In a community update earlier today, we learned about the introduction of SteamVR Home Beta and what that means for the future of SteamVR, especially in the home. The following is gathered from that community update:
Today we are updating SteamVR with a new home experience that is richer, more interactive, and more social than the existing launch area. SteamVR Home is currently in beta and will appear for everyone who opts in to SteamVR Beta.
Ever since SteamVR was released last year, we’ve been steadily adding ways to customize the launch area (where players start when starting up SteamVR). It’s been exciting to see the creativity of the community in the diverse environments and backgrounds submitted to the SteamVR Workshop so far. We’ve also heard loud and clear that creators want the ability to make more detailed home environments, with sound, animation, interaction, and social elements. All of these features and more are now available with the new SteamVR Home update.
Richer, customizable environments
Environments can now be higher resolution and support animation, sound, games, and interactivity. Players can teleport around and explore any of the hundreds of environments created by the community. In addition, players can customize and save their environment with props and drawings, then set it as their default home space.
Socialize with friends
SteamVR Home has social functions built in, making it easier than ever to connect to friends and other players. Invite friends to join you in your home space, or open any environment up to friends or the public. Voice chat with other players, interact with tools and props, and explore different SteamVR environments with others.
Customize your avatar
Choose your avatar’s head and accessorize it with wearables and props. Additional avatars and wearables can be found by completing quests in other SteamVR environments.
Quick links
The default home space includes quick links to your most recently launched VR applications, your Friends list, and open Public or Private rooms. Creators will also have access to these panels and can embed them into any environments they create.
SteamVR Workshop
All existing SteamVR backgrounds and environments are being updated today and will still be available for use. Once updated, players will be able to move around, customize the environment, and invite their friends. The hand customization workshop is under active development and will be available soon.
Creators can use SteamVR Workshop Tools to create and submit environments. This application is accessible in the Tools section of the Steam Library. To learn more about how to get started creating an environment from 3D models or photogrammetry, visit the SteamVR Workshop Wiki.
Destinations
If the content of this update seems familiar, good eye! The core functionality for this update comes from one of our other VR applications – Destinations. To learn more about what’s happening with Destinations, see this post.
We believe these updates will improve the SteamVR experience for all players. Let us know what you think in the discussion boards.
*** To opt into SteamVR Beta:
- Open Steam on your desktop
- Find SteamVR in your Library under Tools
- Right click and go to Properties
- Select the Betas tab and pick SteamVR Beta from the dropdown
