The latest Sansar release arrived last Friday, which was perfect timing for those eager to ask questions or provide immediate feedback to the Sansar team at the Product Meetup held later the same day.
Attendees discussed The Terrain Release while gathered at Astro Port by Mold3D.
THE TERRAIN RELEASE
This release, dubbed “The Terrain Release,” was packed with new features including the much-anticipated Terrain Editor that enables creators to make mountains and craters. Other highlights include trigger volumes, web audio streams, animated and multi-part object importing, multiple scripting updates (including a new script console), and much more.
In addition to changes to the Sansar app, updates were made to The Sansar Store to enable browsing by product categories. Accessories can now be sold in the store, too.
Check out the Release Notes to see the full list of features and changes, as well as links to new documentation articles that will help creators quickly get up-to-speed.
SANSAR CREATION CONTESTS
Show off your creativity and possibly win cash or prizes by entering one or both of our two new contests. Creators can now sell avatar props in The Sansar Store, and we’re rewarding the best avatar props in four categories: Most Innovative, Best Halloween Costume, Funniest, and Most Fashionable. In addition, another contest awards creators of Sansar’s Scariest Experiences. Check out the full rules and get more information in our contest announcement post “Win Big in Two New Creation Contests.”
Another view of Astro Port, home of the latest Product Meetup.
COMMUNITY Q&A
Does the Terrain Editor account for changes to the terrain if you “dig” into the default grass texture? For example, if dig hole in grass you would expect to see dirt or rock.
Sansar attempts to automatically paint textures based on changes in elevation. For example, you may notice that steep hills in terrain using the default material type show a stone-like texture at steep angles, rather than the default grass texture. These automatic texture changes can be overridden by simply painting over them with the terrain painting tools.
Learn more about the Terrain Editor in the Knowledge Base article “Working with Terrain.”
Can we import a heightmap that contains predetermined elevation properties of imported terrains?
Not at this time. The terrain starts as a flat system object that you can then alter by raising or lowering in places once in Sansar.
How do we define the size of each terrain in the Terrain Editor?
Creators can define the size of each terrain object by selecting it and then choosing the Properties button and then adjusting the ChunksX and ChunksY properties, which start with 32 x 32 meter chunks with up to 8 chunks per axis for a maximum of 256 x 256 meters.
What else can we expect in the future for Terrain Editor?
Soon you’ll be able to add custom terrain textures, and, when combined with heightmaps, we’ll support megatextures that enables multiple textures to be blended together at the same time.
When will .obj attachment uploads be available?
They are available now, as well as support for .fbx. However, avatar attachments may not be imported as .obj files at this time. Learn more in our knowledge base article: 3D model export tips.
When will we be able to jump in Sansar?
It is on the development roadmap, but we don’t have an estimate on availability yet. However, the newest release does support running and you can also teleport to move around faster.
As a creator, will I be able to get access to my experience if it is populated at maximum capacity? What if there are multiple instances? Will I be able to choose which one I want to access at any given time?
In Sansar, your experience or scene will never truly be at maximum capacity since multiple “instances” can expand access to your creations during spikes in popularity. If one instance hits its limit, then a new Sansar instance is instantly generated to ensure that nobody is shut out from experiencing your creations.
We are working on defining access controls for creators and we expect that creators should always have prioritized access to all instances of their own creations.
Did the keyboard shortcut for teleport in desktop mode change?
Yes! It got moved from control to shift as we needed to free up the control key for use in future keyboard shortcuts. Learn more in our knowledge base article on Keyboard Shortcuts.
When will we be able to update products from the store?
We know that we need to support this, but we’re trying to find the best way to implement it. We’ll have a breakout Product Meetup soon that is dedicated specifically to The Sansar Store.
Will we have more attachment points on our avatars?
Yes. We are still in early days. We know that people want to personalize their avatars so we intend to make it better.
DON’T MISS FUTURE MEETUPS!
Did you miss the most recent Product Meetup? Check out the Meetup Announcements section on Sansar.com to stay informed about future opportunities to interact with the Sansar development team.
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