BluWizard

Hi, BluWizard here! As the maintainer of the Poiyomi Shaders Documentation, I would like to share some changes being made to the Documentation in preparation for 10.0.

As some of your Patreon subscribers already know, Poiyomi Pro 10.0 is now available and is ready for open testing. Before 10.0 can be released to the public as Poiyomi Toon (Free), some changes must be made to this website so that the transition is seamless and that information stays relevant and up-to-date.

This also includes a full transition from being able to download Poiyomi Pro into our brand new system used on pro.poiyomi.com , which is far more reliable than Discord for various technical reasons. That being said, all future downloads of Poiyomi Pro will be handled from that sub-domain moving forward.

Now, let's get into the most important changes...

Docs Versioning​

As of recent updates, we have implemented the usage of the Docusaurus Versioning CLI to create versions of each page in the documentation that shows context based on the version selected. It appears as a version dropdown on the Header, which looks like this:

Figure 1: Version Dropdown

When you hover your mouse over it, you will see some version numbers. By default, the latest version will be what has been set as the default in our configuration. If you select an older version (such as 9.3), the context of the documentation page you are viewing will significantly change.

This means that if you happen to be using an older version, you can now use this dropdown to view accurate information on what you're looking for. Because of how 10.0 has a gigantic amount of changes across the shader overall, this will be how we will control our context for future versions. By default, the "latest" will be shown (which is 10.0). If you happen to be viewing context with an older version selected, a yellow-colored banner will appear as a gentle reminder.

If a new version becomes available, we will run a CLI command that basically "archives" a copy of all pages into a special "versioned_docs" directory. So if and when 10.1 releases in the distant future, we will run a command that makes all current (10.0) documentation be archived as a previous version, thus making any new edits be seen as 10.1 (latest version) and the Version Dropdown gets updated.

As a result, this allows our visitors to always find relevant information for the version of the shader they are using. Now while it could make it difficult for contributors to help improve our documentation, we barely get any changes to older versions. So there is less of a reason to edit or update older pages for older shader versions unless deemed absolutely necessary.

You can view more technical details of how this system works here .

Download & Install Instructions​

As some people may have already noticed, our Download & Install instructions have been overhauled as requested by Poiyomi.

To start, Poiyomi Toon (the public Free version) now recommends ALCOM / Creator Companion as our recommended installation method. This is because we find this method to be far more manageable and easier for the majority of our users, as the package is coded to automatically remove conflicting Poiyomi Shaders versions (if any are detected) before it is installed in the project. It also now contains scripts that hardens the process to ensure edgy avatar creators who like to include a copy of Poiyomi Shaders with their Avatar packages to never have their conflicting copy imported in the first place (essentially removing the _PoiyomiShaders folder from the import dialogue). A Debug message will throw in the console when this happens, so you'll know. If you are reading this and are one of those avatar creators still doing this practice, please stop doing that!

Secondly, for our Poiyomi Pro users, all Poiyomi Pro Unity Packages starting with 10.0 will now be posted on pro.poiyomi.com from now on. We will be deprecating posting our Unity Packages from our Discord server moving forward, as Discord's inability to maintain the platform's security and Patreon's inability to make the Discord Bot reliable makes using Discord for Patreon Authentication a very difficult process for everyone. Thus, authenticating from our new pro.poiyomi.com website has proven to me much more reliable and has faster authentication timing from Patreon in comparison, so we highly recommend you bookmark that website.

Please take a read through our updated Download & Install instructions to see all the options now available to you.

Docusaurus Upgrades​

We are transitioning our framework to prepare for breaking changes that will be introduced in Docusaurus v4.0, which is due out sometime this year. This major upgrade will introduce optimized build infrastructure, including Rspack, SWC, LightningCSS, optimized storage, and stricter guidelines on writing.

MDX guidelines will become more stricter with the syntax without having to rely on proprietary Docusaurus syntax on top of MDX. Since the ecosystem is widely moving to MDX v3, we have transitioned all pages to the .mdx file extension so that this website is future-proofed against it. The upside of this is that this will allow our documentation to be more portable with external tools like Prettier, ESLint, TypeScript, VSCode, and GitHub to better understand the format. This greatly improves compatibility with the Unified ecosystem and the MDX Playground.

Alongside all these changes, Admonitions, Comments, and Heading IDs are getting an upgrade which will be noted in the CONTRIBUTING document for our contributors to read over.

With that being said, if you are reading this and are maintaining your own Docusaurus website (I know VRChat uses it for their Creators Docs), I highly recommend you read the full blog post here on Docusaurus v3.10 release, which details how to prepare your website for Docusaurus v4.0.

Conclusion​

There is a lot more work to be done as Poiyomi 10.0 is continuously being worked on each day to ensure it is fully stable when the big day comes (the full release of the 10.0 Free version, that is). I am continuously editing, updating, and proofreading everything that I learn from each new update. If you find some information that is either inaccurate, conflicting, or find tomfoolery of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out by opening an Issue on our Docs Repository as this helps me stay organized on what needs to be done.

Heya, BluWizard here! Just wanna hop in to give you some info on Poiyomi 9.2, a major update to the shader that has just released!

While most of the features haven't changed, this update has introduced native support for VRC Light Volumes, an excellent voxel-based Light Probes replacement for VRChat Worlds. Alongside that, are various amount of bug fixes and improvements! See the Changelog Blog for all the details.

VRC Light Volumes​

What's so special about VRC Light Volumes is that it allows for more natural lighting to show on your Avatar, making for stellar appearances in photos. Here are just two examples of what this can look like on Sacred's Avatar...

Notice that in these images above, the light tubes are able to emit very evenly across the Body. Compared to before, it was only able to be an approximate.

Here's a comparison on DrBlackRat's Avatar. Pay attention to the differences between Poiyomi 9.2 (latest) vs. Poiyomi 9.1 (older version)...

As you can see, the results can be very obvious! The Material appears more evenly illuminated from the environment compared to previously.

Since VRC Light Volumes was created since earlier this year, you should begin to notice more and more Worlds adopt this system. Adding support for VRC Light Probes can make the shader future-proof to newer Worlds that plan to take advantage of this new lighting system.

The best part of all this? You don't have to do anything to your Materials! It's automatically enabled by default. All you need to do is make sure to update to the latest version of Poiyomi Shaders and just simply set your Materials to use the latest version.

Vertex Options Reorganized​

Let's quickly talk about another significant change introduced in 9.2. Those who have used Vertex Options, Vertex Glitching, and Vertex Colors should read this!

In the latest version, you may have noticed that those sections have gone missing from the Color & Normals category. This is intentional! We have reorganized them into a brand new category in the shader UI, under Vertex Options. It is located in-between AudioLink and Global Modifiers & Data section.

Underneath this area, we have renamed those sections into simply, Basics & Fun, Glitching, and Vertex Colors respectfully. If you have used these features under the old names before, don't worry! All your existing configurations should transition over seamlessly when updating your Materials.

Why did we do this? Well, this is to make way for another upcoming vertex-based feature called LookAt, which is right now being tested in the Pro version of the shader. We'll talk about that sometime in the future.

Conclusion​

We hope you enjoy these new improvements to Poiyomi Shaders! As always, feel free to shoot us a message in our Discord Server for any questions or comments. Also if you have any pictures of your Avatars using the newest version, we invite you to share them there in our #showcase and #in-game-pics channels!

Click here to see the Patch Notes

Greetings! My name is BluWizard. I've been one of the recent active contributors to the Poiyomi Shaders Documentation, bringing everything up-to-date with 9.0 and finishing up some areas that needed attention.

I would like to talk about some of the major updates that I'm bringing to the Documentation. These overhauls will help bring it more in line with our goals with the Poiyomi Shaders Documentation, as well as bring it more in-line with how similar Documentations organize their pages and helpful resources. We hope these updates will encourage more frequent usage of the Documentation, rather than just trying to search Discord for an answer.

Let's start of with the big one... A brand new Home Page!​

Instead of providing just completion status, I made the Home Page look more presentable and professional. Not only it introduces what known features you can do with the Shader, but has two new Buttons that will redirect you where to Download & Install the shader, as well as a link to Join the Discord Server.

I have appended some of the relevant information back to the Introduction page, which will now act as the Docs Hub. It talks about how to navigate the Documentation, as well as our Completion Status. As for links to Download the Shader, it has been moved into an entirely dedicated page.

Speaking of, let's talk about the new Download & Install page!​

This is going to be your new one-stop shop to learn how to Download, Install, and Update Poiyomi Shaders. Since we both maintain a classic Manual Unity Package version and a VCC Version, we now detail instructions on how to use either one. We list both Method 1. and Method 2. as the instructions.

We prefer that the users choose which method they wish to use when downloading and installing the Shader. While Method 1. Manual Unity Package is preferred, a growing number of users may have a better experience using Method 2. Creator Companion to install the Shader due to it's ease-of-use.

Regardless, whichever method you use is up to you, but keep in mind that the latest version of the Shader will always be available first via Discord before it's distributed on both GitHub, BOOTH, and in the VCC Repo. If you are a Poiyomi Pro user, they will exclusively be available via Discord as always. This is also mentioned on the page.

There are even more changes, down to the small details. Let's break down all the notable visual changes:​

• Overhauled the Home Page.
  • A more professional, presentable Home Page that gets right to the point and contains relevant information.
  • Added a new Logo.
  • Added Buttons that redirect to Download & Install and as the Discord Server.
• Added Download & Install Page.
  • Two Methods with Instructions on how to install Poiyomi Shaders, either as a Unity Package or through the Creator Companion.
  • Download Links.
  • Info on the Pro Shader.
• Improved SEO on various pages.
  • I have given many pages more descriptions and keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), so that the Documentation and the website as a whole can appear clearly on Search Engines.
• Fixed a lot of Image and Video Sizing to be more consistent.
  • For a while, this Documentation was not very mobile-friendly. I've implemented some changes to React JS that makes the embedded videos have more responsive width, regardless of display size. This eliminates an issue where the embedded videos would extend far beyond the width constrains on a Mobile Web Browser. By default, all Images and Videos will now be automatically responsive based on your browser's width, with some exceptions on certain Documentation entries.
• Upgraded Docusaurus to v3.3.2.
  • Docusaurus v3.3.2 introduces major improvements, bug fixes, and new features for us to use in the near future.
  • React, MDX, and Node.js have been updated as a result of the Docusaurus v3 Upgrade.
  • The Light and Dark Theme will now automatically match the user's client by default.
• Removed irrelevant information and old pages in favor of the new Download & Install page.
  • The Poiyomi VCC Repo Page is no longer necessary, as I've implemented a button in the Download & Install page for the VCC Version that directly opens the Creator Companion App, adding the Repository.
  • Redirects added to the website configuration to handle old links.

Conclusion​

We are continuously working on improving the Documentation with as much information as possible in an easy-to-understand fashion. If you have any feedback, feel free to drop us a line in the Discord Server. Other than that, we hope you enjoy these new updates!