A proof of concept program which allows some previously exclusive Oculus Rift software titles to run on the HTC Vive has been published on GitHub. The program translates functions in the Oculus Runtime and translates them to OpenVR calls. This initial proof of concept patch is said to be pretty simple to use, and currently works on Lucky's Tale and Oculus Dreamdeck. Furthermore, according to Polygon, the Dreamdeck application is even better on the HTC Vive thanks to enhanced tracking hardware.
Earlier this month the developers of Eve: Valkyrie, CCP Games, confirmed that this well regarded space game will be coming to the HTC Vive later in 2016. Now it looks like even first-party exclusive Oculus games will be able to be played on HTC's Vive VR system.
The GitHub project is filed under LibreVR/Revive and described as a "proof-of-concept compatibility layer between the Oculus SDK and OpenVR". Compatibility is implemented by "reimplementing functions from the Oculus Runtime and translating them to OpenVR calls," explains the development page. Oculus has built-in a degree of anti-tampering with code signing of its runtime DLLs so the application needs to be patched for the Oculus exclusive titles to run on the Vive.
Polygon tested the GitHub downloads and confirms they are working in the manner described. Interestingly the Oculus Dreamdeck app was said to be improved on the Vive, thanks to its enhanced tracking capabilities. The Vive chaperone system, which shows you the limits of your play space, is also reported to work just fine on the Rift titles.
So will we see more support and further development of LibreVR/Revive? The GitHub page ends with a To-Do List, which isn't really a statement of intent for a proof of concept. However Reddit user CrossVR, who posted the program, stated that "In the future more games will be supported, but I'm glad to see such swift progress already."
Oculus Rift shipping delays
Oculus was supposed to start shipping the pre-orders for its Rift headset end the end of last month. However many are still waiting for shipment and being updated with later and later shipping estimates.
HTC looks to benefit from the situation; its VR Evangelist took to Twitter to boast that HTC is "on track to deliver all April pre-orders in April". The firm updated a blog post regarding shipments at the start of this week.
