Release and plans update
Added 2020-10-14 20:44:09 +0000 UTCHi all-
I know it has been a while since I last posted. My apologies for that. I needed to take some unplanned personal time off after the last release to recuperate and reset. This project does not exactly have built-in holidays or downtime, and I often work 7 days a week, so I take time off as needed when I feel I am not being productive or over-stressed. The last release (1.20.0) was a lot of work, and I was beginning to stress a lot about spending too much time on VaM and not enough on VaM2. More on that later in this post.
So, what has been happening on this project since the last release (1.20.0.10)?
- I took about 2 weeks of time off. The rest of the team continued to work on VaM and the Hub
- 1.20.1 work - this release is all about Hub integration and is nearing completion. This release will also include some bug fixes and tweaks based on feedback since 1.20.0.10. Please note the Trello board has not be actively kept up to date but will receive some updates over the next week to reflect the changes.
- VaM2 work - rewriting of some of the core VaM functionality from VaM
- VaM2 work - feature and roadmap planning
- VaM2 work - technology research and development (DOTS, Unity versions, HDRP)
- New 1.20.1 and Hub feature (already released): dependency tab on resources to make it much easier to get all the pieces needed for the resource to work as designed. A lot of the work behind this also applies to the Hub integration into VaM in 1.20.1.
- New Hub feature (already released): Promotional link for Hub Hosted resources. This allows creators to share a link to an external site while still uploading a var package directly to Hub. This makes it easier to get the download, while still providing a way to promote the content. The upcoming 1.20.1 release of VaM will take advantage of this setup more fully than what is shown on the Hub.
- Hub tweak (already released): The star-rounding for reviews was not quite fair. For example, a 4.99 average rating would show up as 4.5 stars. This has been tweaked to be fairer.
- Hub tweak (already released): Externally linking to Hub was not allowing for proper preview. This was fixed so links made to Hub from Discord or other sites can now show a full preview with thumbnail.
- Ramp up of an additional part-time developer for the team. This new member will help with both VaM and VaM2 coding going forward.
I have personally split my time since the last release between the Hub, VaM, and VaM2, making progress in each area slower. And this leads to the next important topic.
Change of plans for 1.20.2 (Scene Wizard) and VaM2
The time off gave me a chance to reflect on what is important for this project going forward. It is quite clear VaM2 needs to be the top priority. VaM2 is getting behind where I had envisioned due to ongoing VaM development and the Hub. VaM needs to stop interfering with VaM2 work to prevent further delay.
VaM has also reached the point of polishing something that will never be optimal due to being stuck on older technology that limits both performance and appearance.
VaM2 is the chance to fix some core issues in VaM and bring 3 years of new tech into VaM. VaM2 will be a complete rework or rewrite of VaM code, systems, and assets, some of which is already complete. The goal of VaM2 is to improve all aspects of VaM: performance, appearance, functionality, and usability. VaM2 will feature newer tech like Unity HDRP (for vastly improved appearance), Unity DOTS (for vastly improved physics performance), revamped GPU physics for cloth and hair, support for newer and different models (Daz3D Genesis 3 and Genesis 8 as an example), and possibly other recent technology advances like raytracing, if feasible.
Since VaM2 needs to be the top priority going forward, we have made the decision to shelve the development of the Scene Wizard for now and cancel the planned 1.20.2 release which was to mainly feature the Scene Wizard functionality. Instead, some of the team will continue to make improvements, tweaks, and bug fixes to VaM in the form of new VaM releases further out in time, and I will personally be moving full time to VaM2 starting immediately after 1.20.1 release is complete.
I hope everyone can see the value in this reset of plans and the decision to put priority on VaM2. These decisions are not easy to make, but we feel this is the right one at this time.
Thank you for your ongoing support to ensure the future of this project’s success!
Meshed and Team
Comments
Take your time on the 2.X. VAM 1.20 is the best out there and will be for a long time. We'll pump the cash in the mean time :)
Jon Persson
2020-12-17 18:19:56 +0000 UTCI love this game and I hope 2.0 can come out soon! I really wanna see futas/men get new colliders... Thank you so much for all of you and your team's work!
Riverface
2020-10-30 15:24:43 +0000 UTCCan't thank you enough for the time and effort put into this outstanding work. Take all the time you need. Mental health should not be abused or taken for granted. Thanks for updating us on the process and paths intended. I'm with AWWalker on the VR based 3D Design Studio & surprised DAZ has not been more engaged on that fairly untapped market.
Joshua Lattin
2020-10-29 16:04:42 +0000 UTCI would stop all 1.0 releases and move straight to getting a beta 2.0 out, to encourage more members. Not much more you can do with 1.0, unless you can introduce gen 3 or 8 characters in to it. That way you can get the APIs needed out to the community developers, so they can begin writing add-ons, plugins, etc... and maybe ramp up advertising outside of patreon, if you haven't yet. Seems like you could even support your own site, with your own payment system at this time. Too bad daz hazn't taken interest yet, to possibly incorporate some of this tech in to a VR based 3d design studio. But as always, it's a great product, keep up the phenomenal work!
AWWalker
2020-10-25 23:18:20 +0000 UTCMeshed, your hard work is appreciated. You deserve the time off!
Alter3dReality
2020-10-23 22:39:06 +0000 UTCTL-DR: if we all stop supporting him now as we wait for 2.x it might never actually happen, you gotta remember he actually hired extra people, he cant just 'take the loss' anymore. Personally i went down a tier a few months ago as i kinda stopped using the software all-together, but at the same time i very much want to see it get further developed. (so i didnt end the membership) I'd say keep supporting him, if you dont currently use 1.x a whole lot maybe go for a lower tier, that way there's still some money flowing in, wich is obviously important if we're ever to actually see 2.x reach fruition.
2020-10-19 10:59:20 +0000 UTCThat sounds great man thanks for the info & cant wait :)
2020-10-19 10:53:34 +0000 UTCSounds like there is no reason for me to maintain a membership until 2.x comes out...
William DeNike
2020-10-19 04:24:23 +0000 UTCYeah the UI will be redone for 2.X. The VR and desktop interfaces will be different as well as it is near impossible to make something that works well for both. In addition we plan to put in hooks to allow UI extension and/or replacement.
Meshed VR
2020-10-19 00:11:24 +0000 UTCAre there any plans to improve the UX and UI in 2.x? A UX designer would be a very good hire! 🙌🙂
Diggity
2020-10-18 21:10:43 +0000 UTCMuch deserved, you've already produced the greatest piece of software ever created. What continues is polish and improvement.
Meowy84
2020-10-17 02:55:59 +0000 UTCActually the biggest reason for 2.X is performance. Genesis 2 with the right textures still looks pretty good. If 2.X was just performance + new shaders, but still featured Genesis 2 it would be a big leap. Genesis 8 is actually faster performance-wise than Genesis 2, because Genesis 2 used a very complex skinning system. Genesis 8 instead relies on dual-quaternion skinning and special morphs, and will require less compute power. I plan to make 2.X more scalable to different hardware.
Meshed VR
2020-10-16 16:23:53 +0000 UTCMy 2 cents: - Make a final 1.20.x version, then a very clear post that 1.x will completely stop development, so everybody understands that thats the case - Take a few months to work on 2.x, and just give us the occasional text or image/video update, dont worry about actually handing us 2.x any time soon, as long as we can see that its in progress im sure most of us would be happy Realistically we all want 2.x now rather then tomorrow, and we all know the one way we could get our hands on that the quickest would be if you were to just stop 1.x development, and im sure most people would be fine with that if you make sure to communicate this properly and that they can 'get by' a couple of months on the 1.x version (read: make sure to bugtest the final 1.x release and include the hub as best as you guys can, and you're golden) One request: Please always remember that part of 2.x is about performance, i totally love how you're thinking genesis 8 and rtx and stuff (and you should because f- yeah) but seeing how 1.x is already a stretch of my hardware, please remember to make 2.x more performant, i too will one day get a new gpu, but for a least another year im stuck on a 1080 :)
2020-10-16 15:51:13 +0000 UTCKeep up the good work, don't worry too much, and take a rest when you need it; You're doing a fantastic job! Thanks from all of us!
Ridder Bauknecht
2020-10-16 14:00:04 +0000 UTCI would love to, but currently is not possible to get it in Unity: https://forum.unity.com/threads/will-dlss-2-0-soon-be-available.861958/ Hopefully this will change over time.
Meshed VR
2020-10-16 13:11:19 +0000 UTCSorry I don't want to even make a guess at this because I'm frankly pretty poor at making accurate guesses at when releases will be completed, and for 2.X there are still a lot of unkowns and investigation work to be done. A lot of times in software development you simply don't know how difficult something will be until you look at it. And 95% of the time you hit a limitation of Unity or other technology that requires workarounds and more work. About all I can say is I'm about 6-8 months behind where I wanted to be with 2.X, and I originally planned to release at least 1 alpha this year.
Meshed VR
2020-10-16 13:08:43 +0000 UTCAre there any plans implementing DLSS in the Vam 2.X?
Veijo Kyy
2020-10-16 08:40:12 +0000 UTCThis is the best money I've spent in a long while! Thank you for your program and the team's work. Came for the sexual content, spent hours learning about 3d design and animation. Keep rocking it!
GeevusGroovus
2020-10-16 02:31:00 +0000 UTCI take the liberty of asking the question because I suspect that it burns the lips of the majority of the community, the first available alpha version of 2.0 will be released in about how long?
maxximumism
2020-10-16 02:09:19 +0000 UTCThank you for your amazing hard word! Do not stress! I have been enjoying VAM for well over a year straight now and I have learned allot of unexpected skills! Thank you so much for what you do.
Justin Langeberg
2020-10-15 15:35:52 +0000 UTCYeah I don't want to let anyone down, so sometimes it is hard to stop and take a break when I need one. I usually take a day or two off after a big release, but this time I discovered I needed more time. Mostly because I was questioning additional 1.X work when 2.X needed to be the priority.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 13:44:00 +0000 UTCI'm sure someone will write a conversion mod for it if its not built in at least
Meh-tsubo
2020-10-15 12:24:53 +0000 UTCGood work. Only one thing saddens me. I absolutely wish you had let us know you required the rest. So that we wouldn't worry. So glad you took a rest. Wish you had let us know about it before, at its start.
Marcus Childs
2020-10-15 09:30:03 +0000 UTCI have full trust you will get there thank you for an update i know how are development can be and all the hours that can entails, keep up the good work.
Artistic-Seouls-Studio
2020-10-15 08:23:09 +0000 UTCThanks for the update. I came back about month ago and was amazed at how far vam has progressed. I honestly spent too much time playing around with this game within the past few weeks. I got it initially for "scientific research" but found myelf delving into a genuinely great sandbox game. Please keep up the good work and take breaks whenever you feel like it.
James
2020-10-15 06:46:58 +0000 UTCWill V2x of vAm be compatible with assets from V1x? VARs? Saves, poses, etc etc?
Opticon Studios
2020-10-15 05:29:05 +0000 UTCGood decision. Thank you for that change (^^)/
Tsuruta Koji
2020-10-15 03:27:06 +0000 UTCvary impressed! thanks for the hard work cant wait for 2.x
dlPureKnight
2020-10-15 02:52:20 +0000 UTCIt wasn't mentioned here, but 2.X will have vastly improved skin collision which will enable fluid simulations to work much better with accurate collision. So it will definitely be something we will look at.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:54:45 +0000 UTCYeah I hear you! I was approaching that with 1.X, mainly due to stress of not getting to work as much on 2.X as I would like. I'm actually quite excited to work on 2.X.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:53:54 +0000 UTCNot all of the team will be able to make a meaningful contribution to 1.X until I have more of the core framework completed. Once that is done, we will transition over fully.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:52:28 +0000 UTCI'm afraid there is no rough date for 2.X. We will release alphas as we go, and I will post updates here as progress is made or there is something to show. The 1st alpha would be more of a tech demo than a fully-featured application.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:51:37 +0000 UTCImproved multicore performance is a major goal of 2.X. The Unity DOTS system mentioned maximizes this potential.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:50:39 +0000 UTCSome of the team won't be able to easily contribute to 2.X right away due to it being work on core systems and technology. The rest of team will transition as soon as they are able to contribute in a meaningful way.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:49:31 +0000 UTCSubscribers get 2.X as well. Keep in mind 2.X will take some time to develop, but we will release early alphas as we go.
Meshed VR
2020-10-15 00:47:34 +0000 UTCdo subscribers get 2.x as well or are you planning on releasing it separately as a purchaseable product? I've got no reason to stay subbed if it's the latter and every dollar counts these days.
Meh-tsubo
2020-10-15 00:44:53 +0000 UTCGreat work!
2020-10-14 22:53:02 +0000 UTCGreat news! I agree with the general consensus that focusing on 2.x is a better use of resources at this time! Proud to be a supporter and looking forward to great things to come!
Daniel Johson
2020-10-14 22:52:04 +0000 UTCI met VAM and my days were very fulfilling. Thank you for the noble work of MeshedVR and look forward to further improvement in reality!
UJVAM
2020-10-14 22:27:44 +0000 UTCno plans for fluid physics?
Clayfacer
2020-10-14 22:00:32 +0000 UTCThanks for the update! But - please - keep yourself healthy. Resetting or taking 2 weeks off when you're already burned out is too late. Being a developer myself i know how hard it is to let go from your work - especially if you're the "main character" in a team. And I'm not saying that only because I'm worrying about your health but also because a healthy developer is writing better code, is focussed and is fast ;-) Maybe Jayme Edwards is something for you: https://jaymeedwards.com/shows/healthy-software-developer/ I hope that wasn't too intervening from my side. Besides that: thanks for all the hard work you're putting into this project!
DUB
2020-10-14 21:35:55 +0000 UTCAs long as you're maintaining this masterpiece I'll never quit supporting you. My respect. VAM is the one and only! I hope you get me right - English is not my native language.
Ilya
2020-10-14 21:23:14 +0000 UTCsweet
flclempire
2020-10-14 21:22:24 +0000 UTCThanks for the update, looking forward to 2.x
Vihper
2020-10-14 21:18:55 +0000 UTC1.x already awesome, just move on to 2.x
Anton
2020-10-14 21:17:31 +0000 UTCHi, thats great news, gonna start subscribing again as I wanna support the 2.0 VAM, I don't see any more point working on 1.X because of the software limitations, I fully support you moving onto 2.X I was really hoping to see the 2.X early release this year but I don't think we have any luck on that.. If I were you I would stop everyone from working on 1.X and start working on 2.X with the entire team because as someone else said 1.X is as close to perfect as it can get with the software limitations.. Please do keep us informed for news on an early 2.X build. Also if you will need someone for testing purposes, I am willing to do it for free, I have a strong setuo with a 3080 and an i9 9900k, would love to help out by testing builds if you ever need someone
Idk14
2020-10-14 21:16:33 +0000 UTCLovely!
SHINOBI MC
2020-10-14 21:16:11 +0000 UTCThanx for the update, but are there any rough date for 2.0.
Ubamajuba
2020-10-14 21:11:28 +0000 UTCIts great you are shifting focus onto 2.X VAM needs these next gen technologies, and i hope the game can have better performance with Multicore focused CPU's like AMD Ryzen, and have Raytracing more of a optional feature, and what would be amazing is that we can have DLSS for both PC and VR since they have recently updated them!
PixelPorts
2020-10-14 21:10:43 +0000 UTCThanks for the update and 2.0 full steam ahead!
Giddlefree
2020-10-14 21:09:48 +0000 UTCI am totally on board with this. IMO the current build is as close to perfect as it can get. If we can get a performance increase alone from 2.0 I see that as the best possible outcome. The added future models and textures is just icing on the cake. We have hardware that is much more advance than what we had when vam released years ago but we are unable to use it to its full capacity due to the limitations of the software. Im looking forward to the performance increase alone. In VR fps and smoothness for me at least is the most important thing.
Virtamouse
2020-10-14 21:02:39 +0000 UTCGo for 2.0 :-)
Hiro P
2020-10-14 21:01:52 +0000 UTCI totally support you moving to 2.x. However, why even focus on 1.x at all?
Samantha Cooper
2020-10-14 21:01:41 +0000 UTCI think your judgment is correct.
A
2020-10-14 21:00:27 +0000 UTC100% right desicion putting focus on 2.0. :)
oeshii
2020-10-14 20:54:48 +0000 UTCThanks! Excited to see 2.XX, good luck guys and stay safe
Exodicus
2020-10-14 20:52:44 +0000 UTCMakes sense to me. Great work so far.
Kawaii_G
2020-10-14 20:51:49 +0000 UTC
