Five months after its initial beta launch, Rooms, the innovative 3D design platform developed by former Google employees, has rolled out a significant update dubbed "Rooms 2.0." This latest iteration introduces a suite of new features aimed at enhancing user discovery and engagement within the app, now available for free on iOS.
Since its debut, Rooms has attracted a quarter of a million registered users, a substantial increase from the 40,000 count at the start of 2023. The app allows users to craft detailed 3D spaces and mini-games, employing a vast library of over 7,500 digital items. With the ability to edit item code using Lua, a language also utilized in Roblox Studio, Rooms empowers users to personalize their designs extensively.
The latest update brings several community-focused enhancements. A new Trending feed on the home screen highlights popular creators and their most liked designs, fostering a more connected user community. The introduction of over a dozen new categories, including "Games," "Art," and "Fantasy," along with a "Tribute" category featuring rooms inspired by beloved IPs like Minecraft and Zelda, offers users more tailored discovery paths.
An innovative "Honeycomb View" presents a hexagonal grid for browsing, allowing users to zoom in and out to view various designs simultaneously. This visual upgrade is complemented by an Explore page that broadens discovery avenues through user profiles and top games.
Additionally, the app's backend has seen technical improvements with a new mesh optimization method that significantly accelerates rendering times for large rooms. These updates, initially available on the iOS app, are also being incorporated into the web version, ensuring a cohesive and improved experience across platforms.