Meta Horizon Worlds, Meta’s VR social hub that’s also available on mobile and web, has been updated to v163. That’s quite odd seeing as how the last update was v161. I don’t know if v162 was a quiet update that was never publicized but v163 brings a handful of welcome changes.
Amidst bug fixes there are also quality-of-life improvements as well as new features that have been introduced. All of the changes in update v163 are as follows.
A bug present in the web and mobile versions of Horizon Worlds has been fixed. It happened when a user interacted with the “mirror gizmo”. The bug made the camera focus on the wrong area after the interaction.
Another bug that was under investigation when update v161 was introduced is still being worked on. It happens whenever a user is invited to a world but upon landing is informed the host isn’t present and kicked out. This happens even if the host is present and, being that the entire app is about socialization, is a bug that needs to be fixed fast.
The Meta Quest 3 is most definitely the best way to experience Horizon Worlds.
Another bug under investigation shows a world under different lighting in Edit mode compared to when it’s been published. A bug that messes with the hierarchy of an interactive object is also being looked at.
Togglable name tags and other improvements
One of the highlighting features of update v163 is the introduction of the ability to toggle name tags on and off. This can be done when taking photos or recording videos. The camera will now have a new button for this toggle.
Name tags have to be toggled on or off before a picture is taken or a video begins recording. Tags will be toggled on by default but Horizon Worlds will remember your choice for subsequent pictures and videos. Name tags will remain off when using the drone camera and cannot be turned back on. Lastly, as this is a new feature and is still in testing, it won’t be available to everyone just now.
Look, ma! No name tags! | Image credit — PhoneArena
The gallery in Meta Horizon Worlds has seen some optimizations. It should load much faster from here on.
Worlds are getting descriptors too, something I’m surprised took this long to be implemented. Now users can read up on what a world will contain before joining it. These descriptions can be viewed from a Quest headset, the Meta Quest mobile app and from the web.
Doors to worlds will also have a new “View Details” button to see the description of that world before going through.
To keep Horizon Worlds a safe and inclusive experience for everyone, changes have been made to the ‘Poll to Remove’ voting feature. ‘Poll to Remove’ allows users to cast an anonymous poll amongst everyone to remove a person from the world. The poll is accompanied by a reason for wanting to kick that person.
Now, if a poll you’ve cast doesn’t get enough votes to remove a troublesome person, you’ll be presented with another option. You can either choose to stay in the world or go to a different version of the world. Changing sessions will allow you to continue exploring the same world away from the person who was bothering you.
Reason for poll. She’s pointing a laser at my eye. | Image credit — PhoneArena
Lastly, when creators now publish a world, they will be asked to fill out a short survey about their world. This will help Meta Horizon Worlds accurately categorize your world as well as let potential visitors know what to expect. The survey will also help with the aforementioned world descriptions.
Meta Horizon Worlds is a love it or hate it kind of social hub for Quest owners. Some people love the events hosted there and the socialization options it provides. Others think it’s too weird or has too many kids screaming everywhere.
I think it shows promise and is a precursor to (hopefully) full-body VR simulations one day which people will use for socialization as well. Speaking of which, researchers have made some progress towards that with a VR haptic feedback system that uses brain stimulation. So I have my hopes up.
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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.
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