The VRChat social platform launched on Steam on February 1. Leading up to the launch, the developers at VR Chat Inc. invited us to take a look at what the platform had to offer. Not knowing what to expect, Tom’s Hardware writer Derek Forrest and I accepted the invite and prepared for a typical briefing, which usually ranges from 10 minutes to half an hour. We couldn’t have been less prepared for what was about to transpire.
VRChat might seem similar to AltspaceVR: Both are public virtual reality (VR) spaces that allow you to participate in a variety of different activities and otherwise interact with people in virtual reality, but they’re dramatically different platforms. AltspaceVR is focused on providing a schedule of compelling activities, such as live performances from musicians and comedians like Reggie Watts and Justin Roiland; licensed tabletop games, such as Dungeons and Dragons; and contracts with news organizations, such as NBC’s VR election coverage. VRChat is more interested in creating a customizable environment that you can tune to your liking.
Learning The Ropes
Our briefing began in “The Hub,” which is the main landing area for everyone who logs into VR Chat. From here you can meet up with friends and random people for a casual conversation, or you can make your way to one of the myriad environments in which you can interact with others.
Our guide, a VR Chat developer who goes by “VRPill,” explained the controls and how to interact in VRChat. The client supports motion controls so you can make gestures to other people. The developers also programmed a selection of hand gestures, which you can access by resting your thumb on the trackpad of your Vive controller. (If you have a Rift with Touch controllers, the finger gestures work naturally.)
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VR Chat offers several locomotion options, too, which allows you to customize the experience for your desired comfort level. You can choose between Third Person and Classic locomotion, and you can toggle between comfort rotation and smooth rotation. Third Person mode is similar to the Blink teleport mechanic, but instead of a teleport, you trace the path that your avatar will run, and an animation plays out in front of you. Classic locomotion allows you to move around with the touchpad on the Vive controllers or thumbstick on your Touch controllers. Comfort rotation spins you in set intervals of 30 degrees, whereas you can rotate freely when comfort mode is off. VRChat also supports gamepad input if you don’t have motion controllers.
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VRChat offers a variety of avatars to choose from, whereas AltspaceVR has but a few choices. The game includes avatars of regular people, zombies, robots, and even an orc. I didn’t count the number of choices, but suffice to say there’s something for most people. However, if you find yourself wanting something you don’t see on the list, you can import your own avatar models. VRChat offers a video tutorial that explains how to go about making your own custom character models or importing an existing model:
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Source: TomsHardware