Last (hopefully) beta before pushing to default and much more :)

Hi Everyone

I've been working towards a new default version after all the large updates I've been making over the past few months and I'm now almost ready to push that live. This version needs a bit of testing by you, the users so I don't accidentally break it for everyone.

I'm hoping that it won't require too much in the way of confirmation that it's good to release as the majority of the underlying changes are bug fixes and life improvements in an attempt to make it more stable.

Updates

• Half width side by side stereo videos now supported (they were before but to get them working you had to adjust the stretch. This is now no longer the case, with a simple tick box in the depth menu.
• Improved NDI support.
• Updated timecode settings. You can choose your own ip and port values.
• including dialog to show number of subtitle and audio tracks found when video loads.
• All plugins and engine versions updated to the latest.
• Quest 3 controllers added to the controller selection menu.
• Explorer visual updates.
• Explorer list by size and size indicated on each media.
• Help menu improved and changed to "about". This is partly in preparation for more info in this menu.
• Icon design redeveloped.

Preparing for version 5 release and leaving Early Access

We are now in the far flung future of 2024 and I think it's about time I move Whirligig out of Early Access and into full release. With this I also intend to move to version 5 (I was running out of numbers in the fours) and have a redesign of the logo and splash screens. Here is the new logo/icon:

and here is the new splash screen:

Now I'm not a liar (most of the time) and I'm not going to start now. This new logo has been made with the help of ChatGPT based on my original pinwheel hand draw logo. I was just experimenting and came up with multiple options, which I couldn't deny looked really nice. I was also keen to get away from the four blade pinwheel design as it could be misconstrued at a passing glance. This is probably my paranoia but it had been niggling me for a while and once you see it it's hard to unsee.

All this new design will slowly be worked into the online store once the update has been released.

Cross Platform Work

PC VR Stores:

• Viveport (this needs fully updating)
• Steam
• Oculus Store
• Pimax Store

Standalone Stores:
Pimax Store (Pimax Crystal)
Applabs (Quest 2/3) Quest 1 isn't yet support as I have to work out permissions issues.
Itch.io (Quest 2/3, PicoVR 4, other Pico 6DOF headsets.

My cross platform policy
If you own Whirligig on any of the stores and wish to have it on another store, this includes from PC to standalone and vice versa, then email me which store you want and I will send you a free code [email protected]. I've held this policy from the beginning and have been able to manage the requests. If this changes in the future I might have to re-address this but unless it's get unmanageable I will continue my cross platform purchase support.

Standalone vs PC VR

So there are some fundamental differences between the two versions but I have strived to keep the majority of features the same.

The PC version has full gamepad, mouse, keyboard and VR controller support. The standalone version has VR controller and gamepad support.

The standalone version also includes VLC video path options but replaces the other video paths with Exo Player and Media Player.

Passthrough support has made it to the Quest 2/3 and Pico standalone. Now you have the option to see the outside world while watching your media, also including dimming the passthrough while playing.

Timecode support is currently only available on the PC however if anyone wishes to contact me about standalone support testing I'd be happy to include it in future releases.

Feedback

Whirligig's development has always been very much guided by community feedback. This ranges from bug reports, feature requests to suggestion of new platforms to work on.

I really want to know what you think of the direction of Whirligig. Do you think I should move out of Early Access? Do you like the logo? Are the changes I've made to move to OpenXR been good? Are there blind spots I'm missing with Whirligig? Let me know what you think. It really does help me to know where to focus on and make Whirligig better for everyone.

Reviews

Positive reviews are very important in helping people know the product is still in development and that there are people out there who find it a worthwhile addition to their library. They also help to boost my self esteem which in my estimation works out as 1 bad review is equal to 6 good reviews.

If you have Whirligig on the Oculus store then it would be good to get a few more positive reviews there. It's been a long time since any reviews have been posted and the last couple refer to a much older version of Whirligig.

If you don't want to give a good review and would prefer to give a bad review that is also fine. However please let me know what I need to do to improve it. It's difficult to know what to do with a review which just says "this is crap". I'm already working on making it not crap so knowing where I need to focus my efforts is very useful.

And Finally

I've been working on Whirligig since 2016 and have no plans to stop. I want to be able to continue making a product you all want to use so don't expect to see me slow down on updates after this big release. I have several ideas I want to implement, which I hope you'll appreciate when they are released.

I wish everyone a happy new year. Fingers crossed for all of us that 2024 will be a good year, well hopefully a better year than the last few. The bars been pushed pretty low but we still manage to get under it somehow.

I look forward to hearing all of your feedback.

Happy watching :)

Phil