Devlog #22

I finally got my Facebook Horizon beta invite! When I entered the world, I was greeted by a person who welcomed me and helped me change some of the configuration options. For instance, I don't like the "teleporting" method of movement. After wandering around and trying out a few worlds other people have created, I started the first creation tutorial then branched off into exploring on my own. It will take some time to get used to the interface, but I can't think of a better way to build worlds while you are in VR.

Some issues I've encountered in my brief dive into creating my own world:

• It took me way too long to figure out how to actually exit the world builder. Hint: You have to be in preview mode, then you can access your options menu.
• Object groupings are very awkward. I was hoping I could attach a script to a group that contains a trigger, but that did not work. So, in order to access the trigger again I have to ungroup all of the objects then select the trigger, do my thing, then re-group everything together. I suspect there is an easier way to do this, I just haven't figured it out yet.
• Some of the scripting options sound very similar. For instance, I was trying to figure out how to play a sound when the player touches an object. There were trigger events and collision events. My initial thought was I just had to write a collision event for the player and the object. This did not work. From what I understand, you have to use a trigger gizmo and trigger events in order to do this kind of interaction. Kind of confusing, but I just need to time to get used to the terminology.
• I wish there was the concept of a "prefab". I have this game idea in my head that would require duplicating a lot of objects. It would be nice if I could create a prefab then copy it into the world. Then anytime I change the prefab, all instances are automatically updated. For example: the game idea I have in mind is a "Tycoon" type of game -- if you've played Roblox, you'll know what this is. The game would have a handful of buttons on the ground that you touch to build other objects and expand your base.

I do plan to continue to explore the possibilities of Horizon. My goal is to make something small and publish it by Spring.