Luke Ross Releases PC VR Mod Suite for Free, Excluding Contentious ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Mod

By
Scott Hayden
-
66

Prolific VR modder Luke Ross has re-released his R.E.A.L. VR mod suite following a DMCA takedown issued by CD Projekt in January for his paywalled Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod—this time making a bulk of the work free for anyone to download.

The News

Following the Cyberpunk 2077 controversy, Ross pulled all VR mods from his Patreon under the reasoning that piracy of his work had increased in addition to avoiding other publishers issuing similar claims.

Now, Ross has partially reinstated the R.E.A.L VR mod suite on his Patreon for free, which includes instructions on how to install and use. Supporters are offered advanced access to new features, however anyone can install the current version for free.

Notably, this doesn’t include the VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077, as Ross is not including any games possibly in violation of DMCA claims for now.

It is however possible Ross could eventually re-release the Cyberpunk 2077 mod, as CD Projekt says it allows “reasonable donations” in connection with fan content—just not anything behind any sort of paywall.

Prior to the CD Projekt takedown, mods were only available to Patreon subscribers who paid $10 per month, which included VR mod support for a host of popular flatscreen titles, including Elden Ring, Far Cry, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Ghostrunner.

Important to note is that none of Ross’ VR mods contain(ed) game files, as they primarily only include custom code for PC games to force stereoscopic 3D, head-tracking, and OpenXR compatibility.

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My Take

The reasoning behind Ross’ change of heart is still a mystery, as many of his Patreon posts moving forward now include a form of “legal notice” that he says prohibits readers from copying or otherwise disclosing the contents of posts, which is his intellectual property.

Ostensibly though, Ross seems to have found the right legal strategy that won’t risk running afoul of individual studios’ terms of service, which typically prohibits putting mods or other forms of user-generated DLC behind paywalls. It seems the “release mostly everything for free and collect donations” is the current move forward.

And after a few sobering weeks, I can imagine this was actually the only strategy left, as 505 Games issued a similar takedown of Ghostrunner shortly after Cyberpunk 2077, which could have led to racking up multiple DMCA strikes on his Patreon page, risking indefinite suspension and a total stop of all incoming funds.

That said, it’s good to see Ross come to a conclusion that benefits (most) everyone. And now that Meta is not longer committed to funding big and expensive VR games, Ross’ role as a modder could be even more important now than ever.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Shazzy

    His mods are pointless as they don't support motion controllers. Moving on.

    • Lee Griffiths

      I don't want motion controls in FF7 or Elden Ring, but I love how they look in VR.

      • VR5

        Yeah. There's absolutely no need for tracked controllers in 3rd person games. And why would I play them on a screen when they're so much better with VR.

      • NL_VR

        No its because they are not VR games but if we have 3rd person games like that in VR i would def prefer motion controllers and the ability to interact somehow as the player.

    • Herbert Werters

      Sorry, but I don't play anything else anymore. I'd rather play awesome games with a gamepad than bad games with motion controllers and unnecessary mechanics that annoy me more than they entertain me.

      • Shazzy

        Playing VR without motion controllers is like being with a really pretty girl who won't kiss you. No thanks.

        • Herbert Werters

          The life of Trump. Ha ha ha. Great comparison.
          No, I don’t need kisses, touching and looking are enough for me.

      • FrankB

        spot on.

    • STL

      Finally, a fellow VR aficionado brave enough to say what many of us are thinking! By the way, the link provided in the article is dead, and the subscription for Luke Ross’s Patreon also appears to be unavailable. However, I did come across a controller implementation from a Chinese software developer on GitHub—but unfortunately, it only introduces even more bugs into the Luke Ross mod.

      • Herbert Werters

        That is precisely the attitude that VR does not need.

        • NL_VR

          Different taste. I completely understand why they think so.
          if we take cyberpunk for example. Its ok with a cobtroller, would be so much better with motion controllers.
          3rd person games I agree i have nonproblem playing with controller.
          but first person, its only ok

          • Shazzy

            ^^ This exactly!

          • Herbert Werters

            Yes, but we don’t even get the “OK” option as VR players from developers and publishers. For me, all of this is preferable to having to play tedious native VR games. For me personally, that’s more than ‘OK’.

          • NL_VR

            Playing VR games with 6dof motion controllers is what "VR" is for me and many others. its good that people who prefer sitting down with gamepad can do that in flatgames modded to VR but its not a route i want VR-games in general shall go. VR for me is like a simulation to "Be in the game" not just to "play a game". i want to aim, doing stuff manually etc not just pushing buttons and watching button command "animate" on the screen.
            Resident evil games are the perfect example imo how flatscreen games should be converted to VR. Its not any special advanced and kinda "gamey" but its not just simple gamepad gameplay either.

          • Herbert Werters

            Yes, I can understand that. At first, I was also very enthusiastic about the physical and immersive game mechanics, but over the last few years, this fun has turned into unnecessary effort for me. I am now back at the point where the graphics, the story and the overall staging are much more important to me than the immersion brought about by movement in space. I can immerse myself better and feel more immersed when I have precise and smooth control over the story or action. Many VR game mechanics annoy me endlessly, for example when a pesky drawer won’t open properly. When door handles have to be touched five times. When weapons have to be loaded awkwardly. When your body is stuck somewhere. When you can’t grab an inventory backpack properly, and so on and so forth. That ruins all the fun of the game for me. I’d rather press a button and the drawer opens and the contents go straight into the inventory. After more than 10 years of VR experience, all I need now are good games with VR view so that I can be in the game.

    • Roberts Gražulis

      I love to play on keyboard and mouse almost all games, its not about controllers and keyboard and mouse ist about how immersive is games i love to play old school or new first person or third person shooters or rpg or any games on keyboard and moyse like tomb rider wich have official vr its great i love it , his mods are the best and Praydogs UEVR i played countless so great games in VR, Black mesa source vr, or oridginal all Half life first and all other parts in VR, Chorus space craft piliting, Remnant 2,Scorn in VR is amazing like you are in Alien Giger franchise universe, racing games like Gravel and Trail out Borderlands 2-3, Euro truck simulator, Returnal wich i like so much and UEVR mods work with VR controls but i dont care if game dont have them i love how beautiful and immersive PCVR games are ,HUGE RESPECT TO LUKE ROSS AND PRAYDOG WITH HIS UEVR AND ALL WHO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE !

    • david vincent

      VR even without motion controls is still better than flatscreen in many case so your take is stupid.

    • FrankB

      People make a bigger fuss over motion controllers than is necessary. often motion controller implementation, even in AAA made for VR games, is quite janky and a hinderance to the flow of playing the game. I wish that the RE games on PSVR2 had a VR visuals with Dualsense controls option.

    • david vincent

      well you're missing one of the best VR experiences out there (Cyberpunk VR), your loss

  • Herbert Werters

    "And now that Meta is not longer committed to funding big and expensive VR games, Ross’ role as a modder could be even more important now than ever."

    Oh yes, for me personally, since the quality of native VR games has been downgraded due to the mobile SoC performance downgrade, it's more important than ever. I would have nothing left to put on a VR headset for. I now exclusively use VR mods.

    • VR5

      The yearly Meta VR blockbusters were still graphical showcases even on Quest hardware. I'm glad for VR mods (UEVR is a blessing), smaller native indies (Space Control and The Boys: Trigger Warning are releasing soon) and AA(A) games (like nDream's Reach).

  • JakeDunnegan

    Damn. Wish I'd gotten that mod while it was still available.

    On the whole, I tend to donate to mod makers who I end up using a number of their mods (usually on Nexus as opposed to Patreon).

    • Herbert Werters

      I was able to download it and got the right version from GoG.

    • Peter vasseur

      That where I pay for the mods, or donate because I want to give a lil something for all the work.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    This is also how TeamBeef works, while developing the alpha and beta, behind patreon sub, but then release it for free to the rest.

    • Oxi

      That raises the question of if something never leaves beta, would companies be able to take them down?

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Yes, they would if they see they raise a shitload of money and of course what their policy is on paid mods. But Teambeef doesn't actually write mods, the use an opensource engine and alter it to support VR, you still need to provide the gamedata yourself.

  • Octogod

    The reasoning behind Ross’ change of heart is still a mystery, as many of his Patreon posts moving forward now include a form of “legal notice” that he says prohibits readers from copying or otherwise disclosing the contents of posts, which is his intellectual property.

    Money. It's money.

    Ross had an easy, clear, and often used path to releasing these mods, but wanted more money by keeping them private, so he took them down in a huff.

    Then after his tantrum, he realized "I need money", and re-released his tools, with new updates behind the gate.

    And the idea that his post content is intellectual property can't be disclosed is cartoon level logic from someone who just excitedly violated several other brands intellectual property. Ignoring that this isn't true, it shows what a hypocrite this guy is.

    • Jonathan Winters III

      Do you like working for free? Ross doesn't. That's perfectly reasonable.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Do you get paid for doing your hobby? So many mods are free.

        • JanO

          It's called "freedom of choice", Google it!

        • Herbert Werters

          There are many who have turned their hobby into a profession. For example, I am a CGI artist and get paid for my work. Previously, it was my hobby. Luke Ross works full-time on his framework.

          Have you ever thought about the fact that the time we sacrifice is converted into a universal currency with which we store our converted time? Why is he not allowed to convert the time he invests into money? Explain that to me.

          • ichigo

            A little more nuanced then that but you're not incorrect. While it's a hobby you do not get paid and while you're using others IP you don't get to piggy back off it with a pay wall. That risks the whole community getting new legal cases used against them (Legal precedent). While the clear standard for YEARS has been to ask for optional tips (to get money for your little mod).

            But once you go professional you make your own IP that does not use others IP and get paid for it IF it's good enough to stand on it's own.

            I have been getting AI to make CGI art thinking i might go professional with it.

          • Herbert Werters

            Well, Luke Ross basically developed a driver so that you can use monitor games on a dual-eye monitor for your face. He didn't change anything in the code or use any third-party material in his driver. He just describes which games are supported by his driver. Asus and Acer do the same thing with their 3D monitors, for example, and you have to buy a 3D monitor. How many people do you think buy these expensive monitors specifically because of the various games that are supported and mentioned? Acer and Asus also advertise with various games that are supported. In my opinion, it's exactly the same thing. How else would it work if you weren't allowed to mention which games are supported? Should the hardware and software manufacturer write that you should just try your luck and see if the games are supported? Very strange.

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            He changed the function of a software that came with a license that prohibits any commercial use or services based on the game. The DCMA doesn't require the use of original code to apply, it is concerned with altering functions in a way not covered by the license, with the original idea to stop tools for cheating, software piracy etc., but formulated so fuzzy that it also covers a lot of legitimate uses. So a tool that allows altering the software in an unlicensed way can already be illegal,

            In theory a company could prohibit any mods to be released in the US thanks to the DCMA. Nintendo killed a lot of emulators that way. A company could also prohibit any 3rd party drivers, they just don't, because these usually add value to their product. And CDPR itself doesn't prohibit mods, not even making money from them, just commercial services/paywalling them. But there is no fundamental right that would allow Asus or Acer to release software for their 3D monitors that "alters" other people's software, and someone could force them to no longer connect their drivers to a specific game or app.

            Again in the US, the rest of the world has so far stayed away from this level of consumer hostile overreaching legislation. The European DSA is more concerned with liability, and doesn't include takedown notices like used against Patreon/Ross here, but still enforces software license use. Since Patreon hosting Ross' mods is a US company, they have to comply though. If Ross was from Poland like CDPR, and used a European payment service, this would probably never happened, even though he would still be in breach of CDPR's EULA. Or at least have involved lawyers and courts checking the validity of the claims. A lot of open source projects like VLC are officially hosted in Europe due to more sane handling of software patents etc.

            But CDPR could still have revoked his license to use his copy of Cyberpunk 2077 due to his license breach. And if he released another update for his mod afterwards, it would be clear that he was still using the game to test the mod, meaning he would be using "stolen" software, which would be covered by other laws.

          • Herbert Werters

            Good advice for people who want to do something in this area. ;) Come to Europe!

            Yes, well, he wouldn't be able to do any more updates, but he could still make the old versions available. He doesn't need to care what people do with them. On Steam, you can downgrade games very far back in time. That would at least be an option for interested players.

            The example with Asus and Acer stands for size, money, and power. They will certainly deal with problems internally if they arise. With Ross, there was simply no negotiation. It was tough. He tried, and no one responded. That's what he wrote.

          • NicoleJsd [She/Her]

            Okay but not everyone wants to pay for a game modification.

            At least do not put drm in your mods for Christ sake and become all rabid when people crack it.

            That’s just nuts. What’s next? Denuvo?

        • david vincent

          It's not a hobby anymore when you're working full-time on it

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            There is no formal definition what a hobby or a job is. You can spend all your time doing something just for fun, or spend 1h a week on your job/source of income. You can lose money while working full-time, not only if you are self-employed, but also if for example your pay is commission based. Or you could make heaps of money from something that you would also do just for fun even if you had to pay for that instead of getting paid.

            This lack of formal definition has always been a problem with for example the Creative Commons license, where the CC-NC prohibits commercial use, but never defines what that means. Is hosting ads to pay for server rent, or a link to your professional offers already commercial? Several attempts to clarify that failed because people have very different ideas of what is acceptable or not, as also visible in this thread.

            It is more a moral than a legal question, and courts usually say there has to be an "intent to make money" for it to be considered commercial. Whether you make any, or how much time you spend on it isn't that relevant, but someone like Ross that paywalls all his mods, worked full time on them and allegedly made around USD 25K from that each months would find it hard to convince a court that he was not providing a commercial service, something CPDR's EULA prohibits.

      • Octogod

        Ross could have released it for free and kept the patreon as is. Then, supporters would have funded him for added enhancements.

        Can you please let me know where you work though? I'll swing by, steal your work, resell it, and then get angry online when I'm told not to. And the best part? People will defend me!

        • JanO

          All I see is an app that allows one to play his rightfully owned copy of CP77 on a "different screen". It might actually create more sales! Nothing was stolen, but for users' freedoms.

          • Octogod

            CD Project Red would agree that it would create more sales, which is why they allowed him to keep it up. The lawyers just said he couldn't sell it.

            So, he took his ball home.

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            Enter the DCMA, that prohibits altering software against the allowed uses the maker of said software described in the license. It's not about sales, or stealing, it is about who has the right to determine what the software does. I personally think that the DCMA is a horrible law that invites a ton of abuse and is mostly used for the wrong reasons, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a law that Patreon/Ross have to comply with.

            And in this special case I don't even see abuse, as CDPR's license absolutely allows mods and even making money from them, just not forcing users to pay/commercial services based on CDPR's products without first getting permission from CDPR, which Ross apparently didn't ask for.

          • JanO

            Agreed. What actually gets to me is how spineless most people have come to be. Our collective voice is the only power we have in such circomstances where the law can be unfairly abused by those with money; and it can sometimes help keep corporations in line.

            I guess Ross could try and package his product as a VR converter that covers many/all apps as was the case with things like Nvidia's 3D vision, but it wouldn't change the licence thing…

            DMCA law, CDPR's licence and especially the fact that they feel they can coerse any and all to bend to their will is the real issue.

            Have you asked the manufacturer for permission before you made love to your girlfriend on the backseat of your car? Certainly not the intended one, but a very popular use case none the less!

  • Roberts Gražulis

    I love to play on keyboard and mouse almost all games, its not about controllers and keyboard and mouse ist about how immersive is games i love to play old school or new first person or third person shooters or rpg or any games on keyboard and moyse like tomb rider wich have official vr its great i love it , his mods are the best and Praydogs UEVR i played countless so great games in VR, Black mesa source vr, or oridginal all Half life first and all other parts in VR, Chorus space craft piliting, Remnant 2,Scorn in VR is amazing like you are in Alien Giger franchise universe, racing games like Gravel and Trail out Borderlands 2-3, Euro truck simulator, Returnal wich i like so much and UEVR mods work with VR controls but i dont care if game dont have them i love how beautiful and immersive PCVR games are

  • Jonathan Winters III

    This also means he might considerably pull back on new releases as it was a side hustle, which now means working for free, something most sane people would avoid doing.

    • Marulu

      Are you calling me and most other devs on flat2vr insane?
      If you do something that is a legal grey area you do it for free, which is common sense, for context I am the creator of World of Warcraft VR, Final Fantasy 14 VR and other mods.

      • JanO

        Thank you for doing the mods. That being said, it's sad to see you agree to this obvious corporate overreach. This is clearly big Goliath stepping all over little David because he can. Ross uses NO code from CDPR.

        With that kind of attitude, you set the stage for even more corporate overreach. Grow a spine.

        • ichigo

          It's a law that protects everyones work including independents. It's not really isolated to big corpo. yes big corp use it. I think what Luke Ross was doing was borderline and was not standard for mods or mod community. And in fact risked ruining it for everyone. It was he who was overreaching.

          you seem to misunderstand why they went after him as well. It was because he paywalled a mod that uses their IP brand (the game). If he did what all others do and provide it for free with tips/donation optional it would all be fine. So it's his actions that brought legal eyes onto him self.

          TLDR; don't paywall mods! ask for optional tips!

          • JanO

            If this was about applying the law Ross would be just fine. I guess you drank too much of CDPR's cool-aid. It's a matter of intimidating the smaller player to bend to their corporate will. Even with the law on his side (just get informed!), Ross can't afford to go to court. Did he do something that could draw their attention, sure… Is it illegal? Nope. Plenty of apps that "modify" the original content. With your reasonning you wouldn't even have the right to EQ your own music!

            It's actually sad to see the community divided over this. If we all slammed CDPR maybe they would just have hired the guy to make for good PR…

          • Herbert Werters

            I see it similarly. The problem really seems to be that he earns money with it.

          • JanO

            For who is it a problem, really? If there was real money to be made, CDPR would have done it themselves.

            I understand a company wanting to control the public image of its product, but in this case it's obvious no one using it ever believed it was an original CDPR feature. No way this has had any meaningful negative impact on CDPR.

            That is, until THEY chose to bully the guy that gave a few users what they actually wanted. Something that CDPR just did not provide.

            Gamers are the big losers here.

          • Herbert Werters

            In my opinion, that’s exactly what it is. I couldn’t agree more. It’s nothing but harassment. Power plays.

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            It's a very badly written law that was intended to allow people to deal with unauthorized use of their IP/software without having to go to court each time, which would have put an unbearable burden on creators. But it in many ways overshot and instead handed a tool to companies to shut down things they don't like without necessarily having a legitimate reason, which turned into a way to blackmail others into compliance. A big problem is large platforms like YouTube or Patreon that rarely check the validity of a takedown request and instead just tell the user to comply, which they have to if they don't want to lose access to said platform, which often is their main source of income.

            In this special case CDPR actually has a valid claim that probably would have succeeded in court, as their license prohibited certain uses, and the DCMA protects the "function" of software, so altering it can be a license breach. I don't know if CDPR contacted Ross first, or used the DCMA because it was the quickest/cheapest way to deal with the issue. But this "law" goes beyond just protecting creators, and in effect CDPR now blackmailed Ross into compliance by using it.

      • david vincent

        But you're not working full-time on your mods, right?

      • Oxi

        Flat2VR publishes games now, don't they?

      • NicoleJsd [She/Her]

        Don’t worry about him, he is very materialistic.

        Not many people seem to watched original Star Trek nowadays.

        They don’t realize money is pointless beyond basic stuff and everything is about self realization.

        There is this fashion of having to earn money on everything you do and it’s just the worst. People are getting worse and less happy

  • Nothing to see here

    It is a good question why the right to repair laws that include the ability to install third party hardware into your laptop or automobile should not be applied to software products as well? Many of those hardware products, such as SSDs, include processors and software of their own so is it really so different to swap out a Mac's SSD with a larger one from a third party and swapping out the display engine in a game with one from a modder even if it is a paid service?

    • Christian Schildwaechter

      For one adding features isn't repairing. Right to repair laws cover situations where the original function doesn't work anymore, and the original manufacture is either unwilling or unable to provide repair (at a reasonable price). These laws mostly prohibit companies from denying service or guarantees, or locking out 3rd party repairs via firmware, in case someone did the repair themselves. And they only cover physical objects that you actually own, while software is always licensed, with a license agreement attached that you have to follow if you use it.

      And the problem here is exactly the CDPR license you have to agree to for using Cyberpunk 2077, which requires you to follow CPDR Fan Guidelines for things like mods. These guidelines don't allow for commercial use of their games, and demand that you first ask for permission before providing services based on them. A subscription based mod for Cyberpunk 2077 is no doubt a commercial use based on Cyberpunk 2077, as even if it doesn't contain any CPDR code itself, it doesn't work without it. And Ross had to use Cyberpunk 2077 during the development of the mod, so he definitely broke the EULA in several ways.

      And lastly CDPR didn't even sue Ross for license breach, they send an DCMA takedown issue to Patreon hosting Ross, claiming he was in breach of their license. The DCMA was esp. introduced to stop people from tinkering with software, making things like removing copy protection illegal. Patreon and other platforms are rather strict and typically don't have a lawyer check whether this would stand in court. After a few DCMA takedown issues they'd simply boot Ross of Patreon, which would have killed his whole business. So he "voluntarily" removed all his mods to prevent this, and has now rereleased them in a way that is no longer considered commercial/paywalled/an unlicensed service.

      Basically the law never got involved, so even if this was somehow covered by right to repair (which it isn't), the results would probably be the same.

      • Oxi

        which requires you to follow CPDR Fan Guidelines for things like mods

        That's the terms of their mod tools, did he use those?

  • Zenek stachu

    I don't support paid mods, but then again, people have to live, pay taxes, fill up their cars, etc. Besides, it's not always possible for a talented person to make a living from their talent without being employed by a large corporation, so it's a two-sided coin.

  • david vincent

    Well good luck to Luke Ross since donations don't pay (Praydog got peanuts for his amazing UEVR injector). But I guess at this point, he's already pretty rich…

  • Oxi

    Important to note is that none of Ross’ VR mods contain(ed) game files, as they primarily only include custom code for PC games to force stereoscopic 3D, head-tracking, and OpenXR compatibility.

    I still don't quite get why they have a right to take these down.

    • Herbert Werters

      Neither do I, but money is power, and with money you can afford good solicitors who can take care of such matters and turn the situation around in your favour. After all, the law has nothing to do with justice. The good lady with the scales is also blindfolded. ;) Unfortunately, she cannot see who is putting how much on her scales.

  • Peter vasseur

    You can’t disclose the content of his posts? This guy is a complete idiot. Luke Ross can suck on it.

  • Herbert Werters

    So in flat games, you really just press a button. What kind of games do you play? Flappy Bird? Well, then I totally get it. There are hardly any issues with controls in flat games anymore.