OpenXR support: how many new potential customers? just put +1

[sisu1a]

Not sure why the fixation on OpenXR and the moving goalposts that come with it when OpenVR is perfectly viable to do the same thing and has been available to use for free for 10 years and counting

The reasoning behind not using OpenVR initially was the misconception of needing to sell the game on Steam which is -absolutely not the case- OpenVR is a free runtime for anyone to use and a game like Condor which is optimized to run on low spec pc's, performance would be indistinguishable from OpenXR.

OpenVR is a fully mature and supported runtime that has been available all along and is basically the industry standard. It's what Condor should have been running for VR since day 1 and it's still what it should be running for VR today

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVR

[cbrunschen]

Not sure why the fixation on OpenXR
[...]

It's not a fixation, it's simply a recognition of where the world is moving.

OpenVR is Valve/Steam's API and while it supports multiple headsets from different manufacturers, it's still Valve's own thing under Valve's control - much like the Oculus APIs that Condor currently uses are Oculus/Meta's thing under their control.

OpenXR in contrast is more modern, having learned from earlier attempts from Oculus and SteamVR; and it is an open and royalty-free standard from a vendor-independent industry consortium. That means anyone is free to implement it - and indeed pretty much everyone does.

So as long as you have any OpenXR runtime, software that uses OpenXR will work. Meta have one. SteamVR includes an OpenXR runtime. Virtual Desktop also includes its own OpenXR runtime these days. Pimax and Varjo have their own runtimes. And if the VR software you're trying to run uses OpenXR, you can use it with any one of the headsets, with a runtime that is optimized for that headset.

Also, both VR software and headset manufacturers across the globe seem to be moving towards OpenXR: games are released that support only OpenXR, and headsets that provide only an OpenXR runtime. So while both OpenVR and Oculus's VrApi still exist, OpenXR is evidently what both hardware and software vendors consider the safer bet.

OpenXR also has a well defined extension system, Things like Motion Compensation for use with motion platforms can be implemented once, and then used with any conforming OpenXR runtime.

Of course, these sorts of things change over time. When Condor originally added VR support I am fairly sure Oculus's APIs were the main viable choice. 5 years ago, OpenVR might have been the choice because pretty much every PC VR headset was aiming to be SteamVR compatible. But today, OpenXR not only has wide industry support, but is also mature in both design and multiple implementations, including within SteamVR, and is the most forward-looking option.

[Alex911747]

+1
I would already have bought Condor 3 as soon as it came out would there be some proper openXR support for my Pimax.
For now staying with Condor 2 and not using it a lot due to the hassle of having to use Oculus software...

[cthaeler]

Not that much of a hassle, IMHO. I use a Crystal Light and have no problem and the setup took less than 15 minutes and that includes download and reading the instructions. C3 is worth the effort.

[melodrama]

+1
I would already have bought Condor 3 as soon as it came out would there be some proper openXR support for my Pimax.
For now staying with Condor 2 and not using it a lot due to the hassle of having to use Oculus software...

Same here, it is hell of the hassle use Varjo Aero goggles with Oculus app + Revive app + Varjo base app + SteamVR app to be able to play Condor 2 when all other flight sims work without Oculus app & Revive.

So, definitely no go to buy Condor 3 until OpenXR is available.