meshedvr
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Upcoming VaM Release Plans and VaM2 Transition
🕑 Added 2020-01-17 00:59:15 +0000 UTCNote: Images shown here are demonstrating some of the work done for VaM2 using DAZ Genesis 8 models and Unity's new HDRP rendering system
Hi All!
Lot's of big plans for VaM in 2020! I'm more excited than ever for the future of VaM, all thanks to your tremendous support! So thank you for continuing to be a part of this amazing journey!
1.19 Plans
- 1.19 is well underway and is going to be worked on for a few more weeks before release to ensure it is a well-rounded release with something for everyone.
- Package Manager Part 1. This might not sound exciting at first, but this feature will be very important to help with VaM content sharing and ease-of-use. Have you ever been frustrated finding content, getting community content to work reliably, struggled with organization of files, or been confused how to use other's content to make your own and share? If so, this feature is for you. Community creators will gain the ability to easily share content using a single file, with version control and dependency support for other packages from other creators. Contents of these packages can be used without extracting them to disk or worrying where all the files go. There are too many details to list out here for now, so if you want more info, join the Discord server. I have added a new #packages channel to discuss.
- Plugin improvements
- New male and female skins
- New clothing items
- Other minor features as time permits
- Tweaks and bug fixes
1.20 Plans
- Package Manager Part 2. The package manager is big and complex. Part 2 will include more advanced features that probably won't get completed in 1.19 release.
- Scene wizard. This feature will allow quickly making scenes and intermixing content. The goal of this feature is to make it easier for quick action and to help new users get acquainted with VaM.
VaM To VaM2 Transition
- After 1.20 release, development focus will shift almost entirely to VaM2
- VaM releases will continue, but at a slowed rate, focusing mostly on new content (skins, clothing, hair, etc.), tweaks, and bug fixes.
VaM2 Status
What is VaM2? VaM2 is the new branch of VaM that is focused on new technology to bring improved performance, physics, and rendering quality to VaM. VaM2 is also a major restructure of the game code to allow VaM to be more easily modified and extended. Over the last few months work has been done on:
- Core systems work - code restructuring and refactoring, parameter system, game management system
- Unity updates - research and learning of new Unity systems, like DOTS, new physics engines, and HDRP (images shown here). These systems will play heavily in VaM2 to make VaM run better, interact more accurately, and look better than ever.
VaM2 Plans
Here is a rough outline of how VaM2 will progress with no specific release dates in mind at this time. Early access alphas will be released whenever feasible along the way to demonstrate progress.
- Phase 1 (already underway) - VaM2 Core Tech - simple scene building and interaction with HDRP (High Definition Rendering Pipeline) assets, lighting, and built-in post-processing
- Phase 2 - VaM2 Person - support for newer DAZ models (Genesis 8). New skinning and morph engine that supports joint controlled morphing for better joint bends. New rendering engine featuring HDRP skin shading.
- Phase 3 - VaM2 Physics - all new advanced skin physics for skin collision and soft-body
- Phase 4 - VaM2 Animation - all new animation engine, featuring unified motion-capture, keyframe support, clip/pattern support, editing, etc.
I expect Phase 1 will take the longest as nearly every aspect of the core systems is being looked at. Therefore, there may be a period of time where there are not many releases happening. If that is the case, I will be sure to give regular updates on progress so you can have visibility on what is being worked on.
Thank you again for your amazing support, and join us on Discord if you want to discuss!
Meshed
Comments
AWWalker
lol vam 8$ a month, with 1200$ gpu purchase :)
qant
Will be perfomance improved? Or we need to buy some 2080ti for see new stuff wirking? =)
fubarLife123
She look* like a real lady! :-O ...I hope they don't launch me into space before 2.xxx is released!
Meshed VR
The features I'm working on for 1.X here are being done in a way that they can also be used in 2.X. These features will be of great value in both lines. I also want to have a better experience for users in 1.X to help carry through until 2.X is ready for use. A good way to do this is to help the community content thrive.
Meshed VR
Phase 3 is when skin collision will be completed, and male and female characters will be treated equally this time, with a more automated system for creating the colliders. Phase 2 will have either very primitive collision or no collision, so it will only support posing and other limited interaction.
Alter3go
long waited good news, looking forward for this
Jim Totaro
why continue with 1.x? Seems you can progress 2.x faster if you focus on that. Why spend more time on something that is on the way out?
Kemenate
Will Phase 2 also include updates to the Male Model with equal features (collision and so on) as the females?
Andrew
Yep, I'm excited about V2. But for now, this is me - "frustrated finding content, getting community content to work reliably, struggled with organization of files" - so I'm happy to hear about the new package manager in 1.19/1.20.
Liwai Keller
Yes Fluids please!
Joshua R Dodson
Fluids please!
Exciting news! Everything sounds great. But I personally look mostly forward to G8 support.
Icarus Unleashed
Super excited about this. I have multiple G8 characters all lined up and ready to roll in. Keep up the amazing work, Meshed...
Meshed VR
The DOTS system mentioned here is what I plan to use for some of the physics which will greatly unlock the power of more cores. Unity supports DX11 and DX12, but DX12 in Unity has lagged performance in real world applications. I will always keep trying to move forward, but sometimes there are good reasons to stick with what is older and better optimized.
geo_gan
I hope to F*$k this new Unity / VAM / Genesis 8 combination will make better use of multi-core CPUs and possible multiple GPUs than current system does. No more single CPU core physics! Does it still use DX11 or DX12? Given the benchmarks from Futuremark and how much faster a proper DX12 engine is at pushing pixels than DX11, I can't understand why most engines still use DX11. I mean for VR systems could we not use one GPU per eye, surely they are independent screens that could be rendered seperately?
LStrike
The hype is strong with this one
oeshii
Sounds awesome! Looking forward to HDRP. :) Thanks for all the great work.
Clayfacer
I understand. 2.0 will be a new code base what can we expect as far as our current custom content and plug-ins operating in 2.0. ?
Peeky Blinder
Thanks for that additional bit of information. I think that Phase 3 (completed) is where I would hope to come in but it will be interesting to watch the progress. I'm less concerned about dynamic hair or scene packaging than I am about getting my G8 ladies into VAM. :)
Meshed VR
I'll be releasing 2.X as I go through the phases. There will be many 2.X releases this year. Just don't expect the early releases of 2.X to have all the capabilities 1.X currently has. But 2.X will also have features 1.X doesn't have.
Peeky Blinder
Sadly, 2.X now seems to be fading into the distant future. I had hoped to see it early in the new year but alas, this announcement suggests to me that it is probably at least another year away. I might have to drop out of the $8 tier for a while because I am not using version 1.8 at all (I want to use my DAZ G8 characters and the current poor collision physics with cloth passing through body parts just spoils the effect for me). Sorry to be a grump.
AmineKunai
Fascinating!
Pratev
Awesome! I hope will be able to port our 1.X stuff into 2.X :-)
Acid Bubbles
This sounds like music to me!
