VR Desktop Environment Specifications

VRWM

    The primary component of the VRDE would be a window manager which allows windows to be composited
using Wayland. An important part of any operating system using VRDE would be full wayland support,
especially in games. This will be built on top of Qt, for rapid development and easy maintainance.
    Windows would be composited as floating 2d rectangles, to be positioned by the mouse (represented
by a 3d pointer which is always either at a fixed distance, or on the topmost window) that moves in
3d space. By holding down the window control button (by default the 'Windows' key) and moving the
mouse in the Y direction, one can move a window in the Z direction. Otherwise, standard clicking and
dragging applies.
    Windows could be scaled in size (to have, for example, a large single plane to play games on set
at a medium distance, projector-esque) by grabbing a window with the Windows key and scrolling the
mouse wheel. Due to the 3d nature of each window, this wouldn't result in a quality loss compared to
default, 1:1 scaling of other windows, as they all need to be rendered in a 3d space. Clicking the
mouse wheel while dragging it as such will set it back to 1:1.
    The window manager would assume any games which ask to be run fullscreen to be running their own
virtual reality in-game, and allow them a full, minimal latency composition to the screen itself. The
The Overlay (VR Overlay) would potentially introduce latency, but only to the VR game, and only when
active (so you would not be in the game).

Desktop
    Instead of having a 'wallpaper' like typical environments, to start the VRWM would have a cubemap
set at infinity distance. There will also be a static floor circle, or other platform, so that it
doesn't appear as if the user is floating in free space (can be disabled). The user is free to move
about the environment with bindable arrow keys, but as the original intent is that the user remain
fairly still, for the most part HMD positional tracking will suffice.

Avatar
    The user will be represented, by default, only using components they have matching hardware
interfaces for. For those using some form of 3d input, hands will be available, for those will full
positional tracking, a body, etc. Avatar will be alterable through the theme settings. If position is
not available but a higher setting is selected, avatar will be estimated from what is given.

VR Overlay
    Perhaps the most vital component is the ability to seamlessly access features of the desktop
environment from within a fullscreen game itself, or simply access panels without having to reach out
and grab something offhand just to select a new window. Because Wayland can allow something like an
overlay without needing to preload anything into the program itself, we could have the ability to
pull up a menu (perhaps like Wormslayer's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs9kocefwaA) to access key
features of the DE. By pressing Windows+Space, the current VR game will either be frozen in place and
greyed out, or unaffected, and the VRWM's avatar's hands will appear at the tracker positions. Any
windows you have placed into the 'Overlay' category, such as chat windows, will appear where you have
positioned them (preferably closeby and small). Whatever menu style is selected, such as WormSlayer's,
will appear when whatever key action you have selected occurs (such as turning your palm to the screen).
    From here you will have a variety of menus to choose from, by touching the chosen menu or by pressing
the back button (near the heel of the hand) to navigate throughout. Directly on the palm will be a status
layout of things one would normally have located on the taskbar.
 - = definate, * = possible
    Items included in the menus will at least include:
        - Applications (launch)
        - Workspaces (allowing drag and drop, including into the Overlay workspace)
        - Settings
        - Logout / Shut Down
        * Window Switcher
        * Task Menu
        * Favorites

    Items included on the palm itself will include:
        - Current time
        - Tray icons
        - Notifications (using libnotify), with sound
        * Window Switcher
        * System load, FPS, etc

    This menu will be available in-game by using the selected shortcut key, or on the standard desktop
using the key action.
    Potentially, notifications from LibNotify could be placed in a low area of the field of vision with
partial transparency, to allow you to see chat messages from friends (or anything else really) while still
in-game.


Configuration
    User configuration will be completed using the Oculus Rift calibration utility, and profiles will
be loaded from that as well (at least while the WM is Oculus-specific). Some hinting may be neccesary
to the individual windows to ensure that the user can see the configuration utility, and the
calibration window, as intended.
    A menu with the standard configuration of most DEs will be available as well, including at least:

    - Theme / Wallpaper
    - Avatar customization
    - Window manager settings
    - Keyboard / Mouse / Gamepad settings
    - Removable devices
    - Perferred Apps
    - Startup Applications
    - Display Settings

    For theme, selectable themes will allow the user to use any wallpaper or window theme they wish. As the
window manager will be built on and using Qt, the windows themselves will be decorated using whatever QT themes
are installed and selected. A secondary menu will be provided to select a (hopefully matching) GTK3 theme, to
have consistant themeing.
    As for the window manager, many different behaviors should be readily available. Though the default would be
as described above, some users could prefer a box layout, a composited textured sphere, or any number of tiling
or arranging window settings. A number of these should be provided if possible, with at least:
    - Free layout
    - Automatic distributing layout (Cylindrical)

Applications
    A minimum suite of applications will be provided, ideally with their own 3d capabilities, to let the user
interact with their system, usually without having to use a terminal directly.
    - Terminal
        A must on any linux system is a reliable terminal emulator. This will be two-dimensional, with tab-switching
        and any of the typical features neccesary.
    - File Manager
        This is one of the applications that really would look better in VR. One possibility would be a flat surface
        with the directory name and fullpath floating above it, with 3d icons representing each file. Files could be
        picked and placed by hand to move them around, or brought into a context menu through other actions.
        A surface oriented at the user with appearance similar to a window, minus the 3d icons, could be used as a
        fallback for users who only have a mouse.
    - About page
    - Configuration Menu (Configuration)
    - Image viewer
    - Object viewer