite allowing windows defender to open the program, the program will not open.

Thanks in advance

[hsthhsth 28]

Managed version 1 download yesterday, cannot download version 2 today (see pic). Any ideas?

 

and another pic:

 

[J2_NobiWan 133]

Sorry about the malware alerts, guys. Just to be totally sure I checked the .exe at virustotal.com and it gives me 3/71 detections which is a strong indicator of a false alert.

Unfortunately Windows Defender is one of those who give the false positive. This seem to prevent the download for some.

I suspect the issue to resolve itself after a while, but I'm no expert on this.

 

You could still download the source code, check for hidden traps and compile it yourself of course.

 

I'll have a look on the other reported issues later today...

 

Thanks, J2_NobiWan

[Hetzer-JG51 296]

Win10 allows the warnings to be over-ridden ("Learn more" to start with, then "Keep anyway"). You might need to go through that more than once, including during install.

If you get an install error dialog (not a virus one), run the install as "Administrator" (right click the exe to see that option), it'll allow you a step further, then possibly another error dialog. Re-boot the PC, then the app should run.

Edited December 22, 2020 by JG51-Hetzer

[J5_NiiranenVR-Gfr 171]

Pick and take  ... and I did ...and its working really great  

now i only need my mucle memory working  

 

thanx 

In window security , and then download again ....that's what I did 

[J2_NobiWan 133]

2 hours ago, 5BMR_nikit said:

Hi Nobiwan, could you tell me the location where the program is installed? Despite allowing windows defender to open the program, the program will not open.

Thanks in advance

 

The app is a standalone executable, no installation needed. After downloading it should be in your download folder. You can run it from there or move it anywhere else.

If you don't see it in your download folder, maybe windows defender deleted it or put it under quarantine because of the false alert.

1 hour ago, J2_NobiWan said:

Sorry about the malware alerts, guys. Just to be totally sure I checked the .exe at virustotal.com and it gives me 3/71 detections which is a strong indicator of a false alert.

Unfortunately Windows Defender is one of those who give the false positive. This seem to prevent the download for some.

I suspect the issue to resolve itself after a while, but I'm no expert on this.

 

You could still download the source code, check for hidden traps and compile it yourself of course.

 

I'll have a look on the other reported issues later today...

 

Thanks, J2_NobiWan

 

I replaced the downloadable executable with a debug version (same functionality) which passes windows defender without problem. If you had trouble downloading please try again now.

You probably still have to bypass the "unknown publisher" warning though.

Edited December 22, 2020 by J2_NobiWan

[J2_NobiWan 133]

12 hours ago, Jack59 said:

 

Thanks for getting back so quickly!

 

I've tried it with auto rotation both enabled and disabled; no joy. I'm using the Valve Index.  I cleared out any shared mappings between your utility and my joystick, other than sharing your reset button with my VR reset/centering button.

 

Incidentally, when I enable the auto function, and move the HMD the requisite amount to trigger rotation, the upper left of your dialog boxes flashes between 0 and 30 (or -30) almost too fast for the eye to see.

 

From what you write I suspect something is overwriting the the offset angle. Is it possible that you had OVR Advanced Settings running before? I had some difficulty to get rid of it, even though I uninstalled it. Maybe another tool that I don't know?

 

Something else you could try is to test it in SteamVR Home. If the app is working there it has something to do with your IL2 settings.

As a last resort you might try to reinstall SteamVR...

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by J2_NobiWan