Second time's the charm
Added 2025-07-26 14:14:04 +0000 UTCHi guys!
As anticipated, release 22.0.0 of the R.E.A.L. mod extends VR support to The Last of Us Part II Remastered, so... get ready to be bitten again! In the dark!! On your FACE!!!
If you're on the fence about this game, my advice is: give it a chance. Ellie is in no way obnoxious as she might seem in the TV series. The relationship/sex themes are dealt with in a tasteful manner and the gameplay is very good, with many open areas that are both a sight to behold and a pleasure to explore. It's like the first installment but with a larger budget, so to speak. I'm actually having a lot of fun with it []-D
But before we dive into the setup instructions for TLOU2, a few additional release notes for v22.0.0.
Cyberpunk 2077: The latest official update made unexpected changes to the way the game deals with mouse input, so with my previous release v21.5.0 it was basically impossible to play using KB/M. That should be fixed now, although the gamepad remains the best choice for my mods.
Far Cry 5 and Far Cry Primal: A regression I introduced in v21.5.0 prevented those two games from even starting when the mod was installed. Both are fixed in v22.0.0.
Games list
As usual there is only one package to download, which enables all 37 VR conversions you can find on this Patreon. All titles support AER v2, which is my own version of frame interpolation tailored for Alternate Eye Rendering (see this post for a detailed description). Most of the games also support DL(S)SS, meaning that I fixed the DLSS implementation for them so that it will work correctly in stereoscopic 3D. And 5 titles even allow for Ray Reconstruction!!! Here's the complete list:
Atomic Heart [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Cyberpunk 2077 [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Dark Souls: Remastered [AER v2]
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin [AER v2]
Dark Souls III [AER v2]
Death Stranding Director's Cut [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
DOOM Eternal [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
DOOM: The Dark Ages [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Elden Ring (with its massive Shadow of the Erdtree DLC) [AER v2 + DL(S)SS when NVIDIA DLSS is enabled with a third-party mod]
Far Cry 4 [AER v2]
Far Cry 5 [AER v2]
Far Cry 6 [AER v2]
Far Cry New Dawn [AER v2]
Far Cry Primal [AER v2]
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade [AER v2]
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Ghost of Tsushima [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Ghostrunner [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Ghostwire: Tokyo [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Grounded [AER v2]
High On Life [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Hogwarts Legacy [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Horizon: Zero Dawn [AER v2]
Horizon Forbidden West [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle [AER v2 + DL(S)SS-RR]
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Star Wars Outlaws [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Stray [AER v2]
The Last of Us Part I [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
The Last of Us Part II Remastered (new) [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy [AER v2 + DL(S)SS]
Watch Dogs [AER v2]
Watch Dogs 2 [AER v2]
Please note that all trademarks belong to the respective owners, and that no copyright infringement is intended or condoned. And of course, you'll need to have a legit copy of the original games that you want to play in VR.
Setup
I developed and tested the mod for The Last of Us Part II Remastered using the Steam version of the game. It should work if you get it from other stores as well, but if you encounter issues please upload your RealVR.log file somewhere so we can try to sort them out.
Generally speaking, if you own a game in a different version than the one I modded, or the game just had an official update, it's always a good idea to take a quick look at the log. It's conveniently accessible from the mod overlay itself, with a search function. The usual symptom if a version diverges too much from the one I modded is that some patches will fail to apply (you can search for keywords like "patch", "error", "fail" etc.). If you give me that information, I might be able to fix it quickly.
Also, always make sure that your video drivers are updated to the latest version. That's especially important for NVIDIA due to a flurry of regressions in driver releases since the 50xx series came out; we have now gotten to the point where new games refuse to launch if they detect that the driver version is not the specific one they were tested against :-(
Run TLOU2 flat (not in VR) at least once, so that it can generate its config files and you can check that it works correctly. Then quit out of it and extract the mod archive into the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Last of Us Part II" folder. Note that you might need to customize the path if you moved your library or own the game from a different store, but it will always be the folder that contains the "tlou-ii" executable file.
Finally run RealConfig.bat. It will perform a few required operations (including the v-sync fix for NVIDIA drivers) and preselect graphics settings that are known to work well in VR. Remember that running RealConfig is mandatory; if you omit this step the mod will not work.
At this point, the next time you launch TLOU2 it should automatically display in your VR headset. Read on to find out how to get the scariest experience in VR!
Game options
Configuration for The Last of Us Part II Remastered is very simple. RealConfig will choose suitable defaults for the OPTIONS> DISPLAY and OPTIONS> GRAPHICS submenus, as follows:
in the DISPLAY submenu:
Window Mode = WINDOWED
Aspect Ratio = AUTO
VSync = OFF
Framerate Cap = 360
Frame Generation = OFF
Upscale Method = DLSS. Make sure upscaling is set to DLSS so that you can use my DL(S)SS fix to eliminate the shimmering around nearby objects and characters. DL(S)SS should also work with this game if you are running on an AMD GPU thanks to the voodoo magic of OptiScaler (see my previous post for details on how to install and configure it for VR).
Upscale Preset = TRANSFORMER, Upscale Quality = QUALITY (you can adjust these according to your GPU performance)
Dynamic Resolution Scaling = OFF
Cinematic Pillarboxes = OFF
in the GRAPHICS submenu:
Depth of Field = OFF
Motion Blur Quality = OFF (make sure this is never turned on in my mods, otherwise everything will look smeared horizontally)
Chromatic Aberration Intensity= 0 and Film Grain Intensity = 0. These are not mandatory and you can experiment with them if you want, but I personally prefer to have no simulated film grain in VR, and the headset itself introduces more than enough chromatic aberration ;-)
In the ACCESSIBILITY> MAGNIFICATION AND VISUAL AIDS submenu:
HUD Scale = LARGE (I find this is needed for TLOU2 because on-screen prompts tend to be on the smallish side)
Additionally, in the CONTROLS> ASSISTANCE submenu, you'll want to set:
Camera Assist = OFF
Aim Assist = 0
Lock-On Aim = OFF
so that you won't get any unexpected camera pulls during gaze-based aiming. Finally, I recommend toggling CONTROLS> INPUT> Remember Shoulder Swap to the ON position because it makes the camera more predictable when you enter/exit aiming mode repeatedly.
Cutscenes
Cutscenes are fully 3D and allow you to look anywhere without restrictions. As usual there will be some elements missing in areas you weren't supposed to see with a fixed camera, but mostly the environment is complete and the emotional impact of the cutscenes is preserved.
No pre-baked 2D movies in this title, yay!
Resolution and frame rate
The high resolution needed for VR can be set very easily by bringing up the mod overlay and looking for a slider in the main "R.E.A.L. VR" tab named "Target pixels per degree". Set it to a value approximately in the range 15-30 depending on your GPU, then press the "Adapt resolution" button to set the game resolution to your preferred value. You can do that at any moment, even during actual gameplay. The target PPD you choose will be remembered and re-applied automatically across sessions, and the aspect ratio will be optimized by the mod to adapt to the FOV of your headset.
The game runs pretty well on modern hardware, and the reflections are ray-tracing quality without having to pay the huge tax on frame rate that actual RT incurs. However, big open areas can still bring your fps down, so in order to have a smooth experience the Render mode will default to 1/3 rate. You can also try 1/2 rate to get more fluidity and less artifacting, but you will probably have to leave something behind in terms of graphics options and resolution.
Input and cameras
I recommend using a gamepad to play TLOU2 in VR; XInput-compatible controllers like the ones from Microsoft are usually the best for my mods.
Don't worry about console-player syndrome: in my mods aiming is gaze-driven and extremely fast, intuitive and accurate, so even if you're used to playing FPS with your mouse, give your gamepad a chance ;-) The crosshair in this title can be quite shaky though; that adds to the challenge and is actually quite realistic in a scared-all-the-time situation like the ones the game depicts, but in case that bothers you, try moving the "Reduce shaking" slider further to the right. Scopes are already automatically stabilized through the "Minimize shaking when zoomed" checkbox.
The game is played in third person, but if you look at the Camera section in the "TLOU2" tab of the mod overlay you will find sliders to control the camera distance and left-right offset, so you can position it freely!! Note that the game is not really designed to support extreme adjustments to those parameters, and your character's body will pop in and out of view if you put the camera too close. You might want to experiment a little in order to find the arrangement that you like best.
HUD and gameplay
The HUD rescaling can be finely customized, so you won't miss any of the important information that appears at the sides like health, hints, ammo count and so on. If the default size I suggest doesn't work for you, you can tweak it from the R.E.A.L. VR mod overlay, using the "HUD scale X/Y" and "HUD offset X/Y" sliders in the "TLOU2" tab (NOTE: I'm not referring to the sliders found in the "R.E.A.L. VR" main tab, which in this title will only control the mod overlay size). The HUD sliders take effect immediately while playing, without any need to bump the resolution.
I also recommend ticking the "Higher quality AER v2" checkbox in the main page of the mod overlay because it will reduce movement-related artifacts sensibly, especially on the HUD. Actually, even though it's still marked as "experimental", I haven't received any negative feedback on this improved accuracy mode, so I'm thinking of making it the default in upcoming versions of the framework. I'm still waiting for your comments, let me know how well it works for you!
The VR mod supports 6 DoF tracking, i.e, the camera will follow your head rotation and movement. You can steer your character in a different direction from where you're looking (except when you're aiming), but when you walk the natural tendency will be for your character to gradually align itself to your gaze unless you compensate with the thumbstick.
In the "TLOU2" tab you can also change the world scale, from small adjustments to playing with dolls or giants, and even force the game to render to a 2D virtual screen in case you should find a section too hard to play in full VR.
Updates and known issues
The moths animation that appears when you load a level at the start of a gaming session is headlocked. You can switch to the 2D virtual screen if it bothers you, but it only lasts for a few seconds and won't appear again when you reload a checkpoint, so it's probably not worth fixing.
[I'll post new information here as it becomes available.]
Comments
It's awesome in VR :) Seriously though, you will have to remind me if you are referring to something :)
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-11-11 20:06:10 +0000 UTCcyberpunk
Diego De Alba
2025-11-08 04:31:19 +0000 UTCNot sure if you double posted and I already replied to this but check and see if the render resolution is below 100% in the game settings. I think that is what happened to me before.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-10-08 16:26:12 +0000 UTCI think I'm posting in the right spot. I have a problem with Uncharted 4 having like a ghosting effect, especially the character you control. Like an offset image. I don't have this problem with the other Luke mods. Anyone no a solution for this?
Seve Eleven
2025-09-30 23:04:49 +0000 UTCSuch a beautiful game. Even more of a masterpiece in VR! Thanks!
Justin
2025-09-29 06:49:58 +0000 UTCI haven't had a pico for quite a while now, but I remember the connect software being pretty bad 🤪 Hopefully it is much better now. As long as you have SteamVR set as your OpenXR runtime in the SteamVR settings, you should be able to use OpenXR from the runtime dropdown at the top of the main tab of the REAL overlay. So, try that and see if it fixes things.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-09-09 19:42:40 +0000 UTCHey Luke and guys, I somehow just seam to be too stupid to get the mod set up properly. I just bought me a PICO 4 Ultra, which has its own "Connect" app to connect to windows. Any time I connect the VR Set with my PC (by USB, for a more stable connection), it will also autostart SteamVR right away. When I now start Last of Us Part II (after installing your mode, apparently without any faults), it starts in VR mode (your overlay menus are showing up). BUT: In my VR goggles, I only see it like "windowed" - no real VR enhancement, but the game just runs in a window, without any extended FOV. Furthermore, I get the errore message that it doesn't run properly with SteamVR - but if I manually close SteamVR, I also loose the connection between VR headset and my PC. AND, the game is unplayably slow... but my gear is fairly high powered, with a GeForce RTX4080 Super and a Ryzen 7950X3D. Drivers are all current, of course. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong here? I'm DYING to get the full VR experience out of your mod :)
gypsophilus
2025-09-09 17:14:14 +0000 UTCWhatchu mean??? I already answered it the first time :) If you didn't like my answer, asking again probably won't change it....... Although it might 🤔
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-09-09 02:36:49 +0000 UTCHI Brandon, please have a look at my settings question below, any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated especially on the first part on resolution staging ?
Dave Ross
2025-09-09 01:27:38 +0000 UTCFor Last of US, there is no DLSS mod. It natively supports DLSS, which you should definitely use. Doom Eternal will default to using AER V2 rendering mode which caps at 2x your headset refresh rate, which is why it feels so great. Game like TLOU are far more demanding and so will default to using 1/3 rendering mode because there is no way you are running that game at 180fps in VR. 1/2 and 1/3 rendering modes interpolate extra frames between actual frames for added smoothness, like motion smoothing or frame gen. They will have motion artifacts, and you really need to make sure you are hitting the frame cap without dips for them to work correctly. 1/2 will cap at your headset refresh rate but feel like 2x the frames, while 1/3 will cap at 1/3 of 2x your headset refresh but still keep that fluidity. Legacy is regular AER, so will just cap at your headset refresh but will have motion jitter since it is half of that per eye. So 90fps using Legacy would be 45fps per eye. You can find the rendering mode dropdown in the main tab of the REAL overlay. Try them and see which you like. 1/2 and 1/3 are harder on your system than Legacy because of the extra work the GPU has to do but 1/3 makes it easier to hit the fps cap consistently or have more room for higher resolution/settings. They will also of course increase latency. If your headset can go down to 72 or 60hz, you can try those using 1/2 rendering mode as well. There should be a box you can check in the overlay tab of the REAL overlay to display fps while playing and tinkering, also one for latency. Resolution will trump every other setting in terms of visual fidelity, so don't get caught up in feeling like you have to play at high settings. Always a good idea to check out optimized settings videos on YouTube. BenchmarKing and Digital Foundry are great sources for those.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-28 04:53:37 +0000 UTCI love this mod for Doom eternal amazing! but for last of us 2, when i turn, it seems pretty choppy, like a drop in frames. i have a 4080 super and even turned down some of the graphic settings. am i doing something wrong? or missing something? i read in here something about the DLSS mod. you think that would help this?
Jade Holznagel
2025-08-27 23:49:51 +0000 UTCYep, seems like that is working. I started to suspect that but then some other random crash threw me off. Would be nice if this bug could be fixed but easy workaround!
Justin
2025-08-27 03:41:31 +0000 UTCAre you using OpenXR runtime in the dropdown at the top of the main tab of the REAL overlay? If so, are the fov optimization boxes in the main tab checked or greyed out?
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-23 05:29:17 +0000 UTC<p style="">Hey Brandon, so after experimenting with all the settings in the R.E.A.L mod and also the settings on the Meganex 8K, I've found a couple of issues that really detract from the VR experience when compared with the 2D experience on my monitor. The first being that the Meganex seems to have an FOV of about 85 degrees whereas the area of Cyberpunk that is rendered when looking at the 2D window on the screen looks like it's easily over 110 degrees FOV. This has the effect of me seeing a much more pixelated and blurry image on the VR (because it's zoomed in) than what I see on the screen in 2D. Let me see if I can demonstrate with some screen shots. Here is what the non VR view looks like at 4K on my 43" TV: </p><p style="">(1) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hDuKDpz3Zsb0BMjA-JRdBcoTqFmcuKUu/view?usp=sharing and here's what the bar across the street looks like zoomed to 500% from that same image: </p><p style="">(2) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dDNSMWjaGn3Jel40XFuCWUtx-RP1_3Mq/view?usp=sharing</p><p style="">Next is what is I see from the REAL mod 2D window on the desktop when VR is running: </p><p style="">(3) https://drive.google.com/file/d/16efUPdF1GYlHTiejE0xOSek2fRZxwXWy/view?usp=sharing </p><p style="">Next is area I actually see in the headset shown by where the yellow box is: </p><p style="">(4) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AZNx98dZE21qRv51n1PUMUy-ZO5GDldS/view?usp=sharing</p><p style="">And this is how that looks if you make this image full screen on a 43" screen that you're sitting 20" from: </p><p style="">(5) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BBjo2ghPYeAtMPygD__W_lQAjMbAX0DV/view?usp=sharing</p><p style="">And lastly what the bar looks like in the headset if zoom in the previous image 500%.: </p><p style="">(6) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gFwD2rARJw-bCeLPDYHFGLjuFgNaeZkK/view?usp=sharing </p><p style="">So, if you compare image (1) on a 43" screen to image (5) you can see that the image is way closer (narrow FOV compared with 90 degree FOV in 2D) and things are definitely more blurry. How to fix this? Well, it would help if the REAL mod did not have such a wide FOV that it was rendering when compared with what the Meganex is displaying. Basically if the yellow box on image (4) was much closer to the full size being rendered. When I did some experiments it feels like I'm only seeing an FOV or about 70 degrees in the REAL mod in the Meganex instead of the 85 that I measured with the VR Test tool app. </p><p style="">And secondly, if anything else can be done to just clean up the rendering so things were as clear as they are when rendered for the 2D screen. I think I have exhausted all the settings trying to get things as clear as possible. I'm running 36ppd in the VR settings screen and have adjusted the blur and other settings as best I can. I'm running the experimental AER with 2X. I can get a screen shot of all the settings if that helps. I'm not all that impressed by the FOV of the Meganex or the blurriness at the last 5 outer degrees of the lenses. The clarity is great otherwise with no moiré and only minimal glare and no sign of screen door because of the high res displays. Anyway, sorry for the long post. I'm just trying to get the image quality as high as I can. </p>Sorry for the formatting and links in the post. I could not figure out how to make the links clickable or insert paragraph breaks. So annoying. I did try what was suggested when I googled it all to no avail. Here is the google drive link to the images if that's easier: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15yq1kxbhKuAytd7epbM9e35uEiZRx-4K?usp=sharing
Peter Muller
2025-08-23 00:32:33 +0000 UTCYou can put a copy of your RealVR64.log file on pastebin.com and post a link to it here.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-20 23:16:25 +0000 UTCHi! I try the mod of TLOU 2 Remastered with my new 5070 ti and Quest 3. It´s looks good but the problem is that if i show the mod menu the game crashes. The framerate its too low and I want to set parameters on the mod, but it´s imposible to open, it´s crash anytime I open it. Any idea?? You talk about upload de log file and put a link but I don´t know excactly where. Thanks
karl
2025-08-20 20:03:07 +0000 UTCIf you are using a headset, there is no way to unlock it that doesn't really mess things up badly. The Y axis is locked to your headset to keep things aligned. It becomes pretty natural after a while.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-17 18:02:52 +0000 UTCHow can i aim with mouse not with head?
Cloudy
2025-08-17 17:58:01 +0000 UTCFeel free to send me a save file at chronowake@gmail.com and I will try it. Does that cycle only happen in that area?
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-17 16:43:22 +0000 UTCFar Cry 4 is still broken on 22.0.0 in Shangri-La sections. When it loads, it starts switching between 2D and 3D. Here's what happening in the log at the time: 08:45:00:652 [02460] | INFO | 9 RVR patch(es) applied successfully in 2922 ms. 08:45:00:670 [02460] | WARN | Poses not available: skipping submit 08:45:04:822 [02460] | INFO | RVR patch(es) removed. 08:45:23:164 [02460] | INFO | 9 RVR patch(es) applied successfully in 2922 ms. 08:45:23:188 [02460] | WARN | Poses not available: skipping submit 08:45:26:216 [02460] | INFO | RVR patch(es) removed. Every time that cycle repeats the game freezes, even when I force 2D screen. Oddly, with 2D screen forced, the cycle stops when there's no input. But when I press a button it happens again. Edit: It also happens sometimes when leaving the map screen, but no more than once or twice. I can attach the entire log somewhere if you're interested.
Nathan Shively-Sanders
2025-08-17 16:21:47 +0000 UTCMake sure to not change the important display settings after running the config file. You will need to use the ppd slider in the main tab of the Real overlay to change resolutions in VR. You can always look back at the games release post for correct display settings.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-17 01:41:23 +0000 UTCPlaying last of us 2 and it's being forces into 1080 p with no options to change it can I do anything about this
adrian mothersill
2025-08-16 23:07:35 +0000 UTCDon't use SteamVR at all! Use vdxr in the streamer app and don't have SteamVR running, it should then default to using Oculus runtime. You can check this at the top of the main tab of the Real overlay. Are you getting that error when you run the config file to install the mod?
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-16 20:44:04 +0000 UTCHi, playing Last of us 1 and it just keeps loading in flat, using virtual desktop, steam vr, quest 3, any help would be greatly appreciated thanks, gettign this msg no "this application is not supported by R.E.A.L Mod"
David Langley
2025-08-16 18:57:52 +0000 UTCFor someone who charges more for the mod (on the long run) than the game costs, I would have expected a bit more info about how everzthing works. How can I uninstall the mod? How do I update the mod? Etc. \
Lewin
2025-08-15 07:22:48 +0000 UTCNo, not that I am aware of. At least it is not implemented in any way by Luke in the framework. If there is some way of implementing it by other software, I don't know about it.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-15 03:38:59 +0000 UTCDo any of the mods support eye tracking?
Michael Saab
2025-08-15 00:15:48 +0000 UTCHave you tried adjusting the HUD scale in the games settings? There are also the HUD sliders in the TLOU2 tab of the REAL overlay.
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-13 06:34:59 +0000 UTChud is too big in tluo2.
Moist Man
2025-08-13 01:01:05 +0000 UTCLuke does recommend the latest driver, so give that a shot. Drivers have been such a mess though. If you haven't cleared out your GPU drivers in a while, or ever, using DDU to do so could also be a good thing. You could also try setting the in game graphics settings to low and see if it stops the crashes. I don't really see anything problematic in the log file. Do please use the reply button to keep this in one thread :)
Brandon(Post Maester)
2025-08-12 20:42:57 +0000 UTCnvidia driver version I have installed is 572.83 which driver do I need for v 22_0_0 ?
Dave Ross
2025-08-12 20:28:51 +0000 UTC
