By admin 
Often times, I feel like VTubers are sleeping on the hidden power of VRChat. I mean, yes, plenty of popular Twitch streamers are avid VRChat users. MurderCrumpet, Buni, SokkzVR, and Saeko all come to mind immediately. But as a VRChat content creator myself, I believe many VTubers just aren’t aware of the possibilities VRC offers. The platform has become incredibly advanced, featuring a wide assortment of gorgeous avatars to behold as well as breathtaking worlds to explore. I highly recommend streamers give the platform a try at least once, just to see how they feel about streaming in VR.
As for those of you who have experimented with a few VR streams? You might not be getting the most out of your VRChat Twitch sessions if you’re just hanging out with your camera set to “stream”. At least, those were some of the words of wisdom said to me by Strasz, a VRChat staffer who chatted with Waypoint about VTubing, streaming, and getting started creating content in VR.
Strasz on VTubers, ‘VRChat’ 101, and turning on Anti-Aliasing
Strasz is a video essayist behind one of my favorite VRChat video essays, “Identity, Gender, and VRChat (Why is everyone in VR an anime girl?)”. They also serve as VRChat’s senior community manager. Strasz reached out to me after seeing some of my prior reporting on VTubers in VRChat, and we quickly struck a rapport, chatting about the platform’s relationship with the VTubing landscape.
Unfortunately, Strasz didn’t have any direct statistics on just how many VTubers stream on VRChat. However, VRC is “in a pretty privileged position” as “most of the VTubers that use VRChat do so of their own volition, without any input from us at all,” they said. I immediately thought of Nyanners dumping car batteries into the ocean.
“In the past, we’ve teamed up with COVER/Hololive (we had partnered with them for Anime NYC), but their talent tends to just gravitate toward VRChat by themselves,” Strasz told Waypoint. “A few other agencies have an on-again, off-again presence in VRChat, usually depending on when they’re hosting an event or doing something with their community. There are a ton of indie VTubers who use VRChat, either as their main platform or as a streaming tool, but it’s hard to track them!”
Strasz and I then moved on to advice. What should newbies know about streaming in VRChat? For one, there’s the obvious 101 point: Use the built-in VRChat Stream Camera, don’t just stream in first person (“if you’re simply using the application as a source sans-camera, you’re going to see a left-eye biased view of the screen”). But there are other hidden tips and tricks that your average newcomer might not be aware of, ones even intermediate streamers should pay attention to.
“Enabling smoothing is usually a good idea, too, under the Camera options. Same for turning [Anti-Aliasing] on! AA will take your frames a bit, but does make a difference for streaming,” Strasz said. Don’t forget about camera movement inside VRChat, too. “The Camera Dolly and Drone are both enormously strong tools that streamers don’t use nearly enough.”
Software matters (hardware too!)
Streaming in VRChat isn’t just about picking up a nice avatar and hanging out with chat. It’s also about the setup you use to support you while you’re streaming. To this end, Strasz recommended specific software to maximize ease of use and interactivity. “I think if someone intends on streaming in VRChat, something like XSOverlay or OVR Toolkit is a requirement,” Strasz said. “They let you toggle virtual windows within 3D space, letting you have things like your chat, Discord, or whatever else right in front of you.”
And if you’re serious about immersion? “I also think that things like face/eye tracking make a big difference,” they told Waypoint, “but obviously that’s a bit of an investment.”
From personal experience, I recommend the Meta Quest Pro. While pricey, it offers high quality built-in face and eye tracking, both of which can be sent right to your avatar. Just download the free VRCFaceTracking software and follow the program’s instructions to get your correct module set up for VRChat.
Be warned, some avatars require additional purchases for face and eye tracking. One of my favorite avatars, Uruki by Mister Pink, has a wide assortment of third-party face tracking addons available. These range from 1,200 yen to 4,500 yen, or approximately $8.40 to $31.52 USD as of this article’s publication. I went with the ¥4,500 hashedits tracking asset, which was worth the price given its high-end facial animations, but it cost nearly as much as the original Uruki model itself (which retails for ¥6,000 yen, or approximately $42.02).
That said, I definitely echo’s Strasz advice. Face and eye tracking is a major upgrade, one you should consider if you’re serious about VRChat streaming.
Strasz’s ‘off-the-beaten-path’ tip for VTubers in ‘VRChat’
Making the most of your camera, your software, and your hardware is clearly important to VRChat. But Strasz’s biggest piece of advice was one I, as a VTuber, needed to hear myself: Explore VRChat. Actually spend time using the platform and meeting people within it.
“This is an off-the-beaten-path type of answer, but I really think that any VTuber drawn to VRChat — especially a newbie — would be served well by exploring the platform’s communities on a deep level,” Strasz explained. “One of the biggest advantages of this platform is that people tend to really want to share their hobbies and what they’re passionate about. Being around folks like that tends to spark creativity — and given how crowded the VTubing space is, it might just give you a clue as to how you can stand out and make something that helps people connect with you, in the way that you want to.”
Exploration, it turns out, is half the fun of streaming in VRChat. There’s so much to see in the world. After all, VRC is its own little community, one spread out across various subcultures, games, and events. So go out and see what’s happening. Whether that’s “drone racing, or tandem drifting, or dogfighting, or raving,” or “a million other things.” Hang out, vibe, see what’s up.
“To be honest, a lot of VRChat isn’t used nearly enough by streamers and VTubers! A lot of folks in VRChat who stream do the whole look at camera, wiggle, listen to music thing (with a little bit of chat interaction thrown in),” Strasz said. “While I’m not about to yell at what works for people, there’s a ton of possibility for what could be done. Custom worlds, tools, and so on, are all right there.”
Give Strasz a follow on Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch if you haven’t already. And if you’re looking for potential VRChat avatar bases to get started with, check out our guide. Or just go ahead and grab GodWhisper. It’s clearly about to be the hottest egirl avatar of the summer.