I’m not sure if the help section is fully appropriate, but it looks like where I can post a VRChat usability problem.
Now that it’s 2024 and there are lots of “more affordable” VR Headsets, both standalone and PCVR, can the dev team please, PLEASE do something about world object vicinity detection?
Specifically I mean this:
There are some instances in worlds where creators put objects close together, sometimes with the intent to have them interactive. Sometimes this choice is because they want to represent realism and tight functionality. Maybe they want to keep the world proportional for users and really enhance that “immersive feeling.” Sometimes those objects are interactive; sometimes they’re not.
My observation is that putting your hand near a group of objects seems to just… select any or all or some rotation of objects near by, or attempts a random scatter to select one–just not the one you want. It is often extremely hard to select the object that you want, and this is a problem that extends not just to world creators, but also to widgets such as pens or anything where objects are close together and you just want one specific one.
Instead of telling creators “don’t put objects close together to help user accessibility”, which might be the gut reaction, I propose the following which is already a solution that got implemented in a different way, so I imagine the infrastructure is already there to make this happen:
Attach both a vector and a cone to the hand bones. Allow a setting in the control panel for users to change the size and direction of the cone, as you would already do for earmuffs and directional avatar audio control. Then, any time the conic section intersects an object or an object grip, trigger the indication to the user that they can pick up or interact with the object or widget.
For VR this would help immensely, eliminating a ton of the “which way do I point my hand and how do I grip object A when it’s close to objects B, C, D, E, etc.” or “where is the freaking control handle for this item?” leading to fumbling and poor VR user experience. Obviously different avatars have different sized hands but the ability to adjust the diameter and height/base perpendicular length of the cone would come in handy.
Please seriously consider this change to fix this problem that I’ve known lots of people to encounter, not just myself.