Oculus_Color_logoOculus VR today released the Oculus SDK 0.4.1 beta which brings important fixes for developers and enthusiasts alike.

With the release of the Oculus Rift DK2 at the end of last month, Oculus VR pushed out the Oculus SDK 0.4.0 beta to support new features of the headset. The release was a bit rough around the edges, even after delaying DK2 shipment for a week to continue polishing it. Today, Oculus VR is releasing it’s first post-DK2 update which brings some important fixes and additions.

Notably, the Oculus SDK is now available for Mac OSX, along with a version of the Oculus Runtime and Unity Tuscany Demo for Mac. There’s no word on when Linux support will be ready.

Furthermore, Oculus VR has removed the SSE4.1 requirement that caused issues for certain AMD CPUs. The company also says they’ve added a ‘Pause Service” option to the Oculus Configuration Utility which allows the DK2 to work with applications built using Oculus SDK 0.3.x (which was released prior to the DK2’s mass release).

Oculus VR also says that a UE4 integration patch is now available that supports the Oculus 0.4 SDK and Runtime.

See the Downloads section of Oculus VR Developer Center for new versions of the SDK, Runtime, Unity demo, and Unity 4 Pro Integration. The company has also updated the Oculus Developer Guide and Oculus Unity Integration Guide, see the Documentation section.

Oculus SDK 0.4.1 Beta Patch Notes:

New Features

  • Added “Pause Service…” option to the Configuration Utility, which temporarily releases DK2 sensor, allowing 0.3.x SDK applications to run.
  • Added Mac OS support. Mac does not currently include a display driver, so it always works in Extend Desktop mode.
  • Added ovr_InitializeRenderingShim function that can be used to hook rendering, needed Direct to HMD Mode, without spinning up the rest of LibOVR.
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Bug Fixes

  • Oculus SDK
    • Removed SSE4.1 requirement that was problematic for some older AMD CPUs.
    • Fixed OpenGL support on AMD cards in direct mode.
    • Resolved Blue Screen that happened starting some demos with some video adapters.
    • Fixed Blue Screen or boot-up Black screen issued caused by interaction with Display Link. Display link is are still incompatible with Direct Mode.
    • Improved OpenGL support in the driver shim.
  • Unity
    • Fixed shadows and some Unity shaders by switching back to a symmetric frustum for rendering.
    • Fixed D3D11 rendering to work.
    • Miscellaneous improvements in stability and timewarp precision.

Known Issues

  • After updating Firmware on Mac OVR Service must be manually restarted. Please select “Restart Service…” in the Configuration Utility.
  • Unity app latency on Mac is higher than in C++ OWD resulting in slightly swimmy display.
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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Pinocchio

    just in time for my dk2… i hope its not broken when i get it tomorrow. So the dk1 games could should will work now with dk2?

    • Ben Lang

      Kind of… those that were built with the 0.3.x preview should work, but you’ll have to pause the OVRService through the Oculus Configuration Utility (Tools > Advanced > Pause Service…).