Flipside Update #21 - Faster character loading and multiplayer fixes

January 14, 2019 - 12:22pm - by Lesley Klassen

Happy New Year Flipsters!

We're blasting into the new year with a new update. In the last update, we released our multiplayer beta and users are exploring the new changes to the user interface and playing with the new multiplayer features. The feedback has been great.  We will continue to make updates to the Beta until it's stable, then we'll push those changes live for all our users. If you want to try out these new features, Sign-up for our Beta! 

Faster character loading

We've heard you loud and clear.  Characters are now represented as photographs rather than miniature models on our palette.  This means character previews load faster on the palette so browsing for your favourite characters is much easier and uses less data (for those who have lower bandwidth caps).  Thank you to Cybermynd for this suggestion! 

Improved Recording for Multiplayer

Thanks to all our beta users, especially Discord user Derky Sprawl, The VR Girl and vrgamedevgirl for helping us track down key multiplayer bugs!

Check out this snippet from one of Derky Sprawl and The VR Girl's #madeinflipside collabs.

New audio tutorial

Learn how to use an external microphone to improve the audio quality of your recordings.  This tutorial explains how to select an external microphone for the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.  

Stream to Facebook through Oculus Home

Oculus recently made changes to Oculus Home to allow apps to stream directly to Facebook. Flipside Studio now supports this feature. You will need to connect your Oculus account to your Facebook account and opt-in to the Public Test Channel on Oculus Home for this to work. Learn more through our online documentation. 

Other bug fixes and improvements

• Upgraded Final IK and improved wrist twist bone detection
• Fixed error initializing audio playback that broke playback for some users
• Fixed various errors that broke recording for some users
• Fixed error causing recording notice to stay stuck on "Action"
• Cartridges and cards no longer appear to be grabbed by remote users
• Fixed issue with scale and snappable planes in Set Builder mode
• Fixed issue with running out of preview camera materials
• Fixed issue where a seam would appear on some skies
• Fixed skies sending the wrong ID in set builder mode
• Fixed built-in cameras on sets being duplicated
• Reduced core multiplayer packet size by 17%

Creator Tools additions (v0.15)

• ToggleElement component that adds on/off states to ColliderElement, which helps with doors and lights
• FlipsideActions component to trigger internal Flipside actions (cut camera, advance slide, change sky or set, etc.)

Download the latest version of the creators tools. 

Known multiplayer issues 

We're working hard on ironing out all the bugs with our multiplayer beta.  Here are some issues that we're currently digging into.  

• When in multiplayer, if two people are in set builder mode, the scaling of objects are erratic. 
• When recording a second part in multiplayer, the guest actors will not see the first part as a reference while recording the second part.  This is actively being worked on. 

If you're encountering a new issue, please let us know on Discord or on our Trello Roadmap.