Workarounds

Floating Texts

Currently, there is no feature for floating text. All UI Symbol Sparks must be contained within either a Billboard or Screen Space UI. To create a floating text effect with a Billboard, set the alpha value of the Billboard to zero.

The UI Symbol will remain visible while the background Billboard is hidden, creating the appearance of floating text.

Select the Billboard:

• In the Entities Tab, select the Billboard Spark that you want to hide.

Adjust Alpha (A) Value:

• Go to the Traits Window and locate the Color setting.

• Find the Alpha (A) value in the Color Trait, which controls the transparency of the billboard.

  • By default, the Alpha value is set to 1 (fully visible).

  • To make the billboard invisible, change the Alpha value to 0.

Disable Collisions:

• To prevent the player from interacting with the invisible billboard, go to the Entity settings and uncheck the option for Is Collidable.

• This ensures the billboard is not only invisible but also cannot be collided with.

Workaround for VR Hand Raycast Passing Through Billboard UI

In VR, the interaction raycast from hand controllers (commonly referred to as laser pointers) can sometimes pass through a Billboard UI and unintentionally interact with other UI elements behind it.

Workaround:

To prevent this issue, you can add a background image or an ImageViewer Spark over the Billboard UI. Follow these steps:

1. Add a Background Image: Place an ImageViewer Spark over the Billboard UI.

2. Resize the Image: Stretch the ImageViewer Spark so that it fully covers the entire billboard area.

3. Test the Interaction: This will block the raycast from passing through, ensuring that interactions are limited to the intended UI elements.

Demonstration:

This GIF shows the use of ImageViewer Spark in Builder. Note that ImageViewer Sparks are created in Sparkifier.

This GIF shows the VR player’s raycast no longer passes through to other UI elements.

This solution effectively resolves unintended interactions caused by raycast penetration.

VR One-Click Grab

In VR, objects are typically grabbed by holding down the grip button. However, to enable a one-click grab, where a single press of the grip button attaches the Spark to your VR hand until dropped, follow the behavior tree setup described below:

Behavior Tree Setup:

1. Force Grab: Configure the tree so that pressing the grip button triggers the Force Grab node. This attaches the Spark to your VR hand.

2. Toggle for Force Drop: Include a Toggle node in the tree. Pressing the grip button again activates the Force Drop node, detaching the Spark from your hand.

Result:

• First Grip Press: Attaches the Spark to your hand (grab action).

• Second Grip Press: Triggers the drop action via Force Drop, releasing the Spark.

This setup mimics a toggle-based interaction, where the Spark alternates between being grabbed and released with each press of the grip button.

This GIF showcases a drag-and-drop feature using a single press of the grip button. The user doesn’t need to keep holding the grip button to keep the Spark in hand.