News Archive 2017

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Rec Room PATCH - for the "^clubhouse" edition!

December 20, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a patch that fixes a few issues:

• Fixed an issue that was preventing you from returning to some saved rooms. Please let us know if you encounter any more problems like that!
• Fixed an issue where maker pen objects could jitter/behave strangely in some cases. Still a couple more cases to fix, but it should be better.
• Streamer cam now stays on when you switch rooms
• Fixed a couple of sandbox resource bar issues: It now correctly shows that you get resources back when you freeze objects, and non-hosts can now see it (only after it changes... still have a few more bugfixes to do here).
• Saved outfits now persist properly across sessions.
• Fixed a bug that meant the friend import prompt wasn't showing.
• There might be something new in the sandbox machine... maybe... =]

NOTE: We are aware of the bug in Laser Tag where sometimes a player is still able to shoot while out. Unfortunately the fix is non-trivial, and not safe for this patch. We'll fix this in the next full update. In the meantime, please be excellent to each other, and please don't shoot other players when you're out! (I'm sure everyone will respect this 100% =])

As always, let us know what you think. We couldn't build Rec Room without your support and feedback, so please keep it coming!

Rec Room UPDATE - the ^clubhouse edition!

December 15, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed an update, here's what's new... this is a big one!

• Saved Rooms Alpha - You can now choose to save and recall any custom room you create! This includes placement of objects, Maker Pen creations, whiteboard drawings, photos, etc.
• Here's how to do it: Open your watch and tap "Custom Rooms", then "Create", then make sure you're creating the room in Sandbox mode. Once you're in the room, make some changes then open your watch again, tap "This Room", then "Save". You'll be prompted to type a name and description for your room. Now whenever you return to this room, it will load the saved version!
• You can also restore the saved version at any time by tapping "Restore" in "This Room".
• Saved rooms have a unique ^roomname. We use the '^' symbol to mean "room". So if you see us say something like "come to ^partytime" that means you should come to a room called "partytime". Every saved room must have a unique ^roomname (it's kind of like a URL).
• If you know the ^roomname and you want to go to the room, do this: Open your watch and tap "Custom Rooms", then "Search". Type the name and hit Search. You should see the room appear... tap the little button to go to it!
• Saved rooms are public by default (anyone who knows the ^roomname can join, and your room will appear in the Custom Room Browser if someone is in it), but you can set your room to be private if you want. This makes it possible to create a clubhouse, for example, that is only accessible by you and our friends, which has been a popular request at our Q&As. (Not quite as popular as boxing and go-karts, but we do what we can!). Expect us to add additional features soon for more/easier control over access, and maybe the ability to boot directly to your clubhouse (bypassing the Dorm).
• Note that you (the creator) don't have to be present for people to visit your saved room (if you made it public)...
• This is a very new system that will take a while to settle in, so expect bugs and weirdness! Please give give us feedback about any aspect of saved rooms.
• Please be aware that we will continue to update Rec Room at our usual breakneck pace, and some updates might break saved rooms. We obviously don't want that to happen, and we'll try to avoid it as much as possible, but we have to be clear that it almost certainly will happen from time to time.
• We also reserve the right to delete inactive rooms (e.g., no-one has visited for > one month) and release the ^roomname. It's way too early in Rec Room history to guarantee permanent persistence, so you need to be actively maintaining your room for it to keep working! This is not (yet) a "build once and forget" system.

OK so that's saved rooms! We are really excited to see what you build with this new system, and we have big plans to expand on this system to allow you to make really rich Custom Rooms... make your own games, host your own events, etc. So let us know what you wish you can do, and we'll do our best to make it a reality!

But wait there's more! Here's some other stuff that's in this update:

• Outfit slots - you can now save up to six outfits in slots, and recall them instantly. Watch --> Profile, tap the button!
• New sandbox items - e.g., a fun array of "mocktail" glasses for partys! A mini-fridge! A D20 dice set! A "programmable" door (you can assign any ^roomname, and the door will take you there... kind of like a VR hyperlink)! And more...
• New maker pen features - you can now use the edit button on the maker pen to access properties of sandbox items. Right now all you can do is freeze items in place, but we'll be adding more properties over time. The maker pen can now delete sandbox items. It can't clone them yet, but we plan to add that! We also fixed a couple of bugs.
• New teleport visuals - we made it a little more minimal and cool looking, and teleport beams are now team color in Paintball and Laser Tag.
• New hairstyles - long wavy, short wavy, man bun, man ponytail, and dreadlocks.
• More updates to new player tutorial. We now introduce the Code of Conduct earlier, and teach some social gestures (handshake, fist bump, stop gesture).
• Updates to Rec Center decoration (each door is themed, there's some more toys to play with).
• New host power - hosts can make it so only hosts can invite to a custom room.
• Fixed a bug where you could get an extra player in a session (e.g., five players in Quest).
• Improved performance of the card deck in The Lounge.

As always, let us know what you think. We couldn't build Rec Room without your support and feedback, so please keep it coming!

Rec Room PATCH - for the "Laser Tag" edition

December 1, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a patch that addresses a few issues!

• Refreshing the Laser Tag merch booth
• Fixing issue where players could be incorrectly revived in Laser Tag
• Many more updates to the new player flow!
• PSVR - potential stability fixes (i.e., less crashes)
• PSVR - items won't look all crazy when they come out of gift boxes/drawers

As always, let us know what you think. We couldn't build Rec Room without your support and feedback, so please keep it coming:

https://www.againstgrav.com/contact-us-1

Rec Room PATCH - for the "Laser Tag" edition

November 21, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a minor patch that resolves a few issues we saw over the weekend...

• PSVR - fixed crash that was affecting all Quests
• PSVR - tweaked smooth rotate behavior
• PSVR - switched mapping of Move controller color to hands (red = right!)
• Quest - tweaked Quest loading so voice chat doesn't stutter between rooms
• Challenges - fixed issue where challenge wouldn't be properly awarded, sorry about that :-(
• Rec Center - improved spawn points when returning to Rec Center from an activity with a large party!

As always, let us know what you think. We couldn't build Rec Room without your support and feedback, so [1](please keep it coming!)

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Laser Tag" edition

November 18, 2017 - gribbly

We released an update! Here's what's new:

• Laser Tag is now LIVE 24/7 get in there and have fun! It's had an art pass, more balance tweaks based on your feedback, and lots of bug fixes and polish. That said, it's not done! We think of Laser Tag as an ongoing development, so we will be tweaking it based on your feedback for the forseeable future. So if you wished something was different, let us know!
• You can now Start and Stop Sandbox Games - the locations of items you've placed in sandbox mode will be stored whenever the game starts, and restored whenever the game ends. You can set a time limit for the game if you like (do this via "This Room" in the watch). Note that item locations are only stored during the current session, we don't support true cross-session persistence... yet =] This is a baby step towards that goal.
• There's new stuff in the Laser Tag Merch Booth - earn tickets by playing, and buy cool gear that you get to keep forever!
• Laser Tag Sandbox Mode - there's now a sandbox machine in the Laser Tag Arena.
• RC Car Remote Viewscreen - we added a viewscreen to the RC Car Remote! Try tapping the screen...
• Quest Load Optimization - you now load into Quests *much* faster!
• Charades PSVR fix - we found and fixed a big problem in Charades that was crashing PSVR. This resulted in a nice optimization for all platforms!
• We've tweaked the Rec Room account system UI to be easier to understand. It's now much easier/cleaner to create and manage Rec Room accounts. We will be making many more upgrades here soon, especially on the website side of things...
• You can now log into your Rec Room account on any system by entering your email or username on a friend's system, or at a VR Arcade, or anywhere!
• There's an option to "forget this account" in Settings-->Advanced. This will log you out automatically at the end of the session.
• All remembered accounts are shown at startup for easy one-click login!
• There's a new alternate input for Smooth Rotate - if you have smooth rotation enabled in Settings, try pressing and holding the teleport button on both controllers! Works on all platforms.
• The "J" on the VR keyboard now looks like a J!

As always, let us know what you think. We couldn't build Rec Room without your support and feedback, so https://www.againstgrav.com/contact-us-1 (please keep it coming!)

Rec Room UPDATE - the "RC Car" edition

November 10, 2017 - gribbly

We released an update! Here's what's new:

• New Remote Control Car to play with! You'll find it in the Sandbox Machine, in the "Special" category. Grab the box out of the machine and release it to get the car and the remote to control it.
• You can now Start and Stop Sandbox Games - the locations of items you've placed in sandbox mode will be stored whenever the game starts, and restored whenever the game ends. You can set a time limit for the game if you like (do this via "This Room" in the watch). Note that item locations are only stored during the current session, we don't support true cross-session persistence... yet =] This is a baby step towards that goal.
• We moved a bunch of sandbox management to the "This Room" button (including naming and publishing rooms).
• You can now send and receive text messages with your friends! Hit the "Message" button on their profile in the watch, then use the keyboard. Only works with friends who are online! (Detail: you can tap a player's image in the message screen to go straight to their profile)
• It's Laser Tag Alpha weekend 3.0 - Starting Friday 5pm PST through Sunday 11:59pm PST - lots more tweaks and fixes based on your feedback!
• Laser Tag - experimental solution to prevent players from clipping through walls/objects. Let us know what you think...
• Laser Tag - you now earn "tickets" by playing, which you can redeem at the Laser Tag Prize Booth! Tickets accrue over the course of the weekend, you don't have to earn them all in one session! Laser Tag Alpha tickets are only valid this weekend! So spend 'em if you got 'em.
• We added more text chat options to Expresso - perfect for users who don't want to use voice chat! To use Expresso, press and hold the Menu button (Vive), the B/Y button (Oculus Touch), or the Square/Triangle button (PlayStation VR) to reveal the Expresso menu. Then move your hand through the Expresso zones to select emotes, text chats, etc. We're happy to keep adding stuff to Expresso, so if there's something you wish was there let us know!
• Maker Pen - the maker pen now defaults to "Basic Mode". This is better for Charades and other casual use. In Basic Mode, your creations are automatically set to "PLAY" mode when you grab them. To unlock the FULL POWER of the Maker Pen, hit the "Advanced" button. In Advanced Mode, you need to manually set creations to PLAY mode. This allows for much richer editing, but can be confusing for new users.
• There are now separate leaderboards for each Quest.
• When you return to the Rec Center after playing an activity, you'll be outside the door for that activity (as opposed to always being in the Dorm Room hallway).
• New users are now asked for a birthday and email before they reach the Dorm Room, in a new welcome area.
• Jumbotron/Laser Tag guns have better "you need to reload!" feedback.
• Re-added "teleport follow" behavior to Streamer Cam.
• Fixed bug where Expresso emotes didn't affect your mouth!
• Lots of other bug fixes and tweaks!

As always, let us know what you think. We couldn't build Rec Room without your support and feedback, so https://www.againstgrav.com/contact-us-1 (please keep it coming!)

Rec Room PATCH - for the "Cheers" edition!

November 3, 2017 - gribbly

We pushed a patch:

• Prepping for laser tag weekend 2.0
• Fixed bug where Crimson Cauldron door would take you back to the Rec Center (very confusing!)
• Fixes bug where Team Charades would stop working after first turn
• Fixes bug where you could get stuck in black world before final boss in Golden Trophy (and possibly other quests)
• Fixed bug where boss fight in Crimson Cauldron could stall if you knocked enemies out the windows

Rec Room PATCH - for the "Cheers" edition!

October 31, 2017 - gribbly

We pushed a patch that addresses a few issues:

• Themed door for next Laser Tag weekend
• Fixed an issue where users could get endless gifts!!!
• Fixed some issues where new users could get stuck in tutorial
• Fixed issue where "push-to-talk" users would always have their tongue sticking out!
• Fixed some issues in Charades
• Lots of other bug fixes

As always, let is know what you think: https://www.againstgrav.com/contact-us-1

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Cheers" edition!

October 27, 2017 - gribbly

Here's what's new:

• New Cheer System - the best thing about Rec Room is you! We love our players, and we especially love when our players look after each other. Now there's a way to show your appreciation for players who make your day in Rec Room. Give them a "thumbs up" gesture and hold it while the timer completes. Then, tell them what made you happy by tapping a button on your watch - you can give cheers for being helpful, for being a good sport, for being a great host, or for being impressively creative. Or you can just give a general cheers for no specific reason!
• Here's how to do the thumbs up gesture: First, make a fist by pulling the trigger and pointing your thumb towards the sky - hold that pose for a second and you'll do a "thumbs up".
• Cheers can be anonymous if you prefer.
• If you choose to accept a cheers (you'll be notified on your watch), there'll be confetti!

Also, it's...

• Rec Room Laser Tag Weekend - you're all invited to a sneak preview of a new game mode we're working on. From 5PM (PST) this Friday night until just before midnight on Sunday night. It's early, but we really want your feedback on how we should develop this. We've been having a blast playing it at the Against Gravity headquarters, and we're really excited to share it with you!

But wait, there's more!

• Maker Pen got an update - there's now an explicit "EDIT" and "PLAY" mode. When you start creating, you're in EDIT mode. When you're done, press the PLAY button on the Maker Pen menu and your creation will get physics, gravity, etc. If you want to go back into EDIT mode, press the Edit button, touch the object you want to edit with the tip of the pen and pull the trigger.
• Maker Pen - Clone now works on entire objects in PLAY mode.
• Maker Pen - You can now draw perfectly proportioned spheres and boxes by toggling "constrained" on.
• Maker Pen - ribbons are now aligned with the angle of the pen tip when you draw (makes them look nicer).
• Maker Pen - we did a lot of under-the-hood work to improve performance, fix the annoying bugs where you creations would disappear, improve collisions, and set ourselves up for continued improvements (like saving and re-loading creations... it's coming).

And more!

• PlayStation VR players are starting to show up in the general population. Please make them feel welcome! More humans in more headsets is exactly what Rec Room (and VR) need to grow big and strong!
• Dorm Room - we replaced the computer with a comfy chair and a seasonal replacement head. You're welcome.
• Seriously, we moved all the computer functions (e.g., registering your email, updating name, searching for friends, entering a #roomcode) into your watch, so you can use those features anywhere now.
• Thanks computer, you served us well!
• This Room button in watch - the "Scoreboard" button is now the "This Room" button. Scoreboard can still be found in there, as well as a new "Actions" tab which hosts the Hazard button (if you're playing Disc Golf) or the Switch Teams button (if you're playing paintball and the teams become unbalanced). The "This Room" button is preparation for adding persistence to Custom Rooms
• Updated intro tutorial now that the computer is gone.
• Fixed a nasty bug where hands were animating at a reduced framerate. Ugh.
• Fixed issue where non-hosts could grab duplicate items from the Sandbox Machine.
• Last but certainly not least, we're changing the way we handle underage players. Tldr * junior players (age 12 and under) are now permitted in Rec Room, but they can't hear or transmit mic audio, can't access certain functions, and you can set a matchmaking preference to try and avoid them if you prefer. We'll talk about this more in a post on our subreddit: https://recroom.reddit.com

Got feedback for us? Hit us up: https://www.againstgrav.com/contact-us-1

Rec Room UPDATE - patch for the "PSVR Soft Launch" edition

October 19, 2017 -

We just pushed a patch that addresses a few issues:

• Quest - fixed bug that was causing Quest enemies to update at low framerates.
• Quest - we are aware of the weird graphical issue with enemy fireballs, not fixed yet sorry!
• Quest - fixed some issues with scoring (e.g., the mini-witches in Crimson Cauldron were not correctly giving gold)... we have double-checked and ensured that it is correct again now
• Quest - fixed some minor lighting issues
• Disc Golf - fixed some weird-looking text issues with signage caused by some recent optimizations

Rec Room UPDATE - the "PSVR Soft Launch" edition

October 14, 2017 - gribbly

Here's what's new in this update!

• For the first time, Rec Room is available to PSVR players! For now, it's a very limited beta, and they are not yet mixed with the "general population". But this is a huge milestone, and it means that soon there'll be even more friends from all around the world to play with!
• Paintball - Bows are now a supported weapon in custom games!
• New Toys in the Sandbox Machine - we've added a bunch of new stuff in the Sandbox Machine. We've focused mainly on scenery and decorations (including the oft-requested * Quest "flat trees"), so you can start to experiment with building your own layouts. Want a campfire in The Lounge? Sure why not:
• We've made it possible to import only selected friends, or skip friend importing entirely. Handy when creating new profiles!

We've also revamped our initial tutorial with the goal of making Rec Room easier for new players:

• We now teach the handshake (add friend), fist bump (party up), and Stop (mute/ignore/report) gestures so more users are aware of these.
• We highlight the Code of Conduct more prominently during the tutorial.

Keyboard now has shortcuts for common email addresses (e.g., "@gmail") to minimize typing!

• We're trying something different with weekly challenges - we're going to release just one skin per week, but focus on making that skin a little more special.
• Quest - we tweaked the way teams advanced through the level. Now, when everyone gathers on the unlock pad, the whole team will go together when someone teleports through the door. The goal is to minimize players racing ahead, as well as addressing some technical issues.
• Disc Golf - scoring is now fixed! Sorry about that... lots of work going on behind the scenes right now so this fix took us longer than we wanted.

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room! We have lots of exciting stuff in the works for the coming weeks and months, and as always we want to hear your feedback. Hit us up! https://www.againstgrav.com/blog/2016/11/23/send-us-your-feedback

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Maker Pen" edition!

October 2, 2017 - gribbly

• Introducing the Maker Pen - the Maker Pen is a major update to the "3D Pen". It can now do a whole lot more!
• The Maker Pen has its own watch-style menu:
  • ...that lets you pick from a much wider variety of colors:
  • ...and shapes:
  • ...and do useful stuff like clone those shapes!
• The Maker Pen can do a lot, so it may take a while to learn the tips and tricks. *We'll be making a HowTo video soon, so stay tuned for that!
• Note: Just as with Sandbox Mode, you can't save your creations yet. We know you'll want to save the cool stuff you make, and we will make it happen. But we wanted to get these new tools into your hands sooner rather than later, so we can learn together!
• New Artist Outfit. To unlock the Artist Outfit, be sure to play some 3D Charades!
• Dodgeball - fixed a bug that could render the game unplayable...
• We've been hard at work behind the scenes! There are lots of neat optimizations coming, and we just announced that Rec Room is coming to PlayStation VR this fall. *It's the end of summer in Seattle, but we are still bringing the heat =]

As always, we want to hear your feedback. Hit us up:

https://www.againstgrav.com/blog/2016/11/23/send-us-your-feedback

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Parklife" edition!

September 15, 2017 - gribbly

• New venue "The Park" - a new, expansive, outdoor environment for you to play in! The Park is designed primarily for creating your own activities in Custom Rooms. Speaking of which...
• Custom Rooms - you can now create, host, name and publish Custom Rooms. Once published, Custom Rooms can be browsed and joined via the Custom Rooms browser in the watch!

Note: Custom Rooms replaces "private games" in the activities tab (all Custom Rooms are private until published), and the "Events" button in the watch.

• Weekly Challenges are back! We revamped some stuff on the backend, and we can now support some different types of challenges =]
• 3D Pen - 3D drawings can now be stuck to various objects, including youself! This is pretty fun for costumes, etc =] We have more planned on the 3D Pen so... feedback please!
• Dodgeball - added a penalty for leaving the court.
• Paintball - fixed voting for next map (it was broken, sorry :-/)
• Moderation - re-added "AFK" as a report reason. Reporting a player for AFK can remove them from the room (depending on vote), but does not penalize them with a timeout.
• The Rise of JumboTron - fixed issue where videos weren't playing
• Performance Hall - added Sandbox machine
• Sandbox Mode - you can now see the name of the player you hit/who hit you (plus some other tweaks and fixes)

OK that's it for this update! As always, we value your feedback and suggestions. Come and talk to us: https://www.againstgrav.com/blog/2016/11/23/send-us-your-feedback

Minor update - patch for the "Sandbox Machine" edition

September 11, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a small patch that fixes a bug that was hammering one of our servers. It also contains a couple of other minor bugfixes, and reduces the volume of the bell that sounds when the sandbox timer expires!

Rec Room PATCH - for the "Sandbox Machine" edition

September 2, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped a small patch update. Here's what's new:

• Fixed bugs related to joining sandbox game in progress including the blank scoreboard issue.
• Fixed bugs with dodgeballs and chairs in sandbox machine.
• Turned down the sandbox "times up" audio (yes, it was really loud)
• Added one extra highly requested item to the sandbox machine.

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room! We love our players! We're excited to see what you come up with using the Sandbox Machine - please hit us with feedback, requests, etc. We've got lots planned for the coming weeks and months that we're very excited to share with you. In the meantime, if you're enjoying Rec Room and you haven't already, please consider leaving us a positive review. It helps us be more visible in the store, which means more people find us, which means more people to play with. Everybody wins =]

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Sandbox Machine" edition

September 1, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped an update. Here's what's new:

• New Sandbox Machine - Create your own games by activating the Sandbox Machine and dispensing whatever equipment you want to play with! Want to play Quest bows vs. JumboTron pistols on Paintball River? Go for it! Want to play Ultimate Sport Disc in the Shield Soccer arena? Now you can =] The Sandbox Machine was inspired by the creativity we saw in the community, creating new games and activities for each other. This is a first step in making it easier to create richer activities, and we very much want you to try it and give us feedback about how to make it better. What else would you like to be able to dispense? What kind of scoring/tracking/timing features are needed? What else would you like to create. Let us know!

Think of Sandbox games as "playing with friends in the park". Most of the rules are explained enforced socially, by talking to each other! Over time, we can add tools to enforce the rules more robustly. But we want to get it out there and learn first.

• Press the Start Sandbox button on the machine to activate Sandbox mode! Press and hold the Stop button to stop.
• Grab items to dispense them for use
• Recycle items when you're done:

Note: You must be the host of a private game to activate the Sandbox Machine! Speaking of which...

• Improvements to Hosting a Private Game - last update we made it that the creator of a private game was designated as the Host (with the power to kick non-Hosts, etc.). This update adds:
• Only the Host can start a private game
• Only the Host can change mode or custome game settings
• Only the Host can activate and use the Sandbox Machine
• Weekly Challenges - can now be completed in private games.
• New *matchmaking system - this is mostly a behind the scenes change, but we re-architected our matchmaking system. For now, we'll mainly be happy if you don't notice a difference! But this sets us up for some important and exciting new stuff in the coming weeks and months (e.g., international servers). There are a couple of small immediate benefits, too: Invites are sent to your party immediately (previously there was a 5-10 second delay while we waited to see if you arrived in the new location before we sent invites). Event Hosts** can simply teleport through the door before their event starts (previously they were required to use a #roomcode).
• Paintball - tweaks and updates to Spillway map to improve balance.
• Paintball - new model and SFX for the Paint Grenade Launcher.
• Performance Hall - tweaked placement of streaming camera points (mainly, moved them closer to the stage)
• Moderation tweaks - including increased length of timeouts for offenders with a high number of reports

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room! We love our players! We're excited to see what you come up with using the Sandbox Machine - please hit us with feedback, requests, etc. We've got lots planned for the coming weeks and months that we're very excited to share with you. In the meantime, if you're enjoying Rec Room and you haven't already, please consider leaving us a positive review. It helps us be more visible in the store, which means more people find us, which means more people to play with. Everybody wins =]

Rec Room PATCH - for the "Curse of the Crimson Cauldron" Edition

August 23, 2017 - gribbly

Just pushed a minor update:

• Crimson Cauldron - Reduced fire rate of Hunter's Crossbow
• Crimson Cauldron - The fabled "ham sword" can now reflect witch orbs
• Crimson Cauldron - mini-witches no longer react to hits from regular weapons
• Crimson Cauldron - improved enemy navigation. It is now completely flawless and perfect in all circumstances...
• Crimson Cauldron - some perf improvements
• Fixed a shader bug that was impacting some avatar items
• Fixed a bug that could leave players in black world if they tried to teleport while respawning or traveling to a new Quest level.
• Updated the Code of Conduct http://www.againstgrav.com . We clarified that discriminatory language includes symbols. We now ask players to refrain from impersonating devs, mods, or other authority figures.

Thanks for playing Rec Room! We love our players! Please send us any feedback you have, positive or negative. Come find us on the Steam Forums, on Reddit (/r/recroom), on Discord, or on Twitter (@againstgrav)

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Curse of the Crimson Cauldron" Edition

August 18, 2017 - gribbly

OK big update this week! Here's what's new...

• A brand new Rec Room Quest: "The Curse of the Crimson Cauldron" - The Goblin King is defeated, and the Golden Trophy restored to its rightful place. And yet peace has not returned! The goblin hordes serve a new master, toiling away at a mysterious red substance. Can your band of adventurers brave the enchanted wilds, and lift the Curse of the Crimson Cauldron?
• Two new avatar outfits that you can unlock by completing The Curse of the Crimson Cauldron: The "Wizard" and the "Witch Hunter"
• Creators of a private games now have "Event Host" powers (i.e., can mute/kick guests/create other hosts).
• Event Hosts can now leave and come back to the events/private games they've created, and their powers will be restored!
• New eraser marker for your precise whiteboard erasing needs!
• Fixed a bug where host couldn't correctly manage other hosts in Events.
• Fixed some issues where avatar items could disappear through the ground in the Dorm Room.
• Rec Room will now prompt you (via the watch) to import new Steam/Oculus friends who play Rec Room.

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room! We love our players! We'd love to hear any feedback you have, positive or negative. So come find us on the Steam Forums, on Reddit (/r/recroom), on Discord (https://discord.gg/HmjS9nb ), or on Twitter (@againstgrav)

Minor update - patch for the "Expresso" edition

August 15, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a patch that addresses the following:

• Fix crash that could occur when receiving a bow in a gift package
• Adds streamer cam camera angles to Performance Hall venue (see Stream Mixer in Advanced Settings to access these)
• Addresses issue where host role could sometimes not be correctly conferred on other players

Minor update - patch for the "Expresso" edition

August 8, 2017 - gribbly

• Fixed issue where game could crash when leaving an activity (sorry about that)
• Fixed issue where thumbs up gesture was not visible to remote players

Minor update - patch for "Expresso" edition

August 4, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a patch that restores the Push-to-Talk button (grip button on Vive, thumbstick click on Oculus Touch).

You can now initiate Push-to-Talk (PTT) via the button or via Expresso menu.

Also, forgot to mention something that went out in yesterday's update:

• Improved recognition of gestures, especially the handshake gesture. Should be much more reliable now.

Rec Room UPDATE - the "Expresso" edition

August 4, 2017 - gribbly

Here's what's new:

• New "Expresso" system gives you more control over your avatar's expressions. Use simple hand movements to choose various emotes - crying, laughing, mad, sad, etc.
• To use Expresso, press and hold the Menu button (Vive) or the Y/B button (Oculus), then move your hand into the options you want. Generally, Expresso commands are two directions. E.g., right right = "laugh". Left left = "sad". We recommend you find a mirror and experiment until you can do it smoothly!
• PUSH TO TALK USERS TAKE NOTE - the "push to talk" button has been migrated into the Expresso menu. With PTT (push to talk) enabled in settings, use down down to enable your mic. Your mic will be active as long as you hold your hand in the zone. If your mic is set to "on", it does the reverse (your mic will be muted as long as you hold your hand in the zone).
• Down left will open your watch menu in "detached" mode in front of you.
• Expresso down right will toggle whether the "chat bubbles" that accompany emotes show up over your head. You can use this toggle for more subtle expressions, since only your facial expression will change. Note that chat bubbles will always show up for Chat messages.
• Expresso is also designed to be used by users who don't use a mic at all! Expresso up (e.g., up, left or up, right) has context-specific chat options that appear as speech bubbles over your head.

As with many of our features, Expresso is an experiment! Let us know what you like, what you don't like, and give us suggestions for how it should evolve. Our goal is to add expressiveness to your avatar over time, so we're keen to hear feedback.

Here's what else is new:

• Featured Event door has moved! It's now shared with The Lounge. The Lounge becomes an event space when an event is live.
• Event host - event host can choose to make guests into a host, so they can help run the event. Do this by finding the player in the People menu.
• Event host - event host can now silence everyone
• Event host - can prevent guests from teleporting onto stage
• The Lounge - tuned sound of microphone/sound system. It's now less "tinny" and hopefully less annoying!
• New event venue - performance hall! Note that this is only accessible for Featured Events right now.
• New "Event" button in watch menu (only active if you're in an event)
• Watch - there's now an option to require a tap on the watch face to open the menu. This is for situations where the watch automatically popping up is distracting or unwanted.
• Watch - there's now an option to disable all notifications.
• Paintball - fixed bug where flags could disappear in CTF
• Quests - fixed bug where you could get stuck in a black void in Quest (we hope)
• Quest for the Golden Trophy - fixed bug where enemies could become immune to attacks (we hope)
• Paddleball - fixed bug where ball could spawn under the ground
• Disc Golf - updated help clipboards to reflect recent UI changes
• Swipe turn - re-tuned gesture values on Vive. Please try and let us know if it's better? If it still feels weird, try recalibrating your controller via SteamVR.

Touch teleport (Vive only) - re-tuned gesture values on Vive.

Rec Room patch update - the "Fancy Pants" edition

July 28, 2017 - gribbly

Paintball: Fixed bug where you you could respawn in place

Rec Room patch update - the "Fancy Pants" edition

July 22, 2017 - gribbly

• Fixed "ice skating" bug - you can no longer abuse rotate to move through the world! Fun while it lasted...
• Quest - fixed boss encounter in The Rise of JumboTron
• Quest - can now get past lava room in Golden Trophy!
• Quest - fixed a bunch of bugs with enemy spawning

Rec Room update - the "Fancy Pants" edition

July 21, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped an update! Here's what's new...

• This update is all about outfits! We've added more than 100 new items - dresses, shirts, hats, accessories, hairstyles, and yes - of course - gloves!
• We've bumped the level cap to 30 (from 20). As usual, the coolest stuff is available at the higher levels!
• We've retuned the XP rewards and level curves to be smoother and saner, and tried to ensure that everything comes in the right box...

We've added new features for community events:

• Event hosts are marked with a crown icon
• Event hosts can kick attendees without requiring a vote
• The host is guaranteed a spot in their own event! (We learned this one the hard way when we had a host accidentally leave her own event!)

Bug fixes:

• Fixed a bug where Share Camera would be tiny when you dropped it!
• Fixed bug where @names were displaying incorrectly
• Fixed a bug where friend import could fail during new user tutorial
• Fixed a system issue that could cause a bunch of "weirdness" with activities (e.g., Paintball, Quest, etc.). So, hopefully there will be less weirdness!

Minor update - fixes for the "Featured Events" edition

July 12, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped an patch update:

• Fixed scoring in Disc Golf... sorry about that
• Removed "favorite skin applied" message when playing a game
• Fixed bug in moderation system
• Standard gift boxes were using the wrong texture - fixed!
• No-one appreciated our innovative, disruptive spelling of the word "Challange", so we have switched to the more standard "Challenge" =]

Rec Room update - the "Featured Events" edition

July 10, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped an update, here's what's new!

• Featured Event Door - The Rec Center now has a door that highlights and takes you to featured community events. That's right - fun stuff created by other Rec Room players that you are invited to!
• The very first Rec Room featured event is hosted by the one and only mamamonkey! She invites you to play "Sardines", a fun social game that - from our tests - tends to result in a lot of giggling!
• There will be several more events this week! Check the posters in the Rec Center...
• The "featured event" system is fairly basic right now... we wanted to get a starting point out there and start using it. We would love to hear your feedback on how we can make it better/cooler/faster/stronger/etc. Hit us up with suggestions, complaints, praise and non-sequiturs on Reddit, Discord, Steam, or Twitter:

https://www.againstgrav.com/blog/2016/11/23/send-us-your-feedback

• New "Skins" System - show your style by unlocking and applying skins to the stuff you use to play games like Paintball, Quest, and more. Choose the skins you want to use in your Dorm Room:
• Everyone gets some basic default skins, to get the fancier stuff check out the new...
• Weekly Challenges - check your watch to find a Weekly Checklist that joins the Daily Checklist. Complete the Weekly challenges to unlock fancy custom skins! This week's skins are paintball-themed. Next week there'll be different challenges with different unlocks. So if you see something you really like the look of, be sure to complete the challenge that week! Challenges will repeat, but not often... so you might be waiting a while for your next chance...
• Updated New User Tuturial - new users will get an updated tutorial that (we hope) is a little clearer and teaches some more useful stuff (like how to change avatar clothes).
• Added some skin and hair color options! Also moved the "swatches" used to change them to the sides of the mirror.
• Re-added "invite" button at the top level of the People menu, so it's easier to quickly invite your friends again! Note: We plan to re-add the "who's talking" indicator to the watch next...

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room and for being awesome! Please let us know what you love/hate/kinda-like/would-probably-change-but-isn't-that-big-of-a-deal-really!

Minor update - fixing friends list status

June 25, 2017 - AgainstGravity

We just shipped a minor patch update that fixes a bug that was causing a number of issues, the most visible of which was the friends list having out-of-date information (eg: friends appearing offline when they really are online, or appearing to be in one activity when in reality they're in another activity).

Rec Room update - the "Spillway" edition

June 23, 2017 - AgainstGravity

We just shipped an update, here's what's new!

• New Paintball Map: "Spillway" - The sun's gone down at Rec Room's hydroelectric facility, and the night crew has swapping their tools for paintball guns! This new map features lots of interior cover spaces and a stealthy nighttime setting for extra sneaky splatting...
• New Paintball Gun: Grenade Launcher - Get your splash damage on and take out multiple targets at once with the new Grenade Launcher!
• New outfit: Technician - Hardhat and coveralls for all your hydroelectric facility inspection needs. Play paintball on the new Spillway map for a chance to unlock these items!
• Custom Private Games - with this update, Rec Room members can create and run custom private paintball games. Want to use the new Grenade Launcher on River or Quarry? Well, you can! Want to play with Sniper Rifles only? You can do that too! We plan to extend this system over time to allow customization of more games...
• Vote for next map - you can now vote for the next map in public games. Select "Vote" on the scoreboard and select which map you want next in the watch.
• Paintball - rebalance teams - you know how it kind of sucks when you start a 4v4 paintball map, then two people from one team leave? Well, now anyone on the larger team can choose to switch to other team mid-game. The button to do this is in the Scoreboard page of the watch.
• Multi-profile support - this update adds support for multiple profiles connected to a single Rec Room account. This is a members-only feature. Use the computer in the Dorm Room to create a new profile, then restart Rec Room to see the profile selector. Please note that moderation events (e.g., reports, timeouts, bans) are applied at the account level, so a penalty on one profile applies to all profiles.
• We did more performance optimization work - so you should be seeing smoother framerates across the board. If you have really bad performance, please don't hesitate to contact us: support@againstgrav.com. We have a known issue with some systems that we are trying to track down.
• Fixed bug where game wouldn't shut down cleanly. Sorry about that!

Come give it a try and let us know what you think! As always, we welcome your feedback positive or negative. Help us make Rec Room more awesome by telling what you love/hate!

Minor update - couple of bug fixes for "Rec Center" edition

June 14, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed an update with a couple of fixes:

1. Updated display of friends in watch menu - you can now see their status at the top level
2. Fixed an issue where keyboard could fail to open when using computer in Dorm Room

UPDATE IS LIVE - the "Rec Center" edition!

June 8, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped the "Rec Center" edition update. Here's what's new!

• Rec Center - We gave the Locker Room a fresh coat of paint and re-branded it as the "Rec Center". As we evolve this space it is less of a "locker room" with each change, so we decided to reflect that with the name.
• Updated Rec Center layout - we hope this makes it easier for people to find all the various activities. It also makes it easier for us to add new stuff in the future.
• New "basketball court" area in Rec Center
• We made all the doors fancier! And added stairs! And more!
• Totally revamped the Watch Menu
• Watch now fully supports physical interactions (tapping with a finger) as well as laser pointer interactions.
• You can now use the watch menu without dropping the tool you're holding. No more dropping your paintball gun to click a button!
• New visual style
• We brought back watch hands that show the time!
• Streamlined reporting - we unified the behavior of the Stop Gesture (aka "talk to the hand") with the new "Stop button" (in the watch). "Stopping" a player makes it quick and easy to mute and ignore. Then you can optionally report, which will also initiate a vote kick round.
• Simplified "report reasons" - report reasons are now Misc, Underage, Cheating, and Harassment. Please use "Misc" for things like AFK or mic abuse.
• New stream mixer for updated Streamer Cam. Find it in Advanced Settings in the watch.
• You can now configure private activities. This currently works for Paintball, Dodgeball, Paddleball, and 3D Charades. Change settings via the Scoreboard before you press Start.
• Added Leaderboards to more activities!
• The Lounge music is now back to the correct easy listenin' vibes.
• Paintball - fixed a bug where player could be invincible while teleporting.
• More networking optimizations.
• Lots of bug fixes and improvements.

Thanks for playing Rec Room! Please give us feedback, we love to hear from you =]

Minor update - addressing Jumbotron bug

May 23, 2017 - gribbly

Just shipped an update that fixes a few bugs:

• Jumbotron - fixed bug where if a player left/crashed while holding a gun, remaining players could not progress to next room
• Fixed issue where some objects were not correctly synced (e.g., whiteboard erasers)
• Fixed an issue that was causing some objects to send to much network data

Minor update - lots of bug fixes

May 21, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed an update that fixes bugs introduced by yesterday's update:

• Jumbotron - guns could spawn without reloaders. Fixed.
• Jumbotron - gun grips can become detached from guns. Fixed.
• Jumbotron - loot wasn't being awarded correctly. Fixed.
• Jumbotron - boss could fail to spawn. Fixed.
• Paintball - couldn't return flag. Fixed.
• Charades - couldn't pick up cards. Fixed.
• Plus a couple of other minor things.

Apologies for that. We made some changes in an underlying system that caused a number of bugs. We should have tested more carefully!

UPDATE IS LIVE - the "Co-op Catch" edition!

May 19, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped an update. Here's what's new!

• Introducing Co-op Catch Mode - a fun new way to play Disc Golf! Up to four friends can now play Disc Golf with a twist... you have to catch the disc! This has been loads of fun in our testing, we hope you like it!
• New Share Camera - grab it from your watch and use it anywhere in Rec Room. Once you've taken a great photo, you can print it out to show others, set it as your profile pic, save it, or send it to yourself via text message/email for easy sharing outside of Rec Room. Once you're done, put the camera back into the watch menu!
• You can stick your printed photos to pretty much anything:
• Discs now have a "catch counter". So you can see how many times in a row you can throw and catch =] This works everywhere (not just on Disc Golf maps).
• Paintball - fixed bug where hits weren't registering correctly. Sorry about that!
• Added new option Touch Teleport - this allows Vive users to touch the trackpad (as opposed to click) to teleport. Default is off. This setting makes no sense on Oculus, so Oculus users won't see this setting.

Minor update - addressing some major performance issues

May 9, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a minor update to address a few issues:

• Fixed a major issue with networking that was effecting everything but was especially making Quest close to unplayable for some players. Sorry about that, it will be a lot better now.
• Fixed a performance issue with AI that was specific to The Rise of JumboTron
• Fixed a crash bug that could occur when leaving The Lounge

Minor update - fixes for #roomcode edition

May 6, 2017 - gribbly

• Fixed a quest bug where enemies could get stuck in a weird state and game does not progress
• The Lounge - Decreased the volume of the PA system by 25%
• The Lounge - Rolling whiteboards no longer clean themselves up
• The Lounge - Whiteboards now auto-corrects orientation and height
• The Lounge - disabled poker chips temporarily (to help with perf)
• The Lounge - optimized deck of cards to improve framerate
• Fixed a bug where gift packages could show wrong box!

UPDATE IS LIVE - the #roomcodes edition

May 4, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed an update, here's what's new...

• Introducing #roomcodes - we've made it much easier to quickly get together in Rec Room! If you'd like to meet up, just share a #roomcode with everyone first. A #roomcode can be any text string (minimum 3, maximum 32 characters). For example, the following are all valid #roomcodes:

coach
kungfukenny
asdfafaf

• To use a #roomcode, just type it into the computer in the Dorm Room (you do NOT need to enter the #). If that #roomcode already exists, you'll join the room. If #roomcode doesn't exist yet, you'll create the room.
• Note that #roomcodes always take you to The Lounge (at least for now).
• Note that #roomcodes are not guaranteed to be private. Anyone who enters the same #roomcode (even if they guess it) will join the room. If you want to guarantee a private session, please create a Private Activity via the watch menu (free membership required).
• Here's an example of using a #roomcode. Players A, B and C want to meet up in Rec Room. A sends a text message to B and C: "Hey let's meet up. #pancakes". A, B and C boot up Rec Room and arrive in their Dorm Room. They use the computer to enter the #roomcode 'pancakes'. They all end up in The Lounge together. From there, they can party up and go play paintball, or hang out in The Lounge, or whatever they want to do.

In our testing, #roomcodes make it much quicker and simpler to get together in Rec Room. Please try it out and give us feedback! We can imagine all kinds of neat ways to expand on this system, but we want to hear from you first. Is this useful? Does it work the way you expect/want it to?

• The Lounge - The Lounge now has its own door in the Locker Room! We wanted to make more players aware of the The Lounge. If you try to enter as a guest, you'll be prompted to become a member first (it's free!). Note that when you enter The Lounge, you are creating a private instance, not joining a public Lounge. You'll need to invite your friends, or use a #roomcode.
• The Lounge - The player cap has been increased to 16. So you can have up to 15 friends with you in The Lounge!
• The Lounge - Whiteboards are now movable in The Lounge. So you can grab and position a whiteboard wherever you need it. They also work great as partitions/screens for muder mysteries, etc. =]
• The Lounge - There are now sticky notes in The Lounge. You can draw on them with whiteboard markers, then stick them to anything (including yourself/other players). So if you're playing a game where you need to mark a player as a special role, this is a good way to do it!
• The Lounge - There is now a working PA system in The Lounge. The mic is on the stage (but you can grab it and carry it around with you). When you talk into the microphone, you can be heard clearly throughout The Lounge!
• 3D Charades - there's a new 3D Charades pen, which now lets you control color (by pressing buttons on the pen), and line thickness (by how hard you squeeze the trigger)
• 3D Charades - updated and improved layout!
• Tutorial - We re-did the intro tutorial to introduce features a little more clearly.
• Tutorial - You can now press a button in the Dorm Room to restart the tutorial. This is handy if you want to show a friend the game using your account.
• Packages - Gift packages now show rarity and source (i.e., which activity granted them to you).

Fixing paintball collision

Apri 28, 2017 - AgainstGravity

We just released a minor patch update that fixes a bug with the collision between paintballs and people's torsos.

UPDATE IS LIVE - the "Glove is all you need" edition

April 27, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed an update, here's what's new...

• Quest mode - re-tuned scoring and rewards for both Quests (Golden Trophy and Rise of Jumbotron)
• Quest more - rewards are now unique (no more dupes for the same rank)
• Jumbotron - tweaked AI to make enemies more dangerous.
• Jumbotron - added animations for laser weapon kickback
• Jumbotron - added blinking lights to laser weapons when out of ammo!
• Jumbotron - increased range on automatic credit pickup
• Jumbotron - fixed bug where projector audio could get stuck
• Golden Trophy - now has a door in the Locker Room again
• All activities now have teleportable exit doors that take you back to the Locker Room
• Moderation - made some tweaks to how reporting is handled in our internal systems
• We made Motion Teleport default for new users (teleport that doesn't blank the screen, but instead interpolates the camera... this has been available for a while, but we wanted to make it more widely known).
• Paintball - fixed a bug where flags could fail to appear properly

Rec Room - The Rise of Jumbotron Trailer

UPDATE IS LIVE - the "Rise of Jumbotron" edition!

April 21, 2017 - gribbly

OK big update this week! Here's what's new...

Just in time for National High Five Day it's...

• A brand new Rec Room Quest: "The Rise of Jumbotron!" Robot invaders threaten the galaxy... Do you have what it takes to board the mothership and defeat their fearsome leader Jumbotron? Team up with your friends and bring the laser heat!
• Two new avatar outfits that you can unlock by completing The Rise of Jumbotron: "The Laser Marine" and "The Smuggler".
• New letter grade team score for both Quests... your team will now receive a letter grade based on your score. The better your grade, the better the items you'll receive!
• Major networking optimization. Our data rates had gotten very high, so we took a machete to it and our sending ~50% as much data.
• More tweaks to 3D Charades - adjusted round times based on player feedback and fixed bugs where spectators could steal cards/the 3D pen.
• Fixed a bug where some textures didn't look right in the streamer cam (accessible via Settings in your watch)
• Some support added for Jong Yi's paintball tournament! Slowly figuring out what features we need so that it's easy to arrange and host tournaments and other events in Rec Room. Feedback and suggestions welcome!

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room! We love you! We'd love to hear any feedback you have, positive or negative. So come find us on the Steam Forums, on Reddit (/r/recroom), on Discord, or on Twitter (@againstgrav). Please note that we recently published global forum rules:

https://www.againstgrav.com/forum-rules

Have fun and be excellent to each other!

Coming soon... a new Rec Room Quest!

April 14, 2017 - gribbly

Minor update - fixing charades

April 12, 2017 - Cloud

Just released an update fixing an issue with Charades join in progress.

UPDATE IS LIVE - the "Team Charades" edition!

April 7, 2017 - gribbly

Unicorns!

We have a bug right now where only the first word of our build notes is showing up in the Oculus store. So I thought the first word should be something interesting!

Here's what's new this update:

• New 3D Charades Game Mode: Team Lightning - this is a new, team-based way to play 3D Charades. Red vs. Blue (minumum two players on each team). Two minute rounds. Each team gets two rounds per game. Most points wins!
• Lots of new 3D Charades clues! Also, we migrated the word list to our server, so it's now easier to add new words in the future!
• Team Lighting mode is now the default mode. You can switch to "Classic" mode via the scoreboard...
• Speaking of scoreboards... you can now see the Scoreboard on your Watch Menu - what!? Yes! I personally love this feature. Hit the button on the right to see the scoreboard for any game on your watch!

BTW, we know the watch menu is getting crazy crowded. We're working on plans to improve and simplify soon.

• New Shot Marker in the Locker Room. The basketball hoop now tracks your most recent and your longest baskets with a marker on the ground. Not persistent yet, but if you like this kind of thing let us know as there's lots of ways we could potentially expand on this.
• There's now a tutorial video in the Dorm Room - this is an experiment to see people will watch videos in the Dorm Room as a way to spread knowledge of features in Rec Room. So this is an admittedly simple/rushed implementation. If people like it, we'll make it better. If not, we'll try something else!
• Games no longer auto-start (e.g., Paintball, Disc Golf). This was an experiment that we decided didn't work out. We like auto-advancing to see the new maps, but we didn't like how auto-start interrupts social time between matches. The game now waits for input from someone before the countdown starts.
• The Profile Computer in the Dorm Room is now on all the time if you're not a member. The goal here is to educate people that membership is an option (as we still get asked quite often "how do I advance past level 3?" =]).
• Quest: Fixed bug where SFX didn't play when players are KOed.
• Quest: Fixed an issue where you wouldn't get gold for one-shotting an enemy.
• Paintball: Fixed a bug where you could get people out with grenades before they spawned.
• Disc Golf: New particle effects for when you hit the pin and the powerups!
• Disc Golf: Fixed an issue where powerups wouldn't reset after a private match.
• 3d Charades: Fixed a bug where the performer could spawn without the 3D Pen.

Minor update - addressing "a bunch of stuff we broke"

March 31, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a small update. Here's what's new:

• Mute was broken. It is now fixed. Sorry about that :-/
• There was a friends list crash that some users were experiencing. It is now fixed! Sorry about that also.
• There was too much grass on the Disc Golf Propulsion map! This was causing perf issues and even a crash in some cases. This grass has now been trimmed. Not sorry about this one.
• Rec Room will now ask you to send us an automated crash report in the Incredibly Rare event that Rec Room crashes. So basically a useless feature. Not sure why we even implemented this tbh.

Minor update - fixing dodgeball

March 29, 2017 - againstgravity

Just released another update that fixes a bug that was preventing people from joining existing dodgeball games.

Minor update - addressing issues going to the locker room

March 29, 2017 - againstgravity

We just released a small update that addresses an issue uncovered yesterday that was causing some people to have difficulty loading into the locker room.

Minor update - improved performance with large friend lists

March 25, 2017 - againstgravity

We just released an update that should alleviate the performance problems that were reported by users with large numbers of friends. This issue impacted both CPU usage when starting the game, and rendering performance when opening the friends list in the watch menu. In some rare cases, we believe it may have also been a contributing factor to crashes when looking at the watch menu.

Minor update - addressing a "stuck in black world" bug

March 24, 2017 - gribbly

Just pushed a minor update that fixes a bug that could cause players to get stuck in a black world

Minor update - addressing "red cubes everywhere" bug

March 23, 2017 - gribbly

This is a small update that fixes the "red cubes spawning everywhere constantly" bug... sorry about that

UPDATE IS LIVE - The "Propulsion" edition

March 23, 2017 - gribbly

We just shipped a new update for you! Here's what's new this time:

• New disc golf map "Propulsion" - welcome to the Rec Room Science Dept. Matter Propulsion Test Range! Test your disc golf skills on the gizmo-filled Propulsion course.
• Improved disc golf physics - we've done a significant polish pass on disc golf physics, focusing on increasing consistency across all platforms (Vive on Steam, Oculus on Oculus, Oculus on Steam). You should now encounter very few "huh, that was weird" moments when throwing discs. Curve mechanics work the same way (tilt the disc left or right at the moment of release to curve it).
• New scientist outfit - unlock it by playing propulsion!
• Increased drop chance of special outfits, including the lumberjack outfit for Paintball: Clearcut.

We've also got some experimental UI features - would love to get your feedback on these...

• New Stop Gesture - someone bugging you? They can talk to the hand! This gesture will apply an ignore that player (you'll be asked to confirm the ignore on your watch)
• New Minitar UI in the watch - last update we added a "minitar" version of you. This time we're adding minitars for other Nearby players. Check it out in the "People" tab of your watch. You can apply various actions to minitars by dropping them in the buckets that appear when you pick them up:

And more:

• New age gate feature - we now check your height when you leave the Dorm Room. Players under a certain height are asked (once) to confirm that they are over 13 via a watch notification. We understand that you might be seated, or of short stature. So we hope the check isn't too annoying or intrusive. If we detect a significant height change (consistent with an adult giving their headset to a child), we may show the confirmation again.
• Updated and improved registration flow on the Profile Computer (in your Dorm Room).
• We now show your unique @username in some menu contexts.
• "The Lounge" is now listed in the Public activities menu in your watch. This is to increase awareness of The Lounge (which is a members-only feature).
• Cool new 3D splash screen while we're loading Rec Room!
• Disc Golf will now autoload the next map (like Paintball)
• This is a big one: Found and fixed an issue in the particle system that could cause particles to accumulate over time and cause bad performance after 10-15 minutes (e.g., by the end of a Quest run).

OK that's it! Have fun, be excellent to each other, and please keep letting us know what you think. We love all feedback positive or negative! Bring it.

Minor update - addressing hang on launch

March 17, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a fix that takes fixes a hang (100% CPU) that was happening for some users on launch. It was a problem with how the game client was communicating with our servers (i.e., definitely a problem at our end)

Should be all good now. Please continue to let us know if you encounter weirdness - we are a small team... we try to test everything but sometimes things slip through, so it's incredibly valuable when players give us a heads up!

Minor update - addressing server instability

March 13, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed a minor update (along with some backend fixes) intended to address the server stability issues we saw over the weekend. Hopefully things should stay up now!

Minor update - fixing Quest issues

March 10, 2017 - gribbly

Minor patch. Fixing:

• Quest issue where some players in group could end up in "black world"
• Fixed an issue that caused Quest enemies to spawn incorrectly in some cases
• Fixed issue where new paintball "burst gun" could disappear at a distance

UPDATE IS LIVE - The "Clearcut" edition

March 8, 2017 - againstgravity We just shipped a new update. This is a big one! Ready? Here's what's new...

• TLDR: New paintball map and weapon, Rec Room can now text your offline friends to invite them to play with you, and there's a new computer in the Dorm Room that replaces the old kiosks and lets you do cool stuff like search for players by name. And more =]
• New Paintball Map: "Clearcut" - The Rec Room crews are hard at work on new construction, but they're taking a break so you can enjoy some paintball with your friends. This map features thick, early morning fog and limited sightlines for lots of intense mid-range splatting!
• New Paintball Gun: the Burst Rifle - Speaking of mid-range... be sure to check out the all-new Burst Gun! Hold down the trigger for a burst of up to five paintballs! Each paintball kicks the gun up slightly, so it takes some practice to keep your aim steady.
• New lumberjack outfit - unlock it by playing Clearcut!
• Paintball maps now autocycle, so by default you'll cycle through all four maps. You can control the next map via the Scoreboard before the game starts.
• New Profile Computer in the Dorm Room - this replaces the old "registration kiosks", which are now removed from the Locker Room, The Lounge, and your Dorm Room. The Profile Computer does more, and is easier to use!
• New touch interactions that work on both Profile Computer and your Watch Menu!
• Laser pointer now partially merged with pointing finger. This is a first pass, it'll get cleaner over time. But we think it's pretty nice!
• New Find Player function - find any player by typing their name into the Profile Computer. Typing? Yes! Typing in VR? YES!
• New Import Friends function - find your Steam or Oculus friends who play Rec Room, and easily send them Rec Room friend requests.
• New Offline Invites function - you can now invite your Rec Room friends to play with you even when they're offline. Rec Room can now send a text message and/or an email on your behalf, inviting them to join you in-game. We think the text messages will likely be the most useful, but it requires that your friend has entered and confirmed their phone number! Note: You can opt in or out of offline invites by logging in to your profile page at http://recroom.againstgrav.com
• New Watch Notification Alerts - we heard that a lot of players found our old watch notifications confusing. So we revamped them! It's now much clearer when you get one! Feedback requested. Are these good? Bad? Too much? Not enough?
• New Friend Notifications - you can now recieve a watch notification when a friend comes online, so you can invite them to play with you! These can be enabled/disabled in settings. You can separately opt out of sending and receiving these kinds of notifications.
• New Minitar in the Watch Menu - you can now see a tiny version of yourself in the Watch Menu. Right now, this is mainly just a portable mirror so you can check out your outfit, and a fun toy. We have plans to integrate this kind of thing deeper into the Rec Room UI, and this is a first step.
• Paintball tweak - guns will now fire when overlapping, so you can dual wield to your heart's content!
• Paintball tweak - we now show an icon (same as Quest) when a player is out. This should make it clearer when you're shooting at someone who is already out!
• Quest tweak - knight axes are no longer dangerous when clipping through the upper level walkway in the Finale room.

Minor update - server outage resiliency

March 1, 2017 - againstgravity

In response to recent outages with one of our cloud service providers, we've added the ability to dynamically reroute network traffic to servers in a different region so we can better react to outages in the future.

Minor update - fixed flag behavior in Paintball CTF

February 24, 2017 - gribbly

Just pushed a minor update that fixes an issue where the flag could go flying off in a weird way in Paintball CTF mode

Minor update - Out of Bounds fixes and Quest tuning

February 24, 2017 - gribbly

Just pushed a small update. Here's what's in it:

• Out of Bounds - you should no longer see it when standing on valid objects in Paintball (it was tuned a little aggressively, sorry!)
• Out of Bounds - fixed and an issue where cooldown (e.g., for Paintball Shotgun) could be incorrectly calculated if you were out of bounds.
• Quest - increased enemy recoil from bow shots
• Quest - You can now shoot arrows as fast as you can nock and pull them! (but no machine gun exploit)

UPDATE IS LIVE - The "Quest 1.1" Edition

February 22, 2017 - gribbly

General stuff

• New out of bounds system - it's now much harder to cheat by phasing through walls. You cannot use your teleporter when out of bounds. When in a game (e.g., Quest) leaving the valid play area will start a warning countdown... get back in bounds before something bad happens to you!
• Major revamp of throwing mechanics - we did some surgery on how we calculate throwing of objects across the entire game. Please try throwing things and let us know what you think! We will likely need to re-tune some things, so if something feels off don't wory, just let us know! Some advantages of this new method:
  • Throwing is more framerate independent - even if you get a frame hitch, your throw should be consistent and reliable.
  • More realistic physics. Try throwing basketballs in the locker room... much more realistic now!
  • Disc Golf re-tuned for both Vive and Oculus. You can now also use either trigger (index or hand) to pick up and throw objects on Oculus Touch.
  • We now support "hair trigger" release on Oculus (this brings Oculus and Vive to parity).
• We tuned how gifts are given out. You are now more likely to get unique gifts, especially as your level gets higher!

Quest stuff

• Quest - knight enemies no longer take damage when you hit their axe (this makes them tougher)
• Quest - bow causes less recoil on some enemies
• Quest - shield now blocks melee attacks from enemies
• Quest - sword deals more damage
• Quest - crossbow now has impact VFX/SFX
• Quest - pathing AI should be less terrible
• Quest - fixed loot randomization bug which could cause you to get the same thing over and over (e.g., we had reports of someone getting five gloves in a row... sorry about that =])
• Quest - now provides XP for daily objectives

Paintball stuff

• Paintball - players who join a game in progress will now be added to the losing team. We are still planning to add more team balance options soon. But this should help in the meantime.
• Paintball - you can no longer fire a paintball gun that is intersecting with a shield.
• Paintball - bug fix: can no longer grab a paintball gun as you spawn into game! (This also applies to Quest)

Even more stuff!

• Added some additional whiteboard marker colors!
• Disc Golf - discs now have subtle haptics when you release
• MAJOR UPDATE OF CRUCIAL SYSTEM - disc golf discs now make a satisfying, plastic "thud" sound when they hit something.

As always, please keep the feedback coming. Positive or negative, we want to hear from you!

Minor update - minor bug fix

February 13, 2017 - gribbly

We just pushed an update with a minor bugfix... we needed to address an internal issue with our messaging system that could cause players to be shown as offline when they were actually online.

Minor update - pushing some fixes/improvements!

February 11, 2017 - gribbly

• Haptics were busted on bow and crossbow. FIXED!
• Fixed a bug where you could get stuck alone in Rec Room.
• Fixed a bug that caused some Quest objects (e.g., the boulder) to not get reset properly.
• Fixed a bug that could cause you to spawn in a black void when starting Quest. Oops.
• Fixed a bug that could cause you to get stuck in black and white mode after dying in Quest.
• Tweaked spacing of clothing items when using drawers in the Dorm Room.
• Fixed some other minor bugs.

UPDATE IS LIVE - The "Quest for the Golden Trophy!" Edition

February 10, 2017 - gribbly

OK this update is a big one for you! Thanks for being patient =] Here's what's new...

• New game mode: The Quest for the Golden Trophy. The theater kids are putting on a show for you: The evil goblin king has stolen Coach's Golden Trophy. Team up with your friends and embark on an epic quest to recover it! The Quest is an all-new, build for VR, co-op dungeon crawler inside of Rec Room! Word of warning: Quest is hard... Brutally hard with four players. Practically impossible alone!
• The Quest brings many new features to Rec Room: Swords, shields, bow weapons, enemies with AI, and more! Have fun, and let us know what you think.
• Play Quest by finding the door to the Theater Dept. in the Locker Room, or by selecting it in your watch menu. Use the party, invite and friend features to assemble your band of adventurers!
• New Quest-themed avatar items - two fun new outfits that can only be unlocked by completing Quest! Wanna look the part? Master the dungeon...

But it's not all Quest stuff! This update also includes:

• The return of Leaderboards. This time cross-platform! In this release they are only for paintball, but we've done a lot of backend work that should make it easy to add them to other activities. Let us know where you want them next, and how we can make them better. The two-week leaderboards reset immediately every two weeks at midnight on Sunday PST (that's 8AM Monday GMT).
• Fixed a bunch of collision geometry in Disc Golf. Should lose your disc less often now! And if you do, there's a new Hazard Button (check the Play menu in your watch) that will bring your disc back for you.
• A big overhaul to our moderation features. We realized that "ghost mode" wasn't really cutting it, and went back to the drawing board. This update replaces ghost mode with the Ignore Bubble. With Ignore Bubble on, any player (including objects they are holding) simply fade from view when they get too close.
• Ignore Bubble[/b] can be controlled in Experience Settings (check your watch). It defaults to small (which fades out very close stuff, but doesn't impact gestures like fist bump or high five). You can make it larger, or turn it off entirely.
• One really nice thing about Ignore Bubble is that it's completely consistent across the entire game. It works in Charades, Paintball, etc.
• Many thanks to the players who contributed ideas and feedback on moderation to help with the design of this!
• We've also merged Report and Vote to Kick functions. The Report button now does both. You can still specify a reason, and we've done a bunch of work on our backend to make our tracking and response better. We are far from done with this, and we very much appreciate your patient and feedback as we learn and make improvements here.
• New Streamer Cam - this is intended for those of you who like to stream your Rec Room sessions. Turn it on in Advanced Settings (check your watch), and it will create a follow cam that outputs to your display mirror.
• There's now a Recent Players List in the watch menu. Forgot to friend someone you had fun with before they left? Now you can do it after the fact =]
• Your teleport laser now bounces off other player's teleport bubbles.
• We did some backend optimizations that make your watch menu much more responsive. It now updates in realtime in lots of situations where it didn't before!
• Spectators are now teleported back to the start area at the end of a game.
• Removed "lock highlight" effect from paintball
• Ooh this is a cool one: You can now see your own shadow! You didn't used to be able to see your own torso shadow, which was lame. Now you can. I think this means winter will last another two weeks or something?
• Lots of little bug fixes and improvements: Fixed a bug where you could spawn without gun in charades, paintball grenades will blow up in your hand again, lots of other little things. No doubt we added a bunch of new bugs too =]
• Lastly, and this is BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT: Ping pong ball in dorm room no longer automatically cleans itself up while you're bouncing it on the ping pong paddle. I'm sure that when they start Rec Room everyone, like me, spends five minutes In the Dorm Room seeing how many times you can bounce the ping pong ball on the paddle. Right?

OK that's it! We hope you enjoy Quest and we look forward to your feedback. As always, please let us know what you think - we value all feedback positive or negative. Keep it coming! OK, have fun, be excellent to each other, and we'll see you in Rec Room.

The "Look Who's Talking" Edition - Take 2!

January 26, 2017 - gribbly

This build re-adds some features that we had too roll back, and adds some fairly minor polish. Now that we've figured out the perf issue we can get back to concentrating on features. Although please note we are planning a polish and bugfixing sprint soon... we have accumulated quite a lot of bugs that need to be squashed.

• Fixed perf issue that was affecting some players. Sorry about that, tricky problem... Huge thanks to those who helped us test and provided feedback.
• Restored "speech lines" that make it easier to see who's talking
• Restored Vote-to-Kick improvements
• Restored Reporting button
• Restored age gate message on Display Mirror on boot
• Added more clues to Charades card box. Thanks to those of you who emailed us suggestions, some of them are in there now!
• Updated Code of Conduct to make it clearer that children under are not allowed.
• Added Code of Conduct to door when you leave Dorm Room
• Tweaks to position of whiteboard markers to make drawing more precise (what do you think? Better? Worse?)
• Moved some dodgeballs from next to the punching dummy in the Locker Room... was annoying that you would always grab them.
• Made a change to our scene change behavior that should reduce (or even eliminate?) the "stuck in black world" bug.

Thanks for playing Rec Room! And please keep the feedback coming, we couldn't do it without you =]

Rec Room performance testing at 1PM PST (9PM GMT) today

January 23, 2017 - gribbly

There will be a group of us playing at 1PM PST (9PM GMT) today, testing a potential fix for the performance issue that forced us to roll back to a previous version over the weekend. If you've experienced the perf issue (sudden bad framerate after the "Look Who's Talking" update), we could use your help to test this potential fix.

You'll need to get a special beta build... here are the instructions for that:

https://www.againstgrav.com/blog/2017/1/20/finding-a-performance-issue

If you can't join at 1PM, it would still help if you just grabbed the build whenever and took us for a spin.

We are looking for:

• Do you see unusually bad performance (i.e., it was fine a few weeks ago, but now it's really bad for you)
• Do you see any weird graphical glitches (beyond our normal jankiness =])

Thanks a bunch for any help, and no sweat if you're too busy or otherwise can't help!

IMPORTANT UPDATE - Good news and bad news!

January 21, 2017 - gribbly

Good news! We have addressed the performance issue that has been affecting many players since last Tuesday's "look who's talking" update. When Rec Room updates, that issue should be resolved.

Bad news! We did it by rolling back to the most recent version of Rec Room before the problem. That means we are TEMPORARILY losing a few features:

• Speech lines
• Reporting button - although reporting data accrued so far will be kept, this is just an interruption of reporting service.
• The "no kids allowed" notice on boot. Note this is not us changing our policy, we just have to work around this performance bug for a few days.
• Some improvements to vote-to-kick behavior

Sorry for this interruption and removal of features.

It sucks. We're not any happier about it than you are. But it should only be a few days. We are working hard to root cause the issue (it happened when we upgraded to latest Unity, but we're still figuring out the exact problem). We gotta do what we gotta do!

Thanks to those who helped us out on Steam and Reddit by testing some custom "perf" builds... that helped us narrow the problem down a lot. We are close to a fix, but we just don't have it yet and we don't want Rec Room unplayable by a sizable chunk of you over the weekend.

As always, we welcome any feedback you may have! Rest assured that we have lots of cool stuff in the works that will roll out in the weeks ahead.

UPDATE IS LIVE - The "Account Management is Sexy" edition

January 19, 2017 - gribbly

Today we have upgraded Account Management:

• You can now link multiple Steam or Oculus accounts to your Rec Room account.
• You can also change the Steam or Oculus account linked to your Rec Room account.
• Example 1: Let's say you have a Steam account "CoolGirlSteam" and an Oculus account "CoolGirlOculus". You can now share one Rec Room Member account between them, so you can login on either device and be the same Rec Room player!
• NOTE: You can only be logged in with one linked account at a time.
• Example 2: Let's say you started playing on Steam profile "CoolGirl01" and made it to level 10 as a Rec Room Member. For whatever reason, you now want to use a different Steam profile "CoolGirl02". Start Rec Room as CoolGirl02, and you'll get a new Rec Room Guest account. Use the kiosk to sign up as normal, and use the same email address as you did for CoolGirl01. After you provide your Rec Room password, you'll be prompted to merge the guest account into your existing Level 10 Member Rec Room account. Any new avatar items and friends will be imported from the guest account.
• IMPORTANT! When you do this, you should immediately quit and restart Rec Room so that you're logged in with the right Member account. Otherwise any more progress you make on the Guest account will be lost. We hope to make this smoother/more automatic in the future.
• You can unlink accounts by visiting your profile page:

https://recroom.azurewebsites.net/Manage

• NOTE: You must have at least one linked account...

Also:

• Fixed some bugs that you reported! Thanks!

UPDATE IS LIVE - The "Look Who's Talking" edition

January 18, 2017 - gribbly

• New visual effect that makes it much easier to see who is talking!
• New Report feature. If a player is violating the Code of Conduct, please report that player and specify the reason why. This will also initiate a vote kick, and ghost (ignore) that player. To initiate a report, use your watch menu. Note that we will continue to improve this UI over time. We're getting the backend in place first.
• Internal tweaks to how the vote kick system works
• New splash screen that makes it clearer that kids under 13 are not allowed in Rec Room
• You can now see the actual time on your watch!!!
• Don't forget that as a Rec Room member you can create "Invite Only" rooms! With this feature, you can play with only your invited friends if you prefer. Tutorial video for this coming soon!

As always, thanks for playing Rec Room. We welcome all feedback positive and negative, so keep it coming! We have lots of fun stuff in the works for you, so we'll see you in the Locker Room and please be excellent to each other =]

Minor update - paintball shotgun tweak

January 11, 2017 - gribbly

We got lots of feedback the paintball shotguns were too powerful. We just pushed a minor update that scales them back a bit!

Happy Rec Rooming!

Thanks class of 2016!

January 7, 2017 - gribbly

We're back from break and just pushed our first update of the new year. This is a small one, just getting back into the swing of things. It includes:

• Special "Class of 2016" item for members who joined before midnight Dec 31st 2016
• Longer detentions for vote-kicked players (especially players who've racked up lots of vote kicks)

Happy new year, and we look forward to having fun with y'all!

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