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Mixed Reality
When a game asks for passthrough, Venture asks your OpenXR runtime what it supports. That includes any OpenXR layers you've installed, such as the SteamVR passthrough layer below. Venture then uses whatever is available:
- A passthrough feature (for example Meta's or HTC's OpenXR passthrough extensions).
- A blended view (the runtime's alpha-blend or additive mode). Venture makes the game's passthrough areas see-through.
- The headset camera on SteamVR, for headsets whose camera SteamVR can show.
- A color key, if you choose it: for streaming tools that replace one color with your room.
If none of these is available, the game is told passthrough isn't available, as on a headset without cameras, and it plays in normal VR.
| Setup | Platform | Headsets |
|---|---|---|
| Quest Link / Air Link | Windows | Any Quest |
| SteamVR headset camera | Windows, Linux | Any with a camera SteamVR can show |
| SteamVR passthrough layer | Windows | Any with a camera SteamVR can show |
| Steam Link passthrough companion | Windows | Steam Frame |
| Monado / WiVRn | Linux | Any |
| Virtual Desktop (color key) | Windows | Quest, Pico |
| ALVR (color key) | Windows, Linux | Any ALVR supports |
| Steam Frame chroma key (color key) | Windows, Linux | Steam Frame |
Meta's PC runtime can send the Quest's camera view to PC apps. It's a developer feature and off by default.
- On your Meta account, turn on developer mode for the headset (Meta's guide).
- In the Meta Horizon Link app on your PC, open Settings → Developer (older versions: Settings → Beta).
- Turn on Developer Runtime Features, then Passthrough over Meta Horizon Link. The second toggle only appears after the first.
- Make sure Meta Horizon Link is your active OpenXR runtime, then start the game from Venture.
Meta's reference: Passthrough over Link. With it on, camera images are sent to and processed on your PC.
Venture can use the headset camera through SteamVR directly, with nothing extra to install.
- In SteamVR → Settings → Camera, turn on the camera and check that Room View shows your room.
- Restart SteamVR, then start the game from Venture.
The camera image is placed about 2 m in front of you, so near and far objects don't line up exactly and there is a little lag. The layer below gives better results.
OpenXR SteamVR Passthrough is a free, open-source OpenXR layer by Rectus. It adds passthrough to SteamVR using your headset's camera. It works with headsets whose camera SteamVR can already show in its Room View.
- Check that SteamVR → Settings → Camera is enabled and Room View shows your room.
- Install the 64-bit Visual C++ Redistributable.
- Download the latest release from the releases page, extract it and run
passthrough-setup.exe→ Install. - Start the game from Venture. Settings for the layer live in its tray menu.
See the project's README and wiki for supported headsets and options.
SteamVR doesn't give PC apps the Steam Frame's camera images. steam-link-native-passthrough by McFredward, who also contributed Venture's first passthrough support, fills that gap with a companion that streams them to the PC. Venture works with it directly. Follow the project's README for setup.
On Linux, passthrough depends on whether the runtime's driver for your headset supports it. Check Monado's documentation or WiVRn's for your headset. If the runtime offers passthrough, Venture uses it with no extra setup.
Some streaming tools show your room wherever the picture is one exact color. For these, set Passthrough to Color key in Venture's Settings and set the same color in the tool. Venture's default is magenta (255, 0, 255), which games rarely use.
Color key has limits: anything in the game that happens to be the key color also shows your room, and soft edges and glows over your room become hard edges.
- In the Virtual Desktop app on the headset, open the Streaming tab and turn on VR Passthrough, then open Configure.
- Set the color to Red 255, Green 0, Blue 255.
- Start with low Similarity and Smoothness and raise them until the edges look clean. HEVC 10-bit at a high bitrate gives cleaner edges.
- In ALVR's Settings → Video → Passthrough, choose RGB Chroma Key with red 255, green 0, blue 255.
- Lower the distance threshold well below the default, or strong blues get keyed too. HSV Chroma Key with a hue window around 300° also works.
steam-frame-chroma-key by spyjacob adds a color key to the Steam Frame. Set its mode to chroma with the color 1 0 1 (for example mrkey.sh chroma 1 0 1 <similarity> <softness> <spill>), or use its panel. Its default mode is log, so chroma has to be set. Its README says not to use it together with Virtual Desktop.
The SteamVR passthrough layer also has a color key mode (Masked (Chroma Key)), but its standard passthrough already works with Automatic, so you don't need it.
- Steam Link (Quest over Steam): SteamVR doesn't pass the Quest's cameras to PC apps.
The game says passthrough isn't supported.
- Check that Passthrough (mixed reality) is set to Automatic (or Color key for color key tools) in Venture's Settings.
- Check that the runtime you set up above is the active OpenXR runtime.
- Restart the runtime after changing its settings, then start the game again.
With a color key, I see magenta instead of my room.
- The tool's key isn't on or its color doesn't match. Set the same color in the tool as in Venture.
I see black where my room should be.
- The runtime accepted passthrough but isn't sending a camera picture. Check that the headset's camera works in the runtime's own view (Room View in SteamVR, the home environment over Link) and isn't in use by another app.
I don't want mixed reality.
- Set Passthrough (mixed reality) to Off in Settings. Games then behave as on a headset without passthrough.
Right after the problem, press Settings → Troubleshooting → Upload debug report and put the link it gives you in an issue. The report shows what your runtime offered and what Venture used.