Latest News about Animaze!

Meet Silenus, the war GOAT avatar!

Hello Awesome People!

A new Holotech original free avatar enters the arena: Silenus the futuristic war GOAT.
He also brings along his futuristic spaceship backdrop.

https://youtu.be/ZX3L_ZE8XlQ

Whether you want to have a sci-fi goat narrating your exploits in the galaxy or repurpose him in zoomed-in portrait mode as a tiefling lookalike for your new BG3 run, Silenus is reporting for duty.

Cheers, and happy steaming!

The Holotech Team.

7 days ago

Animaze update v1.26.12579 - Visage Tracker v9.1 Update

Hello Awesome People!

We have updated the Visage Technologies Tracker to v9.1 in Animaze.
Those of you who checked out the Next Version update a couple of days ago already know about this, but for those who have stayed on the default branch here is the news:


Desktop Changelog

-> added tracked vertical pupil movement to the Default Tracker. If the motion is too intense you can adjust it (or even turn it back off) in the Advanced Tracking Settings -> Eyes -> Eye Pupil Vertical Movement.
-> fixed a bug causing the shop-interfacing galleries to not load properly sometimes,
-> fixed a crash when importing some VRM models,
-> fixed a bug related to TPose validation in GLB files

As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Tell us what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server or email us at support[@]animaze[.]us!
Thank you for supporting indie avatar engine initiatives.

If there are any unexpected issues please report them to us and remember that you can always roll back to the previous version branch while things are investigated. Here is info on how to switch branches: https://www.animaze.us/faq/animazedesktop/navigatebranches .

Happy streaming,
The Holotech Team

1 month ago

Animaze update 1.26.12565 - New Idles, Props, and UI functionality

Hello Awesome People!

We’ve updated the Animaze with several key improvements.
Those of you who checked out the Next Version update a couple of days ago already know about this, but for those who have stayed on the default branch here is the news:

Desktop Changelog:

-Added new idles, to make it easier to use holdable props for folks who don't use any form of hand tracking (though they are really fun when you *do* use hand tracking), added microphone and coffee mug holdables for those morning coffee moments and Karaoke streams.
- Added UI warnings about typical experience “debuffs”: Bad framerate during streaming or issues with internet connectivity on start are sure to throw a wrench in your streaming experience. Low fps warnings, low average fps during broadcast warnings, and network connectivity warnings will now pop up in the UI, letting you know that there are some problems and settings that might need adjustment (in and out of Animaze). Depending on feedback, more debuff detectors will be added, for instance, below-ideal input camera FPS or jittery tracking input that can (and should) be addressed by dialing up the smoothing sliders.
- Fixed a bug where reset keys in the Control panel were not properly displayed.
- Fixed a bug where unbound keys were not saved
- Fixed a non-start issue, if there was no detectable network adapter.
- Fixed a bug with changing the model for ChatPal in the OpenAI settings panel
- Various other fixes and optimizations.

Please let us know about your experience with this build.
If there are any unexpected issues please report them to us and remember that you can always roll back to the previous version branch while things are investigated. Here is info on how to switch branches: https://www.animaze.us/faq/animazedesktop/navigatebranches .

As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Let us know what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server, email us at support[@]animaze[.]us, or message us on Twitter!
Thank you for supporting indie avatar engine initiatives.


Happy streaming,
The Holotech Team

3 months ago

Animaze update v1.26.12519 - ChatPal w/ Inworld AI

Hello awesome folks,

We have integrated Inworld AI in Animaze ChatPal as an alternative LLM + voice engine solution.

Inworld AI enables you to fully customize the AI Brain that powers the Animaze avatar, to craft characters with distinct personalities and contextual awareness that stay in-world. Keep in mind that an Inworld AI account and additional fees for Inworld AI services will be needed beyond the Inworld initial free usage allotment.

Desktop Changelog
-changes to Animaze ChatPal:
   --added inworld.ai LLM + Voice Engine + Emotions Engine tech. Inworld is the leading Character Engine for AI NPCs. Inworld NPCs exhibit
   complex and lifelike behaviors, increasing immersion.
   --added voice started and ended API events for Animaze ChatPal.
   --Twitch chat username (sent from Twitch Actions) is now used in Animaze ChatPal chat lines.
   --Twitch chat username (sent from Twitch Actions) can now be used in custom prompts of the Chat Participation action.
   --Animaze ChatPal Twitch Action now supports queueing, we’ve added a “Queue chat messages“ toggle.
   --added support for custom gestures, you can now add detectable words that trigger custom special actions.
-added create/restore backup scripts that can help you transfer all advanced configs, customizations, custom imports, etc., from one Animaze installation to another. A simple guide here.
-fixed rendering issue for Live2D models that have over 36 clipping masks.
-fixed the head/body movement freeze after using a generic special action and then interrupting it with the default of the avatar.
-added animation import fallbacks for different variations of Mixamo rigs.
-added GetCurrentAvatarInfo and GetCurrentSceneInfo API calls.
-added Clip Mask size slider for Live2D models (Settings > Video Graphics > 2D Avatar Clip Mask Size).



Editor Changelog
-fixed crash on changing texture that is referenced in two or more materials.



As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Let us know what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server, email us at support[@]animaze[.]us, or message us on Twitter!

Happy Streaming,
The Holotech Team

6 months ago

Meet Rangar, the ultimate bug with an attitude

Introducing the newest sensation in the Animaze world: Malicious Rangar!

Prepare to bug out with this mischievous critter who's ready to turn your virtual world upside down!

Get ready to dance like nobody's watching, laugh like you've never laughed before, and embrace the crazy with Malicious Rangar!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOa34N1_7r8

As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Tell us what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server, email us at support[@]animaze[.]us, or message us on Twitter!

Happy Streaming,
The Holotech Team

7 months ago

Animaze v1.26.12424 - Import Mixamo animations and more

Hello awesome folks,

We are releasing an update that enables you to add a LOT more ready-made custom animations to your avatar.
You can now directly import any of the thousands of Mixamo animations to use on any mannequin-compatible avatar in Animaze! This should also work with any other animation creation pipeline that can export fbx animations for the Mixamo rig, like Move.ai.
You are now also able to use blendshape face tracking input from any VMC tracker!
Based on your feedback, we've reworked key bindings for Special Actions, Special Poses, and Idle Animations.
Because of the keybind system changes, switching to previous-version branch and back to the main will revert all keybind mappings to default.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BixKeK_AkeE

Full Changelog
-added Mixamo generic mannequin that allows for Mixamo rigged animations to be loaded and applied on virtually all 3D avatars (VRM and Ready Player Me work out of the box and most Holotech Originals).
-added a direct Mixamo animation import option (.fbx files), enabling you to add animations directly from the Mixamo website (or other Mixamo-compatible sources) to your Avatar in Animaze.
-added support to receive blendshapes face data on VMC tracker (the VMC tracker is no longer body-only)
  --ARKit/PerfectSync/MediaPipe blendshapes are interpreted and retargeted on all avatars.
  --for VRoid expression blendshapes (joy, surprise, sad, etc.) which aren’t retargeted, we’ve added a Direct Expression Mapping option that will 
  directly apply the incoming blendshapes on the VRM model.
  --Direct Expression Mapping can also be used with ARKit/PerfectSync/MediaPipe blendshapes if the avatar model supports it (e.g. Ready 
  Player Me avatars support the standard by default).
  --added options to accept/reject incoming VMC data, currently three main channels: body transforms, camera transform, and blendshapes.
-fixed and tweaked some special actions and idle animation interactions.
-reworked the special actions, poses, and idles keybinding system to allow for easier rebinding. We’ve added the option to keep the keybindings specific to the avatar, so you can have different special actions keybindings per avatar. When using the “Keybinds saved to avatar instance“ option, you can do key rebinding directly from the Animations drawer.
-fixed issue with using Spout2 sources on props.




Known issues
-The switch between generic Mannequin and Mixamo animations is snappy.


Editor Changelog

-fixed the crash that occurs when calling Save item on items without models.



As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Tell us what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server, email us at support[@]animaze[.]us, or message us on Twitter!

Happy Streaming,
The Holotech Team

7 months ago

Visage Technologies Face Tracker Upgrade

Hello animazing community,

We're excited to bring to you Animaze with an improved webcam face-tracking library from Visage Technologies. What you'll likely notice right away is that it has less jitter and requires less smoothing, allowing you to enable a snappier mo-cap experience from your advanced tracking settings.

We are also applying what we have learned with auto-generating avatar motions and gestures on Chatpal, to enable an improved "no-cam" mode for streamers that want to drive things with just their voice.

Desktop Changelog
  • updated the default webcam face tracker Visage SDK, which significantly reduces tracking jitter.
  • Animaze ChatPal updates
    • fixed issue with the start of talking behavior on cloud voices which activated too early, the behavior should start at the right time now.
    • fixed gestures and emotions being ignored if they are at the very start of the phrase, on very short phrases with single gesture/emotion.
  • updated the MToon shader for VRM 1.0, newly imported VRM 1.0 avatars should be shaded correctly now.
  • disabled texture resizing when importing user images (for any type of customization); before, textures were clamped to the application render size.
  • fixed Ultraleap freezing issue if you use general special actions and interrupt them with the avatar's dedicated idle.
  • for VRM and GLB models, on import, we are removing ARKit eyes look-at blendshapes (e.g. EyeLookDownLeft) specifically for the meshes that are skinned by the eyeLeft/eyeRight joints. For VRM and GLB-sourced avatars, the eyes are animated procedurally by rotating the eye joints, applying blendshapes over this would only apply a double transform and make the end result inaccurate and/or distorted.
  • added Animaze Webcamless Face & Body Extension (activable from Settings > Advanced Tracking Configuration > Select Trackers) which adds dynamic facial expressions and body movements to your avatar without the need for face or body trackers. Some movements are derived or applied based on the audio tracker. Effectively, we’ve added the Animaze Chatpal procedural behaviors for real-time use with audio tracking.



Editor Changelog
  • updated the MToon shader for VRM 1.0, newly imported VRM 1.0 avatars should be shaded correctly now.



As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Tell us what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server, email us at support[@]animaze[.]us, or message us on Twitter!

Happy Streaming,
The Holotech Team

7 months ago

Animaze update v1.26.12343 "Infinity" 3D Props

Hello animazing community,

With this update, any simple GLB rigid model on the Internet can be an Animaze prop, loaded directly in the app. We are also releasing a few fixes for issues reported by YOU: Animaze Chatpal tweaks, Direct Prop Imports, Editor updates, and more. Find out about all the fixes in the detailed changelog below:

Desktop Changelog

  • Animaze ChatPal updates:
    • fixed transitions between explaining animations.
    • added options to specify system message and voice per avatar, granting the ability to create the avatar's AI “personality” through context and voice. See docs for more info.
    • added Echo Mode which enables you to use Animaze Chatpal as a text-to-speech service, no OpenAI API key is needed. Previously this was possible through the -echo command.
    • added a “Stop Speaking” button to interrupt Animaze Chatpal from talking.
    • some ElevenLabs error handling fixing some edge case crashes.
  • fixed avatar scaling issue - props did not scale correctly after save/revert flow.
  • avatar scaling is now saved/loaded in quickscenes.
  • added iPhone Tracker FPS and Latency stats to App Stats.
  • fixed hands forced rotation issues with dedicated special actions, special poses, or idle animations for GLB avatars.
  • fixed small visual issues with Cascaded Shadow Technique.
  • added direct Prop imports (.avatar and .glb files are supported).
  • fixed an edge case issue on GLB-sourced avatars that erroneously determined the avatar had no TPose.
  • added Visage tracker paths error handling, removing the crash that occurs when Animaze is installed in a path with non-English characters. Friendly reminder, Visage face tracker only works if Animaze is installed in a path with English (or ASCII) characters.
  • added a timeout for the Animaze API websocket.



Editor Changelog

  • fixed hands forced rotation issues with dedicated special actions, special poses, or idle animations for GLB avatars.
  • fixed small visual issues with Cascaded Shadow Technique.
8 months ago

Midori Dark and Evil Clown have come to Animaze

Midori Dark and Evil Clown have come to Animaze!

Check them out in the Avatar tab and let us know once you create your videos or streams using them!

As always, we love hearing what you think about additional classic character ports and Animaze!
8 months ago

Create reaction videos with the newly released Reaction Scene

Hello animazing community,


Update Animaze and check out our new reaction background and two new props: Phone prop and a new SF Jetpack!
You can now set quick scenes for camera movement and create elaborate videos.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vpH4ZjqBUU

Also, if you're feeling creative, we've also prepared some tips and tricks about customizing and retexturing your avatars, making them your own with a vast array of props or with a custom background.

As always, we love hearing what you think about the new content and Animaze! Tell us what you’d like to see added to Animaze on our Discord server, email us at support[@]animaze[.]us, or message us on Twitter!

Happy Streaming,
The Holotech Team

8 months ago
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