VR
Gear
I am always curious what kind of tech and software people are using to create their experience in VR. In that vein, this is what I’m (currently) using.
VR-specific
- Quest Pro
- Vive Pro (that I use to connect my controllers with)
- 4x Vive 3.0 trackers (head, chest and feet)
- 1x Vive 2.0 tracker (waist)
- Valve Index controllers
- 3x Base Station 2.0
Computer
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
- NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3080
- 64 GB RAM
Accessories
- Antlion ModMic
- EOZ foot, waist and chest tracker straps
- Woojer Strap 3
- 3x Anker Nano Power Banks
- Globular Comfort Kit
- 3x MidnightTech Power Pucks
- Some random IEMs with good reviews on Amazon
Software
- VirtualDesktop
- OVR Toolkit
- OVR Advanced Settings
- OVR-SmoothTracking
- OpenVR-SpaceCalibrator
- VRCFaceTracking
Avatars
One thing VRChat got me to try is working with Blender and Unity (pain!) so that I could make (or at least kitbash) my own avatars. Below are both my personal ones and ones I've made public for anyone to use. Click the thumbnail to see the full image!
Personal
 | Detroit |
My human/vtuber version! She was also my first facetracking avatar for VRChat too, since she was already set up with that for vtubing. I don’t use her that much at the moment (I’ve gone too far into the furry pipeline). She was made in Vroid Studio, and has the v2 body I made while actively vtubing. The outfit was inspired by Connor’s jacket from Detroit: Become Human. Funnily, this isn’t (human) Tuli’s “canon” outfit; the avatar with that outfit doesn’t have facetracking which keeps me from using it. With what I’ve learned from kitbashing in Blender, I should probably be able to get facetracking on the canon outfit one, but that’s a project for the future. The ears and tail were custom modeled for me by a lovely artist, and I use the tail on most if not all of my avatars at the moment.
 | Winterpaw |
One of my first furry bases. I don’t really use her that much anymore (I realized that I’m not really a fan of furry designs that have human-sized chins) but she helped me a lot with understanding blendshape customizations, and with being able to have a pretty unique/custom avatar without needing to involve Blender. Basically, she was my first real foray into bases, as opposed to more themed and curated avatars. Also my first time adding in a different hair asset (and I think tail asset) to an avatar that already had that set up.
 | Tech Jacket |
My current go-to. Like with all the other avatars that have those specific ears, I’ve changed them over to VRBase Furry ears. This was the first avatar that I had to do some real editing. Not only did I finally start understanding weight painting (and Robust Weight Transfer specifically) but I also had to tweak the straps on the shorts to better fit the rest of the outfit and Tuli’s markings.
 | Rave |
I think this was the first edit of the Nebula base that I made? No new assets except the backpack (and, I mean, the head/hair/braids). I really like the vibe, but I kind of over-decimated the hair so I eventually have to go through and redo the optimization. I really love the backpack, it has a bunch of clever Audiolink integrations, including a whole visualizer. The Nebula base itself is also really cute, but I do fight with it a bit when it comes to the chest tracking.
 | Lumon |
I’m a sucker for themed events where you have the opportunity to dress up, so I did not hesitate when I heard “Severance season 2 finale watch party, held in a world that looks like the severed floor”. I’m particularly happy that I was able to customize a badge for it, too. Hopefully I’ll be able to rewear it sooner than later.
 | Nova |
A more recent outfit, and the first one where I had to fully refit the meshes to the base. I'm pretty pleased with it, though the jacket was probably placed a bit higher than intended, but oh well. Getting everything to work was a bit of a Blender breakthrough for me. The outfit is pretty versatile: the jacket and shorts can be removed to make it more like a one piece swimsuit. She also has green finger trails.
 | Slip Dress |
There are a few… spicier events (no, not ERP) that I like to go to, and of course you have to have a fun outfit to wear. The dress as you can imagine can toggle off, but honestly it’s pretty cute! It was fun to get that velvety glitter purple to look right, just the perfect amount in low light. And what’s under the dress? Well that you have to see in the wild (or you can go through the credits I suppose).
 | Vixine |
I had bought the Vixine base a while ago, before I was brave enough to do the kitbashing that I eventually did to get what is now my go-to Tuli “look”. I had customized the base with the skills I had at the moment, and quickly fell in love with the general silhouette of the base. I don’t consider it a “canon” Tuli design, but more of an AU version? Vixine Tuli is a slightly misanthropic hacker cat with a chip on her shoulder. Anyone who sees the wings on her back and thinks “angel” will quickly realize she’s more the biblical avenging angel type. With the new 2.0 Vix out, I definitely need to come back to this, especially with the skills I’ve picked up in the meantime.
 | Crossband |
The original edit of this was my first success in Blender, before I kitbashed the head (it was just moving an outfit piece from one version of the avatar to another; it wasn’t much but it was monumental for me at the time). I danced many a night away in this avatar, and I still occasionally bring it out when the mood strikes. Like the rest, the ears have been switched out in the newest (and hopefully, last) version of this avatar.
 | Hibiscus |
Summer distilled. Hibiscus are probably my favorite flower and when I found this outfit I knew I had to add it to my collection. It’s gotten its fair share of use at all the beach and pool parties over the summer. There are a few things I could theoretically tweak (the top clips a bit at the back, and I’m very sure the normals are flipped for some of the flowers) but overall I’m satisfied with how it wears
 | Casual Punk |
One of my (regrettably few) avatars using the Hyenid base. I had noticed that the avatars that I had made (or at least, the ones that I liked using the most) were a bit risque, so I decided to kitbash the Hyenid and give her a more mild outfit. I really like how the calf and heel fluff looks. Her ears have been changed like all the others that used those ears.
 | Comfy Goth |
It’s goth, and it’s comfy! This uses clothes that came with the Nebula base, so the real struggle was optimizing it; the endless laces really gave me a hard time… so many tris! The cardigan can come off for a bit more of a svelte look, and the ribcage details on the dress are also Audiolinked. I don’t usually change Tuli’s base features (like the gold details on the braids and ponytail) but it felt appropriate here… it matches the detail on the dress and the spikes on the collar.