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Valheim VR finally playable in virtual reality with controllers (tutorial)

Valheim VR finally playable in virtual reality with controllers for PCVR headsets (Oculus, Valve Index and HTC Vive).

Valheim VR finally playable in virtual reality with controllers (tutorial)

Released on PC in February 2021, Valheim is a PC exploration and survival game. The really good news is that you can now play it entirely in VR without blindly using your keyboard / mouse. So while waiting for the release of a real survival game on Oculus Quest, here is an excellent alternative.

Valheim story and gameplay

A fallen warrior, the Valkyries have taken your soul to Valheim, the tenth world of Norse mythology. You are the new guardian of this purgatory, besieged on all sides by the creatures of chaos and the sworn enemies of the gods. Odin is counting on you to win back Valheim.

Your trials begin in the strangely peaceful center of this world, but the favor of the gods rewards the brave. Venture into impenetrable forests, climb to the top of towering mountains, collect materials to forge deadly weapons and tougher armor, as well as to build camps and fortifications. Build a mighty langskip and travel the vast oceans in search of exotic lands.

Full VR immersion with the new mod

The VR mod made by Brandon Mousseau has been out for a while, but you still had to use a keyboard and mouse to play in VR in Valheim. The interest was therefore limited for a complete immersion.

But now with the Nexus mod update you get full VR controller support.

  • Fight to survive with a system of dodges and parries, and featuring a wide variety of weapons.

  • Build ships and sail with a simple raft to massive warships. Build the boats that will allow you to conquer the oceans and above all to discover new lands.

  • Summon and defeat monsters from Viking legends,

  • collect trophies to progress and forge formidable objects.

  • Erect houses, farms, camps, fortifications, and more.

  • Forge saga-worthy weapons and armor, brew your own mead, and cook delicious food.

What I like about this game is the very flexible house building system, as well as the boss fights.

You must first of all have a gaming PC (with a GeForce GTX 1080 card minimum) and one of the so-called PCVR headsets:

Then if you don’t have it, you must buy it on Steam for 16,79 $ in its early access version (currently on sale at $ 15.11)

Then, Download the Mod VR from Valheim. This is an experimental mod for the PC game Valheim that adds native VR support using Unity and SteamVR with OpenVR.

Finally, install the VR mod, I advise you to go through the very practical Mod Manager tool

Here is the most interesting part since it is about going on an adventure. I will show you the important elements to succeed in your games in virtual reality.

  • The game window must be the most prominent active window in VR or you will not have keyboard and mouse control. However if you use the controllers it does not matter.

  • You can turn on full screen mode to make sure the window stays in the foreground.

  • When you start the game you are in first person view, but your IRL head may not match your character’s body position. To fix the alignment, use the directional arrows on your keyboard to move your head directly over the character’s body. If you want to play in VR in third person view, use the mouse wheel to zoom out and exit your body.

  • If you need to refocus your tracking, press the “health home” button. If you want to move the vertical position of your head up or down, use the “Page Up” or “Page Down” keys to do so.

  • If you use a VR compatible laptop like me, you may get an error message regarding your graphics card.

    • Open the Nvidia Control Panel. To do this, right-click on an empty space on your desktop and choose Nvidia Control Panel from the drop-down menu.

    • Navigate to 3D Settings> Manage 3D Settings.

    • Open the Schedules Settings tab and add Steam VR to the list.

    • It’s done you can use your laptop to play Valheim in virtual reality.

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