Removed Features

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Revision as of 00:17, 5 December 2024 by DAG-XR (talk | contribs) (Provided release date, and patchnotes for Guided Mode.)
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This page is dedicated to VRChat features that were once included in the VRChat client, or announced by VRChat before removing the feature or depreciating further support for said feature. This page does not include features that are currently in development, or have been unofficially "rumored" to being implemented.


Booping

Boop button in a user profile.

Booping was a social feature revealed in the May 30th Developer Update allowing friends to send a "boop" to eachother. This could have been attached with any emoji including custom emojis, only if the user was an active VRChat+ subscriber and have uploaded custom emojis to their gallery. When the recipient of a boop opened their notifications, the emoji attached to the boop would've been fired locally in a “Boop Explosion”, a blast of the emoji from the boop. Boop recipients would have also received a push notification from the VRChat app on mobile devices. Boops would have only been able to be sent to friends, and could have been disabled.

The feature was implemented into the Open Beta branch on June 6th, due to community reception, the feature was removed June 18th with the following message on the official VRChat Discord:

No Booping No More

If you were paying attention to previous builds, you might've noticed there's something missing from this update: Booping. That's intentional. While we were excited about testing the feature, it was clear that folks weren't into it.

We're not interested in forcing a feature on the community that they're not into, so we're pulling it. In the future, we might try testing a reworked version of Booping, but it's unlikely to be something we try for awhile.

While it didn't quite go the way we wanted it to, we still appreciate the candid and honest feedback from the community.

Guided Mode

A screencap of the "Guided Mode" menu.

Guided Mode was a menu and UI feature intended for users who were new to VRChat, however any user could enable and use the Guided Mode menu. It was initially released on May 3, 2023 in the VRChat 2023.2.2[1] update. The Guided Menu heavily simplified world and avatar exploration and tweaking for settings. It was revealed on the VRChat 2023.2.2 Video Patchnotes, and was present in the VRChat client for a few months before being silently removed.

Panoramic/360° screenshots (VRChive)

Old quick menu, with panorama and VRChive panorama buttons

The old camera menu had two options to take panoramic (360-degree) photos.

  • Panorama
  • VRChive Panorama

The 'Panorama' option would save the panoramic a user's device, while 'VRChive Panorama' would automatically upload the panoramic to VRChive, a social media platform focusing on VR, making it easy to share with friends on social media. These options were originally added on January 18, 2017.

The feature was temporarily removed during an open beta build for the UI 1.5 Update, but has not returned since. Cited with the following reason on the official VRChat Discord:

  • The Panorama button in the Quick Menu has been removed due to several issues. There are many compounding bugs with this feature, and trying to fix it right now will slow down this release. We'll circle back around and implement it properly at a later time.
  • VRChive Panorama has also been removed for similar reasons

PhysSound support

PhysSound is a Unity asset that allows for sounds to be played when physics objects collide with each other or with static colliders. World authors were able to install the PhysSound Asset Package in their world projects.

Support for it was dropped in SDK3. Creators are expected to create their own replacement using Udon.

Veteran/Legend trust rank

Veteran User was the Trust Rank above Trusted User. it was introduced with the safety system September 20, 2018[2]. and removed a week from the VRChat client by September 26, 2018[3] after feedback during the Open Beta of the trust rank system. It remained in the API under the tag system_trust_legend until it was eventually removed on May 4, 2022. The colour for Veteran Users was gold before it was removed from the client.

Request Host

screenshot of the old quick menu
Screenshot of the old quick menu, "Request Host" button is in the bottom Right next to the close button

Request Host was a button on the Quick Menu used to request a host (VRChat Moderator) to join the user's instance to handle urgent moderation issues. It was removed October 27, 2017[4] and replaced with a "Report abuse" button that would allow users to report users similar to the report button in the current version of VRChat.

Welcome to VRChat early access! on Steam:

If you’d like to provide direct feedback you can do so to any of our HOSTS which have their name tag’s marked in VRChat. You can also "Request Host" if you are having any difficulties.

VRChat is a friendly place and we’d like to keep it that way. Please be kind and polite to others. We absolutely will not tolerate trolls and abusive behavior.[5]

Web panels

Web Panels was a feature in VRChat that allowed users to access and display web pages directly within the game environments. This feature was introduced to enhance interactivity and provide direct access to internet resources without leaving the VR space. However, due to emerging security concerns identified by the development team, this feature was disabled to protect users.

The removal took place in August 2018, a decision driven by potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited through the web panel interface. The official announcement and further details regarding the security issues[6] leading to this decision were documented and shared with the community through a Steam update on August 17, 2018.

References

  1. VRChat 2023.2.2 on docs.vrchat.com; retrieved December 4, 2024.
  2. 'VRChat Safety and Trust System' on Medium; retrieved on September 8, 2024
  3. 'VRChat Safety and Trust System: Changes and Feedback' on Medium; retrieved on September 8, 2024
  4. 'Patch 0.12.0p2 - Halloween "Scared to Reality", Improved Moderation Tools, and VRCHIVE 360° Panorama fixes' on Steam; retrieved September 8, 2024
  5. "Welcome to VRChat early access!" on Steam
  6. 'Security Update: Web Panels' on Medium; retrieved on September 25, 2024