Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@valgaze

valgaze/GTA5VR_101.md

Last active March 31, 2025 05:45
Show Gist options
  • Save valgaze/91fb7818acc0292847f24494258c61b7 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save valgaze/91fb7818acc0292847f24494258c61b7 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Download ZIP
GTA5 VR (R.E.A.L.)
Raw
GTA5VR_101.md

Quickstart

Step 0: Pre-requisites

  • Get a tool that can unpack Rar files (A good option is WinRar but many others exist as well)

  • Install a clean copy (ideally no modifications to start) of GTAV & note the location where GTA5.exe is installed

Note: At time of writing, the mod is compatible with the latest game update released by Rockstar on Aug 11, 2020 v1.0.2060.0 & should be work previous versions down to 1.0.1180.2)

Step 1: Prep environment & machine

  • Launch GTA5 and enable the following options in settings:
Settings> Gamepad> Targeting Mode                  : Free Aim
Settings> Camera>  First Person Head Bobbing       : Off
Settings> Camera>  First Person Third Person Cover : On
Settings> Camera>  First Person Vehicle Hood       : Off
Settings> Saving And Startup> Startup Flow         : "Load into Story Mode"

settings

  • Steam: If you have the Steam version of GTA V, make sure that "Use Desktop Game Theatre while SteamVR is active" is unchecked in the game properties page for Steam

  • Audio: Set your Windows default audio device to the VR headset, otherwise you will have no sound in game. If you're using an Oculus system, this step can later be automated with the Oculus Tray Tool by creating a profile for GTA V and enabling the Audio Switcher)

(>> Tap to expand) Important note for Windows Mixed Reality users

Important for Windows Mixed Reality users: Starting from release 5, the mod finally works correctly with WMR headsets! However, due to an issue in Microsoft's driver for SteamVR, in order to have correct tracking it is mandatory that you enable OpenXR. Since OpenXR support is still sort of experimental, both in my mod and in the world at large, it is not enabled by default because it might break the mod for many other users. You will need to activate it manually by doing two things after extracting the mod and before running the game:

  1. Make the Windows Mixed Reality OpenXR Runtime active by launching Mixed Reality Portal from the Start menu, clicking the ... menu in the lower-left and selecting "Set up OpenXR". See this page for pics and more information: note that you won't need to enable the Windows Mixed Reality simulator, as that's only for developers.
  2. Edit the RealVR.ini file with a text editor like Notepad (do not use anything fancy like Word) and change the line VRAPI = 0 to VRAPI = 3 in order to have the mod render using the OpenXR backend.

If you're still seeing tracking glitches or stutters when you turn your head, make sure that you have your Windows Settings> Mixed Reality> Experience Options set to Best visual quality. This seems to be the only way to disable motion smoothing, which is not compatible with the mod.

Step 2: Download & Unpack

Note: Depending on your installation, the GTA5.exe might be located in one of the following default locations:

Source/Launcher Default Path
Steam C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V
EPIC Games C:\Program Files\Epic Games\GTAV
Social Club/Other C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto V

Note: The archive file will be named something like GTAV_REAL_mod_by_LukeRoss_r6.rar

Step 2a: Update ScriptHookV

VR capability can be broken by software updates, the easiest way to avoid this is to use the latest version of ScriptHookV.dll

  • Download the latest "Script Hook V" library (written by Alexander Blade) from here: http://www.dev-c.com/gtav/scripthookv

  • Unzip the ScriptHookV (ScriptHookV_1.0.XXXX.Y.zip) into the same directory as GTA5.exe

Note: Select "yes" to any warnings about overwriting files in the directory

Step 3: Select graphics level

  • If already running, completely shut down and exit GTA5.exe

  • Open the directory where you unpacked the Rar file and launch the RealConfig.bat file

  • Depending on your system, on the prompt select L (low), M (medium), or H (high) to configure graphics settings

  • If you're unsure, select M to start-- you can always re-run this script later

boot

Note: This operation will modify your settings.xml file, the original will be backed up as settings_ori.xml (default location is Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V)

Step 4: Launch into VR

  • Get a VR system ready and then launch GTAV.exe

Step 5: Tweak & modify

For a more thorough writeup with advanced configuration options, see the main README file

Item
Recentering your view in VR
Position Tracking Tips
Advanced tweaking and hotkeys
More advanced graphics tweaking
Advanced screen resolution tweaks

Tips/Troubleshooting

  • This should NOT be used with network/multiplayer mode

  • In 1st-person mode, move your head to determine the character's orientation in the game world

  • You can use a mouse/keyboard but a simpler route is to use a controller gamepad

  • If you encounter a lot of tear or jitters, try tapping F11 and select Numpad 2 to toggle stereo rendering

  • Whenever you need to recenter your view or to realign the HUD in front of you, just shake your head once as though you were saying no (more details in the Recentering your view section in the main README)

  • Looking around with your head should feel perfectly fluid and smooth, just like a native VR game. If tracking seems jerky or jumpy, make sure that ASW (for Oculus) or Motion Smoothing (for SteamVR) is off, either globally or for the GTA V app.

Hotkeys

Tap F-11 to enable hotkeys (these are disabled by default to avoid conflicts with other software)

Key Description
0 Cycle stereo mode in cutscenes (normal, dynamic, flat screen) - dynamic at start
T Cycle dominant eye for aiming down sights (none, left, right) - right at start
Y Cycle heading control (always, only when aiming, never) - always at start
U Toggle pitch control - on at start
I Toggle decoupled 3rd person camera - on at start
O Toggle view matrix fix enable - on at start
J Cycle pitch mode in cutscenes (absolute, relative, cut relative) - cut relative at start
K Toggle full camera tracking in cutscenes - on at start
' Toggle slow motion - off at start
N Toggle FPS counter - off at start
- Cycle HUD tracking mode (normal, force fixed, force headlocked, developer) - normal at start
End Toggle gyro stabilization of view in vehicle - off at start
NUMPAD / Recenter HMD - centered at start
NUMPAD . Cycle zoom override (never, only cutscenes, always except cutscenes, always) - never at start
NUMPAD 0 Toggle position tracking - on at start
NUMPAD 2 Toggle stereo rendering (alternate eyes) - on at start
NUMPAD 3 Toggle darts/tennis FOV override - on at start
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment