If you own the Oculus Go, you can now play Steam VR games with two controllers using
Vridge!
You can use the Oculus Go controller as the first controller, and as a second controller,
you can use your phone.
It’s a very creative way to get started with the more heavyweight PC VR games without
having to buy an expensive VR headset, like the HTC VIVE or Oculus Rift.
In this video, I’ll show you what that is like, and also how YOU can get it to work
as well.
Coming up.
Don't forget to subscribe if you want to see more VR videos like this one!
VRidge makes it possible to play Steam VR games without an expensive VR headset.
Its technology can make your PC think that any affordable standalone VR headset, like
the Oculus Go, Google Daydream, and the Samsung GearVR, is a powerful PC VR headset giving
you the ability to play their games.
Not only that, but it can also turn your MOBILE PHONE into a PC VR headset, making it possible
for you to play PC VR games in full 3D with like a Google Cardboard, or other solutions,
like this nifty little thing we have here....
How do I look?
xD
It also supports the standalone headsets, like the HTC VIVE Focus, Lenovo Mirage Solo
and the upcoming Oculus Quest will get support as well.
Basically, VRidge streams the gameplay into your device while still maintaining its head
tracking features.
It’s a smart piece of software.
VRidge is 15 dollars and can be purchased from Riftcat.com, check the link down below.
If you don't know if you’ll like it, you can also download the Free Version where you
get 5 minutes of play time if you don't register.
If you register an account, you can get 10 minutes of play time per session for free.
You can try the Free Version as many times as you want.
So after 10 minutes, you can restart the session and you’ll get another 10 minutes.
This way you can try out multiple games for free.
But before we show you what gaming is like with VRidge, let’s first check out together
how to get it set up.
In this video, I'll only explain how to set VRidge up for your Oculus Go and afterward,
also your phone.
The set up is much easier and more intuitive than I expected.
So I’m guessing this will be the same for all other devices.
Of course, to be able to launch a SteamVR game, you still need a SteamVR compatible
PC or laptop so that it can launch the game.
If you are a gamer, you’ll most likely have one already.
Let’s start with the Oculus Go setup.
All you have to do is this:
Step 1.
First of all, make sure you have Steam & SteamVR installed on your PC.
Links are down below in the description.
Step 2.
Then go to the Riftcat.com website and download the Vridge tool.
Step 3.
Then install it per instructed.
Step 4.
When it’s done, launch the Riftcat Client.
It will immediately start looking for a connection.
If you click on Oculus Go now, you will get a guide on how to install the Riftcat app
on your Go.
I’ll explain how to do that in the next steps as well.
Step 5.
Go back to the RiftCat website.
This time make sure you are logged in.
Step 6.
Then navigate to https://riftcat.com/claim/oculus and it will generate a key for you.
Copy this key.
Step 7.
Now go to the Oculus.com website, make sure you are logged in.
Click on your profile icon, then go to My Gear VR / Oculus Go.
Step 8.
Click on Redeem Code.
Paste the Code here and press Redeem.
Step 9.
Put on your Oculus Go.
Go to your Library > Not Installed > And find the VRidge app here.
Install it, and launch.
Step 10.
Take off your Oculus Go and look at your Desktop screen, the RiftCat Client will now find your
Oculus Go.
Comfirm here that it is the right device by clicking Yes.
Step 11.
Then just click the Play button here.
It will now launch SteamVR.
If this is your first time launching SteamVR, it will ask you to do the room setup.
Step 12.
In the Room Set up > Choose Standing Only > Next > Turn your headset in a forward position
and then press Calibrate Center Button, wait until it finishes > Next > Type in your body
height here, wait for it to finish > Next > And it’s done.
The SteamVR Home will now launch and you are ready to play.
Make sure you turn on the Audio Streaming toggle here to also get gameplay audio.
As you can see, it is pretty easy to get everything setup and working.
To get the best quality, make sure you have the recommended requirements as shown on the
Riftcat website.
And the most important thing here is to use a 5 GHz WiFi connection because you will get
much better WiFi speed with this and thus better quality.
For phones, you can even connect it to the PC with an USB cable for the best connection.
Right now, I am using a 5 GHz WiFi connection on both my laptop & Oculus Go.
And as you can see, I can play VRChat pretty well.
If you are curious about my laptop specifications, you can check out our link in the description.
If you encounter any artifacts or lag, then you can also change up the streaming options
in VRidge.
You can use this dial to make the streaming quality higher or lower.
The lower you make it, the lesser the lag or artifacts will be.
If you know what you are doing, you can also turn on advanced settings.
Making it possible to change all kinds of video settings and tracking options.
Also, make sure you are close to your router for the best quality.
When I moved away from the router, as you can see here, you can get lag or artifacts.
Now I have to say our walls in our condo are very thick and isolated, so WiFi connections
have a difficult time getting through.
If your walls are not as isolated as ours, you might be able to play further away from
your router.
Vridge might not be for you if you are not able to get a stable WiFi connection.
I would recommend to try the software out first before buying.
Now, one of the most recent updates also added the feature to add your phone as the second
controller.
This is only compatible with Android phones for now.
So to get this working, you need this VRidge Controller app that you can download from
the Google Play store.
It’s not free unfortunately, it costs about 5 dollars.
In just a bit, I’ll show you what it is like to play with your phone as a controller,
so you can check if it is worth it for you.
But first, let me show you how to set up your phone for this.
Once you’ve installed the app, there isn't much to it.
Just make sure you have your stream up on the Desktop app, and that your phone is on
the same WiFi connection as your laptop.
It will detect that there is a stream up immediately.
Select it and you can immediately use your phone as a controller.
If it isn’t detected immediately, make sure your phone is on the same WiFi connection!
If it still doesn’t detect, you can also manually enter the IP of your laptop here.
In the app, a couple of buttons show up, that you can use to simulate the VR controller.
Like there is a button for the grip and the trigger.
There is also a button to select which hand your phone is in.
Here I am playing Beat Saber with a Go controller and my phone.
It is still 3 Degrees Of Freedom, meaning that I cannot move my hands forward or backward
like with a 6 Degrees of Freedom PC VR controller.
I can only do movements like this.
However, as you can see, it works pretty well.
There are options to get 6DoF controllers working with the Oculus Go using, for example,
the Nintendo Switch Joycons or a PSVR Move controller though.
If you would like to see the video on how to get 6DoF controllers working with the Oculus
Go, then let us know down below or leave a like so we know that there is interest in
it.
I have a Samsung S9+, and I have to say it isn’t super comfortable to press the buttons
on my big phone while using it in VR.
For Beat Saber it’s pretty okay because I don’t need any buttons.
But a game that relies on buttons, it won’t be very playable with your phone.
It’s probably also not very comfortable to use your phone as a VR controller for a
long period of time since it isn’t designed to be used that way.
But since most of us already have a phone, it is a cheap solution to get started with
PC VR games that need two controllers.
You can even add a second phone and use both phones as controllers.
Or mix it up with the other controller options in VRidge.
VRidge also makes it possible to simulate PC VR controllers with your keyboard and mouse
OR Xbox Controller.
Now, this can work well in VR games that have compatibility for those inputs, like Subnautica.
Or Elite Dangerous.
However, if you want to play a VR game that relies a lot on 6DoF VR controllers, it is
still a bit awkward.
You can try tweaking around in the VRidge settings, but this needs a bit of work still.
For example, I killed my little Quill way too much in Moss VR....
I feel so evil.
Now, as I said before you can also use your phone as a Steam VR headset.
For this to work, you just download the VRidge 2 app from the Google Play store.
Then launch the app, and the Desktop RiftCat Client will automatically detect your phone
if it is on the same WiFi connection.
Then to start playing, you press play here as well.
Then the content will be streamed on your phone like this.
This is probably the most inexpensive way to get started in VR since with this option
you can use the GearVR or even the Google Cardboard to play Steam VR games.
We don’t own these two so we can’t try that out, but we do have this nifty thing.
You can place this on the line here.
By the way, this isn’t something affiliated with VRidge, its just something we got with
our 360 camera.
You can probably get these things for really cheap on eBay as well.
Of course, these glasses thing is mostly just fun to try out, but not really a sustainable
method to play VR games with.
It could be cool to use this to show off some 360 photos or videos to friends since everything
is in full 3D this way.
The GearVR and Google Cardboard would be way more fun because you can wear it on your head.
Like VRidge on the Oculus Go is pretty cool.
There are a couple of good free Steam VR games that are worth it to try out.
Like, Google Earth VR that you see here.
The software supports a wide range of games since it is compatible with the OpenVR standard.
Now, if you already own a PC VR headset, VRidge is definitely not a replacement for that.
The quality that you get from those headsets is of course much better because those games
and experiences are made for those headsets.
A stream of the game can never be as good.
Even with a fast internet connection, you still have some quality loss in graphics.
BUT I am surprised at how intuitive everything works, how easy the setup is and also that
the tracking works without any noticeable tracking delays.
I can actually play a fast-paced game like Beat Saber, and I think that is impressive.
I do think VRidge is better suitable for games that don’t rely much on hand controllers.
So any seated games that you can play with a keyboard and mouse or the Xbox controller
are pretty fun!
Especially with a stand-alone headset, you don’t have to worry about any cables and
if you have a good WiFi connection you can even bring your headset to – I don’t know
– your bed and play while laying down.
You do have to really make sure that your WiFi connection is good though or else you
will get lag or artifacts.
This could take a bit of time to get configured.
If you don’t have good WiFi, you might not be able to make it work.
I would recommend to just try out the free trial first to make sure.
So yes, I think in any case VRidge is an impressive piece of software.
Hats off to the developers in making VR more accessible to more people.
And hopefully get more people in it too.
That’s exactly what we are trying to do with this channel as well, so I am really
happy to see smart people make creative solutions like this one to help this goal.
And I think 15 dollars for what you get, is a pretty good deal.
Their plans for the future is an iOS version of their apps and the Oculus Quest will also
get support.
I think VRidge might be the GO-TO app to play Steam VR games on that headset.
It will be incredible to do that with a standalone 6DoF headset.
I cannot wait.
Anyway, if you have any trouble at all or any questions, please leave a comment down
below.
We would love to help.
And we would also really love to hear your thoughts about VRidge as well.
And if you have more trouble, you can also use Riftcat’s support.
I put their support email down below as well.
They are very responsive.
And this is also the end of this video.
So a special thank you goes to our Right Hand Patron called artArmin & a special shoutout
goes to his Patreon page.
Thank you all so much for your support.
You make our day every day.
So...
As always.
VR on.