Hello all,

This update features some big improvements to weapons and haptics which should help improve the feel of many games. Firstly, VR reloads have been added as an optional extra. To turn it on, go to General settings and enable "VR Reload". On supported guns, you can then grab a magazine from your chest, put it in the gun and rack the slide to trigger the reload binding. With VR Reload off, racking the slide on a gun will trigger the off-screen reload on its own. Guns without a slide will reload as soon as the magazine is in. A consequence of doing this work is that many guns are now animated when you fire them, and these firing animations are linked to the haptics system. Some guns have also been reworked, for example the small pump shotgun has been replaced with a nicer model and many of the guns have more moving parts. There is also now a sniper rifle with a screen in the scope. Currently, the screen only works for games that render a second screen as a scope, like Silent Scope.

The haptics have also been reworked to take advantage of many game outputs. There is a new "Outputs" row in the profile settings (open Profiles in the wrist menu and look at the panel on the right). This offers a few new options. VRLF is the old system of triggering simple haptics on demand. XInput uses controller rumble for games that use virtual gamepads and offer force feedback. Finally, DemulShooter is now supported, which will give the best experience for many arcade games. vrlf-mods now has an option to install DemulShooter, which will download it from GitHub, put it in a folder in the VRLF install and configure VRLF with the path. Supported game profiles will then get a "Launch DemulShooter" option underneath the Outputs selection, which will launch it with the pre-supplied arguments, giving the supported game much better and more responsive haptic feedback that matches whatever game you are playing.

Finally, many of the mods and built-in profiles have been reworked in accordance with user requests in the Discord. PCSX2 and DuckStation configs now start the emulators in Big Picture mode, and give control of Big Picture mode to the non-gun hand for easier navigation of menus while using those profiles. Dolphin has been updated with new force feedback options and is configured to set window sizes correctly to take advantage of the new "Auto" aspect ratio mode. The HOTD1/2 Remake mods have been improved to clean up menu use, and a mod for FREAKHUNTER has been added to introduce absolute mouse aim. Check the vrlf-mods utility to get these updates to your configs.

In addition, many bugs and crashes have been fixed, especially on systems that run in hybrid mode. The capture backend has been switched to WGC by default (DXGI is still offered as a fallback in settings).

I hope you enjoy the update, and remember to join the Discord for any feedback or questions you have. Compatibility is still getting better daily, so remember to check https://vrlf.net/compatibility for the current list.

Multiplayer

• All players must use this version.
• Other players see your slide kicks, slide pulls and magazine reloads.

Guns and reloads

• New guns: a scoped rifle for second screen games like Silent Scope, and a Remington 870 with a pump that moves.
• VR Reload (General): pull a magazine from your chest, put it in the gun, then pull the slide.
• You can pull the slide of any gun with your free hand to send the reload binding, and pump reload profiles work with all slide guns.
• Slide guns kick back when they fire.

Haptics

• New Haptic Strength row in General, and new Fire Strength and Fire Length rows in the profile editor.
• Supported games can control the VR haptics through XInput rumble (only Dolphin at this time) or DemulShooter outputs. vrlf-mods installs and sets up DemulShooter, and supported profiles have a button that starts it.

Screen and capture

• New Capture API row in Quality. Windows Graphics Capture is the default. It captures only the game picture and works on multi-GPU PCs and hybrid laptops.
• If the game loses focus, your next trigger pull brings it to the front.

Profiles

• The default aspect ratio is Auto, calculated from the game window, with 4:3, 16:9 and 21:9 presets. Dual cabinets use the size of one screen.
• You can put profiles and shortcuts in folders.
• Profiles can include .nvram and .toml files.
• The emulator profiles are now included with VRLF, and VRLF unsubscribes you from their old Workshop items.
• New included profiles: BangBang PewPew and FREAKHUNTER (needs its mod from vrlf-mods).

Emulators and mods

• Dolphin: Wii Remote rumble is on by default, and the game window matches the game's aspect ratio for 1:1 aim. Reinstall Dolphin from vrlf-mods to get these changes.
• PCSX2 and DuckStation start in Big Picture mode, and your free hand controls the menus. Reinstall PCSX2 and DuckStation from vrlf-mods to get these changes.
• HOTD: Remake and HOTD2: Remake mods: better menu control and 2P aim. Update them in vrlf-mods.
• New FREAKHUNTER mod in vrlf-mods, for use with the FREAKHUNTER profile.

Workshop

• VRLF reads Workshop items directly from Steam's download folder, and each Workshop folder in VRLF has shortcuts to your subscribed items.

Menus

• A hint above your controller shows what its buttons do.
• Customise has a Details pane for the gun you have equipped.
• New Guns Only laser mode.
• After it installs a driver, the driver prompt offers to restart your PC.