Rift & Elite Dangerous

A lot of users are trying to use OVRdrop with Elite Dangerous on their Oculus Rift, only to find it won't work. Here is an explanation as to why it doesn't work, and how to fix it. I just tested this fix myself, so I know it works.

This fix probably only works with the Steam version of Elite Dangerous

Why doesn't it work?

OVRdrop doesn't utilize the Oculus SDK. Certain games, such as Elite Dangerous, even when booted up through Steam/SteamVR, will insist on using the Oculus SDK when you are using an Oculus Rift.

Thankfully, there are certain ways to work around this.

How do I fix it?

For unknown reasons, setting the Elite Dangerous EXEs to run with Compatibility for Windows 7 will allow them to be booted up through SteamVR. Because they render to SteamVR instead of the Oculus SDK, you can see and interact with OVRdrop!

The basic idea is to set the EliteDangerous64.exe and EliteDangerous32.exe to run with Compatibility for Windows 7. That's it! Now when you boot up Elite Dangerous through Steam/SteamVR it should render to SteamVR instead of rendering directly to the Oculus SDK.

Steps to set 64 bit version to compatibility mode:

1. Right click Elite Dangerous in your Steam Library
2. Click Properties
3. Click the LOCAL FILES tab
4. Click Browse Local Files...
5. Navigate to the Products folder
6. Navigate to elite-dangerous-64
7. Right click EliteDangerous64.exe
8. Click Properties
9. Click the Compatibility tab
10. Check the box next to Run this program in compatibility mode for:
11. Select Windows 7 in the dropdown.
12. Click Ok to close the properties window.

Now the 64 bit exe will work with OVRdrop when launched through Steam in SteamVR mode. You should also make the 32 bit version compatible.

Steps to set 32 bit version to compatibility mode:

1. Navigate back to the Products folder
2. Navigate to FORC-FDEV-D-1010
3. Right click EliteDangerous32.exe
4. Click Properties
5. Click the Compatibility tab
6. Check the box next to Run this program in compatibility mode for:
7. Select Windows 7 in the dropdown.
8. Click Ok to close the properties window.

Now both executables will work with OVRdrop when launched through Steam in SteamVR mode!

To confirm this is working, pop open the SteamVR Display Mirror. If you can see Elite Dangerous in the Display Mirror, it should be rendering through SteamVR! When you launch up Elite Dangerous normally, it does not appear in the Display Mirror, because it is rendering direct to headset.