Rec Room News

We've got an exciting one this week. You're gonna want to make sure you're sitting down for this...

Since the dawn of gizmos (and maybe even before), creators have been making rooms which put you in a vehicle and move you around. The classic trick, used as far back as 2018, was to keep the player in one place, and instead move the entire world around them. Things got a little easier once we added proper support for moving platforms, but it still hasn't quite been possible/easy to just sit the player down and move them around... until now!

[h2]Announcing Seats![/h2]

• There's a new BETA Prop in the Maker Pen Pallette: The Seat. It's a small cushion that Players can interact with to be Seated onto stuff! It includes a CV2 Circuit Board that allows you to put players on or off of the Seat, as well as restrict them from manually getting on or off. Make sure to enable BETA objects in your room if you want to use the Seat prop!
  
• Players can now "sit" on Seats on all platforms! This means:
  
• When you grab a Seat cushion on chairs and couches, you'll be automatically transported to the Seat, at a reasonable height, and facing forward along the Seat's orientation.
  
• While Seated, players' movements are restricted to stay within the Seat.
  
• While Seated, players' bodies are rigidly attached to their Seat. If the Seat moves, rotates, tumbles, or goes upside-down, the seated player will go along for the ride!
  
• All old chair-like Props (Chairs, Couches, Stools, etc.) have been upgraded to use the new Seated behavior. If you don't want that in your room, you can disable it through their Configuration menu with the Maker Pen.
  

[h2]General Improvements and Bug Fixes[/h2]

• We're working on giving creators the ability to create currencies inside their rooms. You may see some new beta chips/props related to currencies, but these are currently in closed beta while we work out the kinks - we're looking forward to making them available for everyone soon!
  
• The following Circuits V2 chips have been moved out of beta:
  • String Contains
    
  • String Get Length
    
  • String Split
    
  • String Split at Index
    
  • String Substring Index
    
  • String To Lower
    
  • String To Upper
    
• The following Circuits V2 chips have been added to beta
  • Angular Velocity Add
    
  • Angular Velocity Set
    
  • Player Left Hand Orientation
    
  • Player Right Hand Orientation
    
  • Quaternion Create Angle Axis
    
  • Quaternion Create Euler Angles
    
  • Quaternion Create From To
    
  • Quaternion Create Look Rotation
    
  • Quaternion Euler Angles
    
  • Quaternion Inverse
    
  • Quaternion Rotate Towards
    
  • Quaternion Rotate Vector
    
  • Quaternion Slerp
    
• Fixed an issue where having too many CV2 wires in a room could cause them all to not render at all.
  
• Club announcements now appear in the messages menu.
  
• Fixed a rare crash with Sticky shapes.
  
• Spatial audio now works correctly in SFX V2.
  
• Fixed a bug where the UI would break in front of sparkle effects.
  
• Fixed a bug on iOS where the number in the notification badge wasn't being reset properly.
  
• Fixed default sorting for Play menu search results.
  
• Fixed scrolling issues on the Play menu.
  
• Fixed a bug where changing the sorting on some UI pages would cause a blank tile to appear.
  

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room!

Please see here for convenient links to controls, tutorials, comfort options, etc.: https://recroom.com/community
We love to hear your feedback, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think...

[h2]Dear Creators, we've given the Streaming Camera some love:[/h2]

• Once you've activated the Streaming Camera, there is a shortcut to the Stream Mixer from the home page of the watch
  
• The Streaming Camera now has a light on it. You can adjust the intensity and range of the light in the Stream Mixer Settings. Note: this light is only for the player using the Streaming camera -- other players won't see it. Think of it as a camera filter!
  
• The Stream Mixer also has a new option called Voice Mixer -- use this to soften voices as you see fit.
  
• Frame Rate, Field of View, and Light Settings are now persisted to your account
  
• And to make your productions even more powerful...
  

[h2]Dear Creators, Introducing... the Streaming Camera Point gadget![/h2]

• Streaming Camera Points can be wired to gizmos -- have fun making an animated camera rig invention!
  
• The Streaming Camera Point can be found in the Palette under the Gadgets > Other Gadgets
  
• Each Streaming Camera Point shows up in the Stream Mixer -- use the arrows to cycle through them!
  
• Each Streaming Camera Point has a configurable Camera Name. Unnamed cameras will just show up as "Custom #" in the Stream Mixer with a number in the order they were spawned.
  
• Each Streaming Camera Point has a configurable Transition Time. By default, the camera smoothly follows the target over a short amount of time, but you can choose the Instant option if you want no smoothing.
  

[h2]Certified Inventions[/h2]

In this update we are introducing Certified Inventions! "Certified" is a seal of quality. Before an invention is granted Certified status, we review it to ensure it works well, is efficient, and follows best practices. Certified Inventions can be identified by the signature blue banner in the Invention Store.
At first this list will be curated by us to emphasize CV2-powered creations, but we plan to open this up more in the future to any invention. For circuits-powered inventions especially, we may request changes to follow best practices and optimize heat usage.
If you have an invention right now you think fits this criteria, check out Certified Inventions!

[h2]General Improvements and Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a hang during ^Orientation for PS4 users with their system language set to Arabic, Thai and potentially others.
  
• We updated the doors in ^RecCenter to use our new room search menu. We also noticed that the community door in ^StuntRunner was getting a little stale, so we updated it to show all rooms with the #StuntRunner tag!
  
• We've found and fixed a bug that we believe was causing some of the invincibility issues players have been seeing in RROs (especially ^Paintball). We'll be keeping an eye on this and related invincibility issues, so if you are still seeing this issue or variations of it, please let us know through our feedback channels!
  
• A confused goblin decided to steal buttons from the Room Settings page instead of the Golden Trophy, we've got them back in their right spots!
  
• Scale and Manipulate were a bit down, so we've comforted them and they should be much better now!
  
• Fixed an issue where deleted events could still be seen in the upcoming events tab.
  
• Fixed a bug where play menu tabs sometimes showed the wrong rooms.
  
• Fixed an issue where the outline effect wouldn't show correctly on Oculus Quest.
  
• Fixed an issue where the palette search would not work.
  
• Fixed an issue where you could no longer Self-Scale properly.
  
• Fixed a Config Menu issue where VR players couldn't type in slider fields.
  
• Fixed CV1 Trigger Zones not registering decoration objects.
  

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room!

Please see here for convenient links to controls, tutorials, comfort options, etc.: https://recroom.com/community
We love to hear your feedback, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think...

[h2]Play Menu Upgrades![/h2]

• The "New" tab is back! This page shows you some rooms that were recently published, so you can be among the first players to check them out.
  
• Quick filter bars have been added to the "Hot" and search pages. This lets you narrow down the type of rooms you want to see with just a few quick button presses.
  
• The Play Menu's top bar now includes a set of tags from the hottest rooms! Use these buttons to create a custom search that brings you to rooms with the latest trends. This is also a great way to find new contest rooms!
  

We're also trying out some new format and layout changes, so please let us know what you think!

[h2]Screen Toss Improvements[/h2]

• We improved dropping/tossing objects for screen players. You can now underhand toss any object you're holding with the drop button, while also being able to drop objects in place like before. (So yes, you can officially juggle with your screen friends now!!)
  
• Press and release the drop button to do an underhand toss, or hold it down for a moment to drop what you're holding in place.
  

[h2]New tubes![/h2]

We finally fixed tubes! Long-time creators know that textures get distorted on the end caps of tubes in weird (and sometimes useful) ways. As some of those creators know, this was never actually intended, and is a bug we've wanted to squash for a while, in order to let people create tubes that have the same look on all of their faces. That time is finally upon us!

• Don't worry! Old tubes look the same as before, so your old creations are safe!
  
• Newly created tubes won't have texture artifacts on their end caps by default.
  
• If you're really craving that "classic tube" look, you can use the Configure tool to set tubes to use it.
  
• Bonus! You can now use the Configure tool to change the number of facets on a tube!
  

https://imgur.com/a/eKCBudV

[h2]New Configure Menu![/h2]

We've 'configured' the Configure Menu to have a brand new look!
The Configure Menu is no longer a part of the Palette, it now pops up in world-space when you configure an object!
The UI is now vertical, you can scroll up and down to see all the configurable options on an object.
Options are placed in categories, you can drop down or close categories however you choose.
The new menu follows you around and looks at you, but if following you is not your building style, or knowing something follows you gives you shivers, you can pin it to a location by hitting the pin button at the top right!.

[h2]Updates to Codes[/h2]

• Creating a code is now done right from the page of the watch that the code is for. Room codes are created on the room's page, event codes on the event's page, etc.
  
• The button to use a code has been moved to the profile page.
  
• The old Codes button on the homepage of the watch has been replaced by a new Invite button to make it easy to invite new people to Rec Room.
  

[h2]General Improvements and Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Introduce your friends - you can now send introductions to help a friend meet your other friends. This feature is accessible from your friend's profile page and when you are notified that someone has accepted your friend request. Gribbly, meet Beeboz!
  
• Added the ability to click on a player's name to view their profile if you are in close proximity to them.
  
• The Maker Pen "Create Grabbable Objects" setting is now a slider with a new "Object Default" option. Circuits, gizmos, shapes, and some props default to non-grabbable with this option, and basically anything that you can throw will default to grabbable. At last, you don't need to remember to mark every paint pistol you spawn as grabbable!
  
• Added a confirmation dialog when unpublishing a room.
  
• Added carousels to the shop to display the newest inventions published by creators you are subscribed to. Be the first to know about that sweet new dorm room skin!
  
• Added a screen prompting new players to accept the Code of Conduct the first time they leave the dorm.
  
• For older players going into ^Orientation, we now make sure not to override your movement settings to the defaults.
  
• Removed the unintended dot reticle for darts on screens.
  
• Fixed a bug where the left arrow on the account selection screen sometimes didn't work.
  
• Fixed a bug where using the back button in the watch while creating a club could get you stuck.
  
• Fixed UI bugs where start and end game buttons were not updating when they should.
  
• Fixed the "switch team" button not working sometimes.
  
• For iOS players, we've adjusted some button sizes and priorities to make it less likely that you accidentally drop items when attempting to use them.
  
• Fixes visual popping on the login screen.
  

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room!

Please see here for convenient links to controls, tutorials, comfort options, etc.: https://recroom.com/community
We love to hear your feedback, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think...

[h2]General Improvements[/h2]

• Friend requests now show mutual friends! Now you'll know if that request is coming from a friend-of-a-friend, or that random person you met in ^Paintball!
  
• Oh snap! We fixed the bug where snap rotate sometimes wouldn't snap at all if you were set to "world-space" mode.
  
• We changed how single-axis world-space snap rotate works. (You might say we... pivoted.) Previously, if you were using grid snap in world-space mode, and dragged on one of the colored rotate handles, objects would sometimes snap along several axes at once. Now, we really restrict the rotation to the axis you've chosen, and your maker pen will figure out how to get you on the global rotate grid for that axis. We think it feels pretty snappy.
  
• We fixed a bug where, if you managed to let go of the rotate handle while an object was snap rotating, it would get left part-way between the snap angles. You needed to be really quick on the trigger to find that one!
  
• We fixed the bug which prevented "tap rotate" (when you click on a rotation handle to quickly rotate 90 degrees) from respecting the "rotate around pivot" setting. We talked to it about the value of respecting that setting, and it assured us that it has turned over a new leaf.
  
• Updated Orientation Settings Menu to prompt players to use both controllers for a better experience.
  
• A bunch of the gadget volumes (invisible collision, trigger volumes, checkpoints, etc.) had developed a reputation for drifting when being scaled. This isn't a road race, so we're now anchoring them properly. (Shapes would sometimes do the same thing, and we fixed it for them too.)
  
• Fixed a bug where the "My Subscriptions" section of the play menu wouldn't update when you subscribed to a new creator. Now you'll see their rooms right away!
  
• Fixed a bug where players could host events in ^Orientation - we know this was fun, but facilities kept having to clean up before the new folks came through!
  
• Fixed a bug where the "Join Room" button would be disabled if you tried to leave a room, were prompted to save, and backed out.
  

[h2]New Download Page on rec.net![/h2]

• Check out our brand new download page at rec.net/download! It has links to all the platforms Rec Room is available on.
  

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room!

Please see here for convenient links to controls, tutorials, comfort options, etc.: https://recroom.com/community
We love to hear your feedback, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think...

[h2]Party System Improvements![/h2]

• A Fist Bump icon is now displayed next to the names of players who are in your party.
  
• When you are in a party, there is now an "In Party" button that shows on your watch menu. The button has the same color as your current party color and links to the new Party tab on the People menu.
  
• You can now restrict "Voices I can hear" to just party members.
  
• The Go To button now detects existing party / game invites and consumes those if you have an existing one. Clicking Go To will just consume the invite and take you to whoever invited you instead of sending a new Go To request.
  

[h2]General Improvements[/h2]

• New watch menu UI is much more responsive and consistent on all platforms, even when running/falling/moving.
  
• Lots more screens in the new UI style including RR+, keys, and token purchasing screens. In addition, we have a new and improved "check out" experience when you buy items.
  
• Small buttons are more reliable to press.
  
• Menu laser is more visible over light themed backgrounds.
  
• Scrolling starts easier on screens when clicking and dragging.
  
• Tool menus are partially improved with these changes (on screens, and VR while the menu is detached). We will make the menus better while attached to the tool soon!
  
• Avatar customization menu is larger in VR.
  
• We now preserve returning players mic settings through orientation.
  

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room!

Please see here for convenient links to controls, tutorials, comfort options, etc.: https://recroom.com/community
We love to hear your feedback, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think...