Finally, launching the platform with a fully functional social hub that enables real-time interaction and community building was a major accomplishment. ## What we learned We learned the importance of prioritizing user feedback from the very beginning. Early and continuous testing helped us avoid major pitfalls and build a product that truly resonates with our target audience. We also learned that scalability and performance are not just technical buzzwords; they are critical for a platform that aims to handle a large and growing user base. Finally, we gained a deeper appreciation for the complexities of data management in a multi-source environment. ## What's next for Horizon Central Looking ahead, we plan to expand Horizon Central's features to include developer tools that allow game creators to promote their games and engage directly with our community. We also want to implement live-streaming integrations so users can watch and share gameplay directly within the platform. Our long-term goal is to make Untitled the definitive hub for all things gaming, a place where everyone can find their next adventure and the people to share it with. ## Inspiration Our inspiration for Horizon Central came from a personal need to easily discover and share new gaming experierices. As avid gamers, we often found ourselves scrolling through endless lists on digital storefronts, searching for something new to play. The process was time-consuming and lacked a sense of community. We wanted to create a platform that went beyond simple recommendations, offering a dynamic space for gamers to not only find games but also to connect with others who share their interests. We envisioned a hub where the journey of discovering a game is as exciting as playing it. ## What it does Horizon Central is a social discovery platform for video games. It allows users to explore a curated feed of games, events, and quests based on their personal preferences. The core features include a dynamic recommendation engine that learns from user behavior, a social hub where players can create groups and chat, and a quest system that rewards users for trying new games and completing in-game challenges. Users can also create and share their own "playlists" of games, organize virtual events like "game nights," and find teammates for multiplayer sessions. ## Challenges we ran into One of our biggest challenges was the data integration from multiple APIs. Each gaming platform has its own unique API structure, and normalizing this data into a single, usable format was a significant hurdle. We also faced challenges in optimizing the recommendation algorithm to provide truly relevant and diverse suggestions without falling into a "filter bubble" effect. Another challenge was ensuring a seamless and bug-free cross-platform experience for users on both desktop and mobile devices. ## Accomplishments that we're proud of We're incredibly proud of the user-centric design and the intuitive user experience we created. We conducted extensive user testing and feedback sessions to refine the platform, and the positive response has been our greatest reward. We're also proud of the robust recommendation engine, which has already helped many users discover new favorite games they otherwise might not have found. Finally, launching the platform with a fully functional social hub that enables real-time interaction and community building was a major accomplishment. ## What we learned ## What's next for Horizon Central ## Inspiration ## What it does ## Challenges we ran into ## Accomplishments that we're proud of Rushed! Launching - Publishing Social hub and Keeping "Local" - community building ## What we learned User feedback from "World Testers" Early and continuous testing (We did not do enough of this) helped us avoid major pitfalls and build a product that truly resonates with our target audience. We also learned that scalability and performance are not just technical buzzwords; they are critical for a platform that aims to handle a large and growing user base. Finally, we gained a deeper appreciation for the complexities of data management in a multi-source environment. ## What's next for Horizon Central Looking ahead, we plan to expand Horizon Central's features to include developer tools that allow game creators to promote their games and engage directly with our community. We also want to implement live-streaming integrations so users can watch and share gameplay directly within the platform. Our long-term goal is to make Untitled the definitive hub for all things gaming, a place where everyone can find their next adventure and the people to share it with. ## Inspiration Our inspiration for Horizon Central came from a personal need to easily discover and share new gaming experierices. As avid gamers, we often found ourselves scrolling through endless lists on digital storefronts, searching for something new to play. The process was time-consuming and lacked a sense of community. We wanted to create a platform that went beyond simple recommendations, offering a dynamic space for gamers to not only find games but also to connect with others who share their interests. We envisioned a hub where the journey of discovering a game is as exciting as playing it. ## What it does Horizon Central is a social discovery platform for video games. It allows users to explore a curated feed of games, events, and quests based on their personal preferences. The core features include a dynamic recommendation engine that learns from user behavior, a social hub where players can create groups and chat, and a quest system that rewards users for trying new games and completing in-game challenges. Users can also create and share their own "playlists" of games, organize virtual events like "game nights," and find teammates for multiplayer sessions. ## Challenges we ran into One of our biggest challenges was the data integration from multiple APIs. Each gaming platform has its own unique API structure, and normalizing this data into a single, usable format was a significant hurdle. We also faced challenges in optimizing the recommendation algorithm to provide truly relevant and diverse suggestions without falling into a "filter bubble" effect. Another challenge was ensuring a seamless and bug-free cross-platform experience for users on both desktop and mobile devices. ## Accomplishments that we're proud of We're incredibly proud of the user-centric design and the intuitive user experience we created. We conducted extensive user testing and feedback sessions to refine the platform, and the positive response has been our greatest reward. We're also proud of the robust recommendation engine, which has already helped many users discover new favorite games they otherwise might not have found. Finally, launching the platform with a fully functional social hub that enables real-time interaction and community building was a major accomplishment. VR Horizon Worlds Style - The learning curve, etc. Tools - Headset Creation Tool, PC Editor, Commenting Indentation Importance of Modularity Performance Issues Relating to Modularity 6.5GB Limit Pointers to objects Optimisations XML Export Batch Variable Name Changes - RegExp Variable name changes? Problems - transparency - animations - Water - Indentations - Subtractive Extrusion? Problems with primitives. Problem not able to download a local copy of a world (Blender model loses information?) Export, Import. Problem with terrain sculpting? Problems with texture mapping. Shame can't add the "Materials Texture" / paint ability to trimesh overriding tri-mesh shapes default texture? Moving whole world due to not initially defining "World Center", "World Size", "World Orientation", etc. There isn't a single word that directly means "subtractive extrusion" because extrusion is inherently an additive process, but in 3D modeling, you would use the term boolean subtraction (or just subtract) to remove material from an existing object, which is the subtractive equivalent of using an extruded shape to create a void. To perform this, you create a 3D shape, extrude it, and then use the "subtract" tool to cut it out of your main model. AutoCAD demo - using extrude and subtract to create voids in solids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6jO8rxPx8w There's some good examples in the link you sent above and it's defo the sort of thing I'm looking for. I was speaking to Tom when he was in our world about using "GitHub" and it's a great tool for collaborative work but there's some other issues as well. We'll leave the big gamble for another time for now but we need to do something sooner rather than later before finding out it's too late in terms of publishing and so on. It's a very tame way of "scraping and rebuilding" ... I've completely overwritten loads of worlds now with imports and it's always been fine with no need to restore from backups. Apart from the capacity issue, which will always be there if we're trying to cram a lot into a single world, there seems to be a problem exporting Tom's script. Just as there are two types of display object types - primitives and trimesh - there are also two types of script - codeblock and typescript. Tom's script are a hybrid of these - a mix of codeblock and typescript. As you've seen I can merge the codeblock scripts along with the primitives into a single file and they keep working whereas when I now back up our world with Tom's scripts they stop working - most likely a problem exporting the TypeScript elements of Tom's scripts. It's okay :) We'll get there it just needs doing properly and this is the sort of thing that is common as you reach that unwieldy beast of multiple bolt on fixes :D Over capacity - defragging? Export forces a defrag / memory reduction by removing memory holes? Massive learning curve and requires patience - make sure you have a lot of time for it AI Overview To create a river in the Meta Horizon Worlds desktop editor, you'll need to use a combination of terrain sculpting and object placement, as there isn't a specific "create river" tool. You'll first need to lower the terrain to create a channel, then use objects like the "water" material or pre-made water prefabs to fill it in and create the riverbed and flowing water. Here's a more detailed breakdown: 1. Sculpt the Terrain: Use the terrain sculpting tools in the desktop editor to lower the terrain, creating a channel where you want the river to be. Consider the width and depth of your desired river when sculpting the terrain. 2. Place Water: Water Material: You can use the "water" material or a similar material with a water texture to fill the sculpted channel. You can adjust the material's properties (like color and transparency) to customize the look of the water. Water Prefabs: Meta Horizon Worlds may have pre-made water prefabs (3D models) that you can place and scale within the sculpted channel to represent the river. 3. Add Detail: Consider adding rocks, plants, or other environmental objects to make the river look more realistic and natural. You can use the editor's object manipulation tools to adjust the position, scale, and rotation of these objects. 4. Test in VR: After creating the river, you can test it in VR to see how it looks and feels within the world. You can use the Meta Quest Link app to connect your VR headset to your computer and test your world. Real waterfall photo as texture * Finalise doors * Real Giza Pyramid photo's as textures, etc. 1. How to create another world and link to a pyramid door (but not as a portal) --- Spoke with Tom about this - it's known as "World Streaming" and that is the term to Google 2. Re adjust every thing The main thing needs re-adjusting is the floor level. Tom says he always makes his worlds high in the air and that moving the world as a whole up and down / left and right is a single command in PC editor and as simple as: Select all - press Shift+W a few times! Also the grid/floor is not a real thing and selecting grid off in the "Skybox" gets rid of it 3. Scale back as much as possible --- Tom says F+H "Complex Geometry" capacity is currently 240% so at 99% we're well under - there's also a consideration of frame rate. He had told me in the past that the maximum capacity F+H had ever been was 250% but it's good to know that it regularly runs OK at 240% even for plebs like with me with the 128MB Quest 3S :p So: 1) The "voxel landscape" / "fractal landscape" that I was talking about for creating rivers and bumps is called "terrain sculpting" in meta worlds :) 2) This guy sums up the problems I'm having with scripting with no working desktop editor ... even though it is now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjL2UXf7NDc he says "sometimes it feels like you're fighting with the tool more than building with it" :D figured out ... it was just the primitives and scripts export I hadn't The Horizon Worlds Desktop Editor is powerful—but also packed with quirks, bugs, and surprising behavior. In this video, I’m sharing 10 tips and tricks I wish I knew earlier, from _general good habits to UI hacks, shortcuts, and asset importing. _This is us ... quirks, bugs, and surprising behavior -> general good habits to UI hacks, shortcuts, and asset importing Met genuinely interesting people like Henri and literally bumped into people I know "IRL" Feedback re "Meta" in general: Problems of Horizon Central and probs Meta will have * Add "jumpy 'shrooms" challenge to scavenger hunt? 03/06/2025 I’ve been having a dick about in the tutorial thinking it was going to be a video it’s not it’s just a place for you to have a mess around in it’s really good, I’m creating mountains t the moment and adding textures and stuff, one of them a flashing and won’t stop so I need to work that out. I’ve added a photo booth but the re is one in mid air that I can’t do anything with ?? it’s great for learning! * Things I saw in real life and copied - Picnic Tables, Neon artwork in Manchester Arcade Bars, Bridges, etc. https://www.poliigon.com/texture/slip-match-walnut-wood-veneer-texture-chocolate/8170 Typescript - although familiar with js found it difficult to make the link with typescript - example scripts broke if things renamed? Initially tested with Gen AI but old school / dinosaur and wanted to be able to generate from standard assets, etc. - didn't want gen ai skybox, images, etc. so hacked it to use subd while avoiding "may not be able to publish" warning. Unable to travel, tracking turning off, "bombing out", older version (monday updates issue?) * Typescript select object method! Godsend * Spawning objects to make UI with web type form object library for standardised game interface, etc. https://developers.meta.com/horizon-worlds/learn/documentation/custom-model-import/creating-custom-models-for-horizon-worlds/materials-guidance-and-reference-for-custom-models Grouping glitches and probs with relative coordinates - confusing, especially for someone trying to get to grips with using the numbers 64x64 grid facing "North" (Positive Z)