Platform: VR

90+ FPS, comfort-first design, and motion control accuracy define VR development.

NEVER Do (Expert VR Rules)

Rendering & Comfort

NEVER drop below 90 FPS — In VR, 72 FPS or less causes instant nausea. You MUST maintain at least 90 FPS (Meta Quest 2/3 typical) and minimize rendering jank.
NEVER use smooth rotation without a vignette (comfort mask) — Smooth rotation causes motion sickness. Always provide snap turning OR dynamic vignetting.
NEVER force 3D MSAA if Foveated Rendering is enabled — Foveation can conflict with MSAA natively in the OpenXR pipeline on some hardware.

Locomotion & Interaction

NEVER skip a teleport locomotion option — Smooth movement is intolerable for many. Always offer teleportation as an accessibility alternative.
NEVER use billboarding for VR UI — BILLBOARD_ENABLED breaks stereoscopic depth cues. Use static MeshInstance3D planes with SubViewports.
NEVER place UI too close or too far — 0.5m causes eye strain; 10m is unreadable. Optimal distance is 1-3 meters from the player.

Safety & System

NEVER forget to respect physical play area boundaries — Stepping into real-world objects is a safety risk. Use XRServer to fetch guardian bounds.
NEVER ignore focus_lost or session_ended signals — Gracefully handle disconnections or system menu overlays by pausing the simulation.
NEVER hardcode XRControllerTracker names — Use the OpenXR Action Map system to decouple gameplay from specific hardware labels.

Available Scripts

MANDATORY: Read the appropriate script before implementing the corresponding pattern.

vr_openxr_initializer.gd

Expert OpenXR initialization with driver support and feature verification.

vr_hand_gesture_detector.gd

Pinch and Grab recognition using XRHandModifier3D for hand tracking.

vr_locomotion_handler.gd

Expert Snap Turn and Comfort Vignette (Shader-less) implementation.

vr_passthrough_manager.gd

Alpha blending and underlay setup for Mixed Reality (AR/VR) transitions.

vr_performance_config.gd

Expert Foveated Rendering and Variable Rate Shading (VRS) setup.

vr_haptic_sequencer.gd

Complex haptic pulse sequencing using XRController3D triggers.

vr_physics_hand_controller.gd

Non-clipping, physics-following hands that respect environmental solid.

vr_safety_guardian_warner.gd

Guardian/Chaperone boundary distance warning logic using XRServer.

vr_headset_focus_guard.gd

Headset-aware pause logic for focus loss (System Menu / Headset Off).

vr_input_action_mapper.gd

OpenXR Action Map abstraction to decouple logic from hwardware buttons.

# Enable XR
func _ready() -> void:
    var xr_interface := XRServer.find_interface("OpenXR")
    if xr_interface and xr_interface.initialize():
        get_viewport().use_xr = true

Comfort Settings

Vignetting during movement
Snap turning (30°/45° increments)
Teleport locomotion option
Seated mode support

Motion Controls

# XRController3D for hands
@onready var left_hand := $XROrigin3D/LeftController
@onready var right_hand := $XROrigin3D/RightController

func _process(delta: float) -> void:
    if left_hand.is_button_pressed("trigger"):
        grab_with_left()

Performance

90 FPS minimum - Critical for comfort
Low latency - < 20ms motion-to-photon
Foveated rendering if supported

Best Practices

Comfort First - Prevent motion sickness
High FPS - 90+ required
Physical Space - Respect boundaries
UI Distance - 1-3m from player

Reference

Related: godot-camera-systems, godot-input-handling

Master Skill: godot-master

godot-platform-vr