Social VR – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

August 29, 2023August 29, 2023

Meta Avatars Finally Get Legs In Quest v57 PTC Home

Meta Avatars finally have legs in Quest Home with the v57 update on the Public Test Channel.

The company's virtual avatars have faced widespread ridicule on social media and wider tech media for their upper-body-only appearance.

Meta first said it was working on legs in September last year, and in October last year announced the feature as "coming soon".

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Footage from Quest user Luna posted to Threads

Many third-party VR apps & games already give you virtual legs. But no shipping VR system has built-in leg tracking, so virtual legs don’t match the actual movement of your real legs when you look down. Further, there's not really a graceful way to handle the transition between sitting and standing, nor to make the legs look natural when moving around with the thumbstick.

Some people don’t mind these issues with fake virtual legs, but it feels disconcerting to others.

Meta is somewhat sidestepping these issues by only showing legs in third person, not in first person when you look down. Third person technically includes looking in virtual mirrors though, so multiple Quest owners who have the v57 PTC have noticed their legs in the mirror in Horizon Home.

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footage from YouTuber SadlyItsBradley posted to X

The third person view of the avatar doesn't support crouching, so it stays standing up even when you're crouching or sitting down. That could lead to incorrect eye contact in social VR, and it feels particularly disconcerting in virtual mirrors.

Quest's Horizon Home appears to be the only place legs are present in VR so far. Even with v57 the legs don't show up in Horizon Worlds om VR users, despite legs being shown on mobile and web users. The Meta Avatars SDK also hasn't yet been publicly updated, so third party developers using it can't yet add legs yet either.

Meta may be waiting to release the SDK update at its yearly Connect conference though, where it announces and releases many of its Quest VR features. This year it's scheduled for September 27, just under a month from now.

Last year Meta also announced the avatars would be getting a graphics overhaul this year with a more realistic visual style. But there's been no word on that since, and the company said the demo it showed was made with motion capture technology, not VR.

August 29, 2023

Meta Avatars Finally Get Legs on Quest

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 :D 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.

August 28, 2023September 15, 2023

‘Horizon Worlds’ to Launch on iOS in “coming weeks”, Beta Now Available on Web & Android

Meta’s social VR platform took a big step outside of Quest-exclusivity late last month, as the company launched a closed beta for Horizon Worlds on standard web browsers and Android. A version for iOS is now confirmed to arrive in “the coming weeks.”

Update (September 15th, 2023): Meta announced that in addition to rolling out early access version of Horizon Worlds on Android and web browsers, that iOS access is due to arrive in “the coming weeks.” For now, iOS users can play via Safari, however it seems the company is also set to include access directly in-app, as with the Android version. Access is still invite-only, which you can sign up for here.

The same country restrictions apply, only allowing access in the following regions: Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The previous version of the article below incorrectly stated that the browser version wasn’t available yet, however it actually arrived during the launch of Android access late last month. This has been updated in the body.

Original Article (August 28th, 2023): You won’t find Horizon Worlds on Google Play. Users taking part in the closed beta can directly launch the app through the Quest Android app. It’s also available through web browsers on both mobile and desktop. On desktop, Meta recommends Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge, and says Firefox is currently not supported.

X (formerly Twitter) user Lunayian was apparently one of those chosen few, showing off a brief hands-on in the Super Rumble lobby, Meta’s first-party hero shooter revealed late last month.

Meta Horizon Worlds – PC Footage pic.twitter.com/VL0IhbPmKr

— Luna (@Lunayian) August 27, 2023

At the time of this writing, the standard geolocation restrictions are still in effect for Horizon Worlds, with only users in the following countries able to access the platform: Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

When it does roll out to more locations and platforms though, it will be better positioned to actually compete with the most successful metaverse apps, such as Rec Room, Roblox, and VR Chat, all of which have benefited from releasing on essentially every major platform worldwide—VR headsets and traditional platforms included. Undoubtedly, Meta is looking to replicate this success with Horizon Worlds, as it is now offering up better (and decidedly more sticky) first-party content like Super Rumble.

We’re sure to learn more about new Horizon Worlds features at the company’s annual Connect developer conference soon, which takes place September 27th, steaming both online and in-person for a select few at the company’s Menlo Park headquarters.

August 26, 2023

Meta Launches Horizon Worlds For Smartphones Closed Beta As First Footage Emerges

Meta has opened a closed beta of Horizon Worlds on smartphones, and the first footage has emerged.

Horizon Worlds is Meta’s “metaverse” platform. It works similarly to Rec Room, allowing users to create their own social games and experiences inside VR by using controllers to place & manipulate shapes, with a visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality.

In early 2022 Mark Zuckerberg told investors Horizon would launch on smartphones later that year, but that didn't happen. Meta's metaverse VP Vishal Shah told a journalist last month that original version of the mobile app "was a little bit too much of a VR game on mobile as opposed to a mobile-native experience", so the company rebuilt it instead.

Meta now lets you apply to join the waitlist to try Horizon on mobile, and it seems to already be letting some users in. X user Luna posted footage, which they told UploadVR they captured after discovering they had access in the Meta Quest app on their Pixel 6a:

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The registration site FAQ confirms Horizon on Android phones is available through the existing Meta Quest app, not a new app, and states early access of a web-based version is also coming soon (if it hasn't started already).

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth officially referenced a web version of Horizon in mid 2022, and teased a screenshot at Meta Connect in October.

That web based version is, according to the FAQ, the only way for iPhone users to access Horizon. That's potentially due to Apple's rule against apps acting as game platforms, the same rule also prevented Xbox streaming launching as an iPhone app.

For both mobile and web this doesn't appear to be the full Horizon experience of accessing arbitrary user generated worlds. Rather, world creators seem to have to specifically support mobile devices.

Super Rumble, the shooter from Meta's new first party studio Ouro Interactive, is the first world available on mobile and web. It's also currently the only Horizon world to leverage the platform's upcoming next generation creator tools, 3D asset importing and TypeScript.

Interestingly, the Meta Avatars on mobile in Luna's footage show running legs while moving around, while the VR players in the session continue to lack legs, despite Meta announcing legs as coming soon almost a year ago.

A leaked internal Meta memo last year revealed that Meta believed Horizon simply "has not found product market fit". Its competitors Rec Room and VRChat are almost always in the top 5 most popular Quest apps, while Horizon Worlds only makes the top 25.

Meta will be hoping that launching on mobile and web and supporting high quality asset imports will be enough to reverse this trend and bring in a wave of new users. The vastly different input schemes of VR and smartphones mean this will likely be a significant challenge though, and Rec Room and VRChat are already available on smartphones too.

July 31, 2023

Meta Debuts Horizon Asset Importing With 'Super Rumble' FPS From New First Party Studio

Meta started a new first party studio to build Horizon Worlds games with early access to the platform's upcoming creator tools.

At the Connect 2022 conference in October Meta announced that its "metaverse" platform would eventually let creators import textured 3D assets and use TypeScript, a popular language based on JavaScript.

Currently, Horizon creators have to build worlds entirely inside VR, placing and manipulate primitive colored shapes using the tracked controllers and then using a spatial visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality. But this results in a crude simplistic graphics style that has faced widespread ridicule when seen in screenshots outside VR.

The ability to import models & textures built with professional PC software should enable worlds with significantly improved graphics quality.

Meta isn't yet making the new tools available to general creators though. Instead, the company created a new first party studio called Ouro Interactive and gave it early access to the tools to build what Meta hopes will be content compelling enough to draw new users in to Horizon.

Ouro Interactive 's first title is Super Rumble, a free-for-all first person shooter for up to six players out now in Horizon Worlds. Meta actually launched a stealth beta test for Super Rumble back in May, which we noticed, where it was called Titanborne Rumble.

Journalist Janko Roettgers interviewed Meta’s metaverse VP Vishal Shah, who revealed that Super Rumble is just one of many "marquee titles" that will launch on Horizon over the next six months, from both Ouro Interactive and select third party game studios.

“We've really raised the ceiling on what can be built in Horizon in terms of visual complexity, interactivity and fun gameplay.”

“As consumers come to Horizon, we want to make sure there's a bunch of compelling content that they can find on day one.”

- Vishal Shah, Meta’s metaverse VP

A leaked internal Meta memo last year revealed that Shah believed it simply "has not found product market fit". Its competitors Rec Room and VRChat are almost always in the top 5 most popular Quest apps, while Horizon Worlds only makes the top 25.

Meta will be hoping its first and second party content powered by the new creator tools significantly boosts Horizon's popularity in VR. But Meta is also planning to bring Horizon to smartphones, which Rec Room is already on and VRChat is in active development.

The smartphone version of Horizon was originally supposed to launch last year. But Shah told Roettgers Meta ended up not shipping that version because “It was a little bit too much of a VR game on mobile as opposed to a mobile-native experience.” Meta has now rebuilt the mobile app, he said, and Super Rumble will be one of the first titles on mobile and include cross-play with VR.

Shah maintains that the VR version will still be the primary focus though, even as he expects mobile users to outnumber VR. “We're going from a world where we are VR only to a place where we're going to be VR first,” he told Roettgers.

July 31, 2023

Meta’s New First-person Shooter Aims to Highlight Improvements to ‘Horizon Worlds’

Meta introduced a new game called ‘Super Rumble‘ to Horizon Worlds, something the company hopes will showcase a new generation of improved experiences on its own social VR platform.

Released after a successful beta weekend in May, the free-for-all first-person shooter is said to highlight new improvements to Horizon Worlds, such as “better graphics, deeper gameplay, and a variety of quests and rewards.”

Players can choose from six superpowers before each session, allowing them to outmaneuver opponents and develop their playstyles. Here’s how Meta describes each power:

Super Dash gives you super speed
Super Jump lets you launch into the air with explosive force
Super Ammo saves you from having to reload
Super Tough reduces the damage you’ll take from each hit
Super Net lets you immobilize other players
Super Punch lets you attack with a powerful punch

Super Rumble is aiming to offer a fast-paced experience, which serves up to two to six players, with each match lasting five minutes. The game also serves as a launching point for a new integrated system of player levels, quests, rewards, the latter of which includes avatar clothing, emotes, and nameplate titles.

Check out the action below:

We’ve seen a few first-party worlds alongside a number of third-party brand engagement experiences on Horizon Worlds since the platform launched in late 2021, however going the ‘full featured’ minigame route is a fairly recent move that has more potential to attract and keep users. It’s certainly helped Rec Room to become one of the most prolific social VR platforms to thrive on both VR headsets and traditional flatscreen devices.

Interestingly enough, this comes only one day after Meta opened Quest up the online gaming powerhouse Roblox, which is in direct competition with Horizon Worlds. Now, Quest users can choose between Roblox, Rec Room, VRChat, Horizon Worlds, and Gym Class to name a few of the top free social VR platforms.

July 12, 2023July 27, 2023

Roblox Launches On Meta Quest VR Headsets Via App Lab

Roblox is now available on Meta Quest VR headsets via App LAb.

The popular game creation platform - arguably a metaverse - arrived on Quest App Lab, to be followed by a full Quest Store release at a later date. App Lab apps are meant to be shared via URL, and aren't surfaced in the store interface unless you search by exact name.

Roblox has 66 million daily and over 200 million monthly active users - around as much as Minecraft and Fortnite combined. This user base reportedly includes over half of American children under 16.

Around 45% of Roblox users are under 13. The official minimum age to use Meta Quest headsets is 13, but later this year Meta is reducing that age to 10 years old with the introduction of preteen accounts. As any Rec Room or Population One player will tell you though, plenty of preteens already use Quest 2 regardless.

The new VR checkbox in Experience settings.

Roblox lets creators import custom models and run custom Lua scripts, so performance can vary greatly between Experiences (Roblox worlds). Good performance is much more important in VR than non-VR platforms though, as in VR judder and stutter from dropping frames makes many people feel physically sick.

To help with this issue, Roblox is adding a new 'VR' device type checkbox to experience setting. This will be on by default for Experiences that use default player scripts, but off by default for all other Experiences. Roblox hopes the Open Beta will give creators time to ensure their Experiences run well on VR headsets.

Roblox already supports PC-based VR and has done for some time, and this VR checkbox will also apply to PC VR. Last month, Roblox replaced its separate SteamVR and Oculus PC API integration with OpenXR. This includes support for Quest Link, Rift and Rift S, Valve Index, and HTC Vive.

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Roblox in VR on PC

Roblox may be one of the most significant titles to arrive on the Quest platform, and could end up helping Meta sell the upcoming Quest 3 to a wider and younger market than any of its previous VR headsets this holiday season. It could however also divert attention and usage from Meta's own Horizon Worlds user created experiences platform, putting the company's significant investment to the test.

This article was originally published on July 12, 2023 with announcement of Roblox coming to Quest headsets and updated on July 27, 2023 with release on App Lab.

June 8, 2023

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

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.