Semiweekly Podcasts, UI/UX overhaul details, Linux support, Etee Controllers
Hello everyone, welcome back to your weekly dosage of NEOS news! This week we’ll be talking about our new semiweekly podcast, brought to you by our wonderful Team member, Coffee!
We’re moving our release schedule around a little bit to adjust to the Neos Team’s new work schedules, our Friday night streams will still remain on Friday, some time between 6-6:30 PM Eastern.
The Weekly Update will be releasing on Sundays in the evening, specific time pending. The semiweekly podcasts will be Sunday 3 PM Eastern (12 noon PST) and Wednesday 10:30 PM Eastern (7:30 PM PST).
We’re also sorry for missing the weekly update last week! Frooxius, our project lead, had his wisdom tooth pulled last week and was out of commission, so last week was pretty quiet. Hopefully this week updates and details will make up for it!
[h2]Semiweekly Podcasts[/h2]
Coffee has initiated our new Podcast schedule, where on Sundays, we will be having a podcast talk with users along with Coffee and I (Veer). We’ll be talking about some fun and interesting topics revolving around Neos, creativity, philosophy, psychology and how it ties into VR in general! If you want to join the cast, please contact Coffee about joining!
Topics change every week, and we’ll be showing off various worlds as well during the podcast. We’ll be currently utilizing Mixer for our podcasts but our friday streams will continue using Twitch. We want to expand Neos to a bunch of new horizons!
Also, after the streams, we typically will do something fun after for a while. Last sunday we infiltrated Nexulan’s CreatorJam Twitch Stream. We hope to see you there. Feel free to ask us anything, we’ll be responding to chat!
You can watch the podcast here on Mixer.
[h2]UI/UX Overhaul is taking shape[/h2]
The work on the second phase of the UI/UX overhaul has already begun. The first and most important step is defining the fundamental principles of the new UI. We’ve collected information on common user frustrations with the current UI, the issues it has and things people would like to see.
Based on this we’re designing a new system to solve all of those issues, while providing a good set of ground rules to keep the new UI system consistent and avoid confusing and frustrating behaviors. Decreasing friction for new users is one of the major goals, as well as allowing the UI to grow and adapt as they get more used to Neos.
To achieve this, we’re currently considering a system with following three UI subsystems:
These are several other principles and changes that go hand-in-hand with those systems. Namely:
This is more or less the gist of the crucial UI changes and principles. The are a lot more things, details and implications that are considered and any of these things can change as we go on, but hopefully this gives you an idea of our goals and thought processes for the redesign.
If you have any thoughts, suggestions or feedback, let us know! You can talk to us on Discord or the UI related topics on our GitHub issue tracker.
You can also check out Frooxius' notes on the overhaul by clicking on this thumbnail:
[h2]Linux Client Support[/h2]
Neos now officially runs on Linux! While far from perfect, the native Linux builds are usable both in the debug screen mode and in VR, allowing you to do most things that can be done on the Windows counterpart. You can host or join worlds (there’s a full cross-play support), hang out with others or build.
Currently there are several major limitations. Video playback is not supported, some shaders don’t work (mainly Flat Lit Toon), 3D models can’t be imported on the Linux build (but already imported models will load) and visemes won’t show on avatars due to lack of Linux support in the OVR Lip Sync library.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Regardless, this is an important step towards multiplatform support, as those issues can be fixed or mitigated over time. In the meanwhile, we recommend using the Windows version, but if you’re okay with those limitations simply download Neos on Linux version of Steam and play!
You can discuss the development of the Linux build on our Discord or here on GitHub.
[h2]Etee Controller Support[/h2]
We’ve brought Etee controller support into Neos! Currently, the system is a little buggy since the controllers are still in development, but at least we’re seeing the family of usable Neos controllers grow a bit! Supporting a wide variety of hardware is important for us, as it gives more users access to the shared metaverse.
[h2]Updates, optimizations, tweaks as usual[/h2]
Apart from these big features, Neos has received many smaller tweaks, optimizations and bugfixes as part of its daily development. Watch the #neos-updates channel on our official Discord or the patch notes on Steam for details.
One of the major ones were optimizations to our cloud infrastructure. We have moved from Windows App Service to Linux version, providing significant cost savings and allowing us to scale more freely under load and we have made major optimizations, which improved the stability and lowered server utilization under load.
[h2]Community Highlights[/h2]
[h3]Bob’s Sleeping Place by Bobotron[/h3]
A relaxing little world, dimly lit to help keep a calm atmosphere and may even help users get sleepy before bed. Complete with a unique media player and a full playlist of chill music, you’ll definitely feel zen after visiting.
[h3]Avali Campsite by Kazun[/h3]
This world invokes nostalgic feelings of Starbound, with beautiful music accompanying familiar visuals of Avali architecture. You’ll find a cozy little Avali tent, some computer hardware, a galaxy map visualizer, and a longing to travel the stars in the sky.
[h3]Escher Stairs by GearBell[/h3]
GearBell is continuing to wow us with her amazing worlds! This is her VR rendition of Escher’s Relativity, a gravity defying, mind-bending piece of historical artwork. A really fun tooltip is provided that can shift your gravity so you can enjoy this world from all of it’s respective angles.
[h3]Space Commute by Mr.MegaTronic[/h3]
Mr.MegaTronic has created a stunning world where you’re in a commuter train in Space! The seats are set up with avatar anchors, with a set of chairs utilizing an experimental anchor creation system. The lighting and materials are top-notch, so give this world a visit!
[h3]Remote University lecture due to the COVID-19[/h3]
Because of the Coronavirus COVID-19 threat, the schools and universities in Czech Republic have closed down. Doc. Petr Klán, who teaches VR1 class at the Czech Technical University in Prague wasn't stopped by this, instead doing his lecture fully remotely through Neos, as well as student's exercises.
Unfortunately the lecture is in Czech, but if you're interested you can give it a watch here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]
Our main focus is currently the UI/UX overhaul. We'll be starting to implement first parts of it soon, so keep an lookout for changes!
Thanks again for reading our Weekly Update! We’ll keep you up to date for future events and happenings within the next few podcasts and streams, as well as future weekly updates to come.
Look for us on Twitch and Mixer as some of us will be streaming for fun on non-scheduled days! And as always, stay happy, stay creative and have a great week!
We’re moving our release schedule around a little bit to adjust to the Neos Team’s new work schedules, our Friday night streams will still remain on Friday, some time between 6-6:30 PM Eastern.
The Weekly Update will be releasing on Sundays in the evening, specific time pending. The semiweekly podcasts will be Sunday 3 PM Eastern (12 noon PST) and Wednesday 10:30 PM Eastern (7:30 PM PST).
We’re also sorry for missing the weekly update last week! Frooxius, our project lead, had his wisdom tooth pulled last week and was out of commission, so last week was pretty quiet. Hopefully this week updates and details will make up for it!
[h2]Semiweekly Podcasts[/h2]
Coffee has initiated our new Podcast schedule, where on Sundays, we will be having a podcast talk with users along with Coffee and I (Veer). We’ll be talking about some fun and interesting topics revolving around Neos, creativity, philosophy, psychology and how it ties into VR in general! If you want to join the cast, please contact Coffee about joining!
Topics change every week, and we’ll be showing off various worlds as well during the podcast. We’ll be currently utilizing Mixer for our podcasts but our friday streams will continue using Twitch. We want to expand Neos to a bunch of new horizons!
Also, after the streams, we typically will do something fun after for a while. Last sunday we infiltrated Nexulan’s CreatorJam Twitch Stream. We hope to see you there. Feel free to ask us anything, we’ll be responding to chat!
You can watch the podcast here on Mixer.
[h2]UI/UX Overhaul is taking shape[/h2]
The work on the second phase of the UI/UX overhaul has already begun. The first and most important step is defining the fundamental principles of the new UI. We’ve collected information on common user frustrations with the current UI, the issues it has and things people would like to see.
Based on this we’re designing a new system to solve all of those issues, while providing a good set of ground rules to keep the new UI system consistent and avoid confusing and frustrating behaviors. Decreasing friction for new users is one of the major goals, as well as allowing the UI to grow and adapt as they get more used to Neos.
To achieve this, we’re currently considering a system with following three UI subsystems:
- New Dash - this would be a dash screen, similar to Oculus or SteamVR dash. It would contain everything you need to navigate Neos, join friends, socialize and play, all in one place. For new users, this would be the only interface they need to understand to get around and as such having a quick and easy way to open and hide it is key.
- Contextual Hand Menus - these would replace the current radial menus. They’d be redesigned to allow quick use and navigation, but also to not block any interactions and automatically dismiss themselves when not interacted with.
The purpose of these menus would be to provide functions that are contextual to user’s hand - destroying, duplicating or equipping items as well as quick access for common functions for equipped tools.
One key difference is that those are non-essential for socialization. We still want to make them easy to use, but any functionality necessary for socializing/navigating will be moved to the dash (e.g. locomotion mode), decreasing the systems a new user needs to learn, while allowing quick workflow as the user gets more experienced. - Hand / Arm / Head / Userspace UI slots - these would be designed for more advanced users, as they get more used to Neos and want to improve their workflow. Thanks for the widget-based design, pretty much any piece of the UI could be taken out and placed in a different place.
For example, instead of having to open dash for access to voice controls, you could take the voice widget and put it on your palm for quick access. Or take the FPS counter and pin it to a permanent place in your viewport.
By default, this system would be empty, not requiring new users to know anything about it. However as the user gets more experienced, this would allow them to customize their workflow and adapt the UI to their needs. Casual users could place shortcuts for any socialization features, while creative users could put widgets for quick tool or prefab access.
These are several other principles and changes that go hand-in-hand with those systems. Namely:
- Widget based design - instead of monolithing interfaces, every piece of the UI would be containerized into “widget” (we might call them something else later on) - individual modular piece that can be placed/snapped into lots of different places.
More complex UI’s can be composed from several interacting widgets - for example the friends list can have a widget for friend browsing/search, another for viewing their profile, another for status and another for chat.
This allows for several things. On our end it simplifies the development, by breaking up the pieces and making them have more clear defined roles and allow for better reuse. On the user's end, it lets you take a piece of the UI - say a chat window with a particular user and pin it to your hand or playspace.
And importantly for creators, it gives the ability to extend or modify the UI in much simpler ways. The community can build completely new widgets that you can then place into your UI or replacements for official widgets - for example building a different chat or friend browsing/search, giving everyone more control over Neos. - Emphasis on using tools without equipping - equipping tools and items can be quite confusing for users, so we want to make several improvements there. One of them being more emphasis on being able to use items without having to equip them first, simply allowing to hold an item or tool and use it.
- Disabling shortcuts by default - another related change would be redesigning behaviors to be more explicit and use existing systems that the user is already familiar with. For example if the user wants to actually equip a tool or item, they would do so through the contextual hand menu.
This will prevent scenarios where using the double grip to equip is difficult for users to execute correctly or happens by accident, making the users confused, because their controls have suddenly changed.
However we still want to have shortcuts, so having ability to enable them in settings is equally important, again allowing the user to improve their workflow as they get more used to Neos. - Explicit laser toggle - users grabbing or clicking things by accident due to infinite range of the laser is one of the other common confusions. To solve this, we want instead switch to a more common scheme used in SteamVR, Oculus Home and other places, where pressing the trigger once will first activate the laser.
This will let the user to click remote items and grab remote objects. The laser will automatically dismiss itself when not in use. We believe this will also improve immersion, putting more emphasis on physical interactions by default and having the remote ones being more explicitly activated.
It will also let us improve interactions with the UI. Because the interactions will be more purposeful, we can for example allow us to use a joystick for scrolling the UI panel while it’s being interacted with, without fear that it will be randomly blocked by this behavior by the user accidentally pointing at some distant UI.
This is more or less the gist of the crucial UI changes and principles. The are a lot more things, details and implications that are considered and any of these things can change as we go on, but hopefully this gives you an idea of our goals and thought processes for the redesign.
If you have any thoughts, suggestions or feedback, let us know! You can talk to us on Discord or the UI related topics on our GitHub issue tracker.
You can also check out Frooxius' notes on the overhaul by clicking on this thumbnail:
[h2]Linux Client Support[/h2]
Neos now officially runs on Linux! While far from perfect, the native Linux builds are usable both in the debug screen mode and in VR, allowing you to do most things that can be done on the Windows counterpart. You can host or join worlds (there’s a full cross-play support), hang out with others or build.
Currently there are several major limitations. Video playback is not supported, some shaders don’t work (mainly Flat Lit Toon), 3D models can’t be imported on the Linux build (but already imported models will load) and visemes won’t show on avatars due to lack of Linux support in the OVR Lip Sync library.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Regardless, this is an important step towards multiplatform support, as those issues can be fixed or mitigated over time. In the meanwhile, we recommend using the Windows version, but if you’re okay with those limitations simply download Neos on Linux version of Steam and play!
You can discuss the development of the Linux build on our Discord or here on GitHub.
[h2]Etee Controller Support[/h2]
We’ve brought Etee controller support into Neos! Currently, the system is a little buggy since the controllers are still in development, but at least we’re seeing the family of usable Neos controllers grow a bit! Supporting a wide variety of hardware is important for us, as it gives more users access to the shared metaverse.
[h2]Updates, optimizations, tweaks as usual[/h2]
Apart from these big features, Neos has received many smaller tweaks, optimizations and bugfixes as part of its daily development. Watch the #neos-updates channel on our official Discord or the patch notes on Steam for details.
One of the major ones were optimizations to our cloud infrastructure. We have moved from Windows App Service to Linux version, providing significant cost savings and allowing us to scale more freely under load and we have made major optimizations, which improved the stability and lowered server utilization under load.
[h2]Community Highlights[/h2]
[h3]Bob’s Sleeping Place by Bobotron[/h3]
A relaxing little world, dimly lit to help keep a calm atmosphere and may even help users get sleepy before bed. Complete with a unique media player and a full playlist of chill music, you’ll definitely feel zen after visiting.
[h3]Avali Campsite by Kazun[/h3]
This world invokes nostalgic feelings of Starbound, with beautiful music accompanying familiar visuals of Avali architecture. You’ll find a cozy little Avali tent, some computer hardware, a galaxy map visualizer, and a longing to travel the stars in the sky.
[h3]Escher Stairs by GearBell[/h3]
GearBell is continuing to wow us with her amazing worlds! This is her VR rendition of Escher’s Relativity, a gravity defying, mind-bending piece of historical artwork. A really fun tooltip is provided that can shift your gravity so you can enjoy this world from all of it’s respective angles.
[h3]Space Commute by Mr.MegaTronic[/h3]
Mr.MegaTronic has created a stunning world where you’re in a commuter train in Space! The seats are set up with avatar anchors, with a set of chairs utilizing an experimental anchor creation system. The lighting and materials are top-notch, so give this world a visit!
[h3]Remote University lecture due to the COVID-19[/h3]
Because of the Coronavirus COVID-19 threat, the schools and universities in Czech Republic have closed down. Doc. Petr Klán, who teaches VR1 class at the Czech Technical University in Prague wasn't stopped by this, instead doing his lecture fully remotely through Neos, as well as student's exercises.
Unfortunately the lecture is in Czech, but if you're interested you can give it a watch here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]
Our main focus is currently the UI/UX overhaul. We'll be starting to implement first parts of it soon, so keep an lookout for changes!
Thanks again for reading our Weekly Update! We’ll keep you up to date for future events and happenings within the next few podcasts and streams, as well as future weekly updates to come.
Look for us on Twitch and Mixer as some of us will be streaming for fun on non-scheduled days! And as always, stay happy, stay creative and have a great week!