What do a down-on-its-luck gingerbread man, a 360º video of a sun-dappled drive in a convertible, and the ability to search and filter your augmented reality projects all have in common? The latest version of Torch AR, of course.
Torch 4, available today, is our most balanced release to date, combining significant UI changes based on almost a year of user feedback and research with sophisticated features and subtle performance improvements that open up new possibilities for creators.
Give yourself an early holiday gift, go download Torch AR now.
What’s new?
The biggest changes to the mobile app involve usability. With Torch 4, you’ll find a totally redesigned Projects menu that allows you to search all of your AR apps based on project title or filter them based on six criteria.
The design environment has been updated for convenience and clarity, including the ability to toggle button labels on and off. Auto-anchoring, favoriting projects, the ability to copy projects—these are all changes designed to reduce friction so you can focus on XR app creation.
On the feature front, we’ve added 360º video support as well as the Playable Media object property, which allows you to control the playback of GIFs, videos, and 3D models; even including those with multiple animation states.
And those of you sharp-eyed enough to notice will see marked improvements in rendering and performance. These include support for additive, subtractive and multiplicative blending. Additionally, BIM managers and other technical designers will appreciate the better handling of large FBX models exported from Autodesk and other CAD systems.
The full Torch 4 release notes can be found here.
Take a tour for yourself
How better to experience Torch 4 than with some amazing content that showcases the new capabilities.
Friend of Torch and technical artist extraordinaire Spencer Lindsay invites you on a ride through the Pacific Northwest forests in this project showcasing the dazzling possibilities of 360º video in immersive app creation.
And Dan Marcolina, who along with partner Denise heads up Marcolina Design, pushes Torch as far as anyone we’ve seen with this truly extraordinary multi-scene story of a gingerbread man on a unique hero’s journey.
Part heartwarming holiday story, part showcase for Marcolina Design’s considerable XR development chops, Ginger Dan’s Big Augmented Reality Adventure makes a convincing case for the best use to date of Web AR and Torch Publish we’ve seen. I urge you to spend some time exploring the rich and hilarious world he’s created. You can view the Torch viewer version with sound here (trust me, it is worth it).
When you’re done and brimming with creative ideas, jump into the latest version of Torch and start creating. And with Torch Publish, you’ll be able to share your creation with anyone with an AR capable device.
Try Web AR with Torch Publish, for free.
For a limited time, you can get your first month of Torch Publish Free. Just log in to your personal dashboard and upgrade to Torch Publish for free using promo code WEBPUBLISH
