By Marc Demar
If you’ve ever wanted to be completely enveloped by beauty, complexity, and technical wizardry in VR, look no further than OMG Particle Life, a stunning new world created by Oasis Meta Games (OMG) inside Somnium Space. I had the chance to step into this dynamic simulation myself — and let me tell you, it’s nothing short of jaw-dropping.
Imagine standing in a vast space, surrounded by 10,000 shimmering, self-aware particles, each seemingly with a mind of its own. They drift, collide, swarm, repel, and swirl in patterns that evoke everything from murmurations of birds to chemical chain reactions. The particles don’t just float – they interact. With each other, creating a living digital ecosystem that feels more like an emergent natural phenomenon than a computer program.
Breaking the Limits of VR Interaction
What makes this even more impressive is the technical feat behind it. Initially, OMG could only run around 300 particles before performance took a hit. But this is Somnium Space – where the sandbox is truly wide open, especially for those who dare to dive deep into custom scripting.
Here’s how they did it:
- Burst Compiler: OMG harnessed Unity’s Burst Compiler to parallelize particle interactions, offering a 5–10× performance boost. This means all 10,000 particles can run complex interaction logic simultaneously, without tanking your frame rate.
- GPU Instancing: Instead of drawing each particle individually – which would crush your system – the experience uses GPU instancing. This technique batches particle draws into a single GPU call, drastically reducing overhead and maintaining a smooth, immersive framerate.
- Custom Player System: The developer replaced the default Somnium camera and controls with a custom-built player controller, bypassing built-in logic for a tailored experience.
A New Kind of VR Wonder
I spent what felt like both seconds and hours in the Particle Life world. You lose yourself watching the particles flow like liquid light. It’s hypnotic. It’s calming. It’s alive.
Even more amazing: this all runs not just in VR, but in Somnium’s Desktop Non-VR Client too. So whether you’re wired into full immersion or just exploring on your monitor, you can access this cutting-edge simulation.
Below a few screenshots to help you on your way in the Desktop Non-VR Client. If you have not yet installed the Somnium Launcher head over to Navigating Somnium Space: A Beginner’s Guide to the Metaverse for some guidance on how to get started.
Once you are in, open up the in-world tablet by hitting the TAB key.
The Future of Creative VR Development
What makes this project especially important is what it represents. In Somnium Space, you’re not just a user – you’re a potential world-builder. “OMG Particle Life” is a beacon of what’s possible when talent, tools, and an open platform collide. With C# scripting, Somnium gives developers like OMG the space to break new ground – not only in what they build, but how they think about virtual worlds.
This isn’t just a tech demo. It’s a playground of the future. It’s art, science, and gaming fused into one swirling cloud of color and motion.
So, go visit. Whether you’re there to marvel at the visuals, reverse-engineer the code in your head, or simply float among the digital stars — OMG Particle Life is something you truly have to experience to believe.
About Somnium Space
Somnium Space, the company behind the VR1, also runs a blockchain-based virtual reality platform that allows users to create, experience, and monetize content and applications. The platform is committed to building a decentralized and immersive VR world that offers users a unique and engaging experience.
Discord: https://discord.gg/somniumspace
Authencity: https://authencity.io/user/somniumspace
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