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Oculus Rift: Quick Start

This guide covers everything you need to know to get started developing Unreal applications for Oculus Rift. This topic contains the following sections:

Prerequisites

Check Your System

Before you get started, review the minimum and recommended specs on the Rift S page to make sure your system can run an Oculus Rift.

Review Policies

You should also review the Oculus Developer Policies before you start. For more information, see Oculus Developer Policies.

Setup Your Device

Download the Oculus Software for Oculus Rift S from the Get Started in VR page.

Set up your headset following the instructions.

Enable Unknown Sources

In order to play an in-development application, you will need to enable the Oculus system to run applications from unknown sources by using the Oculus app settings, available through the gear icon in the upper-right. Select Settings, then select the General tab, and turn on Unknown Sources to allow this.

The first time you run an application that you have not downloaded from the Oculus Store, you will need to launch it directly. Once you have run an application from an unknown source at least once, it will then appear in the Library section of Home and the Oculus app, and may be launched normally, as long as Unknown Sources is enabled.

Select an Unreal Engine Distribution

There are a number of ways that you can obtain the Oculus Unreal distributions.

  • Binary Option: No compilation necessary, is behind the latest Oculus integrations by 1 or more versions.
  • Oculus Source: The latest Oculus integrations.
  • Epic Games Source: Behind the latest Oculus version by 1 or more versions, can be more stable than Oculus source.

See the Version Compatibility Reference, and Release Notes to help you choose a distribution.

1. Binary Option

You can obtain a binary distribution with the Epic Game Launcher. This Oculus code may be two or more versions behind the latest Oculus SDK, but if you are a beginning developer, choose this this binary distribution. It is stable, and does not require downloading the source from GitHub, setting up Visual Studio, and compiling the entire Unreal game engine source code, which is a lengthy process. The following image shows an example:

Epic Games Launcher

You can also get source distributions from GitHub if you have the correct access.

To access the Epic and Oculus GitHub repositories, you must be logged in to GitHub and subscribed to the private EpicGames/UnrealEngine repository. See UE4 on GitHub for details. Otherwise, you will receive a 404 error when you try to access the repository links. An Unreal license is not required.

2. Oculus Source Option

You can obtain the most up-to-date source distribution from the Oculus GitHub Repository. These distributions are the most up-to-date with the latest Oculus SDKs. We support the current release of UE4 and any preview of the next release of UE4. Please see the Oculus GitHub Repository table in Version Compatibility Reference, in order to choose the specific downloads that best suit your development criteria. While new Oculus features ship first to the Oculus GitHub versions, API changes may occur when these branches are merged back into Epic’s version of the engine. We recommend these distributions for professional developers who would like to access the latest Oculus SDK features. In order to build this source base, see Building UE4 from Source.

Oculus Github Distribution

3. Epic Source Option

You can obtain a source distribution from the Epic GitHub Repository. This Oculus code may be several versions behind the latest Oculus integrations. Please see the Epic GitHub Repository table in Version Compatibility Reference, in order to choose the specific downloads that best suit your development criteria. Epic Games Github Distribution

Create a Project in the UE4 Editor

  1. . From the Unreal Engine Launcher, press the Launch button to open the Unreal Project Browser.
  2. From the New Project Categories section of the Unreal Project Browser, select Games, and click Next
  3. One the Select Template page, choose Blank project and click Next
  4. For Project Settings, choose:
    • Blueprint
    • Mobile / Tablet
    • Scalable 3D or 2D
    • No Starter Content

    At the bottom of the screen:

    • Set the folder location
    • Set the project name

    Your screen should look like this:

  5. Press the Create Project button to create the project and load a blank project.

Configure the Project for Oculus Development

In this section, you will enable the Oculus plug in and modify some project settings to work with Oculus devices.

  1. Select Edit > Plugins, choose the Virtual Reality section, and make sure that the OculusVR Plugin is enabled.

  2. Select Edit > Project Settings, scroll to Plugins and select OculusVR to configure different aspects of your Oculus app such as whether it supports Oculus Dash. For more information, see Plugin Settings.

Launch the App

Launch the application to your Oculus Rift from the Play menu by choosing VR Preview. Put on your headset and you should see your app in the device.

Add the Entitlement Check

It is recommended that all Unreal apps implement the Entitlement Check to verify that the user’s app is legitimate. For information about how to implement the Entitlement Check, please see the Unreal Development Getting Started in the Platform Solutions section.

Distribute Your App

If you want to distribute your app in the Oculus Store, you should review the app requirements and submission process.

More Questions? Check out our Unreal Developer Forums!