Announced at Connect last week, Meta is launching its next-gen avatars Horizon Worlds today, it gives users even more customization options to choose from before switching to the company's social VR platform.
Starting today, users will be able to go even deeper into adjusting their avatar's appearance, including features like customizable body proportions, nose shape, eye size, and lip size. Like the previous avatar system, these work across Meta's other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
The kind of flash marketing visuals you'll see with smiling and laughing avatars actually reflect only part of the picture, because the smooth, Pixar-like, scripted avatar animations seen on a flat screen aren't a thing in VR. Still, the new avatar system brings a lot more flexibility to the table, and Instagram user 'misteravix' demonstrates this in a recently published video:
Meta says the latest Horizon Worlds v182 release notes stating that world creators should make sure their virtual environments are ready for updated avatars; This includes things like ensuring that features of their world interact with new avatars' expanded body shapes and sizes.
In particular, interactive objects such as wearables, lighting, and furniture may require adjustments to accommodate new avatars, Meta says, noting that doorways and walkways should also be reviewed to ensure they comfortably accommodate various avatar proportions.
This follows an update in August last year that finally brought the Meta avatars to bear, coming amid a larger push to attract more users. Horizon Worlds With the launch of support for Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as standard PC browsers.