Release Update – October 2022

Ken Brueck Blog, Release notes

Things have been abnormally quiet on the release front since our April release. The team has been hard at work on some major under-the-covers changes to Modus VR that not only improve things now, but also open up exciting possibilities for future releases. Keep reading to find out which things impact you the most!

New: Bill of Materials

We’re excited to announce an addition to Modus Docs: Bill of Materials output! When launching Modus Docs it now asks if you’d like to generate line drawings or a bill of materials. Read this blog post for more information!

Modus Docs can now generate a bill of materials!

New: OpenXR

IMPORTANT: We updated how Modus VR interfaces with your hardware and you may need to change some settings for Modus VR to continue to work properly. Read this blog post to ensure your controllers will continue working with Modus VR!

OpenXR is the emerging industry standard for interfacing with XR devices

Control changes

Modern VR controllers have more buttons available than when we first created Modus VR’s control scheme. In this update, we’ve revisited some of the basics to make using Modus VR faster and easier. The changes are relatively simple, but there are some important things to note to continue having a good experience. See this blog post for an overview of what’s changed.

Modus VR has updated the controls for all VR headsets, providing greater speed and productivity than ever before!

Space files

A lot of our underlying changes involve space file handling. We now auto-save a backup every 10 minutes and create a backup copy of the old version anytime you save. These are saved in \Documents\Modus VR\\.backups.

Space files also load and save several times faster than before. A lot has changed under the covers so, if you discover a space file has issues with this release, please let us know and we’d be happy to help.

Loading and saving space files is several times faster!

Snapping

Snapping has received some updates to help with usability:

  • Vertical snapping is now enabled by default.
  • Temporarily disable snapping by holding the modify button, one of the new controls.
  • Snapping tolerance is now tied to distance—if snapping is too aggressive, or you’re fighting edge and center snapping, simply get closer to the object!

Snapping is easier to use, especially with our quick toggle and distance-based tolerance!

Design assistants

We’ve simplified the workflow for selecting objects. Previously, when entering object selection mode each object would have a blue spinning indicator with a number that correlated to a dropdown in the UI. Now, when you enter object selection mode the rest of the world turns grey and you can simply select the object you want with your laser pointer.

Also, design assistants are now calculated per-seat rather than per-row. For chairs and other single-seat pieces of furniture there’s no change, but for sections and home theater seating it means even better insights into how your AV solution will perform.

Selecting the right object has never been easier! Simply enter object selection mode and click on the object you want to work with!

New: Snowsound

Welcome Snowsound! We’ve added the Flat, Flap, and Mitesco! The Mitesco comes in two versions: surface-mounted and cable-suspended.

More Crestron!

We’ve added several occupancy sensors, covering IR and US functionality, with some powerful visualizations. We’ve also added Saros speaker line and more touchscreens!

New: Q-SYS

Welcome Q-SYS! We’ve added their Gen 3 controllers, NC Series cameras, AcousticDesign surface mount speakers, and the AcousticDesign pendant speakers!

Even more new features!

  • VR: New courtroom objects! To facilitate commercial designs in courtrooms, we’ve added a generic flag, a generic gooseneck mic, a gavel, and bench seating!
  • VR: Other new objects! We added steel joists, a square stool, a gaming chair, the Steelcase i2i chair, and a generic curved table for Microsoft Teams Front Row experiences.
  • VR: You can now teleport through doors and windows.
  • VR: Duplicate now also works in scale and rotate modes.
  • VR: Conference cameras’ pan and tilt buttons can be held down to continuously move the camera.
  • VR: Generic flat panel display allows any aspect ratio, including the newly-added 21:9.
  • VR: You may now press Alt+Backspace to enter and exit Modus Photo from VR, allowing you to capture images of an online session. Note that you cannot enter Modus VR if you started in Modus Photo.
  • VR: Rotation is now relative to the world axis so you can always get back to 0°, 15°, etc. 
  • VR: An audible notification is played when other users join or leave the session
  • VR: Many things received a new coat of paint, optimization, and cleaning up. Too many to list! (outdoors, teleport, lasers)
  • VR: You can now spawn things and move them around outside on the grass.
  • VR: Generic cabinets have upgraded logic for determining when handles should move and we’ve also exposed more control for the user.
  • VR: Generic table now has an option to add casters
  • VR: Minimum space dimensions have been lowered to 6.5’^3 (192.12cm^3)
  • VR: Updated Zoom controllers to use the new “Mango UI.”
  • Photo: When the Modus Photo menu is open, hold the right mouse button to temporarily hide it. Great for quickly adjusting the camera’s position!
  • Photo: Camera tweening option, great for capturing video with software like OBS
  • Photo: You can now control looping of all videos, just like you can in VR

Bug Fixes

  • VR: Several cases of menus not showing correct status in multi-user sessions have been fixed, including users with different libraries.
  • VR: Nudging now consistently works for everyone in a multi-user session.
  • VR: Fixed a small texture issue with the Vicoustic CinemaRound Ultra Fuser and CinemaRound Ultra VMT.
  • Photo: Fixed Dolby Atmos Speaker Placement assistant ignoring depth of field
  • Docs: Fixed an issue where dimension lines could lose their position during the annotation steps.
  • Docs: Fixed an issue preventing some cylinders, like on the round end table, from being drawn.
  • Many, many other bugs, particularly in VR.