I am unconvinced that the integration of VR support into our project will be a significant portion of the work to be done. Unity has some VR capabilities and plugins that can make the transition from monitor to headset smoother, but the bigger deal will be optimizing movement and interface controls.
For navigating a 3D environment and observing, this feature should be fairly simple to build. There is little difference between outputting video feed to a single monitor vs generating a unique picture perspective for each eye. Many a video game mod developer has been able to create VR mod by simply editing the camera perspective, and I believe that the process will be even easier with engine support.
The more difficult task will be building interfaces and controls for movement or other interactions with the 3D world. A keyboard and mouse provide both a plethora of control inputs and excellent precision. The handheld accessories that come with many VR headset models however have a comparatively limited selection, and can interact with virtual environments in whimsical and weird ways. The larger problem on top of this is that the implementation of a VR interface will likely have direct repercussions to the development of the more intuitive keyboard and mouse systems. I fear that by attempting to integrate VR support, we will make the project much more difficult and require a far greater time investment to provide a working product.
An alternative that to me sounds like a happy medium would be to build a system that relied upon mouse and keyboard control to access the greater majority of customization options, but still allowed a user to wear a headset and observe the environment from the unique VR perspective. Implementing joystick controls would also be fairly easy to do. The end product would grant users the full capabilities of a desktop interface, and still allow a user to observe their creation from an first-person perspective.
Fortunately my team is in agreement that the designing of VR integration is a lesser priority than simply constructing a working prototype for desktop systems. I would be more than happy to shift gears to cracking the VR code once we are in a comfortable position with a robust product. I only hope our client will be satisfied with this strategy as well.
