New desktop mode ready for casual use, Cabin of The Seasons released
Added 2021-03-31 00:00:15 +0000 UTCHello and welcome to our latest weekly update!
We have several very exciting news this week - the first phase of our new desktop mode has been finished and released to public! Simply launch Neos without a VR headset to use it! It has all the core interactions for casual use implemented - you can grab things, click, interact with in-world objects, use the context menu, switch locomotion, save items and play with in-game gadgets and tools!
It is by no means finished however. While you can use the building tools, they are still somewhat clunky in desktop. We are working on adding more mechanisms to significantly improve their usability and ease of use. There are more goodies coming soon as well, like 3rd person camera mode, freeform cursor and more!
A community group Mystic Forge has also released their narrative puzzle map "Cabin Of The Seasons". This incredibly detailed map is currently one of the best and most polished experiences on our platform and certainly worth your time to check out, whether you do it alone or with your friends.
We have also released the MTC Avatar Lobby as well, serving both as a tutorial on finding and setting up avatars in Neos and a cool hang out place for both old and new users.
New Desktop mode ready for casual social use
We have reached a very important milestone with our new desktop mode, finishing implementation of the core interactions and making it now the default desktop mode when you launch Neos, both with VR or without.
All the core interactions - grabbing, clicking things, using the context menu and using tools/gadgets are now implemented. These cover the majority of things you can do in Neos, particularly when socializing, using in-world interfaces, playing around with toys and gadgets and so on.
The interaction system is designed to utilize the same items and tools built for VR. Assuming they are properly setup, they will work in the new desktop mode without an issue, despite never being built for it.
This is an important part of our design philosophy - we don’t want creators to worry whether users are playing on desktop or in VR and focus more on what they’re creating, rather than optimizing for different ways of use. As a result, the majority of existing VR content works on the desktop out of the box!
Some new features were added as well. For example you can now save items to the inventory through the context menu, using the new “Save to inventory” option alongside Duplicate and Destroy. Right now the use is still a bit clunky, as you need to navigate to the right inventory folder first, but that will be addressed with the planned rework of the inventory UI.
You can also easily take in-game pictures now, similar to the finger photo gesture in VR! Simply press Shift+P to take a snapshot or Ctrl+P to start one with a timer for group photos. Those screenshots are fully native Neos screenshots, with full metadata and ability to quickly save them through the context menu.
Manipulating grabbed items is easier now as well. We have adopted the GMod style rotation for objects - simply hold the E key and move your mouse around to rotate around the two axes. Holding Shift+E will rotate around the vertical axis. Holding just Shift and using the scroll wheel will also scale the held object.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW8bJVG1pPw
MTC and intro tutorial has been updated as well to cover the new interactions and key binds. There might be still a few stragglers around as we transition, but the system should be ready enough to start getting some use.
Thanks to this, when you launch Neos without VR now, the new desktop mode will be in use instead of the old debugging one. If you need/want to use the old one, you can do so by choosing the “Legacy Screen” option in the menu, but please note that it will be removed at some point in the future.
What’s next for the desktop mode - building & improving interactions
Desktop mode is still not finished by far. Our goal for the first phase was to cover the basics and make the core of Neos usable without VR. While you can technically use all the tools, including the building ones, certain ones are still quite clunky and difficult, notably the developer tooltip and LogiX.
To address this, we are working on some changes to general mechanisms in Neos to make them work well in both modes, particularly by adding projection interaction mode, so the tip of the tool doesn’t have to be brought physically to the item. Other tools like brushes will benefit from extra features as well, allowing to draw on virtual surfaces for example.
We are also working on a 3rd person camera mode as well, adding freeform cursor mode and UI-aligned camera mode, which will make interactions with complex UI’s easier to do. Polishing for the character head and hands posing is planned too, making the movements less robotic and more natural.
Another planned feature is adding more overlay UI (which will go with the freeform cursor), for showing some current information and making the toggle between VR and Desktop more discoverable rather than a hidden key.
More long term plans include the ability to partition your UI and pin some in-world UI’s to parts of your screen, like inspectors, or chat windows. Many of these changes will require more of our UI’s to be reworked as well, which is on the roadmap.
We hope that even with the current feature set has become more accessible to users without a VR headset and let VR users bring in their friends who couldn’t previously play and for the VR users give ability to stay in-world even after leaving the headset by dynamically switching, or perhaps to mix VR and desktop workflows.
MTC Avatar Lobby released to public
As our ongoing work to rework the core Neos tutorials, we have released another reworked room to the public - the MTC Avatar Lobby! In this room, users can learn how to find and setup avatars in Neos, as well as easily make their first one with an easy to use UI to customize their own version of the Neos bot.
Since we often saw users hang out in the old avatar tutorial room, with other users helping them setup their own avatar, we have designed the new one to serve as a nice friendly hang out place as well.
Our next goal is to get the Streaming & Recording room ready for the public as well, since it’s the most commonly visited room after the avatar one, by users who are interested in streaming and recording videos in Neos. We have some nice features coming in this as well, like a customizable green screen area, so stay tuned!
Community Highlights
Cabin of The Seasons
You come upon a hallway brimming with iridescent purple energy. The energy draws you towards a pedestal that hovers gently at the end of the shimmering hallway. As you approach you notice a book as the centerpiece. After flipping through some of the pages, you find yourself at a cabin in the woods. How did you get here? Why can’t you escape? Who is Gerb? Where'd the cabin come from? - A memoir from a Traveler
A new map brimming with charm and anticipation, brought to you by Mystic Forge, "Cabin of The Seasons!" A narrative puzzle map that makes a mark on Neos history, showcasing of what a polished experience within the Metaverse is like. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! 
Thanks Mystic Forge Team!
Infinite Hallway CJ 95
Last week at CJ the theme they explore is “The Infinite Hallway”, where folks come and go making their own room in a seemingly infinite hallway for many to create or make complete worlds of their own. It’s quite an experience and I don’t want to spoil! So go on and check out all the doors!
The Backrooms
The smell of the carpet fills your nose. The walls start to blend as you notice the faint smell of cigarettes and leftover deodorizer in the air. I hope if you end up here, you at least know your way out because finding your way out is Tricky. Thanks QueenHidi AnythingDoesn’tReallyMatter and Jeana for this really neat map! If I ever need to feel lost or escape this place is wonderful for that.
Hangout Room
A Chill lofi world created by the user by the name of Grost. You can hop into the room and instantly feel the beats of the music permeate the walls of the room as you can go outside to the little dance area to just groove to the music.Feeling tired from all the events or just want somewhere to relax and recharge? This place definitely fits the bill. 
The Hard Boiled Jam
This week on Creator Jam this weeks theme was Film Noir. You enter the map and are greeted with the smell of booze and smoke, and everything is grey and dull. In this map creators explore the possibilities of the theme and make some interesting things from Cement Shoes, dimly lit alleyways, and the ever expanding city and how it fills up the night.
Noisy Studio by Hai~
This is a really neat clip that shows the power of Neos! Hai a newcomer to the community has made a really neat Studio to swing in on, but then she magically appears somewhere else.Stuff like this really shows the power and versatility of Neos! Not only is it a platform, it’s also a tool for creators altogether! Thanks Hai for the showcase! Keep on spinning!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1373785683173769218
neoDMX by PRISM Team
Folks in Neos have been cooking up some interesting things! Here we have a DMX System built for managing and maintaining your light setups to give people an easy setup for shows, or even performances, I for one can NOT wait to see this in action at some performances. This upcoming year is so exciting! Thanks for adding to the fire Prism folks!
https://prismteam.tk/neodmx/neodmx-demo-lightshow.webm
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Anyway that's all for this week! We hope you had a great one and we can't wait to bring you more improvements for the desktop mode over the next one! We'll also likely start mixing things up a bit more and working on some other features as well. You can always keep an eye on our official Discord to check out the latest developments!
