Darktide VR Mod

Darktide VR (early alpha)

Yes, this is vibe coded.

Source code available at:

Brobert-in-aus/darktide-vr: Stereo VR for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide through OpenXR, with motion-controller gameplay (early alpha)

Darktide VR presents Warhammer 40,000: Darktide in stereo through OpenXR,

with controller input in menus and gameplay. It has been built and tested on

a Quest 3 through Virtual Desktop. It is an early alpha: it works for the people who

built it, on their hardware, and it will have rough edges on yours.

Please read the "Known limits" section before you judge it.

What you need

- Windows 10 or 11, x64. Darktide installed through Steam.

- A GPU that runs Darktide comfortably flat. Frame generation uses the

game's own DLSS Frame Generation, so it needs an NVIDIA RTX 40-series or

newer; without it the mod runs at whatever rate the GPU renders two eyes.

Only NVIDIA GPUs have been tested.

- The Darktide Mod Loader and the Darktide Mod Framework (DMF), installed

and working: with them alone, the game should start and show "Mods" in its

options. Install those first, from their own Nexus pages.

- An OpenXR runtime with Direct3D 12 support and a headset with Touch-style

controllers. The tested setup is a Quest 3 with Virtual Desktop on the

headset, Virtual Desktop Streamer on the PC, and VDXR selected as the

OpenXR runtime in the Streamer's settings. SteamVR, Meta Link and other

runtimes and headsets are untested; controllers other than Touch fall back

to the basic OpenXR profile (select and menu only) until their bindings

- Optional: the Custom HUD mod, which the VR mod uses for HUD layout

editing. Everything else works without it.

Install

1. Extract the archive into the Darktide game folder, the one that contains

`binaries`, `bundle` and `mods`. When you are done,

`mods\darktidevr` sits beside `mods\dmf`; the archive adds

nothing outside that folder.

2. Close Darktide. Run `mods\darktidevr\Darktide VR Mode.bat`

and choose 1, VR mode. The switch does three things:

- patches two bytes of `binaries\Darktide.exe` so the game accepts the

stereo camera (a pristine copy is kept under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\DarktideVR`);

- places the mod's `d3d12.dll` proxy in `binaries`, which is how the VR

module gets into the game;

- adds `darktidevr` to `mods\mod_load_order.txt`.

It prints a status block at the end; every line should read patched,

installed, listed and present.

3. Put the headset on, connect it to the PC (Virtual Desktop in the tested

setup), then launch

Darktide through Steam and press Play in the Fatshark launcher. Nothing

else is needed. The desktop window comes up as usual; a few seconds later

the headset shows the game.

To play flat again, run the batch file and choose 2, Flat mode. It

restores the original executable, removes the proxy and takes the mod out of

the load order. The mod folder and your other mods stay where they are.

After Steam updates the game, run the batch file again and choose VR mode.

After a mod update, extract the new archive over the old one and do the

same; the switch replaces the earlier proxy and keeps your settings.

If it says the build is not supported yet, the executable changed and the

patch needs an update from us.

First run

- The mod forces the game into a window and leaves its size to you; the

headset renders at the headset's resolution regardless, and in-game menus

are taken from the game's own canvas rather than the window. Only the

character-select and title screens still come from the window, so keep

it at least 1280x720 for readable text there. Fullscreen is switched off

at every start while VR mode is on.

- On the character-select screen the VR calibration opens by itself the

first time. Stand or sit as you will play, follow the two poses (arms out

in a T, then arms at your sides) and save. Your official character height

is set from it. Repeat it any time from the same screen's button or with

the chat command `/dtvr_calibration`.

- Menus use the right controller as a pointer. Trigger selects, the sticks

scroll. Text entry needs a physical keyboard; the character-name Randomize

button works with the pointer.

- Set DLSS and Frame Generation in the game's own video options. Quality

DLSS with Frame Generation on is the accepted setting on an RTX 4090.

Changing DLSS quality in-game