Last September, Cocos CreatorXR v1.0.1 supported VR content creation. In March this year, Cocos CreatorXR v1.1.0 supported AR content development. After completing the construction of some basic functions, more developers started to try to use Cocos CreatorXR to create their own XR content. We have received many comments and suggestions from developers, so we would like to express our gratitude to all developers again.
Among the feedback we received, one issue that was repeatedly mentioned was how to implement cross-platform XR development better, and many developers also said WebXR would be very helpful, hoping that Cocos CreatorXR would complete the support as soon as possible.
In Cocos CreatorXR 1.2.0, we are pleased to announce that this update adds support for WebXR from the perspective of prioritizing practical development pain points. Cocos CreatorXR now fully supports publishing to WebXR to help developers achieve cross-platform development for AR/VR. In addition, this update also adds MR-related features to prepare for the next phase of the MR-type applications.
WebXR: A cross-platform form of XR content
In an era of intertwined desktop and mobile internet and blossoming consumer electronics, web standards have contributed significantly to the prosperity of the ecosystem as the most important cross-platform means of communication. To enable Web content to serve the next-generation computing platform, XR, and reduce the impact of the industry's pre-fragmentation, and attract more developers and technology ecosystems, the industry has formed a new web standard, WebXR. This standard extends the ability of the web standard extends the cross-platform capabilities of web content to XR, a new form of experience that uses the same set of APIs to support different XR modes such as VR, AR, and MR, minimizing the differences between various hardware devices, operating systems, and native SDKs.
For developers, using Cocos to develop web content is very "efficient," not only in terms of how quickly you can develop web content with Cocos, but also in terms of its powerful cross-platform capabilities that allow you to re-build different versions of the web and go live in no time. Cocos CreatorXR also inherits this feature: it can be developed once and deployed across multiple devices. With WebXR's cross-platform, low-threshold, and convenient deployment, Cocos developers can develop and distribute rich XR applications and content more efficiently, helping developers to build cross-platform XR better and create 3D and 2D applications.
Video Insights: The Future of Virtual Reality Fusion, One Step Closer
In the development of MR, video perspective is an important technical path that enables the fusion of reality and virtual reality, providing the foundation for implementing MR, and is the key to a more natural interactive experience. In this context, Cocos CreatorXR 1.2.0 has added new features related to video perspective to help developers explore more possibilities of MR.
Cocos CreatorXR 1.2.0 adds support for XR Composition Layer and XR PassThrough Layer. The Composition Layer can be used to display focal objects in the XR scene, such as messages, text, video, and textures, as well as simple scene environments and backgrounds, simplifying the entire rendering process while improving rendering quality. PassThrough Layer can call on the XR device's camera to capture the actual scene and display it on the screen, breaking the complete closure of the virtual environment, bringing the real world into the virtual experience, and opening the door to the world of MR.
The following is the main content of this update:
New WebXR support:
· Support for WebXR's existing session modes, including inline /immersive-ar /immersive-vr, and the ability to switch session modes via components and APIs
· The ability to call the device's native ARCore SDK to implement AR features in immersive-ar mode
· In immersive-vr mode, it enables binocular rendering output and spatial pose input for VR devices
Note: WebXR has been tested on Chrome for Android devices and Quest2 / Pico Neo3 / Pico4 devices with their own browsers. Please update your browser/OS to the latest version for these devices, and for handheld devices, enter chrome://flags in Chrome and search for and open webxr incubations to enable all AR features (requires ARCore to be pre-installed on the device).
New MR-related capabilities:
· Support for XR Composition Layer, both Overlay and Underlay types, to avoid additional texture sampling to improve texture and video clarity
· Support for XR PassThrough Layer video perspective functionality and corresponding call components, allowing easy construction of spatially anchored MR-type applications, currently supported by the Quest series
Other new features and capabilities:
· XR SpatialAudio component for implementing spatial sounds
· XR WebView component for displaying web content within the XR application interface
· XR VideoPlayer now supports web-side video playback and supports 3D video
· FFR fixed point-of-view rendering, which improves performance by reducing rendering accuracy in the edge of the field of view, is now available for the Quest series
· ARKit adds feature switches for developers to call
· Support parameter adjustment of lighting estimation for each AR SDK, and support HDR/LDR mode
· New behavior control and placement calculation function for on-screen gesture interaction component
Device side SDK version support updates:
· Spaces SDK support updated to 0.11.1, with new support for RGB Camera /Meshing features
· Quest v50 version of OpenXR Loader 1.0.26 support
· Support for Monado OpenXR Loader 1.0.26
· Added support validation for Rokid Max and Pico 4 Pro XR devices
Optimize the experience and resolve legacy issues from version 1.1.1:
· Optimize the effect of screen gesture interaction and the failure of zoom minimum, reverse rotation gesture, Drag gesture fix, etc.
· Huawei VR Glass' handle vibration time 0 invalid issue
· Fix the error when converting the camera to AR after opening the project for the first time
· Fixed more than ten low-priority bugs in other AR cases and functions
The release of version 1.2.0 marks a significant step forward in Cocos CreatorXR's support for WebXR and MR applications. With support for more devices and capabilities, Cocos CreatorXR will continue to expand its application scenarios in XR, bringing developers even richer creative space. At the same time, we will continue to monitor the development trend of XR technology, further optimize and improve Cocos CreatorXR, and provide developers with more efficient and convenient XR development tools. Let's look forward to a brighter, more creative XR future together!
Download link:
Cocos CreatorXR v1.2.0 Plugin Download
https://store.cocos.com/app/detail/4117
Cocos Dashboard Download
https://www.cocos.com/en/creator-download
Cocos CreatorXR Official Documentation (Chinese)
