ATTENTION DEVS - A MESSAGE FOR YOU

[2ton20one]

First off let me start by saying thank you. Thank you for all the hard work, time and effort that has gone into creating, maintaining and updating Dolphin. Seriously pat yourselves on the back because you deserve it. SERIOUSLY TY!

That being said I have a suggestion/request that I really think should be considered. I apologize for being so forward but I really think this could be awesome and I guarantee I'm not the only one who would love to see this...

Please port Dolphin to the Oculus Quest 2.

Please hear me out. I believe if done right this could be an absolute game changer for Wii emulation and the Dolphin emu. Here are my reason why I think it should be considered

1) The Oculus Quest 2 has superior motion tracking then that off the Wii and if utilized correctly could improve the emulation experiences of a lot of Wii titles. (Also no sensor bar required)
- - The quest literally tracks your hand movements as well as the controllers - see images below
- - The controllers literally show up in the menu and game when using the quest (you can see your "wiimotes") - see images below
2) The Oculus Quest 2 is android based and Dolphin already has a android port
- - Tried to install the app via Sidequest - software that allows you to install homebrew, demos and APK's via desktop computer, now has app that you can install directly to Oculus Quest 2
- - Software loads to the screen that would display the wii/gamecube titles found on the device and shows as if you were standing in front of a large curved TV screen which is adjustable to your liking (4:3, 16:9 ect ect)
- - Unfortunately when trying to click on the plus to add a game the software closes and when launching it again it states its continuing to crash and I am forced to close software
*** *** I did some digging and found a fork of Dolphin 5.0-10413 that works on the quest but doesn't have quest motion control support, must use Bluetooth controller - https://github.com/weihuoya/dolphin/releases *** ***
3) The Oculus Quest 2 hardware is all the same making it easier to optimize
- - The specs on the Oculus Quest 2 wont change
- - One setting for the Oculus Quest 2 versions across the board

You see your hand like this when using VR

You see something like this when playing emus on the Quest such as retro arch and Dolphin - This is how the TV screen is shown in VR


And before someone says there's not enough buttons on the quest controller to match the Wiimote buttons its VR; you can literally put a Wii menu, plus, minus, or whatever menu button right next to the game screen and make it as big or as small as you want and all we'd have to do is move our head, look at it and point and click on it. The menu button could be pinned at the top or bottom and you could pin other buttons such as plus or minus on the left and right side if needed and depending on the game.

Imagine being able to play Wii sport, Punch Out and Metroid Prime Trilogy just to name a few all on the quest with superior motion tracking and without the need to config or messing with controllers/sensor bars as the controls are already mapped...

Again I apologize for being so forward and appreciate anyone who has read this post. I really hope at the very least I peaked your curiosity as to what Dolphin on the Quest 2 could be.

[MayImilae]

The Oculus Quest SDK License has clauses that make it very incompatible with our GPL license. (details) We cannot support Oculus in any fashion, VR or not.

[2ton20one]

The Oculus Quest SDK License has clauses that make it very incompatible with our GPL license. (details) We cannot support Oculus in any fashion, VR or not.

Would this not circumvent this?

https://sidequestvr.com/

Couldn't this just be a hombrew project available on sidequest with no affiliation with Oculus in anyway? 

[JosJuice]

The Oculus Quest SDK License has clauses that make it very incompatible with our GPL license. (details) We cannot support Oculus in any fashion, VR or not.

Isn't the Oculus Quest a case where the system library exception actually applies?

[MayImilae]

Potentially. FSF thinks it does not, and Oculus now has the below in their SDK which limits that exception even further.

https://developer.oculus.com/licenses/oculussdk/

You may not (or allow those acting on your behalf to): ... 1.2.8 use or redistribute the SDK or any portion thereof in any manner that would cause the SDK (or any portion thereof) or Oculus to become subject to the terms of any open source license or other restrictions.

This is definitely the kind of thing where lawyers earn a lot of money sorting it out.

[JosJuice]

Potentially. FSF thinks it does not, and Oculus now has the below in their SDK which limits that exception even further.

Did the FSF think that about the Oculus Quest? All I've seen the FSF write about Oculus was from before the Quest existed.

[MayImilae]

┐(´-｀)┌

When making the Quest, Oculus just reused the same license agreement. That remains the case even now - there is just one SDK and one SDK License agreement, with no distinction between Quest (where it may be considered a system library) and Rift (where it is definitely not a system library). This is a very hard sell for the system library exception.

It's not helped by the fact that the SDK License Agreement is Oculus's -only- agreement. Use of the Software, Hardware, and Store are all bundled together. So you get nasty scenarios where they can revoke a developer's access to the software and hardware of the quest if that application or its users violate Oculus's content guidelines. You can't get any more incompatible with GPL than that. So while FSF has not said anything new on this since 2013ish (that I'm aware of), this license is still just as hostile.

[JosJuice]

The license is admittedly the same, but the mobile SDK and the Windows SDK are separate SDKs.

Anyway, I don't have any definite answer for the legality of this. And either way it doesn't matter unless there actually is a developer who would be interested in working on this.

Regarding the part of the original post about Dolphin crashing when you try to add games: In order to be allowed into the Play Store, we're forced to use an API called the Storage Access Framework, and... The Oculus Quest devices just don't support this API. Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about this other than going back to an older Android API version that would prevent us from shipping Dolphin on the Play Store. The only version why weihuoya's fork works is because it's stuck with our old code from 2019. You would get the same result from using a non-fork version of Dolphin from 2019 (or 2020 for that matter, but not 2021).

[2ton20one]

Thank you all for the responses, seriously appreciate it.

Please forgive my ignorance but wouldn't making Dolphin available via "Side Quest" (https://sidequestvr.com/) not the Oculus store make the license issue a non issue?

Have you guys heard of Side Quest? If so does it require the same license? If so how are similar items available on Side Quest?

For instance here's a "Doom" launcher that allows you to launch "Doom" .IWADs and play them on the quest with full motion VR support. - https://www.questzdoom.com/
Quest Doom is not on the official oculus store. It is only available via Side Quest.
Its essentially a launcher that allows it to launch/load .IWAD files and play them in VR on the quest with motion controls.
Dolphin essentially is a "launcher" that allows it to launch .ISO's
How can Quest Doom function and exist on side quest but Dolphin cant?
They are essentially the same thing. They emulate and play their respective .FILES

Here are two more only available on side quest...
QUAKE 3 port - http://quake3.quakevr.com/
HALF LIFE VR PORT - https://www.lambda1vr.com/

Again forgive my ignorance but I don't understand how one can exist and the other cannot especially if you wouldn't need to distribute it via the official channels.

[2ton20one]

And either way it doesn't matter unless there actually is a developer who would be interested in working on this.

Maybe I'm just feigning ignorance but I would assume someone who programs an emulator would want to attempt to make a port for hardware that would elevate it to new heights. I truly believe that if done right Dolphin for the quest would be hailed as a work of art. You wanna see mouths drop, this would do it lol.