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First Startup Guide
This guide will show you the steps you need to take in order to start using your Virtual Handheld!
This driver is required in order to connect a virtual gamepad using VH. You will be limited to keyboard and mouse simulation if you don't install it.
NOTE: If you are performing this step in VR, you may need physical access to your desktop to complete the installation.
You can launch the ViGEm Bus driver installer the following ways:
The installer is available as a launch option for Virtual Handheld on Steam:
Make sure "Install ViGEmBus Driver is (For Gamepad Simulation)" is your selected launch option, then click "Play".
NOTE: If you previously selected "Always use this option", this dialog will not appear. To bring it back:
- Click the gear icon on the launch page and click "Properties...".
- Next to "Selected Launch Option", set it to "Ask when starting game".
If you downloaded the .zip file directly from itch.io, you can run ViGEmBus Installer.exe directly from the folder you extracted the VH files to.
On Steam, you can find the files by right-clicking VH in your Library, and then clicking Manage > Browse local files.
If you want a direct download for the ViGEm Bus driver installer, it can be found here.
On this step you will start up your VR headset and applications.
Connect your VR headset to SteamVR the way you normally would to play VR games. The remaining steps will be performed in VR.
If you haven't already, go ahead and launch the virtual environment you will have running in the background while you play non-VR games on VH.
This could be any immersive game or app that runs via SteamVR. Here are some examples:
Note: The performance cost of this environment matters. A more graphically intensive environment will use more system resources and may make cause non-VR games to run poorly. Turn down the performance settings of your game, app or world as needed.
You can launch VH through your Steam library. It can be found under the "Software" category.
You can also launch VH by running the application file Virtual Handheld.exe from the installed files.
If you want VH to start up automatically when you start SteamVR, go to SteamVR Settings > Startup/Shutdown > Choose Startup Overlay Apps and toggle on Virtual Handheld!
Before playing games, you need to configure your VH settings:
Press the "system" button on your VR controller to bring up the SteamVR dashboard, then click the [VH] icon to bring up the VH settings.
Alternately, you can change VH settings on your desktop by double-clicking the taskbar tray icon with the [VH] logo. (You may need to show hidden icons by pressing the ^ arrow by the sound and network icons next to your system clock)
Some issues can be fixed simply by pressing the "Auto Fix" button. However, if you have the "Gamepad Support" add-on enabled in SteamVR, you will have to restart SteamVR after disabling it.
VH comes with a handful of presets. On the Bindings tab in the VH Settings, select the one that best suits the non-VR games you want to play.
(If you want to switch to a different preset, you may press the "Presets" button on the toolbar.)
If using a gamepad preset, click the "Connect Virtual Gamepad" button. You may leave the virtual gamepad type as default.
Note: The virtual gamepad will connect automatically when the handheld overlay is toggled on if virtual gamepad inputs are bound
By default, you can do this by double tapping your VR controllers together (more options for this can be found in the General tab). The handheld overlay should be showing your main display.
On this step you will start the non-VR game you want to play on VH, then configure it's settings.
This can be done via the built-in games library in SteamVR (show non-VR games) or on your desktop the same way you would launch them normally. (Make sure the game is running on your main display on your desktop.)
For what games work best with VH, please see the FAQ.
NOTE: the SteamVR dashboard must be closed for VH to register inputs!
Every game is different, but generally you want the settings with minimal performance cost where available:
- Minimum graphics preset
- Lower resolution (1600x900 or lower)
- Limit framerate (60 or lower, or turn on VSync)
- Lower graphical effects
If your game does not have an option to limit framerate and still performs poorly, you may need to limit it using your graphic's driver control panel.
You can also change your game's controller/input bindings if available.
You can return to the Virtual Handheld Settings any time to configure options exactly the way you like them!
The default bindings presets may not be exactly suited for your game. You can return to the VH settings and follow the on-screen instructions on how to rebind inputs.
Want your game to run in a window but still fill the screen? Go to the Screens tab in the VH settings and switch to Window capture, then select the game's window title from the list.
Don't panic! Please see the Steam Community Hub Discussions forum or Discord server if you need more help getting set up with your Virtual Handheld!