Up until now, developers wishing to get their VR app on the Oculus Store had to submit to a manual review process by which their game or experience was washed through two stages; a tech review to see if the app passed minimum standards and a content review to determine it was a complete and polished experience. Now, Oculus has developed a tool called ‘VRC Validator’ that at least lets developers test to see if their app is technically up to snuff before sending it off for the full review.
Over the course of its 5 odd years in existence, the company has gathered some hard-won knowledge on what it takes to create a comfortable VR experience. But even if you’ve religiously read through Oculus’ latest Best Practices Guide, there still might be a few things to consider before hitting that big submit button.
VRC Validator (Virtual Reality Check) contains a number of tools that can help check for problems like low frame rate, reserved interactions failures, entitlement check functionality, and make sure it’s conforming to Oculus’ Best Practices. There’s no need to download it either, as the VRC Validator is automatically installed with the Oculus Runtime.
Check out the list below of checks available in the Validator:
TestSdkVersion
Your app must use the correct versions of Oculus PC SDK, Unity, or Unreal Engine.TestEntitlementCheck
Your app must perform an Oculus Platform entitlement check within 10 seconds.TestOculusDLLIncludes
Your app must not distribute its own copies of Oculus DLLs.TestLaunchIntoVR
Your app must launch into VR within 4 seconds and display a non-headlocked layer.TestFrameRate
Your app must maintain 90 frames per second.TestSubmitFramesWhenVisible
Your app must submit frames when visible.TestSubmitFramesWhenNotVisible
Your app must stop submitting frames when the Universal Menu is open.TestResponseToRecenterRequest
Your app must respond to requests to reset the view.TestAppShouldQuit
Your app must quit gracefully.CheckForExtraneousFiles
Your app must not contain DLLs from other platforms.TestAudioOutput
Your app must target the audio device specified in the Oculus app.
Some of this is likely aimed at automatically cutting the wheat from the chaff; letting developers fix their own problems before bothering someone at Oculus to point out the issue. As the process becomes more automated (it’s still a curated marketplace unlike Steam), it could also indicate the coming of a greater influx on content on the Oculus Store—meaning more competition for dollars and eyeballs.
As the modified Chinese proverb goes: The best time to get into VR development was 4 years ago. The second best time is now.
For more information of the VRC Validator, check out the official Oculus blog post.