ChilloutVR News

We have just released a new update for ChilloutVR on the stable branch.



[h2] Complete rework of the Voice System: [/h2]
With the recent changes Unity has done with Vivox, we have reworked our implementation to address and reduce the high delay in the current voice system, as well as ensure higher stability and fidelity, while also reducing load on the audio processing system.
We also introduce a native Text-To-Speech System that lets you send TTS messages over voice chat.

[h2] Native Desktop/VR switch: [/h2]
Desktop and VR modes can now be switched without requiring a game restart. A new setting for this is available in the Experimental Settings menu, and can be toggled by using the key combination Ctrl + F6, or by pressing the shortcut in the main menu.

[h2] Magica Cloth 2 support: [/h2]
Magica Cloth 2 is now supported in-game. Intercollision for avatars and props is also implemented.
An additional CCK module is not required to upload content with Magica Cloth 2.
Requires purchasing Magica Cloth 2 from the Unity Asset Store.

[h2] Buoyancy System: [/h2]
It is now possible to define FluidVolumes, as well as Objects that are influenced by buoyancy using the PhysicsInfluencer Component. The physics calculation uses Archimedes’ Principle, which can be expected to behave relatively realistically, given realistic values.
The new Runtime Gizmo feature can be used to better understand how it works within the game.
Players are also able to swim and dive in FluidVolumes. To display swimming animations, new animations are required in the Avatar’s Animator. An example is provided with the CCK 3.7 preview.

[h2] ForceApplicator Component: [/h2]
The new ForceApplicator component will allow you to apply force to a Rigidbody from a given position and thereby induce torque forces. This component also has the option to only work while being submerged in a FluidVolume.
This can be used together with the new CarInput ParameterStreams to make custom propulsion systems for boats.

[h2] Runtime Gizmo System: [/h2]
The following components have received Runtime Gizmos, which can be enabled in the experimental settings:

• PhysicsInfluencer
  
• CVRPointer
  
• CVRSpawnableTrigger
  
• CVRAdvancedAvatarSettingsTrigger
  
• CVRInteractable (with interact down actions)
  
• CVRMovementParent
  
• CVRPickupObject
  
• ForceApplicator
  

This feature will assist with debugging content and will provide a better understanding of how these systems are working internally. More components will be supported in the future.

[h2] New ParameterStream Variables: [/h2]
We added more Parameter Stream Variables with regard to:

• The Transform of the GameObject
  
• CarInput controls
  
• The current avatar height
  
• The new fluid mechanics
  

[h2] Rotating of pickup objects in Desktop [/h2]
Objects can now be rotated when held in Desktop mode by holding down the middle mouse button if the pickup GripOrigin is set to Free.

[h2] Image Cache for the Main Menu [/h2]
Avatar, World, Prop, and User images are now cached on the local machine to significantly reduce image load time. It is enabled by default, but may be toggled, configured, and cleared from the Experimental Settings menu.

[h2] Dual Controller Keyboard interaction [/h2]
This allows the use of both controllers to interact with the main menu Keyboard.

And many smaller changes and adjustments

CCK 3.7 will be required to use new creation features, which will be available shortly.
Please note that starting with this CCK, Unity projects using 2019 will no longer be supported.

• Added independent head turn while in menus on Desktop
  
  • Desktop reticle is now disabled while in menus unless using head turn
• Added ExperimentalAvatarOverrenderUI setting. This allows your avatar to render over the UI when in front of it in most cases.
  
• Added Magica 2 support for props, avatars, and worlds
  
• Added support for FluidVolumes
  
• Added support for PhysicsInfluencers
  
• Added new parameter stream inputs
  • TransformGlobalPositionX
    
  • TransformGlobalPositionY
    
  • TransformGlobalPositionZ
    
  • TransformGlobalRotationX
    
  • TransformGlobalRotationY
    
  • TransformGlobalRotationZ
    
  • TransformLocalPositionX
    
  • TransformLocalPositionY
    
  • TransformLocalPositionZ
    
  • TransformLocalRotationX
    
  • TransformLocalRotationY
    
  • TransformLocalRotationZ
    
  • InputCarSteering
    
  • InputCarAccelerate
    
  • InputCarBrake
    
  • InputCarHandbrake
    
  • InputCarBoost
    
  • InputMovementX
    
  • InputMovementY
    
  • InputLookX
    
  • InputLookY
    
  • InputJump
    
  • AvatarHeight
    
  • AvatarUpright
    
  • FluidVolumeSubmerged
    
  • FluidVolumeDepth
    
  • FluidVolumeTimeSinceEntered
    
  • FluidVolumeTimeSinceExit
• Added min & max range support for CVRAdvancesAvatarSettingJoystick2D
  
• Added min & max range support for CVRAdvancesAvatarSettingJoystick3D
  
• Added double click to reset joystick
  
• Added a basic Swimming System while the Player is in a fluid volume
  
• Added support for Damage Falloff so you can modify the amount of damage received relative to your distance to the component
  
• Added experimental Desktop VR switch (option must be enabled in the experimental settings, `ctrl + F6` to switch or the button in the main menu)
  
• Added Runtime Gizmos for the following components
  
  • PhysicsInfluencer
    
  • CVRPointer
    
  • CVRSpawnableTrigger
    
  • CVRAdvancedAvatarSettingsTrigger
    
  • CVRInteractable (with interact down actions)
    
  • CVRMovementParent
    
  • CVRPickupObject
    
  • ForceApplicator
  • These can be enabled in the experimental settings
    
  • CVRPointer and CVRAdvancedAvatarSettingsTrigger on avatars should only be visible for self and friends
    
  • If a GameObject should not receive Gizmos, you can add "[NoGizmo]" to the GameObject name
    
  • Gizmos for other components will follow in the future
• Added Component ForceApplicator: Adds the option to apply force from a specified point and also gives the option to only work while in a fluid volume. This component is Whitelisted for props
  
• Added Desktop pickup rotation while holding the middle mouse.
  
  • This will only work if GripOrigin is set to Free
• Added component filtering on world initialization. Please let us know if any complicated world setups have suffered
  
• Added Show User Interface option to PortableCamera (nameplates, world UI, etc)
  
• Added new shader global CVRRenderingCam
  
  • 0 = Normal Camera, 1 = Portable Camera, 2 = CVRMirror Camera
• Added Image cache for the main menu
  
• Added microphone VR Mode aware settings
  
• Added Button to access Instance Details from within User Details
  
• Added new world options
  
  • Object gravity
    
  • Allow Extreme far clip plane
• Added remembering of last instance type/region checked between restarts
  
• Added active body offset while in Halfbody
  
  • Animations no longer need to be modified to pivot from the head/eyes
    
  • This should fix avatar animations appearing crushed in VR
• Added dual-ray interaction for the main menu keyboard
  
• Added Unity UI Slider to the prop component whitelist
  
• Added placeFromCenter option to box FluidVolumes
  
• Added Vivox TTS support
  
  • Added TTS buttons to Main Menu and Quick Menu
    
  • Added TTS Voice selection to Implementation settings
    
  • TTS messages are restricted to 200 characters
    
  • Added togglable Hud indicator for TTS
• Added prop removable filter for fluid volumes
  
• Added ControllerRay Smoothing (reduced jitter in VR)
  

• Adjusted the main menu to be more responsive while moving
  
• Adjusted nameplate facing behavior. In VR it faces you, on Desktop it is aligned with the view
  
• Adjusted TransformHiderForMainCamera to always create a shadow clone for UI culling
  
• Adjusted Interact bind to Gamepad Button West
  
• Adjusted Grab bind to Gamepad Left Shoulder
  
• Adjusted Crouch to Gamepad Button East
  
• Adjusted Prone to Gamepad Hold Button East
  
• Adjusted Grab with Gamepad Left Shoulder bind to be disabled when not in Seat
  
• Adjusted Grab with Gamepad Left Trigger bind to be disabled when in Controlled Seat
  
• Adjusted Interact with Gamepad Right Trigger bind to be disabled when in Controlled Seat
  
• Adjusted prop blocked by content filter notification to display the block reason
  
• Adjusted VR flight to use VR Fast Flight speed while holding Jump
  
• Adjusted Bundle Verifier blocks to display "Avatar failed validation" on the block avatar
  
• Adjusted order of GetClosestTracker to find the nearest tracker for Chest before Hips
  
  • This is to mitigate an issue where Hips would consistently bind to your preferred Chest tracker, as the tracking point can be closer with certain setups, leaving your Chest to bind to the remaining Hip tracker
• Adjusted player controller tracking to use SteamVR_TrackedObject
  
  • This fixes controllers not tracking in overlay, and render models not displaying after switching to VR
• Adjusted DroneMode not to accept input while in independent head turn
  
• Adjusted CVRSeat to ignore initial movement input when checking for exit
  
• Adjusted the rendering of the nameplate
  
  • Nameplates are now flipped and properly displayed in mirrors
• Adjusted VR binding to use threshold for grab start, but have a lower threshold for grip release (don't need to keep pressing hard to continue holding an object)
  
• Adjusted Kick to now have a confirm prompt instead of requiring holding the button for 3 seconds
  
• Adjusted bHaptics, Tobii Eye Tracking, and Vive Face Tracking implementation setting subcategories to use a dropdown to separate Desktop/VR settings
  
• Adjusted prop spawn to only target colliders except for fluid volumes
  
• Adjusted prop delete to show the ray to easier target props
  
• Adjusted prop delete to also show aura highlight now
  
• Adjusted the VR login screen to show more helpful information instead of taking your headset to log in using the Desktop UI
  
• Adjusted self-moderation to automatically block prop spawns from blocked players
  
• Adjusted the rendering of nameplates to be more effecient
  
• Adjusted the handling of disabled prop collision
  
• Adjusted Main Menu's Home tab to allow for 6 additional buttons
  

• Renamed Input Device Threshold to Input Device Sensitivity
  
• Renamed and Reworked Muted Speech Detection Threshold into Muted Speech Detection Sensitivity
  

• Fixed drop bind for auto-hold not working in VR
  
• Fixed user image on nameplate fading to white when distance hidden
  
• Fixed scaling while using Main Menu in VR causing weird menu offsets
  
• Fixed remote player collider height not updating when they scale
  
• Fixed mouse rotating player in VR when the cursor was unlocked
  
• Fixed inherited velocity from movement parents persisting once exiting flight mode
  
• Fixed scrolling with scroll wheel not canceling out velocity scroll for both menus
  
• Fixed clicking in QM sometimes causing the menu to velocity scroll. Now requires 10px drag
  
• Fixed QM clicking not resetting velocity scroll
  
• Fixed QM drag scrolling being active while using an AAS option
  
• Fixed QM custom offset not being saved properly
  
• Fixed CVRSeat not restoring original avatar sitting animation on exit
  
• Fixed Joystick3D height slider dragging being inverted in Quick Menu
  
• Fixed player culling mask not being reset to default when copying reference camera values
  
• Fixed chest tracking
  
• Fixed locomotion animations in FBT
  
• Fixed animations root rotation bleeding into IK in FBT
  
• Fixed HalfbodyIK feet always pointing in the head direction
  
• Fixed HalfbodyIK feet while on a Movement Parent
  
• Fixed CVRParameterStream LocalPlayerMuted
  
• Fixed CVRParameterStream GrippedObjectLeft and GrippedObjectRight
  
• Fixed the SteamVR XR Module missing a validation check
  
• Fixed CVRParameterStream HeadsetOnHead not outputting correctly in SteamVR
  
• Fixed CVRParameterStream HeadsetOnHead not defaulting to true when on Desktop
  
• Fixed CVRParameterStream LocalFPS, LocalPing, and LocalWorldDownloadPercentage not updating properly unless a menu is open
  
• Fixed IK bend goal offsets not respecting playspace scale
  
• Fixed Advanced Safety forcing audio source volume to max
  
• Fixed calibration line renderers not scaling with playspace scale
  
• Fixed Custom Audio Source output being placed incorrectly for the video player
  
• Fixed path camera excluding player
  
• Fixed not being able to scroll UnityUI ScrollViews in VR
  
• Fixed RenderTextures being shared between instances of the same props and avatars
  
• Fixed Toggling Portable Camera in QM no longer closes the menu
  
• Fixed being unable to scroll in the settings of the camera in VR
  
• Fixed Vote Kick prompt to be in front of user details page
  
• Fixed keyboard not opening while instance details panel is opened
  
• Fixed Vote Kick not appearing in the big menu
  
• Fixed auto-generated mouth pointer not respecting avatar voice parent setting
  
• Fixed DroneMode improperly resetting camera angle when being enabled
  
• Fixed Keyboard not showing sometimes when pressing a text input in VR
  
• Fixed the user tab displaying incorrect data when clicking on users in the world
  
• Fixed the calculation for initial Seat offset in VR
  
• Fixed Sub-Sync IDs breaking in some Interactable setups
  
• Fixed menu not jumping to a newly created instance when finished creating
  
• Fixed losing tracking should no longer reset/trigger inaccurate gestures
  
• Fixed dynamic bone intercollision for default colliders and props
  
• Fixed crashing issues with the video player caused by HDR videos
  
• Fixed scroll elasticity from Portable Camera
  
• Fixed the current instance details page not opening world details when clicking the world image
  
• Fixed gamepad input module overwriting grip and interact inputs
  
• Fixed some avatar materials being caught by Garbage Collection in some cases on world switch
  
• Fixed prop filtering breaking in some cases
  
• Fixed player collision being applied when exiting Flight Mode while inside collision
  
• Fixed Auto Focus & Auto Exposure visual modifications for the Portable Camera
  
• Fixed prop deletions occasionally not functioning correctly
  

Hello there, and thank you so much for checking in!

This month’s Status Report will include a statement on Unity’s changes, information on new Physics Systems, a Contest announcement, and updates to our regional infrastructure.


Last month, Unity published some changes to their payment plan that left many developers concerned about the effects it would have on not only their ongoing projects, but existing ones as well. Because ChilloutVR is developed in the Unity game engine, these changes had the potential to affect us as well.

However, due to significant pushback from both individual Unity developers and large game studios, Unity has since reconsidered these changes and released a much more acceptable plan. More information on that can be read in Unity’s blog post here:

https://blog.unity.com/news/open-letter-on-runtime-fee


We want to reassure our users that these changes do not affect ChilloutVR in any way for the foreseeable future. Not only does ChilloutVR not meet the minimum requirements, projects that predate the next LTS version of Unity that is expected to ship in 2024 do not retroactively apply either.

With that said, Unity’s hasty decisions show a clear disregard and lack of understanding for their customers. Regardless of the reasons, it does not excuse the way in which it was initially handled. As such, it is difficult to trust that Unity will not make the same mistake again. So to ensure that we are not quite as restrained by the engine our game is built on, in the event that becomes a concern, we will be taking steps to not be entirely dependent on something out of our control. To be clear, this does not mean we are planning to migrate game engines at this time, but keeping that door open for the future in a way that would provide for a smooth transition could prove to be useful in the long run.

Thank you to everyone who gave us messages of support and encouragement during this situation, and to the many developers and passionate gamers who voiced their opinion that led to a much better outcome. Unity is what keeps us together, not tears us apart.


In a previous Status Report, we announced some new features being worked on that would open up many new possibilities regarding physics and movement for creators. We’re happy to say that at least some of these new systems will finally be coming to the experimental branch very soon, even as early as this month or the next! Here’s what you can expect:

[h3]Buoyancy and Swimming[/h3]
Allows for the definition of fluid volumes with a specified density, stream direction, and speed. This will allow for objects to dynamically float and move along with a current. In addition, a swimming system with diving functionality for players will follow later in order to extend the system. This component will be available for Worlds and Props, with removable filter settings available to limit or disable functionality for the latter.

[h3]Gravity[/h3]
Allows for the definition of localized gravity zones in various shapes that can influence a player or objects direction and rotation at different strengths. For example, it will be possible to create your own personal planet that can be seamlessly traveled around as if it appears to be one large plane, or even a space station to float around in, among many other possibilities. This component will be available for Worlds and Props, with removable filter settings available to limit or disable functionality for the latter.

[h3]Climbing[/h3]
Allows for objects and surfaces to be marked as climbable, including Avatars and Props, which will allow both desktop and VR users to climb on them. This component will be available for Worlds, Props, and Avatars, with removable filter settings available to limit or disable functionality for the latter two.

Each component will be freely available and included in ChilloutVR’s CCK upon release, so no need for additional downloads or purchases other than updating your CCK. We’re looking forward to seeing how creators make use of these new tools!


We’re calling on the community to share photos and clips from their favorite moments in ChilloutVR!

This can include anything from fun hang-outs, big community events, and even clips from streams or videos! If you’ve had the opportunity to capture a precious memory or clip-worthy moment, we’d love to share that with the world.

Submitted content will be used for promotional material, such as updating the media included on our Steam Store page, other upcoming store pages like the Oculus/Meta Store, and general promotional material, to thoroughly represent the game and its community.

Rules for submissions are as follows:

1. Must be taken within ChilloutVR
   
2. No major visual game modifications
   
3. No mature content of any kind
   
4. All included content must be owned and allowed for sublicensing and promotional material by the creator’s license
   
5. Videos must be in the form of short unedited clips
   
6. Photos must be unedited in a 16:9 aspect ratio
   
7. No visible game UI
   

Video clips will be compiled into a longer video to showcase many different creators, so please be conscious of the length.

Please submit your content to the following email with the same email used for your ABI account: [email protected]

The submission period will last until November 1st, so don’t wait if you wish to participate!


We are currently working on some major upgrades to our regional infrastructure that will resolve a number of issues. Here’s what can be expected this week:

• The AS region will be available again
  
• The US region connectivity and instance creation issues will be resolved
  
• The EU region will be Migrated to the new infrastructure system for increased reliability and performance
  
• The game Server, and possibly game client, will be updated to combat the auto-reconnect issues
  

A brief downtime will be required to perform some of these upgrades. An accompanying announcement will be issued in the community Discord server, and @AbiStatus Twitter account, with more information at the appropriate times.


As always, thank you for your continued interest and support of ChilloutVR's development.

You’ll notice that a new social account on Twitter is listed below, and briefly mentioned above, which we will be using to announce any scheduled maintenance or network related issues that the community should be aware of. So please give that a follow to stay up to date on relevant news regarding those topics.

A separate account for game and community related posts will also be available soon, which will be used to announce game updates, events, and general information. More information on that to follow in an upcoming status report.

That’ll be all for today. Tune in next month for more updates like this, see you next time!

[h3]Social media[/h3]
Find us on social media with the links below:
Discord: https://discord.gg/abi Twitter (company): https://twitter.com/AlphaBlendNET Twitter (status): https://twitter.com/AbiStatus YouTube: https://youtube.com/@AlphaBlendInteractive Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChilloutVR

[h3]Support Alpha Blend Interactive[/h3]
Like every company, we need financial support to be able to push updates and improve our product. We are grateful for every bit of support we get.
If you want to support us you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/AlphaBlendInteractive

We are more than thankful for your support!

[h3]Not on our Discord server yet?[/h3]
Use the link above to join our discord server and get in touch with our wonderful community, get help with creation-related topics and find people to play with.

We have just released a new update for ChilloutVR on the stable branch.



This update contains the following major changes:

[h2]Voice chat System:[/h2]
We have made further changes to the voice chat system in order to improve performance and stability.

These changes are not compatible with the previous version. So we urge everyone to update as soon as possible.

[h2]Menu Rendering System:[/h2]
We improved the resource usage of the menus when they were not in use, leading to improved performance.

[h2]Improved Animator Driver behavior:[/h2]
If the animator driver is not in the main Avatar animator, it is considered a misc animator and is local only, the same as putting it in a world.
If a driver runs on a Spawnable, only the owner sets the spawnable value, remote users will still set an animator value.
If the local-only bool is checked, the driver will only run for the wearer of the avatar, or for the owner of the spawnable- remotes will not set an animator value.

[h2]World Custom Collision:[/h2]
With CCK 3.6 You can now capture your world collision matrix to be applied in-game.

[h2]New Layers:[/h2]
The new CCK brings new Layers for prop makers.
Layer 6: PassPlayer
This Layer will Block Default but lets players through.
Layer 7: BlockPlayer
This Layer will Block Players but lets the Default Layer pass through.
In general, props will now be able to use the following layers:
0: Default
1: TransparentFX
2: Ignore Raycasts
4: Water
5: UI
6: PassPlayer
7: BlockPlayer
12: Camera Only
If a prop contains an object on a different layer, it will be moved to Default.


[h2]General fixes and changes:[/h2]
- Added notification for when the user attempts to spawn a prop with props disabled in the content filter
- Added notification for when the user attempts to spawn a prop in an offline instance
- Added notification for when the user attempts to drop a portal in an offline instance
- Added notification for when the local avatar is loading or switched
- Added notification for when the CVRCameraHelper CCK component takes a screenshot
- Added notification for when the user loses connection to the instance
- Added notification for when all personal props are removed
- Added notifications for when the user removes all props & avatars
- Added toggles for the Disconnected, Flight Mode, Prop Spawned, and Portal Dropped HUD notifications
- Added PlayerMaterialParser to Avatar Component Whitelist
- Added set component active to interactable actions
- Added custom collider support for advanced avatar trigger
- Added set-by-distance support for advanced avatar trigger
- Added custom collider support for spawnable trigger
- Added set-by-distance support for spawnable trigger
- Added held/attached/controlled checks to parameter stream for props and worlds
- Added gun controller ray cast hit detection
- Added non-physical pickup mode for pick-up objects that can be set in the CCK
- Added pagination and dynamic loading for the world lists
- Added custom skybox & color options to CVRMirror
- Added isLocalInteractable setting to CVRAdvancedAvatarSettingsTrigger
- Added Portable Camera fullscreen bind to Desktop (F11)
- Added OnPointerExit to the interactable Component

- Adjusted Nameplate highlighting for Player Voices to not be delayed
- Adjusted Spawnables to be able to set animator parameters other than floats
- Adjusted Object Push Pull to use playspace scale as a modifier
- Adjusted HUD notifications to prevent the same notification from appearing multiple times
- Adjusted loading & distance-hidden avatars keep the scale of the previously loaded avatar
- Adjusted distance avatar (*) to visually pivot from the center instead of below
- Adjusted avatar switching to not reset viewpoint & playspace scale until a switch is completed
- Adjusted the default volume of video players
- Adjusted default pointers to no longer be limited to explicit filtered triggers
- Adjusted the safety distance to 50km from 0,0,0 instead of 200km
- Adjusted Portable Camera Take Photo bind from (E) to (F) to prevent accidental captures
- Adjusted rendering logic of the Portable Camera, so it cannot be over-rendered
- Adjusted the screenshot logic to reduce banding visible on taken pictures

- Fixed an issue related to audio problems on Mono output devices
- Fixed an issue related to self-collision on avatars not working properly
- Fixed an issue related to teleporting in VR. (Chairs, Interactables
- Fixed an issue related to playspace scale value being incorrect in Desktop mode
- Fixed an issue related to Video Player Audio Sources ignoring additional attenuation
- Fixed an issue related to the camera scale gesture not scaling with the playspace scale
- Fixed an issue related to the initial portable camera placement not being adjusted to the playspace scale
- Fixed an issue related to the portable camera scale being reset to a fixed size when scaling the avatar
- Fixed an issue related to changing the playspace scale not immediately adjusting the Camera, Menu, and Collider scales
- Fixed an issue related to large AAS lists causing performance issues when changing values
- Fixed an issue related to player position syncing incorrectly when no avatar was loaded
- Fixed an issue related to the loading avatar being on the wrong rendering layer
- Fixed an issue related to Lip Sync getting stuck in some cases
- Fixed an issue related to teleporting not resetting velocity & applied gravity
- Fixed an issue related to the player not entering a chair at the correct initial rotation
- Fixed an issue related to the player not being correctly offset in a chair if the chair was rotated
- Fixed an issue related to avatar root targeting below chairs. Sitting animations should match up better
- Fixed an issue related to sitting from flight mode disabling collision too late
- Fixed an issue related to intractable spawned synced objects being desynced in some cases
- Fixed an issue related to Combat System sending player down events for objects that got destroyed
- Fixed an issue related to AAS Triggers not working in some scenarios with parameter types other than floats
- Fixed an issue related to CVRParameterStream not working properly in some setups with parameter types other than floats
- Fixed an issue related to Video Player Dropdown Settings conflicting with other Toggles and Dropdowns
- Fixed an issue related to World Loading sometimes not Transitioning out when entering an Offline Instance
- Fixed an issue related to dynamic bone gravity when scaled
- Fixed an issue related to the Camera only layer being visible to the main camera on some maps
- Fixed an issue related to the tele grab target would sometimes block the actual pickup
- Fixed an issue related to the shadow clone being on the wrong layer
- Fixed an issue related to Advanced Avatar Components not being properly cleaned from props
- Fixed an issue related to distance safety checks not being applied to movement parents
- Fixed an issue related to triggers ignoring filter parameters on particle hit
- Fixed an issue related to the Portable Camera not saving as the correct texture format
- Fixed an issue related to crashes when unloading CVRTexturePropertyParser
- Fixed an issue related to the world detail page displaying the original uploaded date as the last updated date
- Fixed an issue related to CVRAdvancedAvatarSettingsTriggerHelper not being cleaned from props
- Fixed an issue related to crashes when connecting a gamepad in some cases
- Fixed an issue related to the reference for post-processing not being set to the camera in VR
- Fixed an issue related to ViveAdvancedControls not working as intended
- Fixed an issue related to mirrors getting additional skybox and flare layer components
- Fixed an issue related to avatars sharing the same override controller leading to visual bugs
- Fixed an issue related to the animator driver not retrieving the b parameter in some cases

- Fixed a spelling mistake when receiving an Invite Request
- Fixed a spelling mistake when logging in

CCK 3.6 is needed to configure some of the newer features introduced in this update. It will be released shortly. Keep an eye open on our discord server where we will post an announcement as soon as it is available.

Hello there, and thank you so much for checking in!

This month’s Status Report will include a brief recap of July’s game update and subsequent issues, information for creators, and a community showcase.


Last month, ChilloutVR released a major update that had been a work in progress for quite some time. Much was worked on during this development period to make significant improvements to the game as a whole, far more than what could be briefly mentioned here, and we’ve been enamored by the positive feedback from the community.

You can read the full changelog here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/661130/view/3650781708186173693

While we’re very happy to take this next step forward in ChilloutVR’s development, a number of bugs were found by the community soon after release that are currently being investigated. This includes issues such as lip syncing and voice chat occasionally not functioning as expected, among various other minor issues that are actively being worked on. We hope to have them resolved as soon as possible, so stay tuned for further updates.



To recap some information we’ve shared in our July Status Report, an alternative and more optimized rendering method called Single Pass Instanced was introduced during the development of Unity 2019. It was available alongside Single Pass rendering, which had been commonly used for VR game development, and is what most content uploaded to ChilloutVR was intended for. However, as of Unity 2020, Single Pass rendering is no longer supported and any projects looking to upgrade their version of Unity must also take this into consideration. This doesn’t so much concern development of the game as it does creation of assets, which in our case would be Avatars, Worlds, and Props, because shaders used with uploaded content must have support for Single Pass Instanced. While some popular shaders created and used by the community have already adopted these changes to ensure future compatibility, those that haven’t may only render in one eye as a result.

To remedy this, an attempt is made to replace the shader if possible, or fallback to Standard. This may not be reliable in all cases, and could cause content to not look as originally intended.

We urge creators to update their incompatible content as soon as possible.

Those familiar with developing shaders, or want to learn, can use Unity’s documentation as a resource here:
https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/SinglePassInstancing.html





As a result of the Unity engine upgrade, there was a major problem when loading a comparatively small number of content built with Unity 2019. Anything bundled using Audio Mixers and loaded on the latest version of ChilloutVR would often cause the game to crash, creating an unstable and uncertain environment after the update was released. An investigation concluded that it was an issue that would need to be fixed by Unity themselves, which was done in Unity 2022, but requests to backport this fix have been rejected. Unfortunately due to a number of other problems with Unity 2022, it is not a viable upgrade for ChilloutVR at this time.

So while this may not be an issue that we can directly fix ourselves, another approach was taken. Over the course of a few days, all content uploaded to ChilloutVR with Unity 2019 was scanned and subsequently patched if this particular issue was found. For those interested, here are some stats on how much content was effected:

- Avatars: 11,711
- Props: 2,707
- Worlds: 96

New content will continue to be patched for a time, but uploading via Unity 2019 and CCK 3.4 will not be possible in the near future to prevent this and other issues from persisting.

If you have not yet upgraded your project(s) to Unity 2021 or CCK 3.5, relevant information can be found here:
https://developers.abinteractive.net/cck/setup/



Over the last few years, Reddit has hosted a collaborative event on the subreddit r/place where individuals all across the site can all contribute towards one large canvas by placing only a single pixel every few minutes. Naturally, this has led to many communities vying to claim and maintain a spot, in addition to some stunning art, to ultimately be immortalized in the final piece.

During the most recent event, several members of the community were able to secure a spot and spread some love for ChilloutVR. We love to see efforts like this from the community, and are really appreciative of those who take the time to show their support in various ways.

Canvas: https://placedata.reddit.com/data/final_2023_place.png
Location: Lower left corner



We hope to occasionally showcase more unique and interesting work from the community in the future, so we’ll be looking out for more!



As always, thank you for your continued interest and support of ChilloutVR's development.

Next month, expect to hear about our future plans for the next major update of ChilloutVR. Stability of the game is currently the primary focus for the Team, as outlined in July’s Recap, but we hope to be back on track working on new and exciting features after we’ve squashed a few pesky bugs.

Many members of Alpha Blend Interactive will also be attending Gamescom this year. As such, general activity may slow down a bit later this month, but you’ll still find several of us hanging around.

But that’ll be all for this month. Tune in next month for more updates like this, see you next time!


Find us on social media with the links below:
Discord: https://discord.gg/abi Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlphaBlendNET YouTube: https://youtube.com/@AlphaBlendInteractive Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChilloutVR/


Like every company, we need financial support to be able to push updates and improve our product. We are grateful for every bit of support we get.
If you want to support us you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/AlphaBlendInteractive

We are more than thankful for your support!


Use the link above to join our discord server and get in touch with our wonderful community, get help with creation-related topics and find people to play with.

We have just released a new update for ChilloutVR on the stable branch.



This update contains the upgrade to Unity 2021. We decided to release this update earlier in order to get our update schedule back to a steady pace.
Many other changes were held back by some issues that were introduced along with the Unity engine update. Most of those issues were the responsibility of third-party developers to resolve, which caused a setback in our schedule.
The most prevalent of those issues cause random crashes when loading a portion of uploaded content. This bug was reported to Unity, and subsequently fixed in recent versions, but has yet to be fixed in 2021.
We have a plan to work around this issue by iterating through uploaded content and patching the affected content accordingly. We are positive this will be resolved in the coming days.

By releasing the engine upgrade now, these issues are no longer preventing future releases from making it to the stable branch. As a result, updates frequency can be expected to persist now that this is no longer a problem.

This update contains the following major changes:

[h2]New Voice Chat System:[/h2]
ChilloutVR’s voice chat system will be switching from Dissonance to Vivox. This fixes a number of issues experienced due to limitations of the former, such as crackling and cut-outs; whereas Vivox demonstrated much better voice quality and stability in both development and community testing, offering an improved experience for user-to-user communication

[h2]Shader Replacement System:[/h2]
The shaders for content that were uploaded with cck 3.3 or earlier will have their shaders replaced in VR mode.
An attempt is made to match the shader in question with available shaders in the game. If the shader is unknown, it will be replaced with the Standard shader.
This ensures that legacy content will not render in only one eye.
Content that is uploaded after this update with incompatible shaders may still exhibit this behavior.
If present in a world where shaders are replaced, an appropriate icon will be displayed in the Quick Menu and World Details Page.
Material swaps will most likely inhibit the Replacement System from working properly.

[h2]OpenXR and SteamVR:[/h2]
The Game now supports SteamVR and OpenXR. The default will continue to be SteamVR since a lot of implementations, such as Device Management and Haptics, currently work much better in SteamVR.
The following launch option can be used to launch the game in OpenXR Mode: --force-openxr

[h2]Graphic Presets:[/h2]
The Graphic menu now contains a preset option in order to make the graphics customization more accessible.

[h2]Mod Network:[/h2]
The Mod Network is a built-in networking layer that mod developers can utilize.
It allows for Mods to communicate between Users in the same instance in a secure way without needing any third-party Networking library or services.

[h2]Animator Driver:[/h2]
The Animator Driver is a new Component that can be added to animator states and can switch Animator Parameters on State Enter and Exit. The functionality is comparable to the Variable Buffer Arithmetic of the Interactable.
If used on Avatars it will sync corresponding Advanced Avatar Values. On Props, it will set the Sync values as well if the Parameter matches.

[h2]Spawnable Pickup Markers:[/h2]
Spawnable Pickup Markers can now be placed in Worlds. They work comparably to the Avatar Pickup Marker, and are similar in design.

[h2]PlayerMaterialParser:[/h2]
This new component can parse the positions of players to a Vector4[255] on a specified material.
This component gives you access to the following positions:
- Root
- Hip
- Head
- Left Hand
- Right Hand
- Chest
- Left Foot
- Right Foot
The W component of Root will contain the Avatar Viewpoint height.
This component can be used to have shaders react to Players without the need for cameras for example water or snow.

[h2]General fixes and changes:[/h2]
- Fixed some issues regarding depth buffer on AMD GPUs
- Fixed a bug that lead to velocity not being transferred to the player correctly
- Fixed an issue that lead to Compatibility Issues with some RenderTexture creation on AMD GPUs
- Fixed an issue that lead to Step Offset Error Spam
- Fixed an issue with AvProPlayer causing Error Spam when Resyncing
- Fixed an issue with "undefined" Microphone Device
- Fixed an issue with Microphone Device Names being too long and overlapping the dropdown
- Fixed an issue with SchedulerSystem using the wrong Time value
- Fixed an issue with setting Home World and it not changing until restarting the game
- Fixed an issue with the Current Instance button not showing World Details when in your Offline Home World
- Fixed an issue with the Microphone Device dropdown flashing when open
- Fixed an issue with Video Player Ui having hard-to-read text
- Fixed an issue with auto-placed pointers and colliders
- Fixed an issue with Microphone Device not finding the correct device at startup
- Fixed an issue with Gamepad Sensitivity being incorrectly calculated resulting in lower-than-expected Turn Speed
- Fixed an issue with Current Avatar not being set if the avatar is changed after login
- Fixed an issue with AAS not being set properly while someone is still loading an Avatar on their side
- Fixed an issue with Thumb Tracking on Index Controllers
- Fixed an issue with mixing different VR Controllers
- Fixed an issue with CVRDistanceLod not working when the player teleports
- Fixed an issue with Video Player Volume not being set properly
- Fixed an issue with FBT Calibration orbs not showing
- Fixed an issue with FBT Knee Tracking not working properly
- Fixed an issue with FBT Elbow Tracking not working properly
- Fixed an issue related to IK for non-humanoid avatars
- Fixed an issue related to rendering on headsets with more than 180° FoV
- Fixed an issue where some Magica Cloth actions could lead to a crash
- Fixed an issue related to the image download queue breaking in some cases
- Fixed an issue where you would interact with things while in prop delete mode
- Fixed an issue where crouch and prone states were not reset when entering a chair
- Fixed an issue where Transitions colors would not properly reflect by the preview in the menu
- Fixed an issue where Props could be placed on Player relevant layers
- Fixed an issue related to props being needed to be picked up twice in order to sync/work properly
- Fixed an issue where ParticleSound Components were not filtered by Audio filters
- Fixed an issue where your avatar would be offset a huge distance when upside down in chairs
- Fixed an issue where the fixed rotation offset of the Attachment Component was not respected properly
- Fixed an issue where The Emote and Toggle list would show the wrong names
- Fixed an issue related to malformed animator parameters breaking avatar initialization
- Fixed an issue that led to Video Player Playlists on Props not generating properly
- Fixed an issue where the menu would not be forced open when using the interactable show props details page action
- Fixed an issue related to Lipsync not properly working in some configurations
- Fixed an issue that lead to the Avatars snapping around when changing away from the playspace center
- Fixed an issue with full head bobbing not pivoting with avatar head
- Fixed an issue where CVRParameterStream EyeMovementY was returning the wrong value
- Fixed an issue related to CVRSpawnable SpawnerPosition and SpawnerDistance entries returning playspace center position when in VR
- Fixed an issue related to respawning/teleporting not working while affected by a movement parent component
- Fixed an issue where the world far clipping plane setting was not copied to the portable camera
- Fixed an issue related to the hud message queue not getting cleared on world change
- Fixed an issue where the local avatar would hover above the ground in some cases
- Fixed an issue related to the left controller dead zone setting
- Fixed an issue where deleted or blocked props would count toward your prop limit
- Fixed an issue related to the Loading Avatar not following the Player
- Fixed an issue related to your feet kicking out on Avatar load
- Fixed an issue related to the Quickmenu losing the Advanced Avatar Setting list when using F5 to reload the menus
- Fixed an issue related to gravity not being reset properly when in flight mode
- Fixed an issue related to ik locomotion affecting FBT calibration
- Fixed an issue related to Index Required Grip Strength not working on lower values
- Fixed an issue where changing Advanced Avatar Setting in the quick menu would not update the main menu
- Fixed an issue with Desktop LookAtIk not being disabled while playing an emote
- Fixed an issue with VRIK locomotion being scaled before it was initiated
- Fixed an issue with VRIK locomotion not being disabled while not grounded
- Fixed an issue with VRIK locomotion not being disabled while flying
- Fixed an issue with exiting seats enabling VRIK locomotion while in FBT
- Fixed an issue with Visemes would randomly break when switching Avatars when using Oculus Lip Sync
- Fixed an issue where useVisemeLipsync as false on CVRAvatar would cause it to constantly force Visemes to 0 weight
- Fixed an issue where worlds that use bakery could break lighting for following worlds
- Fixed an issue preventing you from doing emotes while in Drone Mode
- Fixed an issue regarding the player colliding with the menu in some cases
- Fixed an issue related to CVRToggleStateTrigger initializing with wrong settings
- Fixed spelling of Salute in Default Emote Names

- Added oculus lip sync as the main viseme controller. You can change this in your experimental settings.
- Added Kinematic check for CVRPickupObject
- Added Public Player Profiles in User Details
- Added the ability to set Process Affinity using a launch option
- "--affinity="
- Mask can be calculated using a tool like https://bitsum.com/tools/cpu-affinity-calculator/
- Added the option to disable haptic feedback
- Added Threshold Customization for Muted Speech Notification
- Added Smooth Mic Meter toggle to Hud Customization (Disabled by default)
- Added Microphone Volume Customization
- Added Double Jump for Flight as a toggle (Disabled by default)
- Added Go Home Functionality
- Added Gamepad Customization
- Added VR Quick Menu Hand Customization
- Added VR One-Handed Control
- Added VR Movement & Turning hand customization
- Added a Video Player Hardware Decoding toggle to Experimental Settings
- Can be forced off using the launch option --disable-vphd
- Added the option to customize sprint behavior on desktop and gamepad controls (Hold, Always)
- Added an option for VR sprint behavior (Hold, Always) where Always is the default behavior
- Added finger spread as networked Data. Some rudimentary spread will be detected for Index Controllers
- Added a setting for independent HeadTurnMode (Hold, Toggle, Hybrid) Where Hybrid is the old implementation
- Added DisplaySpawnableDetailPage Interactable action
- Added Attachment can now attach to snapping points
- Added an image loading indicator to the main menu
- Added Object Push Pull functionality in VR (Enabled by default)
- Added the ability to enter crouch and prone in VR without full body tracking
- Added a menu framerate option in order to minimize resource usage of the UI system

- Implemented Game Event System for Modders
- Implemented Mod Network support for Modders
- Implemented Pretty-Printing of Configs to make external editing easier
- Implemented single viseme lip sync
- Implemented Jaw Bone lip sync
- Implemented Smooth Amplitude for Nameplates to make them less flashy when Players are speaking
- Implemented Viseme Loudness Smoothing
- Implemented Viseme Smoothing for Muting

- Adjusted Cohtml Rendering to increase performance
- Adjusted Video Player Audio Mixing
- Adjusted Player Voice Audio Mixing
- Adjusted Double Jump for Flight to feel more like that one block game
- Adjusted Nameplate Margins to be more aligned
- Adjusted Emoting with Vive Wands to be paralleled
- Adjusted Instance Reconnect Timer
- Adjusted Default VR Quick Menu Offsets
- Adjusted the placement and size of Dynamic Bone default Colliders
- Adjusted the default Audio options to be more friendly for new users (quieter Video Players etc.)
- Adjusted the default Content filter settings to be more friendly for new users (more enabled by default)
- Adjusted sync behavior of snapping attached props to reduce occurrences of it being synced by the wrong player
- Adjusted the menus to be more useable while falling
- Adjusted the Desktop Zoom behavior to feel less sluggish
- Adjusted implementation enabled settings to be separated for Desktop and VR
- Adjusted nameplate fade speed to better match menu open/close speed
- Adjusted viseme calculation to be more smooth. This can be adjusted in the updated CVRAvatar component