Yes, I think the graphics are quite simple. I think your explanation relating to current limitations of VR is enough to address a lot of the OP’s confusion/questioning. It’s not that Meta is purposefully trying to look bad; they’re just sharing the state of the art honestly. It’s also worth noting that this seen by Zuckerberg as a temporary state, and his goal very much seems to be photorealism. If you listen to his recent interview with Lex Fridman you’ll hear him bring up photorealism again and again.
Why is Meta sharing their work now instead of waiting for something closer to photorealism? I am speculating, but I think it is because Meta sees this is the best way to get a head-start on the competition. When photorealism is achieved, Meta will already have years of experience of making useful and enjoyable applications for VR.
See my response here; this is very much not state-of-the-art, and hasn’t been for a fairly long time. As many on Twitter have pointed out, Second Life, which was released in 2003, is so ahead of Meta in terms of both looks and feel that the concept of them getting a “head start” against competition through this seems implausible. Gwern also mentioned VRchat in the comments, which while it is facing difficulty with moderation/censorship (whichever you’d prefer to call it lol), it is also an obviously superior product. If I were an investor, I’d be more worried after seeing what Meta is publicly releasing than what I’d be under the counterfactual where Meta hadn’t publicized these products yet.
Yes, I think the graphics are quite simple. I think your explanation relating to current limitations of VR is enough to address a lot of the OP’s confusion/questioning. It’s not that Meta is purposefully trying to look bad; they’re just sharing the state of the art honestly. It’s also worth noting that this seen by Zuckerberg as a temporary state, and his goal very much seems to be photorealism. If you listen to his recent interview with Lex Fridman you’ll hear him bring up photorealism again and again.
Why is Meta sharing their work now instead of waiting for something closer to photorealism? I am speculating, but I think it is because Meta sees this is the best way to get a head-start on the competition. When photorealism is achieved, Meta will already have years of experience of making useful and enjoyable applications for VR.
See my response here; this is very much not state-of-the-art, and hasn’t been for a fairly long time. As many on Twitter have pointed out, Second Life, which was released in 2003, is so ahead of Meta in terms of both looks and feel that the concept of them getting a “head start” against competition through this seems implausible. Gwern also mentioned VRchat in the comments, which while it is facing difficulty with moderation/censorship (whichever you’d prefer to call it lol), it is also an obviously superior product. If I were an investor, I’d be more worried after seeing what Meta is publicly releasing than what I’d be under the counterfactual where Meta hadn’t publicized these products yet.
I read your post but I thought it was more about aesthetics than technology.
Horizon Worlds is a program where users can make their own environments and can make aesthetic decisions for themselves.