# Hyperfy Discord - 2025-05-05

## Overall Discussion Highlights

### Technical Development
- **Scale-aware LOD Implementation**: Ashxn introduced a feature that adjusts LOD transition distance based on object scale, ensuring larger objects maintain high-quality models at proportionally greater distances.
- **Skinnedmesh API**: Ashxn announced the availability of `skinnedmesh.getBone(name)` in a dev branch.
- **NEON App Improvements**: Gert-Jan's new NEON app was collaboratively enhanced with b0gie adding sound effects and snap points.
- **Mod Management UI**: Peezy revealed work on a UI for managing hypkg mods with a system that loads mods from separate folders to prevent conflicts.
- **Documentation Site**: 0mka shared links to docs.hyperfy.xyz and mentioned plans to add AI chat functionality.

### 3D Design & Rendering
- **Advanced Lighting Techniques**: Vox shared techniques using transparent stencil meshes with cutouts to create lighting effects without performance-heavy dynamic lights.
- **Emission & Materials**: Extensive discussion about emission color in materials, with solutions involving texture atlases and matching diffuse/emissive colors.
- **Vertex Painting**: b0gie demonstrated vertex color implementation created on their laptop, noting an issue with emission not properly using the color attribute.
- **Skybox Implementation**: Discussion about removing default skybox in favor of customizable sky apps.

### User Experience & Interface
- **Teleportation Feature**: Consideration of a teleportation feature for builders with player colliders disabled.
- **Key Binding Issues**: Discussion about the 'R' key for duplication conflicting with browser reload, with confirmation that this is fixed in the dev version.
- **UI Visibility Controls**: Request for the 'Z' key (which hides UI) to keep the reticle visible for certain use cases.

### Platform Status
- **Legacy Platform (v1)**: Confirmation that the legacy platform will continue to function with no immediate retirement plans.
- **Server Stability**: Reports of random disconnects in servers while voice chat stays live.

### Community Events
- **NYC Events**: VTATV mentioned upcoming events in New York City to showcase Hyperfy and focus on onboarding IRL users to Web3 and metaverse experiences.

## Key Questions & Answers

### Technical Implementation
- **Q**: Is there a way to change the color of the emission?  
  **A**: Add a texture in the emission slot, then use texture atlas; match diffuse and emissive colors for consistent bloom.

- **Q**: If I instance many different items across the scene with 3 LODs, do I get 3 times the drawcalls compared to using 1 LOD?  
  **A**: Yes, but you're still far better off performance-wise.

- **Q**: How can I get rid of any default skybox image that is built in core?  
  **A**: The plan is to have no default skysphere and worlds start with a sky app that you can delete.

- **Q**: What does app.keepActive = true do?  
  **A**: It keeps the set text set.

### Platform Questions
- **Q**: Can I still use the legacy platform?  
  **A**: Yes, you should be able to.

- **Q**: Will it be retired at all?  
  **A**: There will be a time that the worlds cannot be hosted any longer but there is no set deadline. If you're running events on them, they should continue working. You should get plenty of notice when v1 worlds are to be closed.

- **Q**: Do you guys get random disconnects in your servers?  
  **A**: Yes, quite often.

## Community Help & Collaboration

### NEON App Development
b0gie helped Gert-Jan Akerboom improve the NEON app functionality by adding sound effects, implementing the keepActive property, and creating snap points to make the app more usable.

### Material & Lighting Guidance
Ashxn and b0gie assisted Gert-Jan Akerboom with handling emission color in materials, suggesting the use of texture atlas in emission slot and matching diffuse/emissive colors for consistent results.

### 3D Modeling Workflow
Vox helped Shiffty with baking skills for 3D models, recommending simplebake addon, zenUV, and UVpackmaster for efficient baking workflow in Blender.

### Advanced Lighting Techniques
Vox explained to b0gie their technique for creating lighting effects using transparent mesh with cutouts above scene lights to create focused lighting without additional light sources.

### Legacy Platform Information
minimus-audio-issues provided Harambe Advocate with detailed information about the legacy platform's future, explaining that v1 worlds will continue to work with no set deadline for retirement and users will receive advance notice.

## Action Items

### Technical
- Implement skinnedmesh.getBone(name) functionality (Mentioned by Ashxn)
- Develop UI for management of hypkg mods with separate folder loading to prevent conflicts (Mentioned by peezy)
- Implement scale-aware LOD option for better visual consistency with scaled objects (Mentioned by Ashxn)
- Fix emission not using color attribute in vertex painting (Mentioned by b0gie)
- Fix Z key functionality issue where it sometimes doesn't work for hiding UI (Mentioned by ash)
- Investigate camera flip bug where view suddenly changes to above looking down or below looking up (Mentioned by 0mka)
- Investigate avatar facing forward when clicking while moving (Mentioned by TheMattEmpire)
- Add emits/receives to locationator app placement (Mentioned by 0mka)
- Investigate and fix random disconnects in servers while voice chat stays live (Mentioned by vincentskele)

### Documentation
- Set up and refine docs.hyperfy.xyz (Mentioned by 0mka)
- Add .txt link to main documentation page (Mentioned by 0mka)
- Document drawbacks and benefits of vertex painting for filler objects (Mentioned by b0gie)

### Feature
- Implement light probes for advanced lighting effects (Mentioned by vox)
- Create pathway for transitioning from default skysphere to customizable sky apps (Mentioned by Ashxn)
- Develop vehicle physics with proper steering rather than ball collider approach (Mentioned by Ashxn)
- Add AI chat functionality to documentation site (Mentioned by 0mka)
- Add config option to show/hide teleport functionality (Mentioned by DevStarlight | Numinia)
- Keep reticle visible when hiding UI with Z (Mentioned by 0mka)
- Add sound toggle to NEON app (Mentioned by Gert-Jan Akerboom)
- Explore UCUPaint for emission painting (Mentioned by b0gie)