Hold the gas while a bare hand holds the wheel

- On a Quest 3 the race controls never engaged: grabbing the wheel gave no gas and a right pinch
  stayed A. They waited for the game to switch the remote's pointer off, and MKW keeps it on in a
  race (the log only ever said "the game's pointer is on").
- The race controls now apply while a bare hand holds the wheel: that holds the gas, and a free
  hand's pinch (either hand) uses an item. With no bare hand on the wheel a right pinch stays A,
  which is what the pause menu and the results need. The flick still works in the whole cockpit.
- The game-pointer publication (KPAD hook and bridge) is gone. The "tracked hands" source line is
  logged at most once a second: camera-tracked hands drop in and out of view often.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

OPENXR.md

@@ -277,8 +277,8 @@ own motion detection still reads them, so a sharp enough turn can read as a shak
 
 **Bare hands.** On the Quest, with `hand_tracking` on and the controllers put down, the hands drive
 `khr/simple_controller`: a right pinch is A with the pointer on the hand's aim ray, the left
-palm-up pinch is + (pause), and in a cockpit race a hand on the wheel holds A and a free hand's
-pinch is Z; see "Tracked hands" under [Steering wheel and hand
+palm-up pinch is + (pause), and in the cockpit, while a hand holds the wheel, that hand holds A and
+a free hand's pinch is Z; see "Tracked hands" under [Steering wheel and hand
 steering](#steering-wheel-and-hand-steering). A bare hand feeds no motion; flicking the hands up
 plays one shake instead. With `hand_tracking` off a bare hand presses nothing but +.
 
@@ -542,19 +542,18 @@ stands in for the grip and a grasp for the squeeze: the middle, ring and little
 summed over each finger's three joints, read as 0 below 1.2 radians (a relaxed hand) and 1 from
 3.0 (a hand closed on a rim), so the wheel's own 55 % press and 15 % release apply, and closing a
 hand on the rim takes hold. The grasp never reaches the game's buttons (as a squeeze it would press
-the gamepad's shoulders). In a cockpit race a bare hand holding the wheel holds the gas (A, the
-gamepad's South) until both hands let go, and a pinch from a free bare hand uses an item (Z, the
-gamepad's L) if the hand has been off the wheel for 0.15 s, so opening a hand off the rim does not
-fire one; holding the pinch holds the button. The left palm-up pinch pauses (a pinch made in that
-gesture is not an item: `XR_FB_hand_tracking_aim` reports the system gesture). Outside a race, and
-in a race whenever the game has the remote's pointer on (the pause menu, the results), a right
-pinch is A and the pointer follows the hand's aim ray; a left pinch does nothing, so the headset
-panel cannot be opened with bare hands (an open one takes a right pinch, and the palm-up pinch
-closes it). The game's pointer switch is read where KPAD polls the VR remote, and the log notes
-each change (`OpenXR bare hands: the game's pointer is off (driving)`); with the gamepad
-presentation there is no pointer, so the race controls apply throughout the cockpit. Manual drift
-has no gesture: choose Automatic drift. The headset panel reads out each hand's source, grasp,
-hold and pinch under the checkbox, for tuning.
+the gamepad's shoulders). In the cockpit, while a bare hand holds the wheel it holds the gas (A,
+the gamepad's South) until both hands let go, and a pinch from a free bare hand, either one, uses
+an item (Z, the gamepad's L) if the hand has been off the wheel for 0.15 s, so opening a hand off
+the rim does not fire one; holding the pinch holds the button. The left palm-up pinch pauses (a
+pinch made in that gesture is not an item: `XR_FB_hand_tracking_aim` reports the system gesture).
+With no bare hand on the wheel, in the cockpit or anywhere else, a right pinch is A and the
+pointer follows the hand's aim ray, which is what the pause menu and the results need; in a race
+it also gives gas without steering. A left pinch then does nothing, so the headset panel cannot be
+opened with bare hands (an open one takes a right pinch, and the palm-up pinch closes it). The
+game's own pointer switch cannot tell driving from those menus: MKW keeps it on in a race (checked
+on a Quest 3, 2026-09-25). Manual drift has no gesture: choose Automatic drift. The headset panel
+reads out each hand's source, grasp, hold and pinch under the checkbox, for tuning.
 
 A bare hand feeds no Wii Remote motion: camera-tracked poses are too noisy to differentiate twice,
 and turning the wheel would trick and wheelie. Tricks come from a flick instead. Both hands on

runtime/include/vr/openxr_hand_tracking.h

@@ -256,23 +256,24 @@ inline void ApplyHandDrivenButtons(std::array<wii_remote::HandInputs, 2>& hands,
     }
 }
 
-// In a cockpit race, after the wheel: a bare hand on the wheel holds the gas
-// (A: the right primary button), and an item pinch uses an item (the left
-// trigger: the Wii Remote's Z, the GameCube's L). A hand-driven right hand's
-// pinch stops meaning A there. The grasp itself never becomes a squeeze, which
-// would press the gamepad's shoulders (GameCube R drifts).
-inline void ApplyBareHandRace(std::array<wii_remote::HandInputs, 2>& hands,
-                              const std::array<bool, 2>& hand_driven, const std::array<bool, 2>& bare_held,
+// In the cockpit, after the wheel. While a bare hand holds the wheel it holds
+// the gas (A: the right primary button, whatever a right pinch says), and an
+// item pinch uses an item (the left trigger: the Wii Remote's Z, the
+// GameCube's L). With no bare hand on the wheel nothing changes, so a right
+// pinch stays A for the menus inside a race (the pause menu, the results),
+// which the game's pointer cannot tell from driving: MKW keeps it on in a
+// race. The grasp itself never becomes a squeeze, which would press the
+// gamepad's shoulders (GameCube R drifts). True while a bare hand holds.
+inline bool ApplyBareHandRace(std::array<wii_remote::HandInputs, 2>& hands, const std::array<bool, 2>& bare_held,
                               const std::array<bool, 2>& item_pinch) noexcept {
-    if (hand_driven[1]) {
-        hands[1].primary = false;
-    }
-    if (bare_held[0] || bare_held[1]) {
-        hands[1].primary = true;
+    if (!bare_held[0] && !bare_held[1]) {
+        return false;
     }
+    hands[1].primary = true;
     if (item_pinch[0] || item_pinch[1]) {
         hands[0].trigger = 1.0f;
     }
+    return true;
 }
 
 // One bare hand for the flick detector: its palm's height in the seated frame.

runtime/include/vr/openxr_input.h

@@ -232,16 +232,16 @@ private:
     hand_tracking::HandJointFrame m_joint_frame{};
     std::array<hand_tracking::Source, kHands> m_logged_sources{hand_tracking::Source::None,
                                                                hand_tracking::Source::None};
+    XrTime m_sources_logged_at = 0;
     // Per frame, from the actions: a controller is in the hand (its squeeze is
     // bound), and the hand drives simple_controller (Android only).
     std::array<bool, kHands> m_squeeze_active{};
     std::array<bool, kHands> m_hand_driven{};
     std::array<bool, kHands> m_pinch{};
     // Bare-hand driving: each hand's bare latch (camera joints, last grasp) and
-    // item pinch gate, and the game's pointer switch as last logged.
+    // item pinch gate.
     std::array<hand_tracking::BareLatch, kHands> m_bare_latch{};
     std::array<hand_tracking::PinchGate, kHands> m_pinch_gate{};
-    int m_logged_game_pointer = -2;
     // A flick of the bare hands plays one shake on the remote's accelerometer
     // from this input time (0 when none is playing).
     hand_tracking::FlickDetector m_flick;

runtime/include/vr/openxr_wii_remote.h

@@ -56,18 +56,10 @@ bool OpenXRReadWiiRemote(OpenXRWiiRemoteSample& sample) noexcept;
 // WPADControlMotor for the emulated remote.
 void OpenXRSetWiiRemoteRumble(bool active) noexcept;
 
-// Guest side: whether the game has the remote's pointer switched on, as KPAD
-// reads it each time the game polls the VR remote (Input::WiiController::
-// TogglePointer flips it). Tracked bare hands use it to tell driving from a
-// menu inside a race; OpenXRInput logs every change.
-void OpenXRPublishGamePointer(bool enabled) noexcept;
-
 // XR side.
 void OpenXRPublishWiiRemote(uint32_t sdl_joystick_id, const OpenXRWiiRemoteSample& sample) noexcept;
 void OpenXRWithdrawWiiRemote() noexcept;
 bool OpenXRWiiRemoteRumbleRequested() noexcept;
-// The game's pointer switch: 1 on, 0 off, -1 not known (no remote polled yet).
-int OpenXRGamePointerState() noexcept;
 
 // The geometry and signal conditioning behind a sample, kept free of OpenXR
 // types so it can be checked headlessly (tests/vr_wii_remote_tests.cpp).

runtime/src/hle/input/kpad.cpp

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #include "hle_stubs.h"
 #include "memory.h"
-#include "vr/openxr_wii_remote.h"
 #include "wii_remote_input.h"
 
 #include <algorithm>
@@ -277,11 +276,6 @@ extern "C" int32_t KPAD__Read_HLE(uint32_t chan, uint32_t statusPtr, uint32_t co
     WiiRemoteInput::KpadSample sample;
     const bool have = WiiRemoteInput::ReadKpadSample(chan, sample);
     try {
-        if (have && WiiRemoteInput::IsVrControllerChannel(chan)) {
-            // Tracked bare hands drive with the pointer off and point at menus
-            // with it on (openxr_hand_tracking.h).
-            mkw::vr::OpenXRPublishGamePointer(DpdEnabled(chan));
-        }
         return WriteStatus(chan, statusPtr, have ? &sample : nullptr);
     } catch (const Memory::AccessViolation&) {
         return 0;

runtime/src/vr/openxr_input.cpp

@@ -645,7 +645,12 @@ void OpenXRInput::LocateHands(XrTime time, const driving::SeatFrame& seat) {
         }
         tracked.seated = seat.valid;
     }
-    if (m_tracked_hands[0].source != m_logged_sources[0] || m_tracked_hands[1].source != m_logged_sources[1]) {
+    // Camera-tracked hands drop in and out of view often; a change is logged at
+    // most once a second, so the log still ends on the settled state.
+    constexpr XrTime kSourceLogIntervalNs = 1'000'000'000;
+    if ((m_tracked_hands[0].source != m_logged_sources[0] || m_tracked_hands[1].source != m_logged_sources[1]) &&
+        (m_sources_logged_at == 0 || time - m_sources_logged_at >= kSourceLogIntervalNs)) {
+        m_sources_logged_at = time;
         m_logged_sources = {m_tracked_hands[0].source, m_tracked_hands[1].source};
         std::ostringstream message;
         message << "OpenXR tracked hands: left " << hand_tracking::SourceLabel(m_logged_sources[0]) << ", right "
@@ -744,8 +749,8 @@ void OpenXRInput::Destroy() {
     m_hand_data_source = m_hand_aim = false;
     m_hand_trackers_failed = m_logged_hand_restart = false;
     m_logged_sources = {};
+    m_sources_logged_at = 0;
     m_squeeze_active = m_hand_driven = m_pinch = {};
-    m_logged_game_pointer = -2;
     m_injected_flick_held = false;
     m_profile_serial = 0;
     DestroyPoseSpaces();
@@ -974,38 +979,40 @@ void OpenXRInput::Sync(XrTime predicted_display_time, const OpenXRPointerScreen&
     UpdateDriving(predicted_display_time, seat, hands, panel.withheld);
 
 #if defined(__ANDROID__)
-    // Bare hands in a cockpit race: a hand on the wheel holds the gas and a free
-    // hand's pinch uses an item. Only while the game's pointer is off: the
-    // pause menu and the results keep the cockpit but need A from a pinch.
-    const bool wii_remote = OpenXRGetControllerMode() == OpenXRControllerMode::WiiRemote;
-    const int game_pointer = wii_remote ? OpenXRGamePointerState() : -1;
-    if (hand_tracking_on && game_pointer != m_logged_game_pointer) {
-        m_logged_game_pointer = game_pointer;
-        Log(OpenXRLogLevel::Info, game_pointer > 0    ? "OpenXR bare hands: the game's pointer is on (menu)"
-                                  : game_pointer == 0 ? "OpenXR bare hands: the game's pointer is off (driving)"
-                                                      : "OpenXR bare hands: the game's pointer is unknown");
+    // Bare hands in the cockpit. While one of them holds the wheel it holds the
+    // gas and a free hand's pinch uses an item; with none on the wheel (the
+    // pause menu, the results, coasting) a right pinch stays A. The game's own
+    // pointer cannot tell the two apart: MKW keeps it on while driving.
+    const bool cockpit_hands =
+        hand_tracking_on && m_driving.cockpit_active && m_driving.hand_steering && !panel.withheld;
+    std::array<bool, kHands> bare_held{};
+    for (uint32_t hand = 0; hand < kHands; ++hand) {
+        bare_held[hand] = cockpit_hands && m_bare_latch[hand].Bare() && m_wheel_held[hand];
     }
-    const bool bare_race = hand_tracking_on && m_driving.cockpit_active && m_driving.hand_steering &&
-                           !panel.withheld && game_pointer <= 0;
-    if (bare_race) {
-        std::array<bool, kHands> bare_held{}, item_pinch{};
-        std::array<hand_tracking::FlickHand, kHands> flick{};
+    if (bare_held[0] || bare_held[1]) {
+        std::array<bool, kHands> item_pinch{};
         for (uint32_t hand = 0; hand < kHands; ++hand) {
-            bare_held[hand] = m_bare_latch[hand].Bare() && m_wheel_held[hand];
             item_pinch[hand] = m_hand_driven[hand] && m_pinch_gate[hand].Update(m_pinch[hand], m_wheel_held[hand],
                                                                                  dt_seconds);
-            flick[hand] = {m_bare_latch[hand].Tracked(), m_wheel_held[hand],
-                           m_joint_frame.seat_from_joint[hand][hand_tracking::kPalm][7]};
-        }
-        hand_tracking::ApplyBareHandRace(hands, m_hand_driven, bare_held, item_pinch);
-        // A trick or a wheelie: the remote's shake, which the gamepad cannot give.
-        if (m_flick.Update(flick, dt_seconds) && wii_remote) {
-            m_flick_start = input_time;
         }
+        hand_tracking::ApplyBareHandRace(hands, bare_held, item_pinch);
     } else {
+        // A pinch already held when a hand takes the wheel is not an item.
         for (auto& gate : m_pinch_gate) {
             gate.Reset();
         }
+    }
+    // A trick or a wheelie: the remote's shake, which the gamepad cannot give.
+    if (cockpit_hands) {
+        std::array<hand_tracking::FlickHand, kHands> flick{};
+        for (uint32_t hand = 0; hand < kHands; ++hand) {
+            flick[hand] = {m_bare_latch[hand].Tracked(), m_wheel_held[hand],
+                           m_joint_frame.seat_from_joint[hand][hand_tracking::kPalm][7]};
+        }
+        if (m_flick.Update(flick, dt_seconds) && OpenXRGetControllerMode() == OpenXRControllerMode::WiiRemote) {
+            m_flick_start = input_time;
+        }
+    } else {
         m_flick.Reset();
     }
     // `debug.wiicompiled.inject <n>:flick` plays the same shake, with the

runtime/src/vr/openxr_wii_remote.cpp

@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ std::atomic<OpenXRControllerMode> g_mode{OpenXRControllerMode::WiiRemote};
 // SDL_JoystickID of the virtual gamepad the samples belong to; 0 when none.
 std::atomic<uint32_t> g_joystick_id{0};
 std::atomic<bool> g_rumble{false};
-// -1 until the game polls the VR remote, then its pointer switch.
-std::atomic<int> g_game_pointer{-1};
 
 } // namespace wii_remote_bridge
 
@@ -75,18 +73,9 @@ void OpenXRPublishWiiRemote(uint32_t sdl_joystick_id, const OpenXRWiiRemoteSampl
     wii_remote_bridge::g_joystick_id.store(sdl_joystick_id, std::memory_order_relaxed);
 }
 
-void OpenXRPublishGamePointer(bool enabled) noexcept {
-    wii_remote_bridge::g_game_pointer.store(enabled ? 1 : 0, std::memory_order_relaxed);
-}
-
-int OpenXRGamePointerState() noexcept {
-    return wii_remote_bridge::g_game_pointer.load(std::memory_order_relaxed);
-}
-
 void OpenXRWithdrawWiiRemote() noexcept {
     wii_remote_bridge::g_joystick_id.store(0, std::memory_order_relaxed);
     wii_remote_bridge::g_rumble.store(false, std::memory_order_relaxed);
-    wii_remote_bridge::g_game_pointer.store(-1, std::memory_order_relaxed);
     auto& published = wii_remote_bridge::Published();
     std::lock_guard lock(published.mutex);
     published.available = false;

runtime/tests/vr_hand_tracking_tests.cpp

@@ -173,20 +173,24 @@ void TestHandDrivenButtons() {
 
 void TestBareHandRace() {
     std::array<wii_remote::HandInputs, 2> hands{};
-    hands[1].primary = true; // a right pinch, already A from the menus' mapping
-    ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {true, true}, {false, false}, {false, false});
-    Check(!hands[1].primary, "in a race a bare right pinch is not A");
-    ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {true, true}, {true, false}, {false, false});
-    Check(hands[1].primary, "a bare hand on the wheel holds the gas");
+    hands[1].primary = true; // a right pinch, A from the menus' mapping
+    Check(!ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {false, false}, {false, false}) && hands[1].primary,
+          "with no hand on the wheel a right pinch stays A (the pause menu, the results)");
+    hands = {};
+    Check(ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {true, false}, {false, false}) && hands[1].primary,
+          "a bare hand on the wheel holds the gas");
     Check(hands[0].trigger == 0.0f && hands[0].squeeze == 0.0f && hands[1].squeeze == 0.0f,
           "holding presses no item and no shoulder");
     hands = {};
-    ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {true, true}, {false, true}, {true, false});
+    ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {false, true}, {true, false});
     Check(hands[1].primary && hands[0].trigger == 1.0f, "a free hand's pinch uses an item while the other drives");
+    hands = {};
+    ApplyBareHandRace(hands, {true, false}, {false, true});
+    Check(hands[1].primary && hands[0].trigger == 1.0f, "a free right hand's pinch is an item, not A, while driving");
     std::array<wii_remote::HandInputs, 2> controllers{};
     controllers[1].primary = true;
     controllers[0].trigger = 0.3f;
-    ApplyBareHandRace(controllers, {false, false}, {false, false}, {false, false});
+    ApplyBareHandRace(controllers, {false, false}, {false, false});
     Check(controllers[1].primary && controllers[0].trigger == 0.3f, "controller hands keep their own buttons");
 }