During the beginning years of the VR movement, rollercoaster tasters were typically used to demo most of the competing virtual reality headsets due to the genre’s erratic movements and varied feelings of depth and height. So now that we have both Planet Coaster and RollerCoaster Tycoon World out in the open, why aren’t they VR enabled? Well, with a mobile phone, we can do that ourselves.
If you happen to be one of the millions of people already in possession of a Samsung Galaxy 6 or above handset and the clunky, but very impressive, GearVR headset, you’re already pretty close to living the Rollercoaster dream. The only other thing you need is a Nvidia GPU in your machine of choice and you’re all set.
To pull off playing Planet Coaster, Rollercoaster Tycoon or just about any game within your Samsung GearVR headset, you're going to have to dabble in a little bit of technical wizardry. Nothing too difficult, but a little fiddly nontheless.
First of all, you're going to want to download SideloadVR through the GooglePlay Store. Make sure you've already set-up an Oculus account, too. Open SideloadVR and tap 'Signiture Setup'. Follow the intructions on screen by making note of your device ID and tap the link shown during 'Step 2'. Log into your Oculus account, enter the ID from earlier and download the resulting fule. Upload this in the Step 2 screen and poke 'Verify Signiture.
Now you should be able to browze the SideloadVR marketplace. Scroll down until you come across 'Steam Theatre' and click through the notices until it's downloaded and installed to your device. If Google is being particularly anxious about the file, hop into your security settings and disable the lockdown placed on 'Unknown Sources' - of course, if you're feeling anxious too, just wait for the potential official VR support.
Load up Gefore Experience on your PC or laptop and ensure 'Gamestream' is enabled within the settings. Head into Stream Theatre on your phone and slot the device into your GearVR. If your PC doesn't already show up in the device selection menu, click "Add PC Manually" and enter your machine's IP Address - you can find that by searching for 'CMD' in Windows' search bar and typing 'ipconfig' in the console window.
Now, assuming that's all gone according to plan, you'll be able to tap into your PC from within Stream Theatre and trick your PC into thinking your phone is a Nvidia Shield streaming device - when it isn't! From here, you'll be able to fire up any compatible game and play it from within your GearVR. If your favorite title isn't properly supported (like Planet Coaster), you can add its launch file through the 'Games' tab within your GeForce Experience settings.
And there you go! Now, assuming you don't stray too far from a control method, you can play all your favorite games with a phone strapped to your face. It may not have the same effect as dedicated VR support, but it's still an interesting way to ride your custom coasters or pretend you have a bigger TV than you can afford.
Don't forget to check out our tips page, too. Or keep up to date with the latest patches and mods.
