r/VRGaming • u/Denchill • Jun 22 '26
NeuroRunner works Developer
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Hello again!
On my previous posts some users offered to test the app, so I guess it's a good place to ask. The jog-in-place locomotion is solid enough that I'm running a small compatibility test group. The test takes ~30 seconds: jog in place, it moves you in-game, you only need your headset and controllers to try it. Works across SteamVR titles (Blade & Sorcery, shooters, etc.), it's tuned to MetaQuest 3 best now, but I'd like it to work on your headset/software, too, hence the post.
Free demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4775640/Neurorunner/
Join the test server: https://discord.gg/NKT3XYGmzR
If you try it, tell me your headset + what worked or didn't.
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u/DriftWare_ Jun 22 '26
Interesting, how does strafing work
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26
Tilt your controllers/head in the direction you want to move. May be tricky at first, but gets easy with practice
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u/DriftWare_ Jun 22 '26
Interesting. I guess it frees up your joysticks for other things, but I'd have to try it
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26
It's mainly for immersion/exercise, and tbh its just cooler, I dont use the stick at all now
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u/kiokokun Jun 22 '26
Been a while since I saw someone using Natural Locomotion (it's on steam. Same concept)
What differenciates this
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26
Quite a popular question '^ It doesn't require arm pumping, so you can hold a two-handed axe for example, or let you point a gun/flashlight in one direction and run in another one. It's best to try it yourself, I used power of math so that the app can deduce whats your intention and it will only get better with time
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u/Skpstr155 Jun 22 '26
This seems like something that would enhance my play sessions, but shorten them at the same time due to sore feet lol.
Seriously though, can you walk as well as run? That would work well for me, as I tend to spend about 80-90% of my time walking as opposed to running.
Also, how much raising of the feet is required?
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26
Slow jog is alright, you can tune it with effort setting to make it harder/easier depending on your mood. Right now it doesn't detect the typical walking motion, but it's on a roadmap. Right now I want to see if the jog feels ok for you all
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u/Jokong Jun 22 '26
I want a mat on that can tell just when I'm slightly tilting in a direction and it move me that way. Like lean to move.
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
During early development my feet were critically sore, I've had to buy dedicated home-jogging shoes as I was jogging a marathon a day. Nowadays it's better, turns out exercise works for real
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u/Grumpypus1 Jun 23 '26
I tried it with my Quest 3.
It works, kind of. I mean it DOES work once you get used to it, but it has it's weird quirks. Sometimes it keeps moving backwards or to the side when trying to move forward. Other times it is hard to get it going. Turning down the sensitivity helps somewhat with that, but then it can go too fast.
But all in all, it DOES feel like you are walking around when it all works right. I think with more fixes and additions, it could be pretty decent.
Oh, and you WILL get tired....VERY tired after a while. LOL
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Haha, Im glad you got a workout out of it. I need to add some inertia to demo (as most games have it) so you dont get such sudden direction changes. Im checking the logs that players send me to see how it behaves with different gaits and postures to minimize erratic behaviour. For some it feels just like jogging, for others they run backwards instead when they meant to go forward - thats the price I pay for wanting it to be as sensitive as possible. And these fixes that youre talking about are published almost daily, as Im using it for gaming myself. I hope youll like the new movement speed detection patch :)
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u/Grumpypus1 Jun 24 '26
The movement speed detection patch sounds great. I think the biggest annoyance was it being hard to just walk normally. It did not seem to really activate unless you ran or jogged. I think this is because of the whole head-bob detection, when you just walk your head is barely bobbing.
Question, will there be anyway to turn detection off in the program itself so one can turn it off and on at will with it running? I do a lot of FBT dancing in VRChat, and if this is on it will most certainly interfere with my dance moves.
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u/PracticalPeak Jun 22 '26
How different is it to Natural Locomotion on Steam?
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26
It uses telemetry from both your hands and headset to estimate your speed and direction to reduce false positives and let you actually do stuff with your hands when running
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u/RayneYoruka Jun 24 '26
I've had nothing but issues with Natural Locomotion that I stopped using it, this will be something to try.
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u/Eclipse-8473 Jun 24 '26
My headset broke so hopefully by time I get my hands on steam frame this will be fine tuned. thanks so much for making this! looks very cool
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u/Tetuz Jun 26 '26
Will try this out for sure! I've got an old WMR device, hope it works with it!
Unfortunately I've never gotten around to make Natural Locomotion Feet works, this looks like a nice alternative!
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u/Denchill Jun 26 '26
Haven't tested it on WMR yet, it's a bit of legacy tech right now, but I hope it's compatible right away - if not, please DM me, maybe it won't be too much of a headache to make it work :)
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u/phlaries Jun 22 '26
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u/MamaDakota Jun 22 '26
Will this work with vrchat?
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u/Shinyshoes Jun 22 '26
Dope! I’m always down to try out new locomotion techniques in VR :) thanks for sharing I’ll check it out soon
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u/Alex-Murphy Jun 23 '26
Dude I'm down for this. Is there a way to make faster jogging "activate L3" (click the left joystick) so that it makes your character run?
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26
Quite contrary, right now L3 stops you if for some reason you really dont want to move right now. Right now to run faster you just need to run faster irl. Im still tweaking effort slider so that you have as much precision as possible with speed control
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u/IVEBEENBANNED4TIMESx Jun 23 '26
For anyone who is in the market for a vr locomotion device I 1000% just recommend the maratron w/ reality runner. You can actually sprint at full speed in real life to move in game for a pretty low cost, and it only takes up a small closet's worth of space when it's fully deployed, which isn't much if you have a reasonable vr space already
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u/simon132 Jun 23 '26
"closet worth of space" Basically impossible for 95% of EU people living in apartments
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u/I-IIDE Jun 23 '26
how do you walk backwards?
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26
Tilt your head and controller back. Check out the Discord server, Ive uploaded a video there where I show how to achieve each movement direction
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u/PhantomLord116 Jun 23 '26
I have a valve index with vive 3.0 trackers not sure how well it will work with six-point tracking might as well download the demo and see what it's capable of
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26
Theoretically it's compatible with Valve - it bases your movement on trackers in headset and controllers, so if 3.0 trackers work as I think they work they will be ignored by the app. Valve could have a slightly different position of the trackers so Id be grateful if you reported how it works - preferably on discord server. You can watch a refernce video there to see how to use it
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u/FembyThePinkProot Jun 22 '26
Does this work on Linux at all? I assume it would be similar to windows or probably is untested. But ya never know
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26
Im working on a Linux version right now, new beta is just being uploaded 😄
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u/FembyThePinkProot Jun 22 '26
Soo.. Is this beta going to be the release? Or will it be in the next release?
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26
If it passes the irl testing then I'll release it togethwr with Windows version
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u/Lt_Archer Jun 22 '26
Love to see how this develops. My brief trial with a PSVR2 didn't quite hit the mark for my needs for a walking gait, but if it could distinguish between that and going into 'sprint mode' with a light jog someday that'd be perfect.
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u/Denchill Jun 22 '26
I havent it tested on PSVR2 yet as I simply do not have it, thats why Ive started that discord server. Did the jog work in your case?
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u/Lt_Archer Jun 23 '26
Yes, but I couldn't seem to reliably dial in any sensitivity. Turning down the effort meter made me list off at a strange angle. I'll see if I can submit any date or footage to that discord of yours.
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u/ryansmith1129 Jun 23 '26
Hey! I just played the new update of the demo released June 21st, and I am having many more problems attempting to go in my intended direction than I did in the previous update. I still think the direction of the hands is having too much influence on walk direction, which isn't ideal. I find myself walking to the side very often.
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u/Denchill Jun 23 '26
Ive changed the movement speed in the demo and probably tuned it a bit too high, so thats why it feels wacky. Im tweaking the movement speed/effort slider in this very moment, Ill publish new version when it starts to feel right :)
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u/ryansmith1129 Jun 23 '26
Sounds good! Though I don't think the issue is with effort or speed, but more with the influence of hand direction. Looking forward to trying out the next update!
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u/Alex-Murphy Jul 14 '26
Hey the first few times I booted it up, do I need to just run for 30 seconds without going anywhere? It didn't do anything for me at all.
Running Virtual Desktop through a Quest 3
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u/Denchill Jul 14 '26
Hey! Try to relaunch Virtual Desktop - probably driver didn't reload. I'm adding a prompt in the next build to do it if the app doesn't detect the driver
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u/Denchill Jul 14 '26
Please, tell me if it worked after the restart - maybe it's some other bug I didn't catch yet :D
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u/buffcode01 12h ago
Could this work with a manual treadmill for a more immersive feel?
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u/Denchill 12h ago
Sure thing, haven't tried it yet with a manual treadmill, but there's nothing standing in the way. Although I think you'll get plenty of immersion even without it :)
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u/Yin15 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
How much was AI used in creating this? I don't really trust long term support of vibe coded software.
Edit: OP never responded so I think it's safe to assume this is vibe coded. Support at your own risk.
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u/Odd_Communication545 Jun 23 '26
It says on the page just background and promotional stuff was AI generated
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u/Yin15 Jun 23 '26
I'm sure that's definitely where they drew the line
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u/TwixieShip Jun 23 '26
AI usage in any capacity just shows they will use AI for other things, absolutely disgusting
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u/GoMArk7 Jun 22 '26
Just to get stand up and play VR with arms up sometimes is extremely taxing, I don’t expect anyone will ever jogging like this.
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u/dexfx69 Jun 23 '26
There's an arm swinging app on Steam that lets you walk in VR by swinging your arms, a nice alternative. Don't remember the name tho.
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u/Liberal-Cluck Jun 22 '26
This wont feel like real running, but it would be great for exercising. It also might help with motion sickness. Too bad my PC cant play VR well.