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The Seamless Dream: Killing The VR Loading Screen

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In games, nothing breaks player flow like a loading screen, and in virtual reality this problem is amplified tenfold. ‘Presence’ or ‘immersion’, the magical yet fragile feeling of ‘being there’, is what makes VR so special. When a player is suddenly teleported out of a fantastical world and into a cold, black expanse with a solitary loading bar, the illusion is instantly shattered. Worse yet, unaccounted mini-loads can cause frame rate stutters and subsequent VR sickness. In this Guest Article, VR developer Charlie Cochrane explores a range techniques for designing around immersion-breaking loading screens.

Guest Article by Charlie Cochrane

Charlie Cochrane is a solo VR dev running Crooks Peak studio. With a background in robotics, programming, and a cookie delivery company, he started making hobby VR games in 2016 and went full time in 2021. His sci-fi action horror game ‘By Grit Alone‘ released winter 2024, and the upcoming Victorian zombie train sim ‘Full Steam Undead‘ is due Spring 2026, both available on Meta Quest and Steam.

A loading bar in VR doesn’t just pause the game; it teleports the player to a disorienting black void, completely breaking the sense of ‘presence’.

It’s a problem I took as a core design pillar for my previous game, By Grit Alone, and my upcoming title Full Steam Undead. Both feature a ~4 hour campaign with a hard rule: zero loading screens and no framerate stutters.

In this article, I’ll share some of the high-level techniques, from technical wizardry to deceptive tricks, that developers use to minimize or hide loading entirely. The reader should come away with a new appreciation for these invisible systems and a better understanding of why there are so many elevator scenes in games.

The Background Load (Streaming)

The best loads are the ones players don’t even realise are happening. Enter ‘Asset Streaming’; the goal here is to load the game’s assets (models, textures, sounds) in small chunks in the background before they are needed, rather than all at once in a single, game-halting block.

This can be tricky, as the game needs to predict what needs loading and when, so that it’s ready and preloaded at the moment it’s required. It’s a careful balancing act; if you preload too much then you’ll eat up all the memory, while not enough and you may be caught out needing unloaded assets. This can be extra tricky in VR, where memory and processing power can be tight on standalone systems and even the shortest blocking load can cause a noticeable stutter.

Asset streaming can be as simple as loading an MP3 audio file a few seconds before it needs to play. In By Grit Alone, each time you get an NPC radio message, I play a little radio static buzz at the start of the call. This two second clip frames the call nicely, but also buys me two seconds to load the actual message in the background!

A more complex but common example; chunking up a large open world map and loading/unloading those chunks depending on the player’s location and view direction. Asgard’s Wrath 2 is a lovely example of this; done properly the player is able to ride around the massive map without a loading bar in sight. Done poorly and the player will see parts of the world or enemies teleporting in and out of the game.

The Hidden Load (Deception)

Asset Steaming is great, but even then, sometimes the engine just needs more time or memory. For example: the player is moving from one massive area to another, and the new area is too big to be streamed in ‘invisibly’ without first removing the old.

Enter ‘The Elevator’. The player steps in, presses a button, and is forced to wait as they slowly ascend or descend, perhaps while NPCs chat or some stuffy elevator music plays. That (often unskippable) ride is a loading screen in disguise. By placing the player in a small space, the engine can unload the previous scene, free up the memory and then load in the new scene, while the ride gives the engine time to do this in the background.

That long elevator ride isn’t just for dramatic tension. It’s one of the most common and effective ways to ‘mask’ the loading of an entirely new, complex environment.

Of course the elevator is just one example, but once you know what to look for, you’ll see these hidden loads everywhere:

  • The Tight Squeeze: The player has to shimmy through a narrow rock crevice or between two walls.
  • The Slow-Open Door: A character struggles to pry open a heavy gantry door or waits for a high-tech ‘decontamination’ scan before the door opens.
  • The Crawlspace: Forcing the player into a vent or low tunnel, where movement is slow and the view is restricted.

These aren’t lazy designs, they are non-intrusive solutions to keep player interactivity in the world, while giving the engine the time and resources to perform loading in the background.

The ‘Pause’ as a Load (Diegetic UIs)

Opinion alert: good VR design integrates UI into the world as a core part of maintaining presence. To me, a pause menu that unnecessarily teleports you out of the game is just as bad as another loading screen. Excellent VR examples of putting menu components into the game world include:

In Cosmodread, an updating map of the spooky ship is wrist mounted and always glanceable:

In The Lab, you load a level by pulling an orb onto your head rather than using a menu of listed levels:

In Into The Radius, you manage your inventory by pulling items out of a physical backpack rather than an inventory menu:

All of these avoid the ‘pause’ and keep the player in the world. Even better, in doing these actions without pausing, the player may be looking over their shoulder when doing so, aware that their environment might not care if they are stopping to check their bag or map.

The ‘Failure’ Load (Instant Resets)

It can be very hard to hide failure (sorry mum), but hiding a load on failure? That we can do!

In a challenging, restart-heavy VR game, failure can be part of the learning loop. Think of Beat Saber or Pistol Whip; having to wait 10 seconds for a ‘Reloading Checkpoint’ between every reset would completely kill the flow.

Restarting in Beat Saber is instantaneous, so as not to punish the player

These games use ‘Instant Reset’. The reason they can restart in a fraction of a second is that they never unload the level. Think of it like a stage show: when an actor flubs a line in rehearsal, the crew doesn’t rebuild the entire set. The director yells “From the top!” and the actors simply reset to their starting positions.

The game is doing the same thing. It’s not reloading the level; it’s just hitting a giant ‘rewind’ button. It teleports you back to the start and resets the enemies and objects to their initial state. The level’s assets never leave memory. While more complex than simply reloading the level from scratch, it respects the player’s time and keeps them in the zone, turning frustration into a simple, “Okay, again!”

The ‘First Time’ Load (Shader Compilation)

When I said my games have no loading screens, that was a little lie; as with many games, the very first time a player starts one of my games, I do a ‘first time load.’

The most common reason for this is for ‘Shader Compilation’. A shader is a small program that tells the GPU how to render a surface—this fire, that wet-looking rock, this glass window. The first time the game needs to show you ‘fire’, it may have to compile that shader, causing a noticeable hitch or stutter in the headset, and this can happen when any new type of surface is shown for the first time.

As with many games, By Grit Alone opted for a simple trade-off: make the player wait once.

By Grit Alone first time load helps avoid shader compilation stutters down the line

When you first boot the game, it runs a one-time shader compilation step. In exchange, the player gets to traverse the entire campaign without a single stutter from a shader being compiled on the fly. It’s a classic ‘pay now or pay later’ problem, but for VR, paying for the load later during gameplay can mean a VR sickness inducing frame stutter.

When You Just Can’t Hide It (The “Honest” Load)

Sometimes there’s no way around a loading screen so obviously keep it as speedy as you can.

It is also important to keep the player’s head tracking active during the load (i.e. if they move their head, the loading bar will stay in place in the tracked environment rather than be stuck to the player’s view). Having a loading bar stuck to your view is the worst reminder that you have a headset strapped to your face.

It can also be a great time for a well placed tip; adding a tip about difficulty settings on By Grit Alone’s first time load saved a lot of player frustration.

Even better is an interactive loading screen. Is it possible to actually enjoy a loading screen? Black and White 2‘s interactive loading screen was a little game unto itself:

– – — – –

In the end, all these techniques serve a single purpose: give the player the best experience possible by reducing or removing unpleasant loading screens and unnecessary pauses. By combining smart technical decisions with clever, context-aware design, we can protect the player’s flow state and deliver on the seamless dream of virtual reality. This is paramount in VR especially, where a loading screen can render the player completely blind in a black expanse or cause sickness-inducing frame rate stutters.

As hardware gets faster, these techniques will certainly evolve, but I have a feeling we’ll still be waiting in elevators and crouching through vents in the far future of VR gaming.

The post The Seamless Dream: Killing The VR Loading Screen appeared first on Road to VR.

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow Review – A Brilliantly Fun, Imperfect Heist

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As series go, Thief boasts quite the checkered history. Originally born of Looking Glass Studios, the first two entries are celebrated as helping pioneer the Immersive Sim genre. The latter was also Looking Glass’ swansong. Then the next two entries were the fairly divisive Thief: Deadly Shadows (also Ion Storm’s swansong) and Eidos Montreal’s THIEF (2014), which left things uncertain if we’d ever see a return to Garrett’s gloomy, snarkily charming world of steampunk thievery. Yet here we are with Maze Theory’s Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow.

And incredibly – they pulled it off! Mostly. It wouldn’t be a Thief game without some jank, and we’ll get to that shortly. Regardless, I’m truly astonished at how well Legacy of Shadow weaves the old world with the new. Whether this is your first time with the series or you’ve been following along since the Y2K days, there’s reason to strap your headset on for this one.

The Facts

What is it?: A single-player VR stealth game with puzzle elements
Platforms: Quest, Steam, PS VR2 (reviewed on Quest 3)
Release Date: Out now
Developer: Maze Theory
Publisher: Vertigo Games
Price: $29.99

Now a little additional context is in order. You see, it was always hinted that THIEF (2014) wasn’t actually a hard reboot. There are nods to the world of the first three games as ancient history. If anything, there are some hints to suggest that Garrett’s hometown possibly operates on Legend of Zelda reincarnation rules. And without getting into spoilers… I like the way Maze Theory finally addresses this. Set in the centuries between the third and fourth games, there’s just enough connective tissue to make things work.

The player sneaks up on two guards, reaching for the one's coinpurse on their back.
Easy does it…

I believe Maze Theory knew they were dealing with a fanbase that pays attention to these details. The nods made here aren’t simply for show, but elaborate on the early years of the Northcrest family’s dogmatic, tyrannical reign over The City. In turn, the dialogue between new protagonist Magpie and Garrett (voiced perfectly as always by Stephen Russell from the original trilogy), is sharply written. There’s no profound takeaways here, but what’s delivered is satisfying.

That’s well and good, but all the loving appreciation for a setting wouldn’t be worth a guard’s coin purse if the game played poorly. Fortunately, Legacy of Shadow is superb – when it’s working properly. The goal is simple: grab everything not nailed down worth any coin, accomplish whatever primary objectives are set before you, and maybe tackle a few secondary goals if you’re up for more of a challenge. It feels far more like free-form puzzle solving than an archery game, which is a relief because that’s how Thief should feel.

Seeing as Magpie is still a rather young thief, she stumbles more often and has far fewer resources. She has to skulk around in the shadows carefully. Direct confrontations are best avoided entirely, as even in a best-case scenario, you’ll take more hits than it’s worth. Instead, to ensure they stay hidden, you can whip out a bow with a limited arsenal of arrows, a nightstick for knocking out most (but not all types of) enemies, activate a special vision mode that highlights tactically advantageous things, and surprisingly… you can wield your voice.

The player's right hand reaches out for an overhead pipe in a private chapel dimly lit by moonlight.
This game is going to seriously mess with you if you have a fear of heights.

I was dubious at first of that final option, remembering how ill-fated other attempts in gaming’s past have failed at incorporating voice input. And yet, Legacy of Shadow makes great use of it. You can limit it to just being able to blow, which lets you summon a friendly bird for some extra coin or lure guards, and blow out candles. With the fully immersive setting on, any talking is translated into a noise in-game that can tip enemies off to your presence. Cursing under your breath can actually lead to you jumping when someone suddenly and audibly responds to it – a welcome inclusion. That said, it’s probably best to turn it off if you’ve got family talking in the background.

Comfort

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is certainly one of the more involved VR games on the market. Full body motion is a requirement, including climbing sections that if failed can lead to Magpie’s death. The bow has to be manually strung and aimed with precision, wobbling easily. Almost all abilities require reaching around to your head, shoulders, and waist.

This is not a game for players who want to sit back and relax. While there are accessibility options, including customizable snap turning, they only ease things to a certain extent. Expect a lot of stretching, reaching, and waving around. Don’t have anything fragile nearby. There is a limited automatic ducking function and a crouch button, but further crouching in real life is advisable to avoid detection. This is not for those with weak stomachs or easily strained joints.

There is, at least currently, one small exploit though, if nothing else. If you crouch in real life, go into settings, and reset your height calibration, it can make you taller. This makes you more easily spotted, but those struggling to reach certain handholds or items may find this useful. This is still present after patches as of this writing.

The special vision mode is a returning feature from THIEF (2014), though in a very different form. In the prior game, it’s essentially a super-thief mode moderated by a limited use meter that has to be refilled manually. It could also be upgraded. That’s not how it works in Legacy of Shadow. Here it’s infinitely usable, but overheats if used for too long, and is demonstrably less powerful. It’s most effective at identifying lootable items you may have missed and tracing electrical circuits to disable some security tech. No super speed pick-pocketing. Sometimes it can reveal hints left by a mysterious new organization reminiscent of the Keepers of the original Thief trilogy.

Magpie’s bow is a bit more of a mixed bag. The biggest issue is it starts off so limited that you’ll barely use it. Unlike in most Thief games, you can’t use your coin from prior missions to buy what you need – instead, you have to complete Reward Objectives, which grant you a choice of one of three perks. Some of these perks are absolutely useless, like having slightly more health in a game where combat is the last thing you should engage in. Others are darn near necessities, like starting every mission with three rope arrows in your quiver, minimized fall damage, and moving unconscious bodies faster. As such, the bow is something you’re likely to only use for key objectives and replaying missions.

An overhead view of a City Watch occupied tavern, with barricades and watchlights, in the dead of night.
Despite the cramped space afforded to most areas, the visuals still capture a gorgeous, towering city landscape.

What doesn’t help matters while playing is how the two perks relating to health would always appear first. It’s like they were impatiently waiting for me to pick them, so I’m being drip-fed one worthwhile upgrade each time I earn a reward. It’d be better if the perks offered each time were randomized. At least it gives you something to work for when replaying missions, since you can vary your approach with every perk. Still, for most players, the nightstick and ghosting about should be their go-to. Swipe a guard’s legs, then conk them on the head to be dragged off out of sight. Easy, relatively reliable, and it guarantees you’ll get the pacifist stat every single mission.

The real highlights are the thrill of grabbing everything in sight without getting caught. At one point, I’m weaving between writing desks, plucking items from out of view while a guard was looming overhead. It’s not even a setpiece, and completely optional, but it has me engaged like it’s some key moment in a heist movie. A little white dot appears when there’s loot to grab, an effective stand-in for a sense of touch, though there’s also some nice kinetic feedback from your controllers. Even patting your other palm with your nightstick elicits a slight sensation. Thief VR’s attention to detail is quite welcome.

That same tactile approach is taken when keying hidden compartments behind bookshelves and paintings, as well as rotating your controllers to pick locks. It’s all well integrated and flows smoothly. There’s a few key moments that require environmental observation as well, with the potential to either alarm guards or feel like the smartest person in the world if you pull off a heist properly.

On a personal note, I love how versatile guards’ helmets are. You can find them strewn about levels, and they’re actually quite useful. You can wear them, toss them as a distraction, or even knock some guards out with them! Is the game at Immersive Sim levels of depth? No, but it is marvelously fun sneaking around, using every tool in your arsenal.

The only aspect that makes things less exciting is how your opponents are not clever. Most guards are easily fooled, and checkpoint resets are generously well placed for when the guards are actually a threat, particularly the nightstick-invulnerable heavy guards. From what I can discern, it’s only possible to eliminate them by going lethal, which costs precious fire arrows.

Hiding under a bar room table, the player takes aim with their bow and a water arrow to extinguish a nearby fireplace to unlock a secret route ahead.
Water arrows are your friends. Guards relighting chimneys beneath you afterwards are not.

Speaking of disappointments, let’s rip off the band-aid: In my time with the game, there have been some peculiar issues. Sometimes objects fail to load in properly, like a treasure chest going transparent whenever I face it from the front – or an entire basement visually deloading momentarily if I walk too close to an adjoining wall. Nothing that breaks gameplay, but obviously has a negative impact on immersion. You can pick the lock of an invisible chest as easily as a visible one, but it’s less than ideal for maintaining atmosphere.

That said, the ragdoll physics for unconscious enemies can be peculiar as well. The most astonishing instance of this was when, while dragging a guard who curled over himself unconscious, his ragdoll somehow sent me up through the floor to the second story of Northcrest Manor. If you’re reading this after a few more patches – we’ve seen two already – you might be getting something a little more stable and immersive.

While I’m also not one to be too flummoxed by graphical limitations, there certainly are clear compromises on Quest 3. It’s nothing horrendous and still looks good, though Thief VR’s resolution and texture quality take an understandable hit on Quest systems. PC VR offers a notable visual upgrade, though I can’t personally speak for how the PlayStation VR2 edition compares.

A crate-filled courtyard is cast in a red hue night glow, save for a yellow spotlight off to the right, and a lantern on a wall to the left. A guard is at his post in a tower opposite the player's POV.
That’s one of the heavy guards. Don’t get caught by them.

I cleared Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow in roughly five and a half hours and that’s with thorough exploration. A few levels are repeated, though with updated layouts and objectives in each that help them stand out enough to feel distinct. There’s novelty to be found in the remixed locations. Your prior knowledge is an asset, rather than a frustration. I can absolutely see someone blazing through Legacy of Shadow in a weekend. Replaying levels to either ghost or blitz through can be enjoyable, though some additional difficulty modifiers or a challenge mode map like in THIEF (2014) would be welcome.

Thief VR Review – Final Verdict

Crucially, Legacy of Shadow is all about encouraging the player to try for a little bit more. Between secondary objectives, bonus markers like completing a mission without alerts or finding every bit of gold lying around, and reward objectives that grant new perks? There’s some meat on the bone, even if it’s still lean meat. I’ll always take good but short instead of longer but worse. These levels are wonderfully detailed despite their small scope, yet a more exploration-inclined player such as myself is likely to see most of each in their first run.

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow may be a bit modest and rough around the edges, but it’s also impressive in the right ways. It melds modern sensibilities with a retro mindset, welcoming new players to the series. Magpie is a charmingly impish lead aided greatly by Garrett’s ghostly reprisal. The foundations set here can deliver a proper fresh start for this classic series. I can see Magpie’s story continuing, though time will tell if that’s the case. Either way, Maze Theory pleasantly surprises with the next generation of Thief.

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