Cyberpunk 2077 R.E.A.L. VR mod (Patreon)

Update: Please download the new version 3.0.2 attached at the end of this post. It fixes two important issues (Q11 and Q12) as described in the Troubleshooting post.

Update 2: Guys, I'm sorry for not having been able to reply to your messages today! I worked all Sunday to fix a show-stopping bug (not my bug, guess whose) that was making almost all tooltips impossible to see in several UI pages: the inventory, when dealing with merchants, in the perks progression, and so on. My first priority is for all games I mod to be fully playable in VR, and this was absolutely crippling the experience, so I worked like a madman until I discovered and fixed the error. Please download release 3.0.3 at the bottom of the post: it also corrects a black-screen regression with RDR2 (my bug this time!).

Update 3: Today's update to the game, which should take care of the audio-related crashes at startup (without a bump in the version number: CD Projekt RED calls it "1.5 Hotfix") broke the tooltips again :'-| So I had to fix them once more, how fun! Please download the new 3.0.4 release at the bottom of the post.

Update 4: Very good news!! I found exactly where and how the game zooms the weapons into your face, so the next release will add the ability to manage that! You'll be able to control precisely how much zoom you want, from none to full, and with separate sliders for each weapon type (so for example you can hold the pistols at full arm length but move the sniper rifles closer to see the scope information well). Also coming are fixes for portions of the overlay being offscreen/unreachable with the mouse, full support for headsets with canted displays (Pimax, Reverb G2, Index with raw projections) with proper aim alignment even in ADS mode, and I also came up with an idea to bend the laws of optics a bit in order to provide acceptable 3D zoom even for headsets with canted displays :-) Sniper rifles and the Projectile Launch System will work correctly, with properly headlocked crosshair. All of that should be ready for release in a day or two, so stay tuned!!! [Out now with full changelog] Piece by piece we're gonna make this into the best VR game yet []-D

Once more, many thanks to Cas from Cas and Chary VR for the beautiful video that you can see above! (Although after watching it, I have to say that I would never want to get in a car with her at the wheel, eh.) She was so thoughtful as to include a quick setup tutorial at the end. Please do subscribe to their channel, it's full of awesome :-)

CP2077 is finally here!!! Wow, I can't believe it. This was the hardest game to mod by far.

The post contains: concise Quick Setup directions for the long-time Patrons who already have experience with my mods and only need to know what's changed in this release, followed by a more comprehensive guide for new users who would otherwise be forced to hunt for information through my previous posts (please scroll down past the YouTubers section). Go to Troubleshooting if you are having problems.

Also, amazing news! Guy Godin (the author of Virtual Desktop) and I have been working all week on compatibility issues, and we can now announce that Virtual Desktop will officially support alternate eye rendering and be fully compatible with my mods from its next version []-D

Welcome to the dystopian future!!!

Quick Setup (for returning users)

Run CP2077 at least once in flat mode, so that it can create your profile and settings; also make sure that it launches correctly without the mod (see the Troubleshooting post in case it doesn't).

After quitting the game, extract the .zip archive to the folder where Cyberpunk2077.exe is, something like "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077\bin\x64", being careful to preserve the directory structure (don't move any files around manually or delete anything) and confirm overwriting old files if needed. Then run RealConfig, which should report no errors. If your headset needs SteamVR, remember to uncheck "Use Desktop Game Theatre while SteamVR is active" in the Steam property page for the game. That's it: the next time you launch the game from Steam or the desktop shortcut, it will run in VR.

The game will start with a 2430x2430 resolution, which you can then adjust according to how powerful your GPU is. If you have a 3090 or 3080 you might bump it up to 2700x2700, while with weaker cards it's best to go down a notch or two. You'll want to target a frame rate of at least 60 fps for a fluid experience. Most graphics options can also be changed dynamically to fit your video card: however, in the GRAPHICS page be sure to leave "Motion Blur" set to "Off" as it's not compatible with VR. The Field of View setting doesn't matter, because the mod will override it with your headset FOV.

Check out the new controls for my HUD implementation in the "R.E.A.L. VR" tab! You can adjust the size and distance of the normal gameplay HUD, and also the magnification of the headlocked HUD when aiming or scanning.

Additional notes for YouTubers and streamers

The mod now comes with its own OBS virtual source for Oculus and SteamVR, which should make capturing the stream much easier. To enable it, find the "OBS video capture" group at the bottom of the "R.E.A.L. VR" tab and tick the checkbox. Then you should be able to see a drop menu to select the source resolution and which eye to display. "Crop sidebars" will zoom in the image a bit to (mostly) get rid of the black bars that appear on the sides of the screen when you turn your head fast (they're an artefact of asynchronous timewarp). To connect to the source from OBS, just add a Game Capture source and attach it to the game window. Even though on the desktop the view will flicker between the two eyes, in the capture preview and recording the image will be stable, because the virtual source will actually send the VR mirror output instead of the window contents. I experimented with an RTX 3090 and I can record 2160p@60 while playing on a single PC without stutters. Unfortunately OpenXR is not supported because that API is a bit stuck-up and offers no mirroring facility.

If you don't have a super-powerful GPU and you get missed frames while recording/streaming, try experimenting with the GPU Throttling slider in the "CP2077" tab. Default is -1, which means no throttling. As you move the slider toward the right, at some point (depending on your system) you will notice that the in-game fps start to decrease as more GPU priority is given to the VR compositor, but you stop getting dropped frames. Hopefully there will be a magic zone somewhere in the middle where the game fps are mostly unchanged but you'll no longer miss VR frames. It's very system-dependent, and of course it's also impacted by other programs competing for GPU usage.

Extended instructions (start here if this is your first R.E.A.L. VR experience or you want more details)

Before installing the mod, run CP2077 at least once in flat mode, so that it can create your profile and settings; also make sure that it launches correctly without the mod. See the Troubleshooting post in case it doesn't. You will need an original copy of the game of course; it's on sale right now on Steam, 50% off (I get no commission from them!).

After quitting the game, extract the .zip archive that you find attached at the end of this post to the folder where "Cyberpunk2077.exe" is (for example, if you have the Steam version, by default the path would be something like "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077\bin\x64"). Be careful to preserve the directory structure when you unzip: don't move any files around manually, don't delete anything, and confirm overwriting old files if needed. Also don't extract into a subfolder: "RealConfig.bat" needs to end up at the same level as "Cyberpunk2077.exe".

Then run RealConfig, which should report no errors. In case it does, please include the exact errors in your comment. If your bought the game from Steam and your headset needs SteamVR, open the Steam property page for the game and UNcheck "Use Desktop Game Theatre while SteamVR is active". That's it: the next time you launch the game from Steam or the desktop shortcut, it will run in VR.

My conversions use square, 1:1 resolutions, to avoid rendering lots of pixels that wouldn't be seen in the headset (in VR you need all the performance that you can get!). I modded the custom resolutions directly into the game, so it will start at 2430x2430 and you'll be able to customize that to your liking in the VIDEO settings menu. The window might overflow your desktop if the selected resolution exceeds what your monitor can display, but the image will be fully visible in VR.

If you don't have a very powerful GPU, the first thing you might want to scale down is resolution itself, because it has the largest impact on frame rate (again, only choose from the square resolutions). Most graphics options can then be changed dynamically to fit your video card: however, in the GRAPHICS page, make sure to leave "Motion blur" set to "Off" as it's not compatible with VR. The Field of View setting doesn't matter, because the mod will override it with your headset FOV.

If you have an HDR monitor connected to your PC it might be best to turn HDR off in your Windows settings; otherwise, since VR headsets don't support HDR, you might experience weird behaviors, black screens, crashes etc. At least that was the case with Red Dead Redemption 2; I didn't receive any reports for this issue with the Mafia Trilogy or Horizon: Zero Dawn.  Once the mod is up and running, you can activate its overlay by pressing the Pause/Break key on the keyboard, or by pulling both triggers on the gamepad (this latter gesture is recognized only when the game is paused, to avoid interfering with gameplay).

BTW, all my mods work with keyboard and mouse, but you will get the best experience using a wireless gamepad like the Xbox controller. Don't worry about console player syndrome: aiming is not driven by the gamepad itself but by your gaze, and after a few minutes it becomes so quick and intuitive that most players find it better and more precise than aiming with a mouse.

The overlay has a few tabs, and it can be navigated either with KB/M or with the gamepad. If you use the gamepad, cycling between tabs is performed by holding the 'X' or Square button pressed and then using the left/right shoulder buttons. You will want to check out at least three tabs: "R.E.A.L. VR", "CP2077" and "Overlay". In the last one, "Overlay", you will find checkboxes to enable monitoring your in-game fps and latency.

You should target a frame rate of at least 60 fps to have a good experience. If you get lower frame rates or stutters, please post a comment or contact me directly with your full system specs and we'll work it out. I employ asynchronous, alternate eye rendering, so it's not vital that the frame rate you get matches the headset refresh frequency.

Speaking of headsets, the best ones to experience my mods at the moment are probably the Quest 2 and the Valve Index. They work perfectly in every respect. With the Quest 2 both Air Link and the Link cable are supported, and you don't need SteamVR as the mod has a native Oculus renderer. Also, official Virtual Desktop support is coming very soon! With the Index or other SteamVR-only headsets, make sure that motion smoothing is turned off, either globally or for the game, since it doesn't like alternate eye rendering.

Due to a bug in the SteamVR driver for WMR that has been outstanding for many months, with WMR headsets like the Reverb G2 you will need to use OpenXR. Select the OpenXR renderer from the "R.E.A.L. VR" tab; the mod will save and remember your choice for the next runs. If you still have tracking jitters after that, get the OpenXR Developer Tools for Windows Mixed Reality from the Microsoft Store, and use them to check that your active OpenXR runtime is set to WMR (if it's set to SteamVR, tracking might still not work correctly). Then, in the developer settings page of the tools, you should make sure that Custom render scale is set to 100% and that Motion reprojection is Disabled.

Be warned: the game's first person camera is not for the faint of stomach! You will need to have your "VR legs" fully developed to enjoy it. If you still have problems in that department, go to the Advanced section of the game-specific tab, "CP2077", and deselect "Allow camera roll" so the mod will keep the horizon level even during cutscenes. Don't ever push yourself if you start feeling queasy, because you don't want to condition your brain to associate VR with sickness. Stop as soon as you feel the first iffy symptoms, and get back into VR only when you're feeling better.

Recentering the view is accomplished simply by shaking your head "no" once. It's very intuitive once you get the hang of it, just a quick left and right twitch (I find myself doing it all the time even in other games, then remember that it won't work there!) See here,  here and here for visual examples of how it's performed. The gesture won't be recognized by a few new headsets like the Varjo Aero, but I'm already working with them to fix the issue.

From the "R.E.A.L. VR" tab, if you want, you can adjust the size and distance of the normal gameplay HUD, and also the size of the headlocked HUD when aiming and scanning.

If you find issues with a specific mission or gameplay situation:

This is a huge game, and unfortunately its saving system does not allow replaying past missions. So save frequently, and if you encounter a problem (example: during mission such and such, when you get the weapon blah blah blah, the camera spins wildly), the only hope for me to be able to find and correct it is if you upload a saved game right BEFORE the mishap, with some instructions on how to reproduce the bug.

Go and wreak havoc in Night City, my friends!!!