Social Virtual Reality

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‘Neos VR’ Metaverse Creator Unveils Spiritual Successor ‘Resonite’

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It’s been a bumpy ride for social VR platform Neos VR over the past two years partly due to being removed from Steam for heavily featuring its own cryptocurrency. While Neos VR was eventually reinstated on Steam, original Neos VR developer Tomáš “Frooxius” Mariančík has since departed the project and now announced a spiritual successor called Resonite.

There’s a fair bit of drama surrounding Neos VR, something you can read up on over at Ryan Schulz’s blog, which delves into the cryptocurrency-fueled rift between Mariančík and Karel Hulec, CEO of the app’s publisher Sorilax. The two have completely parted ways, with Hulec still managing Neos while Mariančík has headed a new team developing Resonite.

From what by all accounts was a bitter split, Resonite is emerging from the controversy, bringing with it what Mariančík describes as a “novel digital universe with infinite possibilities.”

“Whether you resonate with people around the world in a casual conversation, playing games and socializing or you riff off each other when creating anything from art to programming complex games, you’ll find your place here,” the app’s Steam description reads.

Like Neos VR, Resonite heavily focuses on in-app content creation, allowing users to create their own interactive avatars, art, gadgets, and “complex interactive worlds and games.”

There’s no release date yet for Resonite, however the app’s Steam page says it’s launching into early access sometime in October. Whatever the case, Resonite doesn’t appear to have ambitions to launch on Quest, PSVR 2, or mobile hardware currently, essentially setting it up to be a PC-exclusive experience likely appealing mostly to enthusiasts.

We’re curious to learn more about Resonite, and what sets it apart from Neos. Whatever the case, there seems to be a fairly substantial expected migration of Neos users to Resonite, as Resonite’s Patreon page already boasts over $14,000 monthly donations.

According to cached pages, support for Neos VR’s Patreon has decreased significantly in the past two years since the project included its own cryptocurrency and friction arose between its creators; near its all-time high of over $18,000 per-month donations, today Neos garners a little under $5,000 per month from backers.

‘Neos VR’ Metaverse Creator Unveils Spiritual Successor ‘Resonite’ Read More »

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This Steam Add-on Aims to Make It Easier to Sleep in VR

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Sleeping in VR is definitely a thing. Just head to any of the so-called ‘sleep worlds’ in VRChat to see avatars snoozing away whilst curled up on a virtual couch. Now a Steam overlay looks to make it easier for the VR sleepers among us to catch their forty winks.

Called OyasumiVR – VR Sleeping Utilities, the software is designed to detect when you’re asleep and automate various tasks, something its creator ‘Raphii’ says can help make VR sleeping “as comfortable as possible.”

OyasumiVR can is also said to dim headset brightness, trigger avatar animations based on your sleeping pose, automatically handle invite requests so you’re not disturbed, and automate various SteamVR settings.

There’s actually a pretty extensive array of features beyond those mentioned above, including the ability to create shutdown sequences so you can automatically turn off controllers, base stations, quit SteamVR, or even shut down Windows entirely—just what you need if you’re looking to drift off to asleep in VR, but want to wake up in your own bed.

Originally projected to land on Steam on August 25th, OyasumiVR – VR Sleeping Utilities is available for free starting today on Steam. You check out the full list of features on the linked Steam page to see if it’s right for you.

This Steam Add-on Aims to Make It Easier to Sleep in VR Read More »

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Roblox Developer Conference Attendees Receive Free Quest Pros Ahead of Quest 3 Launch

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Roblox has done very well on Quest. When it launched on the standalone VR platform back in July, it managed to break one million downloads in its first five days, essentially making the online game the hottest social VR platform currently available on Quest. Now Roblox has also showered attendees at its annual developer conference this past weekend with free Quest Pros.

Despite being in direct competition with Meta’s Horizon Worlds social VR platform, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood over the explosive growth of Roblox on Quest.

A message was sent to attendees at RDC23 this past weekend, stating that Meta is footing the bill to provide a heap of free Quest Pros, its $1,000 mixed reality standalone.

“The news is out! We want to give a special thanks to our partner meta. They have offered to provide all RDC23 attendees with Meta Quest Pro headsets to help you create the best Roblox experiences for VR,” the message reads.

Developers didn’t have to wait long, as they collected their free Quest Pros on site at RDC23.

During the RDC 2023 keynote, Baszucki also revealed that Roblox now features “over 50,000 experiences that are ready right now on Meta Quest.”

Roblox is currently available on the Quest platform via App Lab, however the company says it’s set for its “full” release on Quest sometime in September. Baszucki didn’t specify when, although it’s a good bet that the popular social platform will be a launch day title on Quest 3, which could come as early as September 27th during Connect, Meta’s annual developer conference.

The company also announced Roblox is headed to PlayStation in October, however it’s not clear if that will include PSVR or PSVR 2 support as well.

Roblox Developer Conference Attendees Receive Free Quest Pros Ahead of Quest 3 Launch Read More »

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Meta Avatars Finally Get Legs on Quest

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Meta released a Quest software update via its public test channel (PTC), which lets users opt-in to try new features before they’re pushed out to everyone. Among the v57 PTC update is a feature that’s been notably missing from Meta avatars: legs.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised at Connect 2022 that its avatars would eventually be getting legs, putting an end to the platform’s characteristic floating torsos at some point in the not-too-distant future. At the time, Zuckerberg showed off his on-stage avatar jumping and kicking, although it was revealed later this was actually created using some fairly common external motion capture tech.

In short, Quest can’t track legs yet, which means the v57 PTC update is packing a pretty standard implementation of inverse kinematics (IK), resulting in the sort of body positioning guesswork you see in apps like VR Chat. Still, nice to see a full body in Quest Home for once, right?

X (formerly Twitter) user Lunayian shows off the new avatar legs after installing the v57 PTC update.

Meta Quest v57 PTC finally adds legs to your Meta avatar 😀 pic.twitter.com/3dzuuppp6e

— Luna (@Lunayian) August 29, 2023

YouTuber and tech analyst Brad Lynch also tried out the new legs, showing off some of the limitations currently. Notably, you won’t see your avatar’s legs when looking down directly at them—they’re only viewable via the mirror, and ostensibly by other users—and the IK system still doesn’t account for crouching.

According to data mined by X user NyaVR, the v57 PTC update also includes the ability to enable and disable the avatar mirror, a new Horizon Worlds Portal in home, an Airplane Mode, and an Extended Battery Mode.

The comes alongside a wider push to attract more users to Horizon Worlds, as Meta recently took its first steps of ending Quest-exclusivity for the social VR app with the launch of a closed beta on Android mobile devices. It’s also set to arrive on standard PC browsers too at some point.

Additionally, Meta seems to also be investing more in first-party content for Horizon Worlds, having released Super Rumble late last month, a hero shooter which feels more in line with the sort of sticky content that ought to attract and bring users back more regularly.

We’re sure to learn more about Quest software features and Horizon Worlds stuff at the company’s annual Connect developer conference, which takes place September 27th.

Meta Avatars Finally Get Legs on Quest Read More »

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Apple Vision Pro to Support One of VR’s Most Prominent Social Apps

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Apple unveiled Vision Pro on Monday, its long-awaited standalone headset capable of both virtual and augmented reality. While the Cupertino tech giant seems to be emphasizing Vision Pro’s AR capabilities thanks to its color passthrough cameras, it’s also going to pack one of VR’s most prominent social apps, Rec Room.

Apple’s launch of Vision Pro is still a good bit away—it’s coming first to the US in early 2024 at the hefty price of $3,500. Still, what apps the Fruit Company will allow on the undoubtedly very curated Vision App Store will be telling.

As first noted by UploadVR, among them will be the hit social VR game Rec Room, which so far shares cross-compatibility with SteamVR, Meta Quest, Meta PC VR, PSVR, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, iOS, Android, and standard monitors via Steam.

Rec Room was the only native VR app shown during the part of the keynote discussing third-part apps, which are coming to the headset via Apple’s integration of the Unity game engine.

Notably, Vision Pro doesn’t offer any sort of motion controller, instead relying on hand and eye-tracking, and voice input. In the past, Rec Room has primarily targeted motion controllers for VR input, however the apps is also set to bring both full-body avatars and new hand models to the platform, which will seemingly do away with the game’s wristless mitten-hands.

Apple Vision Pro to Support One of VR’s Most Prominent Social Apps Read More »

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Social VR Platform ‘VRChat’ to Lose Quest 1 Support Next Month

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As a part of its big send off, Meta has already deprecated first-party social features on the original 2019 Quest, which includes access to Parties and Meta Horizon Home. If you thought you could keep using Quest 1 with other social VR platforms though, your choices are about to get even more limited, as VRChat is soon dropping support too.

The studio announced it was dropping support in a recent developer update, stating that VRChat will no longer provide support for the Meta Quest 1 headset after June 30th, 2023.

“This is primarily due to Meta’s deprecation of the Quest 1 SDK, which will prevent us from keeping VRChat updated properly on the device,” the studio says. “You can continue to use Quest 1 with Quest Link, Virtual Desktop, ALVR, or other tethering methods to connect your Quest 1 to a Windows PC. Please note that those other applications may also be deprecating the Quest 1, so keep an eye on their announcements and news posts.”

VRChat isn’t the only app losing Quest support. One of the first to go, Meta’s BigBox VR already dropped Quest 1 support for its battle royale shooter Population: One late last year. Then followed Rec Room in early January 2023.

Meta’s Downpour Interactive announced in February its mil-sim shooter Onward will be dropping Quest 1 support on July 31st. Other games seeing upcoming support freezes include Myst, Zenith: The Lost City, and Synth Riders. We expect to see many more in the coming months, as the back catalogue of games is slowly phased or completely dropped.

Social VR Platform ‘VRChat’ to Lose Quest 1 Support Next Month Read More »

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High End Camera Maker Takes Its First Step into Consumer VR Software

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First unveiled at CES 2022 early last year, Canon has now taken its first step into consumer VR software with Kokomo, its fledgling social VR platform. Compared to more full-featured collaboration apps, Kokomo isn’t there yet, but it’s a start in a new direction for Canon, which up until now has been mostly focused on XR hardware aimed at enterprise.

The Japanese optics and imaging giant announced that early access to its Kokomo social collaboration software for Quest 2 is now available in beta in the US and Canada.

If you didn’t hear about it at CES 2023 back in January where it had a pretty big outing, here’s how it works: you first use a mobile companion app to scan your face while making several expressions to generate a model of your head. Combined with the camera on your phone, you invite a friend to jump into Kokomo’s social VR environment where your avatar is essentially a mixed reality projection of you, replete with that face scan you did earlier to cover where the Quest 2 would normally obscure your eyes.

Realistically, the app still needs a lot of work. There are only a few virtual environments, which although plush, are simple backgrounds without much utility beyond looking nice. Moreover, the face scanning and projection on the mixed reality avatar feels a little too uncanny to give that face-to-face vibe the Japanese tech giant is going for right now. The fail state of Kokomo’s headset replacement is pretty funny too, as your mug can sometimes end up pasted awkwardly in mid-air.

Kokomo failing to position a face scan correctly | Image courtesy TechCrunch

Granted, it’s still in open beta, so we’re hoping to see some improvements in the near term before considering it over professional collaboration apps like Meta’s Horizon Workrooms, Spatial or Immersed.

And why Canon? The Japan-based company accounts for nearly half of all global camera sales, putting it in a good position to look for ways to integrate its high-quality optics in service of metaverse immersion. For now, it’s far from the most functional social collaboration tool we’ve seen, although the company’s commitment to sidestepping some of the inherent weirdness of avatars today (Zuckerberg has fake legs for you) by using what you already have in your pocket may show some real results with time.

Contrasted with something like Google’s Project Starline, which provides a stereo correct 3D chatting experience thanks to its host of sensors, light-field display, spatial audio, and computer vision—more akin to a telephone booth from the future—Canon’s Kokomo certainly takes accessibility to heart.

On the flipside, Canon has a number of XR devices which are largely focused on the Japanese enterprise market. Its most recent MREAL mixed reality headset is still very expensive—think 10s of thousands of dollars—making Kokomo the first step in an entirely new direction for the company.

We’ll be checking in on Kokomo as it progresses in the coming months. In the meantime, you can try it out for yourself by downloading the free app on Quest’s App Lab, and free companion app for either Android or iOS device.

High End Camera Maker Takes Its First Step into Consumer VR Software Read More »

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Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ Social VR Platform to Kids Ages 13+

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Horizon Worlds, Meta’s social VR platform for Quest, is only open to 18+ users for now, however the company says it’s expanding to include teens aged 13 to 17 in the US and Canada.

Meta says the new policy will go into effect in “the coming weeks,” effectively opening the company’s first-party social platform to its entire user base in those countries; Meta only allows users 13+ to actually use Quest devices.

To prepare for the wave of younger users, the company is also releasing some age-appropriate protections and safety defaults.

Safety features will include the ability for teens to control who they follow and who can follow them back. Profiles are also set to private by default, which obscures active status and location. Worlds and events will have content ratings, so younger teens can’t get in.

A new voice mode feature is also rolling out to everyone, which garbles voices of both unknown people and teen’s voices by default. Raising your hand to your ear temporarily lets you hear other users when voice mode is switched on, Meta says.

“We’re rolling out to teens slowly, so that we can carefully examine usage and are taking a phased approach before expanding more broadly,” the company says in a blogpost. “We can’t wait to see everything these new members of the community bring to Worlds.”

Parents and guardians can use the parental supervision tools to manage their teen’s experience and “support healthy conversations about safety in VR,” Meta says. To learn more, check out the new Family Center.

The company also released a safety tutorial to see the new features in action:

While Meta only just released official word of those changes to Horizon Worlds, the news was actually first reported by The Wall Street Journal in February, which was based on an internal memo that alleged the social VR platform was under performing and needed to increase user retention to keep up with the competition. According to the memo seen by WSJ, Horizon Worlds’ weekly retention rate was 11% in January 2023, which the company aimed to increase to 20%.

A goal outlined in the memo maintained Worlds needed to reach 500,000 monthly active users (MAU) in the first half of 2023, ultimately reaching the one million mark by year’s end. At the time, it was reported the platform was hovering around 200,000 MAUs, or just below the December peak.

There’s no telling when the flatscreen version of Horizon Worlds is due to arrive, however Meta maintained it would be opening the Quest-only social platform to Web and mobile devices “soon.”

Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ Social VR Platform to Kids Ages 13+ Read More »

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‘VRChat’ Now in Development for Android and iOS Devices

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VRChat, the popular social VR platform, announced that flatscreen ports for both Android and iOS are currently in development.

The company says in a developer blog that while there’s still no release date on the books, the Android version has already been used by team members to attend large meetings.

Additionally, the Android version will support any world or avatar that works on Meta Quest, since the standalone also runs Android.

Here’s a quick look at an early build, which the studio stresses isn’t a final version:

VRChat on Android Mobile will only be available to VRChat Plus subscribers, the studio says, offering it as a beta to polish UI and UX before a full public launch. Beta access is expected to arrive to VRChat Plus members in three to four months. The full public launch on Google Play is expected in three to six months after the beta release, the studio says.

VRChat on iOS however is expected later, with more details to follow. The studio says it will be more complex, as content will need to be rebuilt for the iOS platform since it uses a different graphics framework.

The addition of iOS support is also slated to fracture VRChat worlds into three distinct supported platforms instead of the previous two, which for now includes PC and Quest. The studio maintains the situation is “[n]ot ideal”.

VRChat isn’t the first social VR app to offer flatscreen versions on mobile. Competitor Rec Room offers the widest network of supported devices, which in addition to VR support on Quest, PSVR and SteamVR headsets also includes flatscreen support for iOS, Android, Xbox, and PS4/PS5.

Meta’s own Horizon Worlds platform is also set to launch on non-Quest devices sometime soon, which will include both the Web and mobile versions.

‘VRChat’ Now in Development for Android and iOS Devices Read More »

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‘Flipside Studio’ Brings Full-featured Virtual Production Studio to Quest 2 & Rift

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Virtual production suite Flipside Studio is now available on Quest 2 and Meta PC, targeting podcasters, vloggers, and anyone looking for a VR studio to produce their own video content.

Created by Winnipeg, Canada-based Flipside XR, the Flipside Studio app is packed with production tools and assets that let you to create your own virtual content, which can be livestreamed or recorded, edited and shared anywhere you might standard video, such as YouTube, TikTok, or Facebook.

Now available for free on Quest 2 and Meta PC platform, Flipside Studio lets you create solo projects or team-based content, which includes virtual sets, avatars, configurable environments, props, lighting, and a host of controllable cameras to capture the show.

Image courtesy Flipside XR

Image courtesy Flipside XR

Image courtesy Flipside XR

Image courtesy Flipside XR

Image courtesy Flipside XR

Here’s a list of features, courtesy Flipside XR:

  • Custom Characters – Users can choose from multiple in-app pre-loaded characters or customize their own avatars through the Ready Player Me integration.
  • Sets and props – Creators can choose from a variety of sets and hundreds of props available in-app.
  • Multiple Cameras and Angles – Multiple virtual cameras can be positioned, placed and moved as users like, allowing for dynamic camera angles and even camera movement speeds.
  • Professional Production Tools – Virtual cameras, teleprompters, lights, and 1080p output with casting to the Flipside Broadcaster app are just a few of the tools available to creators.
  • Single or Multi-User Productions – Creators can collaborate in the same sets simultaneously from one or multiple locations – or even create a solo production with multiple characters by layering motion recordings together in-app.
  • Flipside Creator Tools – More advanced features can be found through the app’s free Unity plug-in that gives experienced creative teams the ability to upload fully customized environments, characters and props.

Flipside Studio was initially released in alpha on PC VR headsets in 2018 and then returned to closed testing after some time on Steam. If you played during that time, you’ll see some notable differences, as the studio says it’s undergone extensive testing and feedback from thousands of content creators and technologists who have been using a free early access version since 2020.

The studio says it’s working on a Steam version of the app, however there’s no information on when to expect its launch. In the meantime, users on Quest 2 and Meta PC can download and use Flipside Studio for free.

‘Flipside Studio’ Brings Full-featured Virtual Production Studio to Quest 2 & Rift Read More »

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‘Rec Room’ is Putting on Its First-ever ‘Rec Rocks’ Music Festival This Weekend

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Tokyo Machine & Ethan Bortnick to headline

Rec Room, the popular social VR platform, is putting on its first in-game music festival this weekend, suitably dubbed ‘Rec Rocks’.

The immersive concert experience is set to take place this weekend, March 11th & 12th, and feature headliners Tokyo Machine (EDM) and pianist/singer/songwriter Ethan Bortnick.

Check out the full list of artists below:

  • Tokyo Machine – EDM
  • Ethan Bortnick – Alt-Pop
  • Haven – Pop
  • Charlie Curtis Beard -Rap
  • Suzy Shinn – Rock
  • The Royal Foundry – Alt
  • Akintoye – Rap
  • Clinton Kane – Pop

Rec Room says its free two-day music festival will let you explore virtual stages set in the environment of an open canyon, with Tokyo Machine kicking things off on the mainstage on March 11th with his electrifying beat, which will also include some new tracks too.

Image courtesy Rec Room

“The first time I played Rec Room 6 years ago I was blown away by how immersive the games like laser tag and ping-pong could be”, said Tokyo Machine. “I’m super pumped to be a part of Rec Rocks and will be premiering a whole set of unreleased songs with a performance that will be unlike what my fans have seen before!”

Ethan Bortnick will take the main stage on March 12th where he will perform fan-favorite tracks. Bortnick previously hosted an in-game prom for the Rec Room community last spring after he missed out on his in-real-life prom due to COVID-19.

“Rec Room will be the first stop on my 2023 tour,” said Bortnick. “As the technology in Rec Room continues to advance, that allows for even more elaborate lighting, staging and the entire set is crazier and showcases everything I can’t do in a real live setting”, Bortnick said.

The Royal Foundry | Image courtesy Rec Room

The free music festival is set to include exclusive artist merch, and Community Creator Booths where festival-goers can buy in-game inventions and merch from the creator community.

Check out the full schedule of the music festival here to see when performances are set to kick off. To attend Rec Rocks, make sure to download and setup your Rec Room account across your chosen device, which includes iOS, Android, Steam (flstacreen), SteamVR headsets, Meta Quest, Meta PC VR, PlayStation 4/5, PSVR, and Xbox.

‘Rec Room’ is Putting on Its First-ever ‘Rec Rocks’ Music Festival This Weekend Read More »

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Report: Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ to Younger Teens Amid Renewed Retention Push

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Meta’s social VR app for Quest, Horizon Worlds, is lagging behind the competition when it comes to attracting and retaining VR users. According to a leaked memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the company is now ostensibly looking to boost numbers by more transparently appealing to younger teens in addition to funding a slew of new second-party content.

WSJ only posted snippets of the memo, entitled ‘Horizon 2023 Goals and Strategy’, which was allegedly written by Meta Vice President of Horizon Gabriel Aul. The memo is said to outline the team’s objectives for the first half of 2023.

Here’s some highlights we formatted into a bulleted list, which also includes additional info supplied by a source cited by WSJ:

  • Competitors are outperforming HW. Improving user retention is most important, especially among teens and young adults
  • HW to open to teens aged 13 to 17, which could come as early as March
  • Meta is working with outside studios to build new worlds and experiences for HW
  • The team is aiming to launch at least 20 new Horizon-hosted experiences built by second-party studios. Of the 20, it’s hoping for five medium hits and at least one a major hit
  • The flatscreen version of Horizon for mobile and desktops is set to come sometime in H1 2023

Additionally, WSJ reports the memo outlined some key performance metrics, claiming Horizon Worlds’ weekly retention rate was 11% in January, which the company aims to increase to 20%. The goal for monthly active users for the first half of 2023 is said to be 500,000, with hopes of reaching one million for the full year. Currently the platform is at 200,000, or just below the December peak, the reported memo outlines.

The previously reported flatscreen version, which is said to launch by the end of the first half of 2023, is hoping to achieve 150,000 monthly cross-screen Horizon users.

Meta’s Quest 2 headset is technically only available to users aged 13 and up. Horizon Worlds on the other hand has been limited to users 18+ since it was launched in 2021, and only to those in US, Canada, UK, France, Iceland, Ireland and Spain.

While none of this seems to have hindered children below 13 from playing all the Quest 2 has to offer, Horizon Worlds included. More transparently appealing to young teens though will likely come with a host of safety requirements that the company needs to fulfil for liability reasons.

Meta issued a response to WSJ, supporting in part its move to focus on teens:

“Teens are already spending time in a variety of VR experiences on Quest,” Meta spokesman Joe Osborne told WSJ, “and we want to ensure that we can provide them with a great experience in Horizon Worlds as well, with age-appropriate tools and protections in place.”

This comes hot on the heels of Meta reducing its workforce by 13% late last year, one of the biggest tech layoffs in recent memory, which saw 11,000 jobs cut from payroll.

Meanwhile, the company’s Reality Labs XR division has dramatically increased its operating budget in an ostensible bid to maintain market dominance over similar metaverse pushes from the likes of Apple, Google, etc. At the same time, Meta has slashed some XR projects, including first-party title Echo VR.

Provided the report is true, it appears Meta is making another important step towards competing more directly with cross-platform social gaming titans like Roblox and Rec Room. 

Report: Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ to Younger Teens Amid Renewed Retention Push Read More »