Exposure in play mode is wrong in HMD only

Unity Engine
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1

I just changed version from 2020.3 to 2021.2 and wanted to check out the updated HDRP Sample Scene in VR.

It looks great in the build, but I noticed that everything is way too dark in play mode, as if the exposure on the camera was way off. But it only looks this way in the HMD, not in the game camera in the Editor.

Any ideas what could be causing this? The exposure is set correctly, otherwise the build and game camera would look wrong too. This only affects play mode, which looked completely fine in 2020.3.

I’m running 2021.2.12f1 and only have the latest HDRP and the SteamVR Plugin installed. The HMD is Valve Index.

2

Not sure it’s the same issue, but I’ve experienced a long running issue in my projects with exposure variances.

Most times in the Quest2 HMD, it looks as expected, the next time I press play, it’s significantly darker. I’ve had it in the HDRP demo scene and my own projects for quite some time.

The only thing I’ve found that magically fixes the issues, is to simply click on the main light source in the inspector, pressing play then suddenly goes back to the correct exposure. I haven’t been able to work out the reason, but I suggest to simply click on a light (usually a directional light/sun) and try again to see if that helps. I often have to do it, every third or fourth time I hit play.

May not be your issue, but thought it was worth mentioning.

2 Likes
3

It was the same issue for me, thanks for the heads up! Very strange bug, probably never would have figured that out by myself.

4

Glad it helped. Yes, it’s hard to know how to report it as a bug, when it’s inconsistent, and only able to be seen in the HMD.

I will try and narrow down the issues and report it as a bug. But nice to know it’s not just me… :slight_smile:

5

Hey, did you ever report it as a bug and got an answer? I have been getting the same issue inconsistently.

6

I did not, but it’s consistently annoying…

I haven’t been able to really discern where the problem actually lies, and thus not sure there is much hope Unity will find nor fix the bug.

Can I ask how are you connected to the Quest2? Are you using Virtual Desktop, AirLink, or Cable?

It’s very annoying however, sometimes I can go days without it occuring, and other times it’s every 2nd time I hit play.

I need to write a script to at least select the light automatically after pressing play.