A tool to physically control Riders Republic from a bike trainer and VR setup.
POV Gameplay video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8q5vU9P38
- Download the .zip of the app here : https://github.com/Holydh/BikeBinderVR/releases/tag/Release
- .Net 6 runtime : https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/thank-you/runtime-6.0.16-windows-x64-binaries
- A PCVR setup (only tested on Quest 2 with Airlink so far)
- Riders Republic
- a VR viewer like the free Depth3d companion app to see your desktop inside your hmd (https://github.com/BlueSkyDefender/Depth3D)
- A bike (even a dirt cheap one, it just needs to be compatible with the trainer) with it's stem screw removed so you can freely move the handlebar without moving the wheel (grease the base of the handlebar so it won't damage the stem).
- A bike trainer (there's some really cheap on second hand market too, mine was 30 bucks and works wonderfully well. No need for a connected one).
The app will automatically prompt you with Vigem Bus installer if you don't have it installed already at first launch. (The driver used to create the virtual Xbox gamepad)
Browse the right panel tabs of Bike Binder VR to find every info needed. Tutorial available in the "How to use" tab.
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It's usable only for bike trainers where you can move the handle bar for now. I'll try to add a toggleable setting to control the bike by keeping the right controller in hand and using the joystick like a normal gamepad soon for people with standard indoor bike.
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You can use it for exercise but also just for fun by calibrating the pedaling intensity to your liking. So for people afraid of sweat in VR, you can calibrate it on the lowest speed possible and still have fun. It's also playable by having the hmd set aside, point it toward you so it can track at least the right controller on your handle bar, put a cloth inside it so it won't turn off and play on your normal TV/screen. But of course, this app is developped firstly for VR use.
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This software only takes care of the controls part. The VR view is handled by third party software of your choice but I suggest the free Depth3d companion app available here : https://github.com/BlueSkyDefender/Depth3D. It works perfectly with my app and is already real fun even without 3D. For 3D view, you'll have to use VorpX or Reshade. More on that below.
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Since I only have a Quest 2 here, I tested the steamVR part with it. It should work well on other hmd but if not, feel free to open an issue about it on Github.
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There may be some physical limits with some controllers. Meaning, the Q2 controller fits nicely on the handle bar but I'm not so sure that every controllers will fit as nicely as these one (index controllers look a bit huge). Feel free to experiment and give me feedback, if I can change and adapt some stuff for specific hmds I'll try my best.
VorpX and Reshade works well with Riders Republic BUT, you'll have to force disable Battleye anticheat for this to work.
I would advise against it since this could get you banned. I don't know how tolerant Ubisoft is toward it.
If you accept taking that risk on your own and want to try it anyway, here's a way to deactivate battleye and play in Zen mod offline only :
- Set Ubisoft Connect in offline mod.
- Disable auto Updates on Riders Republic in Ubisoft Connect (in case they patch it soon, wich could happen quickly)
- In the game's root folder, rename "RidersRepublic_BE.exe" into "RidersRepublic_BE.exe.old"
- Duplicate "RidersRepublic.exe" and rename it into "RidersRepublic_BE.exe"
- Rename the folder "BattlEye" into "BattleEye.old"
- Just to be a bit safer, add Firewall rules to block both RidersRepublic_BE.exe and RidersRepublic.exe
To play online again, just redo this list in reverse.
I know I'm not objective but, damn, it's really fun to use, I'm really glad with how it turned out. I hope you'll enjoy it too.
You can toss me a coin for a beer here : https://ko-fi.com/holydh
Vigem for gamepad inputs
Ab3d Oculus C# Wrapper for Oculus SDK
OvrSharp C# Wrapper for OpenVR
Licences available for all these libraries in the Licences folder.