Splatviewer_VR

Splatviewer_VR is a VR-focused fork of the Unity Gaussian Splatting viewer. The repository keeps the reusable Unity package, a VR sample project, and packaged Windows builds for release workflows.

This fork is based on aras-p/UnityGaussianSplatting and adds a standalone VR viewer with runtime loading for Gaussian splat files.

Viewer_Demo.mp4

What This Fork Adds

• A dedicated Unity project at projects/Splatviewer_VR.
• Runtime loading for splat files instead of requiring prebuilt Unity assets.
• VR locomotion, in-scene splat manipulation, and desktop fallback controls.
• File cycling and a world-space browser with favorites, preload control, and movie playback.
• Windows release builds under projects/Splatviewer_VR/Release/.

Repository Layout

• package/: reusable Unity Gaussian Splatting package.
• projects/Splatviewer_VR/: Unity project for the VR viewer.
• docs/: upstream documentation for package integration and splat editing.

Viewer Features

• Runtime loading of .ply, .spz, .spx, and bundled PlayCanvas .sog splat files.
• Command-line file opening for .ply, .spz, .spx, and .sog shell associations.
• OpenXR-based VR support.
• Smooth locomotion with continuous turning and vertical fly movement.
• Runtime splat rotation, reset, flip, and uniform scaling in both VR and desktop modes.
• Controller and keyboard shortcuts for moving between splat files.
• In-world file browser with favorites, current-file tracking, and direct folder browsing.
• Browser preload caching with a configurable RAM budget.
• Folder movie mode with progressive loading and adjustable playback FPS.
• Full desktop mode when running without a headset.
• Fullscreen windowed startup for desktop and VR mirror view.

Controls

VR

• Left stick: move.
• Right stick X: continuous turn.
• Right stick Y: move up and down.
• Right controller B / secondaryButton: next splat.
• Right controller A / primaryButton: previous splat.

VR file browser

• Left controller Y: open / close browser.
• Left or right stick: browse entries and switch pane.
• Left or right trigger, or right controller A: open folder / load file.
• Right controller B: go to parent folder.
• Left stick click: add / remove favorite.
• Left controller X: toggle preload caching.
• Right stick click: start movie mode from the current folder.
• During movie playback, left stick left / right: decrease / increase FPS.
• During movie playback, left controller Y: stop movie playback.

VR splat controls

• Hold left grip + use right stick: rotate splat.
• Hold both grips + move controllers apart / together: scale splat.
• Hold left grip + left controller X: flip splat.
• Hold left grip + right controller A: reset splat rotation.

Desktop fallback

• W A S D: move.
• Mouse: look around.
• SPACE / C: move up / down.
• Shift: sprint.
• R / F: next / previous splat.
• Q / E: rotate the current splat.
• Mouse wheel: scale the current splat.
• Home: reset splat rotation.
• End: flip the current splat.
• Hold left or right mouse button and move mouse: drag camera.
• Esc / Tab: open / close file browser.
• Enter: open folder / load file in browser.
• Backspace: go to parent folder in browser.
• F: add / remove favorite in browser.
• P: toggle preload caching in browser.
• M: start / stop movie mode.
• Left / Right: decrease / increase movie FPS during playback.
• Esc: release mouse cursor.
• Left click: capture mouse cursor again.

Unity Project

Open projects/Splatviewer_VR in Unity. The project includes Assets/GSTestScene.unity, and Assets/Editor/BuildSetup.cs ensures that scene is present in the build settings.

Recommended environment:

• Unity 6 (6000.0.69f1).
• Windows.
• D3D12-capable GPU.
• OpenXR-compatible headset runtime.

Runtime Splat Loading

This fork includes runtime loading changes for the Gaussian splat package and VR-side runtime scripts.

Highlights:

• GaussianSplatAsset supports runtime-provided byte buffers.
• GaussianSplatRenderer uses those runtime buffers when present.
• RuntimeSplatLoader reads binary little-endian PLY data at runtime.
• Splats are reordered and uploaded in a GPU-friendly layout.

The source tree does not include sample splat data. Add your own .ply, .spz, .spx, or bundled .sog files and point the viewer to the folder you want to browse.

If the viewer is launched with a .ply, .spz, .spx, or .sog file path on the command line, it will automatically load that file on startup. This is the basis for Windows Explorer file associations.

PlayCanvas .sog support targets bundled .sog archives with WebP-backed property images as described in the PlayCanvas format specification.

Windows File Association

You can register .ply, .spz, .spx, and .sog to open with the viewer by running either the root-level release copy or the tools/ copy:

• Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.bat
• Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1
• tools/Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.bat
• tools/Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1

The helper writes per-user file associations under HKCU\Software\Classes, so administrator rights are not required.

If needed, pass a custom executable path to the PowerShell script:

• Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1 -ExecutablePath "C:\Path\To\SplatViewer_VR.exe"
• Register-SplatviewerFileAssociations.ps1 -Unregister

The 1.4 Windows release package includes the .bat and .ps1 helpers next to SplatViewer_VR.exe.

Building A Release

The packaged Windows player is built from projects/Splatviewer_VR/Builds/.

For GitHub releases, publish a zip package generated from that build output. Release archives are written under projects/Splatviewer_VR/Release/. The repository ignores projects/**/Release/ so source control stays focused on source, project config, tracked build artifacts, and documentation.

Release Files

• Release notes: RELEASE_NOTES.md
• Latest GitHub release: 1.6.1
• Release package output pattern: projects/Splatviewer_VR/Release/Splatviewer_VR_v<version>_Windows_x64.zip

Upstream Credits

This work builds on the original Unity Gaussian Splatting implementation and the original 3D Gaussian Splatting research.

• Upstream package: aras-p/UnityGaussianSplatting
• Paper: 3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering

License

The repository retains the upstream MIT-licensed Unity integration code. Review the original Gaussian Splatting training software license separately if your splat assets were produced with tooling that has additional restrictions.