First and foremost Somnium Space has to be experienced in full VR, with a VR headset. Only then you will experience the addictive sensation of being fully immersed in this persistent, spatial world with lakes and mountains and hundreds of builds. However, there are other ways to submerge yourself in Somnium. Take SomniumWEB, which is based on WebXR, the technology allowing VR/AR experiences to be displayed on the Web. Recently, some great new features have been added, so it’s time we have a closer look.
In short, SomniumWEB allows anyone using any device with a Web browser to go to any parcel in Somnium Space. Each parcel is uniquely identified by a URL that ends with the parcel number. To illustrate, if you want to have a look at parcel 2701, use the URL https://somniumspace.com/parcel/2701. It couldn’t be easier. Parcel 2701, for the record, is Artur Sychov’s Genesis VR crypto art gallery. Artur, as most readers know, is founder and CEO of Somnium Space.
Because parcels can be accessed using a simple URL, you can use it on your mobile, tablet, laptop and even on your VR headset. But wait, you might think, this is not VR, why use it on your VR headset? Now this is where the rich feature set comes in. So let’s have a look at what SomniumWEB has to offer.
Identity
Provable digital identity and self-expression become increasingly important in a multi-layered reality where we will spend more and more time in digital realms. The great thing is that SomniumWEB integrates with Ready Player Me selfie-based avatars. Upon signing in – after you have created an account on the Somnium Space website – you will be prompted to either use a default Somnium avatar or create your own avatar using a selfie. The latter option will walk you through just a few steps to create a great looking digital version of you. You can always revisit and change your avatar at a later stage. No one wants to wear the same outfit every day in the physical world, so why should you stick to the same avatar expression in the Metaverse?
Once you have created an avatar, SomniumWEB will automatically default to it upon logging in. Below you see me in front of Artur’s gallery.
2D and VR modes
By default the interface is 2D. You can walk around using the WASD or arrow keys and with the mouse you can rotate and zoom in and out.
If you access SomniumWEB via a VR headset – which could be as simple as a Google Cardboard – you can switch to VR mode. This will instantly turn the parcel you’re on into a spatial environment with you in the middle. Forget about the need for expensive gear to experience Somnium Space in VR. With SomniumWEB it is at your fingertips.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Accessing SomniumWEB on a tablet or mobile will allow you to switch to AR mode. This will project the parcel in physical space. You can zoom in and out, walk around it, etc. And what is more, it supports spatial sound, real time lighting and multiplayer. In other words, you can see and interact with other people on the parcel. It’s an amazing addition, which will add a completely new dimension to exploring builds and NFT’s.
NFT TV
Most builds in Somnium Space are full of NFT’s. That’s no suprise, as Somnium Space is built on the blockchain. There are countless art galleries for example, with amazing crypto art on display. Now, to make it easy to explore NFT’s on a parcel, Somnium Space introduced NFT TV.
When activating NFT TV, SomniumWEB will turn into a slide show that walks you through the parcel’s NFT’s, in 3D or 2D mode.
Chats, Gestures and Emoji’s
For making SomniumWEB a true collaboration and interaction tool, Somnium Space has added chat and gestures. Some fun twists are that chat messages can be shown as chat bubbles and gestures are accompanied by emoji’s hovering over your head.
City Center
Somnium Space has added city center as a destination in SomniumWEB. City center plays an important role as meeting point in VR, 2D and now SomniumWEB as well. To jump to city center use this URL: https://somniumspace.com/parcel/citycenter
Private sessions
To avoid random people crashing your meetings, SomniumWEB allows for private instances to be created. Share the instance with those you want to join the meeting and you’re good to go.
Import 3D objects
This feature has been around for a while, but it is worth highlighting it here. It is possible to place external 3D objects on your parcels. Depending on the parcel size, you have a number of slots available. For example, this feature is perfect if you want to showcase your 3D modeling work.
Embedding SomniumWEB
If you have a website then embedding SomniumWEB is easy using a so-called iframe. This will allow you to bring the Somnium Space experience to all your visitors.
Note that the embed code can be copied from SomniumWEB.
Conclusion
While Somnium Space is first and foremost a VR world and needs to be experienced in VR for its full glory to be revealed to you, SomniumWEB is an important door to this virtual wonderworld. It serves a crucial role, that of bridging the physical to the virtual and making Somnium accessible to anyone from anywhere using any device.
SomniumWEB is remarkably feature rich and has become a full-grown Somnium exploration and collaboration tool. Chats, gestures, private instances, VR and AR modes, NFT TV, city center meetup location, the list with features is long. And we’re sure we haven’t seen the last.
Stay tuned!
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