Automatically generated in-world previews on World Details
kurotori
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I think the main problem with AI-generated world thumbnails is not AI itself, but the fact that a thumbnail can be completely disconnected from what the world actually looks like.
Currently, the only reliable way to find out is to download the world and enter it. For larger worlds, that can mean spending significant time and bandwidth just to discover that the thumbnail was misleading.
I propose adding automatically generated in-world screenshots to the World Details page, separate from the creator-provided thumbnail.
When a world is submitted to Community Labs, or when a new public version is published, VRChat could load the world and automatically generate preview images from inside it.
The important distinction is that these images would be generated by VRChat rather than uploaded by the world author, and clearly labeled as such.
〇 Capture locations
At least one screenshot should always be automatically captured from the world's spawn point.
World creators could then optionally specify several additional capture points in the SDK to showcase important parts of their world.
・Automatic screenshot from the spawn point: required
・Additional creator-defined capture points: optional
This gives creators some control over presenting the interesting parts of their world, while still giving users an objective view of what they will actually see when they first join.
These previews could be regular screenshots, or potentially 360-degree captures.
〇 Advantages
This would not require users or moderators to decide whether a thumbnail is misleading.
Unlike a rating or review system, it would also avoid issues such as subjective moderation or malicious downvoting.
Creators could still freely use artwork, renders, logos, or AI-generated images for their main thumbnail.
Users would simply have an additional way to compare the creator-provided promotional thumbnail with an automatically captured view of the actual world before downloading it.
〇 Possible manipulation
Of course, this would not make deception completely impossible.
A creator could build an area specifically for the automatic capture, or attempt to detect the capture process and manipulate the scene using shaders or Udon.
However, the goal does not need to be perfect anti-cheat.
Requiring at least one capture from the spawn point, combined with additional viewpoints or 360-degree captures, would make manipulation significantly more difficult than simply uploading an unrelated thumbnail.
Even if the system can theoretically be bypassed, a clearly labeled "Automatically captured in-world" preview would still give users much more information about a world before they download it.
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あおなん（ aonan ）
It might also be a good idea to give only world creators permission to take screenshots from an avatar’s point of view inside the world using VRChat, and allow them to upload those screenshots.
I think it would be easier to understand what the world actually looks like if the previews showed it from the same perspective users would see in VRChat.
Shadowriver
あおなん（ aonan ）This is what LittleBigPlanet was doing for example, but they did have screenshot upload system. VRChat technically already has system that could be used for this, which is prints, and its already moderated. They just need to allow to view those on user profile and tagged world, photographers may love this feature.
Jasper Raine
Honestly not a terrible idea, but could see people worming their way around it with PNGs or shaders covering up the spawn area. Probably wouldn't happen very often though.
phi16
- I basically agree with the idea of adding in-world screenshots to the world description, but I have some concerns about it.
- First, I hope that world information is something the creator has full control over, and I don't want creators to be forced to prove their "goodness". A good design should not be about finding bad things, but about highlighting good things.
- I like some low-effort but idea-based small worlds, which can be somewhat misleading but fun. Requiring a spawn-point screenshot may disrupt such worlds and narrow the possibilities of worlds (as another comment pointed out).
- Also, the view from the spawn point varies by world genre. Some have caution messages, some are meant to surprise you, neither of which should be shown as a representative image of the world.
- 360-degree captures are often presented at low resolution (due to file size), and I think this may distract users and make them lose interest.
Additional small idea: If world creators could attach additional in-world pictures taken with the default camera (and if users could verify that they were actually taken in the world), it would work as proof of content quality and also show how the world looks with people in it, prior to joining the world. It should be displayed separately from the custom preview image(s) proposed below, so that it can be trusted as a real view.
kurotori
phi16 I really like your last idea. I think it could be a very good compromise.
If I understand your idea correctly, it could work something like this: creators take pictures using the standard VRChat camera, and those pictures can then be attached directly to the World Details page.
Because VRChat would know that the image was actually captured inside that world, it could be displayed separately from normal creator-uploaded preview images as a verified in-world photo.
That would preserve the creator's control over what they want to show, without requiring a mandatory spawn-point screenshot or potentially spoiling worlds that depend on surprises or specific introductions.
At the same time, users would still have some trustworthy in-world images they can look at before downloading and joining the world.
I also like your point that this would allow creators to show what the world looks like when people are actually using it. That is something an automatic capture would have difficulty representing.
kurotori
〇 Additional thought
After thinking about this further, I think even a simpler version of this feature could already be very useful.
Instead of automatically capturing screenshots, world creators could simply be allowed to upload multiple preview images in addition to the main thumbnail, and users could view them from the World Details page inside VRChat.
Right now, users often have to judge an entire world from a single thumbnail. Multiple preview images would let creators show different areas, the overall atmosphere, or important features of the world more accurately.
Automatic screenshots could still be a possible extension for providing a more objective preview later, but even just:
・Allowing multiple preview images in addition to the thumbnail
・Making them viewable from the World Details page in VRChat
would already improve the current situation significantly.
DoritosDontacos
Were there people back then who complained because the NES box art didn't match the in-game pixel art? We used our imaginations to fill in the gaps.
Must every world creator possess advanced technical skills and guarantee high quality just to make their worlds public? Isn't the beauty of VRChat the fact that anyone can upload content? Isn't that exactly what the Labs are for?
I strongly oppose this idea; it goes against the "create/share/play" spirit.
I don't want to see any more "chill worlds" in VRChat that are nothing more than eye candy.
kurotori
DoritosDontacos I don't think low-quality or beginner-made worlds should be prevented from being public at all. Everyone starts somewhere, and I completely agree that being able to create and share things regardless of skill level is an important part of VRChat.
The purpose of this proposal is mainly to reduce the time cost of having to download and enter a world just to find out what it actually looks like.
In fact, I think giving users a little more information beforehand could also help beginner-made worlds. If users can better understand what they are about to enter, their expectations are more accurate, and they are less likely to feel disappointed simply because the thumbnail gave them a very different impression.
That said, I do think your point about making this mandatory is valid. If additional screenshots or automatic captures became another requirement for publishing a world, it could discourage people from uploading their first worlds.
So I think a less restrictive version, such as simply allowing creators to add multiple optional preview images that can be viewed inside VRChat, may be a better approach.
みんたかᴹᴵᴺᵀᴬᴷᴬ
DoritosDontacos
What you have said is incoherent on every level and, frankly, unacceptable, so I cannot let it pass without comment. Please forgive the length of my response.
Your response is arguing against a proposal that was never made.
- This is not a quality gate.
No minimum visual quality, advanced technical skill requirement, or restriction on beginner-made worlds was proposed. The spawn-point image would be generated automatically by VRChat, while creator-defined capture points would be optional. A simple or amateur world would remain just as publishable as before.
“Low quality” and “misleading presentation” are entirely different issues. A simple world can be represented honestly, while a technically sophisticated world can still use a misleading thumbnail.
- The NES comparison is a false equivalence.
Nobody is demanding that promotional artwork literally match the renderer. The proposal explicitly allows creators to keep using illustrations, renders, logos, or AI-generated images as their main thumbnail. It merely adds a separately labeled in-world preview beside it.
Imaginative promotional art and factual gameplay imagery are not mutually exclusive. “Use your imagination” is not an argument for withholding basic information about what users are downloading.
みんたかᴹᴵᴺᵀᴬᴷᴬ
- Community Labs is irrelevant to your objection.
Labs is a publication and discovery route. It is not a license to give users no reliable indication of what a world actually contains. Adding an automatically generated preview changes neither who may create nor who may publish.
VRChat’s own creator guidance also states that it may act against users who “unfairly or misleadingly promote their own content”:
- Your complaint about “chill worlds” being nothing more than eye candy is a non sequitur—and, if anything, supports this proposal.
If those are the worlds you want to avoid, an actual in-world preview would help you identify them before spending time and bandwidth downloading them. This feature neither promotes chill worlds nor judges whether a world has worthwhile gameplay.
So this does not contradict “create/share/play” in any way. Creators can still create freely, share freely, and retain complete control over their promotional thumbnail. Players simply receive one additional factual reference before deciding what to play.
Creator freedom does not require keeping players uninformed.
Finally, your statement, “I don't want to see any more ‘chill worlds’ in VRChat that are nothing more than eye candy,” is merely an expression of your personal preference, isn't it? This is a feature-request discussion, not a place to air unrelated personal likes and dislikes.
らっしぃー
DoritosDontacos
I don't think we should conflate individual value judgments with the system itself. Providing more options benefits many users, and judgments about what is appropriate and which parts they prefer should be left to the individual.
とらの＋
I think there are some issues with taking screenshots automatically.
The point is that the thumbnail being different from the content is not necessarily a problem.
For example, wouldn't worlds that rely on a punchline want to avoid revealing their content?
How about something like this?
・Add a section separate from the thumbnail to display screenshots from within the world and require them to be attached when uploading
・Add a mechanism that allows them to be hidden, like a spoiler alert
kurotori
とらの＋
So, if I understand correctly, you mean worlds that intentionally go for a two-stage fake-out: first with the thumbnail, and then again with the world’s initial appearance before the actual reveal?
I think having a spoiler warning would be a good solution for that!