When it comes to social VR platforms, Resonite isn\u2019t exactly a household name, although the studio behind it is making some serious efforts to change that. The powerful PC VR social creation platform just got its biggest update yet, bringing massive improvements to performance across the board.<\/p>\n
Launched into early access on Steam back in 2023, Resonite is a PC VR-only app, which has critically limited it from hitting the glut of VR users over on Quest. Its worlds can be pretty big and complex, making PC VR the only real fit in its current form.<\/p>\n
Still, developer\u00a0Yellow Dog Man Studios\u00a0<\/a>has carried on, further refining the app\u2019s admittedly dizzying array of tools so its users can build, create, and script anything\u2014all in-world, meaning users don\u2019t technically need to rely on third-party software, such as Blender, AutoDesk Maya, or the Unity game engine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n To boot, in its August 20th performance update the studio is actively trying to uncouple from Unity altogether, as the studio has moved its native \u2018FrooxEngine\u2019 out of Unity and onto the modern .NET 9 runtime, which is said to have dramatically improved framerate, reduced hitching, and sped up startup and loading times.<\/p>\n According to the app\u2019s latest update on Steam<\/a>, Resonite is essentially shifting toward a fully independent engine, enabling deeper optimizations like multi-threading, variable rate updates, and potentially replacing Unity\u2019s renderer entirely at some point in the future.<\/p>\n Beyond raw performance, the update introduces a host of bug fixes, as well as a new Help Tab in the dashboard to ease onboarding,\u00a0although that really only touches on some of what\u2019s keeping Resonite squarely in its current niche.<\/p>\n Besides being a PC-only social platform, the app can be intimidating for users not used to the sort of depth its in-world tools can bring, notably its \u2018ProtoFlux\u2019 visual scripting tool, or its ability to import assets from third-party creation tools. In short, the truly amazing things you see still require an advanced skill level to create, which is ameliorated somewhat by the fact Resonite encourages social creation, and not just solo, offline tinkering.<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to say whether Resonite will ever truly be able to scale to the size of its main competitors one day, such as\u00a0VRChat\u00a0or Rec Room. It\u2019s a different animal, albeit one with a core foundation of hardcore maker types\u00a0and contributors via the app\u2019s Patreon<\/a>. As it is, the app\u2019s Patreon is bringing its creators over\u00a0$11,000 per month\u2014a testament to the community\u2019s commitment to keep Resonite\u00a0their social platform of choice.<\/p>\n