Hi everyone

This is a default build update with several large improvements, additions and bug fixes since the last default update.

VLC VideoLan plugin update

Whirligig offers 4 video path options to allow for the largest range of compatibility, Media Foundation, WinRT, Directshow and VideoLan. Media Foundation, WinRT and Directshow are available using the AVPro Renderheads plugin which is well supported by the developers, however the plugin that ran the VLC VideoLan support was no longer supported I have replaced the old plugin with an official VLC Video plugin made by the VideoLan guys themselves. This is much better supported and provides a host of improvements over the previous plugin.

VLC VideoLan integration improvements

• Greatly improved performance when using VLC video path (GPU decoding).
  
• Using the latest VLC dlls, which provides the widest and most up to date media support.
  
• Extra image support. Whirligig now supports xcf, gif, tiff, tif, ilbm, pcx, tga, bmp, pnm, webp, bpg, jpeg, jpg, jps, png, pns image formats. If there are any file types that I've not included but VLC does let me know and I'll add it to the list.
  

Future use of the VLC plugin

The official VLC plugin supports all the same features that the VLC player has, which allows me to open up other areas of support. The biggest one will be playback of streaming media from external locations. This will be more significant for mobile Whirligig as network playback support is often requested. There are several other additions I wish to look into but if anyone else has any ideas let me know.

Explorer improvements

The explorer in Whirligig has been functional but has needed updating for a while. I've redesigned a good part of it, worked on optimisations and fixed any bugs I've come across.

Audio reactive backgrounds

As I am using media playback systems that also support audio I've worked on adding audio reactive backgrounds to the player. When playing audio if you select one of these backgrounds, the environment will move and pulse to the audio as it plays. The audio backgrounds are 3D 360 environments and there are currently 7 to choose from.



Currently it only works with Media Foundation and WinRT video paths for playing back audio.

Optimisation

A significant amount of my time has been put into optimisation of code, especially in the input detection system I've created. Whirligig should now be snappier and feel smoother.

Engine and plugin updates

With VR being in constant development, keeping everything up to date is a must to ensure compatibility and gain performance improvements from the latest OpenXR versions. This version of Whirligig is currently running on Unity 2022.3.13f1 (as of release the latest 2022 version) and OpenXR 1.9.1.

Bug fixes

I've continued to fix reported bugs and any bugs I've come across as I go along. With the major updates that I've been making there is always a chance I've broken things so any reports on issues are very welcome.

Additional Releases

Whirligig is available on multiple platforms and multiple headsets and this release is going to signify an update release on all of the platforms bringing every version in line with each other.

When it comes to betas I mostly release these on Steam so for beta versions Steam is the place to go. Sadly there isn't a universal store for Standalone VR yet so I've provided Ich.io for sideloading on some headsets and will be adding Whirligig to each of the manufactures stores if I can accepted onto them.

I've always held a policy that if you own Whirligig on any other platform you can request a code of another platform for free. Here is a list of the current platforms Whirligig is on

PC VR

• Steam Store
  
• Oculus Store
  
• Viveport
  
• Pimax Store
  

Mobile VR

• Applabs (Quest 2/3)
  
• Ich.io (Quest 2/3, Oculus Go, Pico)
  
• Pimax Store (Pimax Crystal)
  

If you have Whirligig on any of these stores and wish to access one of the other stores email me phileday@yahoo.co.uk with proof of purchase (Screenshot of it in your library or something like that) and I'll send you a code for the store you wish.

Hopefully all the updates I've been making will improve the ability for me to support more headsets so keep an eye out for new headset support in the future.

Your feedback

I am very happy to get feedback from the people who use Whirligig and most fixes and new features come from suggestions from all of you. If you have any suggestions or issues please let me know (comment here or post in the forum) and I'll do my best to implement and fix things. I want to continue to develop Whirligig into the foreseeable future so ways I can improve it for your needs the better.

And finally

I'd just like to thank everyone who has supported this project (just by purchasing you're supporting and positive reviews are always welcome). Without the community who has commented, made suggestions and reported bugs I wouldn't of continued to develop Whirligig. This is all very appreciated.

I hope you like the new update and I wish everyone happiness for the future. Keep watching :)

Phil