✤MURO Making : SlimeVR!✤

 Hi everyone!
I have a special post today because I've finally received my order from SlimeVR!

What's SlimeVR, you ask? On their website linked above, the creators self-describe it as "An affordable, comfortable, wireless, 360° solution for full-body tracking in virtual reality" ("SlimeVR Full Body Trackers—SlimeVR Official", 2024).

Full-body tracking is what it sounds like - the ability to track your full body and not just your head and hands. Virtual Reality headsets usually only allow accurate tracking of the head and the hands, due to the fact that you only have three points of connection using it; games track your headset, and each of your controllers. But what if you want more? That's where full-body trackers come in.

 

Now, SlimeVR is not cheap. Starting at $195 for a basic set of five trackers, it's almost as expensive as buying a new headset. But when the most popular alternative is VIVE Trackers ($129.99 for a single tracker), as well as possibly needing a base station or multiple ($199.00 each) depending on your set-up, you can see the huge difference in price point. SlimeVR also sells 'DIY Kits' on their Crowd Supply page if you have a knack for jury-rigging that costs less than having them pre-made for you. I'm more of a software than a hardware kind of gal, so I left manufacturing to the experts.

I ordered the Lower-Body Set, the cheapest set available. I have a tracker for my chest, each of my thighs, and each of my ankles. For years, I've dreamed of having full-body tracking, seeing other people having fun and expressing themselves with it, and wishing I could do the same. While there are points of articulation the smaller number of trackers misses and the tracking isn't always accurate, it does what I want it to and I'm happy with it. I can move my legs, I can dance, and I can kick people (virtually)! There's something liberating about your entire body being represented in a digital space, even if it's not perfect.

 

As for the cons, I don't consider them deal-breakers but they are a bit frustrating. I struggled multiple days to get my set-up working with the trackers (though that's normal with the amount of moving parts my VR set-up has), the kit only included one charger despite all five trackers needing to be charged, and their tracking isn't as accurate as higher-end products. But on the other hand, they're also cheap, are able to be used without any external camera technology (meaning you can wear them under clothes, lie under a blanket, and overall don't have to worry about your trackers remaining visible in order to maintain tracking). They connect to your PC via Wi-Fi.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend full-body tracking for anyone who isn't in VR regularly. I've wanted full-body for years and only caved because SlimeVR is such an affordable alternative, and I knew I would get good use out of them. That's all from me for today!

See ya next time!

✤MURO Mellow : TTS Voice Wizard✤

 Hi again everyone!
This is a Muro Mellow to talk about a neat program a friend introduced me to that hooks into VRChat!
It's called TTS Voice Wizard and has multiple features and integrations. I like discussing new, interesting software I come across, so I wanted to share it with you!

Let's check it out!

✤MURO Marching - VRChat (Part 1)✤

 Hello again, everyone! Today's topic is VRChat itself, a game I've mentioned in previous posts, and that will be featured heavily in MURO Marching and MURO Mellow!

VRChat is a social platform made for Virtual Reality headsets (see my blog post about VR headsets here), though it also supports mouse and keyboard. The platform is driven by community-created content, where each user (above a certain 'Trust rank' to avoid malicious usage) can create avatars or worlds and share them with others.

For this first part, I want to explain some of the more common parts of a 'world', as they tie a lot into VRChat culture. To do this, I'll explore my 'Home World' (the first world you load into when you log into the game, it can be any world of your choosing!) 'at Home Chill by Ourai Inc․' by OURAI_VR! There's a lot to cover, so this might be a bit disjointed and will be split into multiple posts.

Now, I'm biased, but I adore greenery. So, naturally, (badum tsh) I picked a world that had plenty of it and was small in file size. Your computer has to download every world you visit, so I try to stick to smaller Worlds when looking for potential Homes. I find it helps with my loading times when I log on. You can only have one Home at a time, but I like a change of scenery every once in a while, so I'll switch it up when the mood strikes me. You also have an emergency 'Return to Home' button in your game menu that will automatically relocate you safely and privately to your Home World.

Speaking of menus, many Worlds also have menus built in to make your experience comfortable! This world conveniently has the more normalized menu options - a Mirror, a Collider, Seats, and Night Mode.

Night Mode, as it implies, dims your screen to make it feel more like nighttime. There are people who are comfortable sleeping in VR (I am not one of them), so Worlds will often cater to our sleepy friends by having this option! The photo below shows a bit of Night Mode as well as Colliders.

Colliders are whether or not your avatar is able to phase through certain objects. Usually, these are couches, beds, and chairs, so that people with full body tracking can properly 'sit' on the furniture without being stuck above it due to collision. As you can see, colliders don't always play nice. If you don't enjoy looking like Linda Blair, turning off colliders is your friend.

 

Seats allow people to sit without physically sitting down - they're internally referred to as 'seat stations' because they're placed in a World in a static position, and the person who interacts with it is put into a sitting pose in that location and stationary until they use their movement controls to exit the seat.

Mirrors sound a bit vain to have in every world, but there's a genuine use case that leads to them being everywhere. When wearing a headset, you have a smaller FOV (field of view/vision) than you do when you're looking around normally. You're looking through the lenses to see in-game, so you can't use your peripheral vision. Mirrors help both immerse the player in the virtual world and help make up for the lower FOV. This gets poked fun of a bit, where people who stand in front of mirrors and chat get called 'mirror dwellers'.

That's all for this time! I'll be alternating this series with some other posts I've brainstorming. Thanks for reading!

 

See ya next time!

✤MURO Mellow - VRChat New Years✤

 Happy New Years !

Hi again everyone! I'm here with another Muro Mellow!
I've been busy lately with work, but I went to a New Years party! I feel re-energized afterwards, even if socializing feels a bit overwhelming at times. This is how I keep up with friends who live far away or don't have time or the funds to meet up in person.

Speaking of friends, one of my best friends in the whole wide world surprised me by showing up despite struggling with VR this year, wanting to show up unexpectedly as a treat. It was an amazing send-off to 2024, being surrounded by my best friends.

You may have also noticed my photos have become Prints, with labels! Another best friend (pictured up top) gifted me two months of VRChat Plus+ to play with the feature! I find the automatic crediting really useful, and everyone I've asked for permission to use their photos in my work has been very gracious about it.

All in all, my goal for 2025 is to both work hard but also be more mindful of my limitations and not push too hard for perfection. I struggle with posting unless my creations are perfect, and these Mellow posts are an exercise in letting go for me. I've been striving for almost encyclopedia-depth knowledge even if that's not realistically what I'm able to cram into a single blog post - that's a breadth that comes with time, not with fretting and wondering if what I have currently is enough.

I hope you all have a great New Year, and your New Years celebrations - whether small or large - were full of happiness - and be kind to yourselves as well!

See ya next time!