BAM FP BAM OpenVR Guide (by TerryRed)

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TerryRed

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Welcome to the ALL NEW and updated...

BAM OpenVR Guide

by TerryRed

Version 1.0, Nov 2023


1701851397365.png



This guide is dedicated to try to get Future Pinball Bam-OpenVR working on Meta Quest VR. We'll talk about using Oculus Link, Air Link, Steam Link and the Virtual Desktop wireless solutions.

For other headsets such as the Vive, Index, G2, Pico, etc I don't cover their settings (I don't have one of these headsets), but the settings and info should still apply to you.

This guide already assumes you are already familiar with VR as well as Future Pinball and BAM.

Nothing on this guide is set in stone! Windows updates, VR hardware, GPU drivers, Steam VR, Steam Link, Oculus desktop app, etc change regularly which can have an effect on required settings... as does your PCs hardware.

What I'm posting here is based on my own experiences. Yours may vary.



This guide is now completely updated and renamed as the BAM OpenVR Guide

- I now have all my guides and tutorials in PDF format
- this new guide has been created to be used with the FP and BAM Essentials AIO package
- all my guides and tutorials are now only included with the FP and BAM Essentials AIO package



You can download the FP and BAM Essentials AIO package (and BAM OpenVR Guide) here:




A video tutorial that walks you through this guide can be seen here




Chapters

00:00 Start
01:13 BAM OpenVR Introduction
05:34 Requirements
07:24 FP Settings and Vsync
10:20 Create Custom Resolution using 72/80/90 Hz to allow Vsync
14:36 VR Connection options
20:26 Virtual Desktop
28:36 Steam Link
29:47 Meta Link and Air Link
30:57 Steam VR possible issues
35:08 Focus Issues
36:06 Performance Overlays
37:15 BAM VR menu - important settings (vsync off, frame latency)
38:03 Install my BAM OpenVR settings
40:51 RayCast Ball Shadows
42:53 Try a FP table in VR using Virtual Desktop (VD)
47:08 BAM VR Menu settings
53:58 Play Sonic Pinball Mania in VR
1:00:40 Play FP in VR using windowed mode
1:03:56 Setup PinEvent to display a pup-pack in VR
1:08:00 Play Sonic with pup-pack shown in VR (windowed)
1:11:22 Play Star Wars DSA GE with pup-pack shown in VR (fullscreen)
1:19:50 Closing





Examples of FP-BAM in VR can be seen in these videos:





 
Last edited:
@Gimli
@Gin
@ravarcade
@GeorgeH
@polygame
@wild

For those who are wondering.... yes the new Oculus Quest 2 is an excellent headset. Not only because its a great All in One headset (no PC required.... play games anywhere), it also has great specs (90Hz and good resolution).... but also because you can play normal PC VR games using a long USB cable (no video card needed).... or even better...use Virtual Desktop to play PC VR wirelessly!

It's also very cheap! $399 for 64GB, or $549 for 256GB (Canadian)

Quest 2 Specs:
  • Product Weight: 503g
  • Tracking: Supports 6 degrees of freedom head and hand tracking through integrated Oculus Insight technology.
  • Storage: 64GB or 256GB
  • Display Panel: Fast-switch LCD
  • Display Resolution: 1832×1920 per eye
  • Display Refresh: 90Hz
  • SoC: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ XR2 Platform
  • Audio: Integrated speakers and microphone; also compatible with 3.5mm headphones.
  • RAM: 6GB
  • Battery Life: You can expect between 2-3 hours based on the kind of content you’re using on Quest 2; closer to 2 hours if you’re playing games and closer to 3 hours if you’re watching media.
  • Charge Time: With the provided USB-C power adapter, Quest 2 will charge to a full battery in about 2.5 hours.
  • Adjustable IPD with three settings for 58, 63 and 68mm.
  • Playspace: Stationary or Roomscale supported. Roomscale requires a minimum of 6.5feet x 6.5 feet of obstruction-free floor space.

If considering getting one, I highly recommend getting the better Elite Strap, or even better the Elite Strap with Battery (which also acts as a counter weight). The stock strap is kind of crappy... and you'll want better comfort.

Virtual Desktop for Wireless PC VR has been updated significantly... and despite there being a tiny bit of latency... I am hooked on playing my PC VR games wirelessly now and at a much better resolution!

Future Pinball BAM Open VR looks AMAZING... and on wireless it so cool!

@Gimli
@ravarcade

I remember you guys saying you play FP VR on your phones? If you were wanting a dedicated VR headset... this is the one to get (and a good wifi router). You wont regret it. The only downside is you MUST use your Facebook account to use the headset. I have no problem with this... but some do.
 
Last edited:
@Gimli
@Gin
@ravarcade
@GeorgeH
@polygame
@wild

For those who are wondering.... yes the new Oculus Quest 2 is an excellent headset. Not only because its a great All in One headset (no PC required.... play games anywhere), it also has great specs (90Hz and good resolution).... but also because you can play normal PC VR games using a long USB cable (no video card needed).... or even better...use Virtual Desktop to play PC VR wirelessly!

It's also very cheap! $399 for 64GB, or $549 for 256GB (Canadian)

Quest 2 Specs:
  • Product Weight: 503g
  • Tracking: Supports 6 degrees of freedom head and hand tracking through integrated Oculus Insight technology.
  • Storage: 64GB or 256GB
  • Display Panel: Fast-switch LCD
  • Display Resolution: 1832×1920 per eye
  • Display Refresh: 90Hz
  • SoC: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ XR2 Platform
  • Audio: Integrated speakers and microphone; also compatible with 3.5mm headphones.
  • RAM: 6GB
  • Battery Life: You can expect between 2-3 hours based on the kind of content you’re using on Quest 2; closer to 2 hours if you’re playing games and closer to 3 hours if you’re watching media.
  • Charge Time: With the provided USB-C power adapter, Quest 2 will charge to a full battery in about 2.5 hours.
  • Adjustable IPD with three settings for 58, 63 and 68mm.
  • Playspace: Stationary or Roomscale supported. Roomscale requires a minimum of 6.5feet x 6.5 feet of obstruction-free floor space.

If considering getting one, I highly recommend getting the better Elite Strap, or even better the Elite Strap with Battery (which also acts as a counter weight). The stock strap is kind of crappy... and you'll want better comfort.

Virtual Desktop for Wireless PC VR has been updated significantly... and despite there being a tiny bit of latency... I am hooked on playing my PC VR games wirelessly now and at a much better resolution!

Future Pinball BAM Open VR looks AMAZING... and on wireless it so cool!

@Gimli
@ravarcade

I remember you guys saying you play FP VR on your phones? If you were wanting a dedicated VR headset... this is the one to get (and a good wifi router). You wont regret it. The only downside is you MUST use your Facebook account to use the headset. I have no problem with this... but some do.
Have you tried it with BAM Terry ?
 
Oops I only read the second post and it looked like spec sheet only ...
 
TerryRed,

Firstly, thank you for your numerous posts and guides regarding setup of FP, BAM, and OpenVR.

I'm running BAM-OVR on Steam VR through a wired Quest 2 on a PC with the following specs:
Windows 10
16 Gb ram
i7-9750
Nvidia RTX 2070

I've had some troubleshooting items that I have worked through that I thought you might want to see alternative solutions to as well.

In your post here: https://vpinball.com/forums/topic/future-pinball-and-bam-mega-guide-by-terryred/page/2/

You mention the possibility of experiencing a grey screen when trying to access the in game menu "Q or ~". I've been able to get past this by actually starting a game on the table, and then pressing the menu key. Restarting the table and FP does not solve this on my setup.

I did also experience the juttering issues you describe above, (which is what got me to this forum) however I don't think it has to do with the display or PC limitations. This appears to be a device tracking issue. Display works fine if I hold completely still, however the moment my head has to move, the screen bounces quite a bit. It's like the sensitivity is turned up to 100 and its predicting that the headset is still moving. I've confirmed that this occurs on the PC display as well.

Any thoughts on how to turn the tracking sensitivity down?
 
@Famine

 
@TerryRed

Awesome. I'll try this out. Thanks for the quick reply!
 
So, that didn't work. doesn't seem to be related to eye sync. Now I'm working on getting a video capture in game... wondering if this is just default behavior and I'm just overly sensitive to the movement.
 
So, that didn't work. doesn't seem to be related to eye sync. Now I'm working on getting a video capture in game... wondering if this is just default behavior and I'm just overly sensitive to the movement.
It may be just my system but I have noticed the jitters arent present in freshly installed bam directories...so one of the config files that bam creates with gameplay is the culprate.

So I backupped a jitterfree version of bam and use that to restore my active bam folder once the jitters set in
 
Thanks @Gimli. I'll try a reinstall then. unfortunately this was mostly a fresh install. Only changes were TerryRed's custom configs. I also tried VPX to see if I'm getting a similar playback issue on that program, but can't seem to get SteamVR to accept it... Fun times!
 
If you start with fresh bam folder...I tend to use the bam.zip that has a BAM folder and NOT the BAM install progam....start by playing the fp dummy"new table' first. do not copy any cfg files.

This will give you the simplist setup with no added complications.

See if you get jitter....

Once I am happy with that then I gradually add stuff and save and make a complete copy the current working BAM folder.
 
Hello,

Really, well done everyone for your great work ....
Sorry for my English, but I only speak the language of the frog eaters.


Since the BAM_v1.5-318 version of 'BAM' in 'vr' with my Quest2 in wifi or link, the image is not stable, it moves a lot as soon as we follow the head.
With Fpsvr, since this version we notice that the cpu frames are in the red at more than 300.
I did a test with a Rifts, the cpu frames are still important but visually we do not feel this phenomenon

This ties in with what Famine said in another post
 
Hello,

Really, well done everyone for your great work ....
Sorry for my English, but I only speak the language of the frog eaters.


Since the BAM_v1.5-318 version of 'BAM' in 'vr' with my Quest2 in wifi or link, the image is not stable, it moves a lot as soon as we follow the head.
With Fpsvr, since this version we notice that the cpu frames are in the red at more than 300.
I did a test with a Rifts, the cpu frames are still important but visually we do not feel this phenomenon

This ties in with what Famine said in another post

see my post above yours...
 
Last edited:
Gimli,


Thank you for your reply ,I had read your post yet ...
I will redo a clean installation
 
Gimli,


Thank you for your reply ,I had read your post yet ...
I will redo a clean installation
It seems to be one of the BAM cfg or dat parameters that suddenly causes the shaking.
When you tweak a parameter in BAM menu or use a table developers BAM cfg file there are some things in the BAM folder that get updated. I haven't bothered to figure out which parameter is the culprit.
If you still have the problem I will try to provide a copy of my BAM folder that I am currently using that hasn't been corrupted yet :)
 
Thank you very much for your answer.

To no longer have this jitter problem, I just need to replace 'BAM.DLL' with version 'v.1.5-317'.

What is strange

It would be super nice if you could send me your configuration
 
Thank you very much for your answer.

To no longer have this jitter problem, I just need to replace 'BAM.DLL' with version 'v.1.5-317'.

What is strange

It would be super nice if you could send me your configuration
I think rav tweaked something in the Bam.Dll recently to help the ball rolling look better in VR , maybe that is the problem

thanks for the feedback
 
hello Gimli,

I will follow your instruction to rebuild A Fresh Bam folder.
I will tell you, if that solved my problem
This phenomenon is already present in version 'BAM_v1.5-318'

thank you
 
hello Gimli,

I will follow your instruction to rebuild A Fresh Bam folder.
I will tell you, if that solved my problem
This phenomenon is already present in version 'BAM_v1.5-318'

thank you
I think you are right it is the Bam.dll that is the culprate
The jitter is less if I wear the headset tighter but I don't think that should be the fix
 
hello Gimli,

I will follow your instruction to rebuild A Fresh Bam folder.
I will tell you, if that solved my problem
This phenomenon is already present in version 'BAM_v1.5-318'

thank you
@ravarcade

Ok I tested Bam.dlls and the last one that works without jitter on my oculus quest 2 is version 315
 

Attachments

  • BAM_v1.5-315.zip
    27.3 MB · Views: 419
For all my tests, I only changed BAM.dll.

What is strange is that we do not feel this jitter with a RIFTS
 
Hey guys, i'm trying to setup my rig again after a longer absence than I antecipated. As i'm back to VR as well, now with a Valve Index, it has been awesome and smooth at 90Hz (higher really is unnecessary).

I do have a problem though and i'm wondering if you all are also affected and if able to be improved upon, could help with the jitter. Basically, I can't explain the high CPU frame times while the CPU is only at 60% and GPU could have another headset connected to it :)

My rig is a 8600k@5GHz with 16GB RAM DDR4 @2400Mhz CL15 and a MSI gtx1080 at default factory speeds (it is factory OC though).

I'm using BAM 327 but 315 makes no difference either to me.

I've played BAM VR before on lower spec'ed rig with an MSI GTX1050Ti that's not even VR Ready and I don't recall this issue. Granted it was with a VIVE not an Index but it still had to maintain 90FPS.

So, question, are you all also experiencing high CPU frame times when the CPU is far fom 100%? If so, lowering settings or super sampling helps with the jitter? I don't seem suffer from jitter but frame times are frame times and still indicate something is not quite right in this case.

Anyone tried some windows settings like power management and c states disabling... anything you might have found that helped even if only a bit. Example, having vsync helps reducing the CPU frametime for me although I can't correlate this with CPU.

cheers.
/edit
Forgot to mention, i've played other vr games and the high cpu times don't exist. just in BAM VR.
 
Last edited:
Hey guys, i'm trying to setup my rig again after a longer absence than I antecipated. As i'm back to VR as well, now with a Valve Index, it has been awesome and smooth at 90Hz (higher really is unnecessary).

I do have a problem though and i'm wondering if you all are also affected and if able to be improved upon, could help with the jitter. Basically, I can't explain the high CPU frame times while the CPU is only at 60% and GPU could have another headset connected to it :)

My rig is a 8600k@5GHz with 16GB RAM DDR4 @2400Mhz CL15 and a MSI gtx1080 at default factory speeds (it is factory OC though).

I'm using BAM 327 but 315 makes no difference either to me.

I've played BAM VR before on lower spec'ed rig with an MSI GTX1050Ti that's not even VR Ready and I don't recall this issue. Granted it was with a VIVE not an Index but it still had to maintain 90FPS.

So, question, are you all also experiencing high CPU frame times when the CPU is far fom 100%? If so, lowering settings or super sampling helps with the jitter? I don't seem suffer from jitter but frame times are frame times and still indicate something is not quite right in this case.

Anyone tried some windows settings like power management and c states disabling... anything you might have found that helped even if only a bit. Example, having vsync helps reducing the CPU frametime for me although I can't correlate this with CPU.

cheers.
/edit
Forgot to mention, i've played other vr games and the high cpu times don't exist. just in BAM VR.
Welcome back AnonTet.
I am using Quest2 with virtual desktop so I can 't really comment on your system but Terry likely could as he has used other setups tethered and untethered
 
Thanks @Gimli.

The problem doesn't affect the game visually for me but seems to affect the physics. If the Quest2 had the same problem of high CPU frame time I though it could be connected albeit affecting in different ways our headsets.

Anyway, i'll keep trying on my side and post if I find something, just in case it can help with Quest2.
 
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