Hi Awesome People,
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up for or participated in our closed beta for Animaze! Now that we’ve had some time to pour over all of your feedback, we’d like to share a number of changes and updates we are making to Animaze (and FaceRig) as a result of the beta.
Extending FaceRig Support:
First of all - we are extending critical product support and customer support for FaceRig through December 31, 2021. Critical product support means that if any external factor (such as a Windows Update) causes FaceRig to be unusable for a large percentage of people, we will do everything in our power to fix it. In simple terms, we will make sure that FaceRig remains functional through the end of 2021. It’s incredibly important to us that everyone can continue using FaceRig without worrying about a sudden unexpected event disabling the program.
On the customer support side, you can continue to contact us through the usual channels (email, Discord, and Twitter are best) if you need help with FaceRig. Response time for issues relating to FaceRig may take up to 5 business days in some cases, but we are guaranteeing direct assistance through the end of 2021.
FaceRig Going Away Sale:
Many of you asked if FaceRig will go on sale one last time before we remove it from sale when Animaze launches. The answer is yes! We are going to have a Going Away Sale on Steam with significant discounts on the base FaceRig software and all DLCs (including Pro and avatar packs) before Animaze launches. Stay tuned for more details on date and time.
Animaze Updates:
NOTE: for a detailed list of updates and changes, check out our blog post on our news page
New Features from Beta Feedback:
During our beta, we got a huge amount of valuable feedback from our testers. As a result, we are adding a number of new features to Animaze before launch. These updates include:
- Advanced embodiment controls
- Prop placement controls
- Streamlined Live2D Imports
- Secondary render window with Alpha Channel transparency
- A host of under the hood embodiment, tracking, and calibration improvements.
These features are being added in addition to already-planned improvements we're making to Animaze before we launch.
Tweaks to Animaze Subscriptions:
We've also made some tweaks to Animaze subscriptions in response to beta feedback, including:
- Doubling the virtual camera session time for free users from 45 to 90 minutes
- Adding more benefits to the Basic subscription (including 60 FPS streaming through the virtual webcam, which was previously in the VIP subscription)
- Limiting the VIP subscription to Commercial Rights only.
Here's what Animaze subscriptions will look like at launch:
Changes to Commercial Rights:
We've also reverted our Commercial Rights requirements to be consistent with FaceRig. Moving forward, you only need Commercial Rights to use Animaze if you're making more than $500 per month from your channel. Here is what Commercial Rights requirements for Animaze will look like at launch:
Animaze Roadmap:
Animaze will receive much more consistent and meaningful updates than you’ve seen in the last few years of FaceRig’s lifetime. We’re already hard at work building new features, new avatars, new props, and support for new content formats. We’ll be sharing roadmap information and engaging in consistent dialog with the community to ensure we’re building what you want. We’ve had a great start engaging with thousands of testers during our beta!
Animaze Launch Timing:
We know you are eager to learn when Animaze will launch. While we don’t have a launch date yet, we are working as hard as we possibly can to launch Animaze into Early Access on Steam before the end of 2020. If you haven't already, Wishlist Animaze now to be notified when we release:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364390/
Stay tuned for more information, including a definitive launch date, in the coming weeks!
As always, you can reach us on email, Discord, and Twitter with questions and/or comments.
All the Best,
The FaceRig/Animaze Team