Are you a Creator? (Includes Avatars, Worlds or Content!)

Then this does APPLY to you!

Tupper (VRChat Dev) — 21/10/2021 at 2:54 AM

• Eventually SDK2 will be disabled. Not soon, but eventually.

Source from VRChat: https://vrchat.com/home/download

• This should not be used for new projects. If you are maintaining an old project that uses SDK2, please migrate to SDK3 as soon as possible.
• At a later date, this download will be removed, and SDK2 uploads for avatars and worlds will be locked.

Foreclosure:

First of all, I don't think 3.0 is bad in any way. And in no way am I trying to make it look bad. However, I feel that VRChat is Forcing players to use an SDK (Method) in which many have stated they do not want to use it. Many creators like the way 2.0 functions and works in their favor. Enforcing them to use 3.0 followed by removing what we love from our grasp only to use something that outshines is outrages. This is also considering the projects people have been working on for a significant amount of time. Getting rid of SDK 2.0 will force them to lose all of their progress and have to start over. No one should have to do that.. Yes it is our choice to use "VRChat" as a platform, but they are making many creators and players leave because of these actions.

Why this petition?:

This is an open letter to the developers of VRChat

We, the players of VRC, are writing this to show our disagreement with the removal of the 2.0 world and avatar creators system. As there are plenty of us that have been developing with this system since its inception in September/December  2017, and have developed our skills with this particular SDK, and we feel we do not want to go about learning a whole new system that has been proven to be full of bugs/ glitches, and how easy it is for people to access and cause chaos with on the fanbase. This letter will be showing our points regarding why we wish for SDK 2 to be kept, as well as our reasons for the dislike of SDK 3, and include statements from YOUR player base, all of whom stand with us on this matter.

The simplicity of 2.0, and the issues of 3.0:

To start with, we wish to point out that we in no means wish to demean 3.0 at all. We agree that it does have some impressive features, and what people have been able to do with the engine has been extraordinary. The issue comes with some basic points though. First off the simplicity. Not only is the fact that 2.0 being out longer made it easier for players to learn it, 2.0 was easier to develop on completely. Whenever there was something that people couldn’t figure out, someone stood up and said “you know what, I can fix this”, and they developed a fix for it. Someone wanted to have togglable items, prefabs were made for built in avatar menus with toggles on, only using up gestures rather than the limiting 8 emotes. You wanted something that stood in place in the world, something was made to allow you to do that, it just needed to be dragged and dropped onto the avatar. This is the same for worlds too. Animations were easy to work on with the simplified structure of the SDK. Development of AI, world developments, and more were all available for those that knew how. And for those that didn’t, it brought people together to learn and train on these issues.

Now yes, all of these features may be available in 3.0 by default, but for those of us that have been developing with 2.0, we don’t wish to transfer to something that requires us to begin from stage one again. Not only this, the fact is that 3.0 is just convoluted to learn. Gone is the simple drag and drop of your animations into your selection, now it’s a convoluted mess that people do not have the patience or time for. This isn’t just a simple fact of choosing what we wish to use any more, you are basically forcing us to use the 3.0 system, which in doing so will turn a huge amount of your current player base against you, as we can prove with statements below

The best situation at hand:

 Now it is not unknown that you are gaining support through your new VRC+ system, which has a lot of fans going for it, as well as the fact you are looking to hire more people into your business. This shows that you have reasons to want to build up more of a foundation for the VRC game. If this is the case, why not hire people that are fans of the 2.0 system, just as we are, and build them up into a team that focuses solely on the 2.0 software. Or even if not that, work to incorporate a fusion of both 2.0 and 3.0 systems, having the simplicity of 2.0 with the spectacular features of 3.0. That way you would be able to build up something to satisfy all parties, as well as potentially even garner more support for the game, even bring back players to reconsider purchasing VRC+. At the end of the day, all we want is for our voices to be heard, we want to show that we love the game, and if you work with us, your player base, and support what we support, then that will give you more trust and less likelihood for more players to leave to other platforms. Even with recent events, we have seen what the modding community have been able to do, how their skills have been put to great use. I guarantee that a lot of them also built up with 2.0 in mind prior, and I’m certain if asked they would agree with what we are bringing to you here. Even if it means outsourcing 2.0s software to them to work on instead, leaving you to work on 3.0, then consider doing that, I'm sure they would be delighted to work on it.

Messages from your fans:

As explained, this isn’t just a couple of people organizing this, these are the words of your fans, people that adore the game and want to give the support, but you will lose if you don’t consider what we are suggesting here:

-To have a good opinion, I tested both SDK 2 and 3! Each SDK is a way to see map making: - The SDK 2 is good to start with map making and also a way to make a map without any scripting - The SDK 3.0 has the potential to do complex map in the future but like any language it is really hard to get into and it's not beginner friendly When new people start making maps they have a lot of thing to learn and it can be overwhelming to have to redo some script! + A lot of people prefer the SDK 2 and it's not like its a different language. Each map maker, whatever if they are using the 2.0 or 3.0 should have the opportunity to participate in official events. Please do not abandon your map creator community. Continue to update the 2.0 and there is always way to innovate without Udon. The SDK 2.0 are not close for innovation but they need to keep the soul of the SDK 2.0 Like WOW retail and WOW Classic, SDK 2 and 3 can live together, and both of them can evolve together. By keeping both of them you'll increase the creativity of the map (Trust my Game student experience)! Have a good day! --Vrchat User: Monolus

-I've used the old system (pre-2.0 and the current 2.0) for years. I'm used to the layout. It's simple. Sure 3.0 adds more animation options, but 2.0 just.. why get rid of it? Keep it. Avatars 3.0 is like filing your taxes by yourself for the first time, without having anyone helping you. Literally I had to be taught by a friend who self-taught himself, with how dead the Avatar 3.0 channel is in the official VRChat Discord. But I'd go back to 2.0 any day. VRChat username: Benie

-I first started on VRC using 2.0 avatars, one if my main characters is one of them and i've been wanting to update it some more. Please let it stay VRChat Username: Teh_Friday_Nuzzle

 

-They way I see things atm, VRChat is meant to be a welcoming game, if you want it to be creative, you have to start somewhere. 2.0 is the shallow end and 3.0 is the deepend and it’s not fair throwing everyone in the deep end because everyone will drown and most will give up. ~RubyNekoChan

 

-The basics of 2.0 avatar creating can be used as a gateway to teaching people about 3.0 avatar creating. It can stress people out if you throw them straight into 3.0 and tell them to learn so many things all at once. - SugarLoli

 

-If someone makes a thorough and easy to understand guide on how to use 3.0 from the very basics to the most complex, then yes, you may get rid of 2.0. But until then, there is more knowledge and understanding of 2.0 than 3.0 due to how long it has been available. As someone who uses both, 3.0 is intimidating to beginners. Yes, you can do so much more with it than 2.0, but if I wasn't surrounded by my genius creator friends helping me every step of the way, I wouldn't have a single clue what to do. What's going to happen to existing worlds and avatars using 2.0? Are they going to break? Are they going to be removed?

-hello dev. this is Klaus coming to you i been playing your game for 3 years I've loved it since i had the best times in 2019/2018 my only complaint is the lack of security and stability that it has nowadays and the fact that you cant take criticism in your own discord server sure what i said was a little rude in your server and booze were evolved but that's beside the point i and many others don't want to see VRChat be ruined by this new SDK people have had there avatars stolen with this new SDK as i am the fan of the new features it has i and many others don't like what this SDK can be used for maliciously and that you are forcing us all to upgrade to it soo many good worlds and good memories came from the old SDK we ask you to reconsider discontinuing it and to focus on improving security

Hi, My name is Storm IceKitty and I'm here to talk back and fight against the removal of SDK2 in VRChat. I've been playing VRChat for a long time now, since early 2018 and ever since then I've been enjoying the game and the content that has been made all the way up till now, and even now I still get amazed by the content created with SDK2. There have been many worlds and avatars I've seen created, watched be made by one of those creators and had the enjoyment of playing and using them. I think that having such a key component to VRChat get removed is going to seriously hurt both the creators of VRChat and the community of the game. A vast majority of VRChats content creators are SDK2 users and by removing their tools and forcing SDK3 upon everyone, you're hurting those content creators by either forcing them to move to something they do not wish to move onto, or you're forcing them to quit making content entirely for VRChat, either having them move on to other platforms, making their own stuff, or just outright giving up. I know that SDK3 might help the creators of the game but really it only hurts them as they are going to lose a big amount of their community and content creators. We need SDK2 to stay or else the VRChat is going to die out and lose its player base. I have made so many memories and friends and even got into communities just playing VRChat all these years, i do not wish to lose the ability to do that just because of the removal of a major component to the game. I think SDK2 should be allowed still in VRChat, but SDK3 should be the focus of advertisement, not the removal of SDK2 being what forces us to look at SDK3. I know one person's words might not mean much but there are so many people who are thinking and saying the same thing that I am, in fact, almost all of VRChats community is saying it. So please whatever happens, do not remove SDK2, we need it, it's what gives life to the content creators of VRC, it's what brings so many of us joy when playing the game. do not remove SDK2.

These are just some of the many messages we asked people to send to us, as well as other players/fans of the game regarding the potential removal of 2.0, as well as their opinions of 2.0 over 3.0. There is a clear conjuncture that all of them feel they would want 2.0 to stay and be worked on. To ignore one or two members of your community is bad, to ignore a whole group, including these people, is going to be very problematic for you as a company and development team. Even at the time of writing out this petition, we have many members in the group supporting this cause. Even outside of the group.

Conclusion:

VRChat has been a big thing in a lot of people's lives. For some of us we gained promotion of our works. For others we gained loved ones, relationships, families and more. By taking away one of the biggest and most crucial parts for a lot of creators on your game, you are going to push away the fanbase and potentially cause rifts throughout friendships. All we ask as your playerbase is that you consider our words, consider our wishes. Please find a way to keep 2.0 up and running, and even work to take our advice and potentially bring back development of 2.0.

Signed and petitioned by

Your once loyal fanbase