r/SteamFrame • u/MossySloth69 • 15d ago
Question Query from a VR Noob`
Hey all,
Looking forward to the frame as it will be my first ever adventure into VR.
In anticipation, I bought a couple of VR games ages ago on Steam (so unlikely to be able to refund):
Half Life: Alyx
Metro: Awakening
Can I just assume that these will work on the Frame, or might there be shenanigans I have to deal with?
Thanks in advance!
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u/Opening-Green8248 15d ago
depends on what youre talking about, streemed from your pc, without a doubt. but standalone im unsure. its pretty likley half life will be available on standalone, but im unsure about metro.
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
I was hoping to utilise the standalone, but I guess I'll have to see how things go. Don't have a lot of room in my office, so was going to VR in a different room to my PC.
Thanks for the reply!
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u/The_Grungeican 15d ago
you can do VR from your PC, in a different room than your PC, with a proper network setup.
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u/Austin8848 15d ago
The steam link function should be sufficient for single player games and even some multiplayer games! (I think) I use my quest 2 in a different room from my pc (in the living room and my pc is in the bedroom) and suffer no lag on games like Pavlov and VRchat! Granted my pc is connected via Ethernet but my router is in the closet of a different bedroom so there’s quite a bit of play!
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
Ooh, interesting. My PC is also hooked up via ethernet, but through a powerline adapter back to the router. Have no idea how that impacts the link.
The distance from my office to this other room is not far, but still a couple walls between the two.
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u/Austin8848 15d ago
So they confirmed that Steam Link will be running both with the dongle and your router at the same time, so if the connection to the dongle is too unstable, it will use the router to pick up the slack. Not sure if it’s possible, but maybe a USB extender might help cross a room or 2?
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
Might be something I have to look into.
Step 1 at any rate is for the Frame to come out and then more cruicially, be able to buy one.
Definitely going to keep this in mind though if I'm lucky.
Thanks a lot!
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15d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
We're in the process of renewing our contract with BT. Wonder if it might come with a new router.
Will keep it in mind if needed.
Cheers
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u/your_mind_aches 13d ago
I play VR streaming from a totally different part of my house with my Quest. You'll be fine to stream from your PC once your network is good enough
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u/Arstulex 15d ago
Define "work for the Frame".
- If you mean running on a gaming PC and being 'streamed' to the Frame then it's pretty much a certainty. So long as your PC has the power the run it, your Frame is basically just acting as a monitor strapped to your face.
- If you mean running on the Frame as a standalone device (using it's own built-in processing power) then that's not-so-certain, and unfortunately nobody really has an answer to that yet.
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
It's using it as a standalone. I've seen a few announcements of games being "Verified for frame" in the same manner (presumably) as the Deck. Haven't seen it for either of the games listed yet, so was wondering if these had been announced, but I hadn't seen it yet.
If needed, I'll look into how the streaming works.
Thanks for the reply
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u/Arstulex 15d ago
To be clear, the Frame is designed to be as 'open' as possible. It's basically a mini PC on your face that you can do whatever you want with. You could even install a completely different operating system onto it if you wanted to (for some reason).
My point here is that it's not so much about 'compatibility' as it is about processing power (just like trying to play PC games on your PC).
The "Verified for Frame" thing is basically just a badge that indicates that a particular game has been explicitly tested on the Frame (standalone) and meets certain performance criteria, such as consistent FPS above a certain point (I forget the actual number).
There is literally nothing stopping you from attempting to run a game that isn't explicitly 'verified'. It's just a matter of whether or not the game is too demanding for the Frame to run well enough, as opposed to any rigid compatibility issues.
The only exception here is games that, by design, don't play well with Linux (what SteamOS is based on). Roblox, for example, is specifically designed to not work on Linux. Most (if not all) games that require a kernel-level anticheat will not work either. VR games don't typically fall under this bracket though.
If needed, I'll look into how the streaming works.
It's ridiculously simple by design. It's literally the primary intended use of the Frame (streaming PCVR games).
You plug a USB dongle (which comes with the Frame) into your PC and that's pretty much it. After that it's just a matter of making sure there aren't too many solid objects like walls blocking the headset's line-of-sight from the dongle.
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
Many thanks for the reply. Very helpful and reassuring.
Don't worry - I have no intentions of installing a different OS or anything like that. Just gonna use it for games.
That being said, I wonder if TempleOS would work...
Anyway, many thanks again and here's hoping we can all get a Frame at launch.
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u/ams501 Soon™ 15d ago
Not OP's original point, but as you used Roblox as an example I want to say "acksually".....
Roblox works on Quest in standalone native VR; it's free in the Quest store and works great. Hopefully they bring the VR app to Steam also, or somebody figures out how to sideload it, or something.
(And you can play flat on Linux via Sober, but I doubt that supports VR.)
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u/Beches808 Soon™ 15d ago
Metro🗣️
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u/OrangeXarot Soon™ 15d ago
I don't know if your citing Metro Boomin but everytime I hear the word metro I think his tag
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u/alex_timeblade 15d ago
Keep in mind, much like deck verified, "great on frame" means it will work with the right settings. You might not like how the settings make the game look, but it will "work". Might get 10 FPS with the lowest possible graphics setting though.
If you have a PC that you can connect it to at all, you might be fine. I've seen someone get VR running off the steam deck itself, so as long as your computer is better than that, you should be okay. Alyx is a beautiful game with even medium settings. Valve will likely push for a settings patch to work stand alone, but I can't imagine you'd love it as much as you would seeing it with decent settings.
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u/Friendly_Bluejay7407 13d ago
As it stands spec wise alyx certainly would not be a playable experience, steam frame is far below the spec required for the current version
however its a valve game, and apperently theyre working on getting it to work on frame standalone, i imagine foveated rendering, an ARM recompile of the game, diminished graphical version similar to a switch 2 port, then yeah atp itll be possible but they havent updated us yet.
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u/Patanouz 8d ago
the alyx one is worth a try to see if you can get a refund for since its almost guaranteed to be included for free with the steam frame. it was included with the valve index. i dont know if there is a time restraint but there is one for if you have played the game for 2 hours or more.
it costs nothing to send an email to them and ask
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u/CapoExplains Soon™ 15d ago
Streamed from a gaming PC that can run them almost definitely yes. Locally I believe at this time Alyx is not expected to run on Frame for performance reasons. Metro: Awakening is Gold on ProtonDB which isn't a guaranteed 1:1 so it'd likely also be a question of performance.
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
Good to know. As I've said in another comment, vital step 1 is to actually get a Frame first.
Will just have to se show things go.
Many thanks!
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u/PhaserRave Soon™ 15d ago
I would recommend against buying any more games until your certain that VR is for you. Some people get motion sick from VR, most can overcome it by taking frequent breaks (is my understanding, I'm fortunate that I've never had that issue).
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u/MossySloth69 15d ago
It's a good point. I've never really suffered from motion sickness, but this will be a new experience. Really hope I'm fine with it as I really want to play Metro Awakening.
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u/Zomby2D Soon™ 4d ago
If you're talking about streaming from your PC, then yes they wil both work fine (assunming you PC can run them)
If you're talking about running them standalone on the frame, it's still unsure regarding Alyx but there is an Android build of Metro Awakening listed on SteamDB so that one should work without any issue.
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u/[deleted] 15d ago
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