OfficeHours:ProbablePrime:2021-06-08

Prime Time, is a bi-weekly office hours about Documentation, Questions and Tutorials.

Here are the notes from the 8th June 2021.

These are rough notes typed by ProbablePrime with help from Canadian Git but you also might be interested in the audio recording, this will be linked here soon

They are written largely in first person which might chanel for future sessions. I in this case usually refers to ProbablePrime.

Recording

A recording can be found here

Notes

3x1t_5tyl3:Q: So with you being in the team now -which by the way congrats!- what is the plan going forward for the wiki, it's documentation and the software behind it? As in will we be likely to see a lot of new integrations? Automation of certain things into it ect.

• Wiki
  • The slow responsiveness issues have been noted, a migration is planned which should include improvements for performance and scallabitity of the wiki.
  • Included in the migration is a review of the OAuth functionality on the wiki which has also had some issues with session longevity
  • A brief downtime period will be needed for the migration and will be announced clearly when it is planned.
• Other Documentation Tools
  • Community Contributions will be valued and included from the wiki and other sources. Please continue editing the wiki.
  • We're looking into tools that will help automate or provide other documentation experiences
  • For example automating new nodes or components, providing basic details or summaries from devs which can then be expanded upon by the community/the team.
  • these tools can complicate matters, including requiring the use of "Git" which has a higher barrier of entry.
  • Please view the Documentation Roadmap for more information.

Shadow Panther: Tell us briefly of your position and tasks in the Neos team. What you have access to? What were you able to do since you were hired? (stuff you can talk about, of course)

• Job Titles are a little 'Wishy-Washy' with a team this small, team members collaborate across all aspects of Neos wherever they can.
• My broad goal is to communicate technical information to the community.
  • Tutorials
  • Guides
  • Technical Information
  • Internal Documentation
• I have access to the entire code base, including Unity Integration and the Cloud Services codebase
  • I cannot see your password or any private data, neither can Froox. Don't worry.
• Since joining I've been:
  • Reading the room. Listening to the community and the team and seeing where help is needed.
  • Continued much of what I've previously done, including: tutorials, wiki updates and question answers but at new levels such as the Mod and Team conversation channels
  • On a technical/update notes level, I updated the OAuth/Authentication Visuals. Check the update notes.
  • I'll be looking into smaller bugs/tweaks to get my feet wet on the code base. I've asked Shifty and Froox for some "simple" issues to try to fix. Simple sometimes doesn't mean simple when it comes to a new codebase.

GunGryphon: On the topic of integration, dense text can be hard to read in VR. Would shorter abbreviated in-game descriptions of settings/objects/features be used in-game and would those be tied into the wiki pages?

• Yes.
• Perhaps a short setence or two with drop downs for more information.
• Contextual stuff like tooltips and prompts would also be good.

Zyro1331: Q: Sorry for a technical question, but will CloudVariables in the future have the ability to integrate with programs outside the game? Like making Engi's BoolChat Facet interact with a Cloud connected light bulb?

• There are API endpoints for this and some community members are starting to use these.
• Do note that using these isn't officially supported right now and may break in the future.
• We'll try to let you know if this occurs but cannot guarantee it.
• Later on we may add official documentation for these endpoints at which point we'd call them supported once the cloud is more stable

Alex the Derpy Avali: Q:Who's the new ui ux designer?

• Chroma!
• Take a look at Chroma's introduction to the Team, including the Weekly Update, Announcement Post and the Recap stream on Friday.
• They helped build the sets for the recap stream and its development too.
• From Aegis: they're also helping with the UIX for the MTC.

NatBard: Q: I know video sometimes are spur of the moment, but can you tell us about any bigger videos or video series you have planned? (sorry if you already covered late joiner)

• I intend to keep my videos to the same format on my channel
• But more professional and edited videos may appear on the official channel with help from the team for things like production and editing. These videos will also usually be more formal. Keep an eye on the official channel for more information.
• As for my channel:
  • More social Videos such as how to be a good guest/host and how to collaborate.
  • I did have a huge desktop series but it needs to be redone :(

Mysticporo: Q: In terms of the Essential Tools is there anything planned to make it simpler or less confusing to new users as to what the tool and the tools extensions/features do (making it clear/easier to new users what something does)

• Yes, several team members are working on this.
• There are also some tool redesigns coming that were shown off on a recent stream.
• UI updates to the inventory panel will help here too.

Earthmark: Will there be community feedback requested on the uiux and more aspects? I feel this has been a concern at least for myself in the past

• Yes, keep an eye on the Devlog channel and the Github when Froox posts his development notes he is looking for feedback.
• I'll also try to get a discussion issue open for each card for discussion.

Beaned: i think a video on common noobie mistakes and how to avoid them would be nice maybe

• I plan to make content like this soon.

Zyro1331Q: Will the Friends List, Inventory, and File Explorer ever get changed into the native dark theme? I can not stop burning my retinas when it's night time.

• Yes, planned for the future. Please check the UI Rework Roadmap
• Generically, any UI that has an off-white background signifies that it needs a complete rework.

3x1t_5tyl3: Q: Is there any possibility for a potential of us getting the ability to have a separate resource for tutorials? Especially text based tutorials as I personally prefer those myself and would love to write them. Is the wiki the right page?

• Yes, I will also be looking into this. But the community can write them too. We may clean up your tutorials if you write them but please go ahead and write them. We'd love to see them.

Turk: Q: Should folks stop making tutorials now that you are apart of the team? I can see this may daunt others from making tutorials. (I know I've asked this previously but asking for others who may be interested in this information)

• Keep making tutorials!
• Seriously, the more information the better.

Mysticporo: Q: on the topic of videos/video streaming with the "paste from clipboard" is there anything in the works (perhaps rework) for streaming from desktop into Neos at all?

• Yes, its on the Github. It's a little more complicated as we have to send the video of your screen to each user etc.

GunGryphon: Do you have any plans for an updated "first-day survival guide" Integrated in-game for new users beyond basic controls?

• A guide in this style would be great. It would be supplementary to the existing new user information but I think it would be good.
• Make surte to check the MTC, The Starterpack, Existing Tutorials and even Earthmark's tutorial world.
• Big emphasis on the quantity of content that can be collected from the whole community contributing

Turk: Q: More of a coding question, in terms of how stuff is handled in issue priority, would you largely be focused on bugs and small issues while Froox and Geenz would be focusing more on bigger thinking ahead features like Gamma, Physics etc?

• I'm not sure, my focus isn't big features. I'm not going to be implementing BEPUv2 for example.
• My primary focus has to be documentation.
• I won't rule out larger features in the future as I get more familiar with the codebase though.
• I have a lot of expertise in Cloud Services so may help more there etc.
• Expect, smaller random changes which are just a sign of me getting used to the codebase.
• Event reading Froox's Changes can lead to learning and growth.

Max: Wiki darkmode add please

• We already have this, look to the top right of the Wiki for a "Dark Mode" button which will make the wiki Dark Mode.

Zyro1331: Q: Will neos ever have an in-game Feedback and Bug reporter besides using the GitHub?

• Yes, we have an item on the roadmap.
• Format, and timeline is uncertain.
• Automatic Log File uploads/ Item inclusion is being considered.

Mysticporo: Oh speaking of dark mode will there be a dark mode for the Neos dash UI, I'm aware the UI update is changing things but will it allow changes from a light/dark mode considering sometimes when in vr it can be incredibly bright on users eyes

• Yes see UI Rework Roadmap.
• An example of where we're heading is the World Browser, in both look and feel and technical functionality. The World browser is comprised entirely of facets.

GunGryphon: Would you make a video about making good styled/formatted wiki pages? A unified style is a nice touch and this might direct it.

• Yes this is planned, but I don't wan to be too prescriptive.
• I already made one for the team but will create one for public consumption.

Beaned: so i remember trying to put info on the wiki but it kicked me out due to a timeout and all my progress on the unsaved page was gone. is there some suggestion on how best to go about it?

• This will be fixed with the migration and updates to the OAuth functionality of the wiki. (Read above notes on this at the start of the session).

Jellosaurus: I don't know if you know how to answer this one. but, how will the physics bring better performance exactly? i keep hearing everyone say that, but i dont get what they exactly mean by that.

• I don't know the specifics here but think about how much physics Neos has to do in-game. Running, Walking, Grabbing etc. The update should improve all of that.
• Please ask Froox for more updates.
• Compare BEPUv1 To BepuV2 's performance as an example of something that may apply to Neos. Exact comparisons should not be made of course.

Earthmark: Will the existing updated ui get poked by chroma design updates?

• Yes, it will be looked at by Chroma and the rest of the team as Froox starts work.