VRmin 0.50

VRmin 0.50

Simpler quality settings, your microphone in games, menus in more games, and a clearer VRmin Host and headset menu.

Quality made simple

• Pick Low, Medium, High or Ultra. Each one says which Macs it's meant for, and the one for your Mac's chip is marked as recommended.
• Custom shows every setting on its own (sharpness, frame rate, image quality, foveated encoding and codec).
• The same choices are in VRmin Host, in the headset's Settings and in the in-game menu. Each game can also have its own quality.

Microphone in games

• Games can now use the Quest's microphone (or a headset with a microphone plugged into the Quest's USB-C port).
• Or choose any microphone on your Mac, like a USB or Bluetooth headset.
• Set it in VRmin Host › Settings › Games microphone. Using the Quest's microphone needs a small virtual microphone, VRmin Mic, installed once from there (macOS asks for your password).
• The headset only records while a game is open.

Games

• Menus that were missing now show up in DirectX 11 games, like Kayak VR: Mirage.
• Newer SteamVR games that closed right away when opening now reach VRmin, thanks to a newer OpenComposite (thanks, Stooovie!).
• Fixed: the headset app could close when a game finished loading (it happened with Beat Saber).
• Tested and working: The Lab and Catto Pew Pew.

VRmin Host

• First-time setup is now 3 numbered steps, and it gets out of the way once everything is installed.
• The status at the top fixes what's missing when you click it (for example, it opens Steam).
• Play works even before the Quest connects.
• Each game's quality and performance settings are in the settings button on its cover.
• After closing a game you haven't tried before, VRmin Host asks if it worked.
• Settings apply by themselves when you close them.
• The USB-C cable features (Sentinel Mode and installing the Quest app) have their own card.

In the headset

• Settings are grouped as General, Quality, Comfort and Studio, with separate pages for Hands, Gestures and Laser.
• The portal is now in Rooms.
• Long explanations are behind a ? button.
• The first tab is now called Connection.
• The main screen takes the shape of the Mac monitor you show, with no black bars, also in rooms with a fixed screen.
• The room runs at 90 Hz from the start.
• Smoother animations: panels open with a little bounce, the wrist menu comes out of your watch, a glow when you change rooms, and the game list appears in a cascade.
• If the app ever closes unexpectedly, the reason is saved in the report so it can be fixed.

VRmin for Windows 0.2 (beta)

• Menus in DirectX 11 games now show up (same fix as on the Mac).

Downloads

• VRmin.Host.0.50.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.79.apk: the Quest app
• VRmin.Windows.0.2.zip: the Windows app (beta)

Found a problem? Open an Issue. VRmin is free: if you enjoy it, you can support it on Ko-fi ☕

VRmin 0.49

VRmin 0.49

A fix for new installs, a much bigger cinema, a new Space room and a first beta for Windows.

Important fix

• Installing VRmin on a Mac for the first time failed while installing the Windows games engine ("d3d11.dll: No such file or directory"). It works again. If it happened to you: update, then click Install next to the Windows games engine again.

Rooms

• Cinema: a much bigger room with rows of seats, aisles, a stage, wall lights and more detail. The screen is bigger and higher, and walking up and down the rows feels smooth.
• Space: no floor, you just float. A real round planet with clouds and a ring that slowly tilts around it, with the planet's shadow on the ring and the ring's shadow on the planet. There's also a moon, a spiral galaxy, a far-away sun, colorful nebulae and shooting stars now and then.
• The sky no longer turns with you when you turn.
• Changing rooms always puts you back in the middle of the new room.

Half-Life 2: VR Mod

• The "Loading…" message between levels is farther away and looks right in both eyes.
• Smoother when new things show up on screen.

Other changes

• Game frames are handled at the highest priority on the Mac.
• The logs now say when the Mac gets hot and slows down (helps us find performance problems).

VRmin for Windows (beta)

• A first version of VRmin for Windows PCs: play the Steam VR games on your PC on the Quest, and use the Windows desktop from the headset.
• It hasn't been tested on a real Windows PC yet. If you try it, please tell us how it went in an Issue and attach the VRmin.log file ("Logs" button).
• The steps are in the README.txt file inside the .zip.

Downloads

• VRmin.Host.0.49.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.73.apk: the Quest app
• VRmin.Windows.0.1.zip: the Windows app (beta)

Found a problem? Open an Issue. VRmin is free: if you enjoy it, you can support it on Ko-fi ☕

VRmin 0.48

VRmin 0.48

A new loading screen, smoother room changes, and Half-Life 2: VR Mod working out of the box.

Loading screen

• When you open a game (from the headset or from VRmin Host), the headset moves to a dark, calm loading space. A panel shows the game's cover, its name and what's happening (opening Steam, opening the game, entering VR).
• Tips appear in random order and change every 5 seconds; use the arrow to see the next one.
• Back to the room takes you back to your room without stopping the game.
• When a game closes, you see a short notice before going back to your room.
• The loading space is also available as a room of its own: Loading, in Rooms.

Rooms

• Changing rooms now goes straight from one room to the next with the same transition as entering VR.
• Recentering with the Meta button now brings the room right in front of you.

Half-Life 2: VR Mod

• Works out of the box: VRmin now opens it with the right settings by itself (it was marked as not working in 0.47).
• You can grab objects with the grip (bottles, ammo from your shoulder…). The buttons are the same as on Windows with a Quest.
• Less latency: frames are no longer queued up before reaching the headset.
• Smoother when new things appear on screen.
• The "Loading…" message between levels is no longer doubled.

DOOM VFR

• With Emulate HTC Vive controllers:
  • pushing the stick to the edge is like pressing the trackpad in that direction, so menus and dash work without clicking the stick;
  • A/X press the center of the trackpad and B/Y act as the menu button;
  • both hands are tilted so weapons point the right way;
  • you can turn with the right stick (30° per push).

Other changes

• Hand tilt and roll adjustments (game menu › Hands and laser) are now saved per game.
• In games that use OpenComposite, the Touch grip now works as "grab" where the game expects it.
• Fixed the engine install on some Apple Silicon Macs ("dylib not compatible, needs arm64e", #10).
• Fixed the Windows runtime build that made Half-Life 2 show as a flat screen.

Downloads

• VRmin Host 0.48.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.72.apk: the Quest app

Found a problem? Open an Issue. VRmin is free: if you enjoy it, you can support it on Ko-fi ☕

VRmin 0.47

VRmin 0.47

Big update for VR games: DOOM VFR, Google Earth VR and Half-Life 2: VR Mod now play on your Mac.

New games working

• Google Earth VR: it renders, your controllers show up and the buttons work. Turning with the thumbsticks doesn't work, but that also happens on Windows.
• DOOM VFR: it now renders and is playable (the Mac's GPU didn't support some of the graphics features it uses, so VRmin translates them).
• Half-Life 2: VR Mod: 32-bit VR games are now supported. VRmin downloads a newer OpenComposite build (GameNative's v10) by itself the first time. Menus and the HUD are shown in the headset, sharp, and you can point and click with the controller. While a level loads, the headset shows "Loading…" instead of going back to the room.

Better for every Vulkan game

• No more shaking when you move your head in Vulkan games (DOOM VFR, Half-Life 2: VR Mod). VRmin now tells the headset the exact head position each image was drawn with.
• Less latency: images are read from the GPU without slowing the game down, and on the Mac they go to the GPU without extra copies.

Other changes

• New option in VRmin Host's advanced settings: Emulate HTC Vive controllers, for games made for Vive wands (works like the Index option).
• Force quit now also closes games that were opened directly instead of through Steam.
• VRmin Host quits completely when you close it (it no longer stays running in the background).
• Quest app 0.71: Quit VRmin from Studio mode now really closes the app, and the Vive controllers option is in the menu too.
• Apps that come with VR files but aren't tagged as VR on Steam (like Google Earth VR) show up in the VR games list (from 0.46 beta).

Downloads

• VRmin Host 0.47.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.71.apk: the Quest app

Found a problem? Open an Issue. VRmin is free: if you enjoy it, you can support it on Ko-fi ☕

VRmin 0.46 (beta)

VRmin 0.46 (beta)

This is a beta: you only get it if Get beta versions is turned on in VRmin Host's Settings. Turn it off any time to go back to the stable version.

What's new

• Apps that come with VR files but aren't tagged as VR on Steam (like Google Earth VR) now show up in the VR games list instead of the flat games list.

Downloads

• VRmin Host 0.46.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.70.apk: the Quest app (same as before)

Found a problem? Open an Issue.

VRmin 0.45

VRmin 0.45

Important fix: VRmin Host now opens on macOS 14.2 to 26

• VRmin Host was accidentally being built only for macOS 27, so on older macOS versions the app showed crossed out and couldn't start properly. It now works on macOS 14.2 and newer, as intended.
• If another app on your Mac is using port 9000, VRmin now picks a free one instead of failing to connect.

How to update

• Coming from 0.43 or 0.44 on macOS 27? VRmin Host will offer the update by itself (or use Check for updates at the bottom of Settings).
• Couldn't open VRmin Host before, or coming from 0.42 or older? Quit VRmin Host, download VRmin Host 0.45.zip below, double-click it, drag VRmin Host to Applications (choose Replace) and open it normally. No Terminal or sudo needed. Your engine, Steam and games are kept.

Downloads

• VRmin Host 0.45.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.70.apk: the Quest app (same as before)

Found a problem? Open an Issue. VRmin is free: if you enjoy it, you can support it on Ko-fi ☕

VRmin 0.44

VRmin 0.44

⚠️ Coming from 0.42 or older? Update by hand once

Older versions of VRmin Host can't update themselves correctly. Do this one time and every update after this one will be automatic:

1. Quit VRmin Host.
2. Download VRmin Host 0.44.zip below and double-click it.
3. Drag VRmin Host to your Applications folder and choose Replace.
4. Open it. If macOS asks for Screen Recording and Accessibility again, allow them one more time (from now on they stay).

Your engine, Steam and games are kept: you don't need to install anything again.

What's new

Automatic updates

• VRmin Host checks for new versions by itself, and there's a Check for updates button at the bottom of Settings. One click downloads the update, checks it's really signed by VRmin and reopens the new version.
• macOS now keeps the Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions after updating.

Install and update the Quest app from VRmin Host

• New Quest app row: connect the Quest with a USB-C cable and click Install or Update. No SideQuest needed (it needs developer mode and the Sentinel Mode tools).

Beta versions (optional)

• New setting: Get beta versions, off by default. Turn it off again any time and VRmin Host offers to go back to the stable version.

More

• The version number is now shown next to the VRmin logo.
• Vulkan games (like DOOM VFR): experimental support. Very new and untested, so expect problems.
• Quest 1 support (experimental). See "Older headsets" in the README for what works on Quest 1, 2 and Pro.
• Fix: VRmin Host no longer fails to start when another app is using port 8443.

Downloads

• VRmin Host 0.44.zip: the Mac app
• VRmin-0.70.apk: the Quest app

Found a problem? Open an Issue. VRmin is free: if you enjoy it, you can support it on Ko-fi ☕

VRmin 0.39

-Fixed an issue with an already used port: "OSError: [Errno 48] error while attempting to bind on address ('0.0.0.0', 8443): address already in use"

• You only need to use the Host 0.39 if you already had the apk on your Quest

VRmin 0.38

First public release! 🎉 Install steps are in the README. VRmin is free; if you like it: https://ko-fi.com/thevermin