AvaTAUR

Ava (Ae-va) is a Tauric Quadruped on an adventure through the digital world. With four on the floor, these swift creatures will find their way across the galaxies and into our hearts.

Loosely based on the "Chakat" and "Foxtaur" species by Bernard Doove.

Immediately after I released the Foxtaur Model in 2019, I started working on a "Taur Template" project. The plan to make a FULLY featured and functional Quadruped was VERY ambitious and I can FINALLY share the results!

AvaTAUR - Fully Featured Quadruped

1,350 Animations | 1,250 Animation States | 5,400 Animation Transitions | 275 Blendshapes | 28 Hair and Body Features | 90+ Menu Options

This avatar includes many types of features and options that you may recognize and many you may have never seen before. Everything included is built from the ground up specifically for this model. This package includes everything you need to get a walking, talking, posing Taur into VRChat!

If you want custom textures, check out the Creator Pack below.

Key Features:

• Custom Walking System with toggle-able grounders for the legs.
• 14 Pre Built Poses - Laying, Sitting, Reaching Up, Lounging... and generally Tauring Around.

  

• "Ghost Mode" gives you the ability to Astral Project out of your AvaTAUR, but still control and pose from a distance.
• Fun Contacts! - Boop, Head Pats, Butt Scratches, we've got it all.
• Dexterous Handpaws - You can control the front legs with your hands. This is compatible with finger tracking for Index users! Gesture with "Thumbs Up" > "Fist" > "Open Hand" to swap control! Or use the menus to activate it directly.
• Backup Cam Included! - You can toggle on a HUD view of your hind end to see what others are up to back there.
• More Camera Options - A 3rd Person Camera (Desktop Only) and a HUD based 1st Person Camera when you are in Ghost Mode.
• Fully Integrated Full Body Tracking - The front legs and hips are directly controllable with Full Body Trackers, additionally, in some poses and modes you can also control the hind legs with your real feet!
• Face Tracking - This package includes all of the necessary blendshapes for both the Sranipal and ARKit lip and eye tracking.
  • For VRChat, we recommend Adjerry91's Face Tracking SRanipal Prefab found here: https://github.com/Adjerry91/VRCFaceTracking-Templates
  • The system is also prepped and ready to be used as a VTuber model via VSeeFace! Read on for more information.
• Let Others Control Your Butt! - Yep, there's an option to allow someone else to take control over your butt and hind legs.
• Clothing System - 90+ Clothing Options have already been prepared for this base and will be released in packs across the next year. (Not included in this pack) If you want to use your own clothing, you can use this system as a template to easily setup outfit toggles and breathing animations.
• Choose Your Size! - You can change the size of your hands, feet, head, tail, bellies, and breasts. Also compatible with the built in VRChat scaling.
• Typical Features have not been overlooked! You can turn on a flying collider, puppet your tail/ears/toes/tongue, make faces with the hand gestures... ect.
• Custom Sit Poses - Time to answer the age old question of "How to taurs use chairs?" I'll let you discover this one for yourself. There's even a menu for choosing your favorite!
• "I want to ride the Taur!" - Yes, they can ride the Taur, if you allow it. However, these seats are a VERY different from your average VRChat chair. You can set the sit height and rotation. Also, your passengers have a small elevator panel in front of them that they can activate to choose their own sit height and rotation!
• Fully MMD Compatible - Get those two left feet going in all the dance worlds!

Quest Compatible NOW!!!

1 Hairstyle | 9,942 Polygons | 1 Mesh with 1 Material | 4 Physbone Components | 4 Contacts | 90 Bones | 17.4 MB Texture Memory | Walks | Talks | Poses | Puppets | Expression

As of 11/22/2023 this base is now usable as a Quest FALLBACK. That's correct, taurs have invaded quest! Even if you don't have or use a quest, you should still be excited for this, because you can now upload a simplified version of your avatar as a Quest Fallback and Quest users will see you by default!

The quest version uses a VERY similar material setup to the original, but some parts have been merged together. I've provided a substance file to help convert between so you can still use all of your original textures on Quest.

This version will still do all the basic things like walking talking, and posing. If you want to add a bit more flare, you can add the "GOOD" files to the quest version. This will mark it as "POOR" on quest, but will also give you Dynamics on Spine, Tail, and Breasts | Expressions with Head Tilt | Intractable Contacts on the Head, Chin, Nose, and Back.

VERY POOR? NOT ANYMORE!

As of 11/22/2023 we have completely overhauled the base system to now allow for "Performance Options". You can choose from a sliding scale adding or removing features until you get the perfect performance level.

BASE (Quest Fallback) - Walks | Talks | Poses | Puppets | Expressions.

GOOD (Quest Poor) - Flying | Dynamics on Spine, Tail, and Breasts | Expressions with Head Tilt | Intractable Contacts on the Head, Chin, Nose, and Back.

MEDIUM - Dynamics on the Ears, Tongue, Legs, and Toes | Sound Effects.

POOR - Full Body Tracking Compatibility | Hind Legs Smart Walk | Dynamics on the Nose, Legs, Rump, Bellies, and Cheeks, Grounder.

VERY POOR - Ghost Mode, Letting Others Control Your Hind Legs, Elevator Menus for Passengers, Cameras, Forepaw Control, Better Toe Movement, Better Lay Down Controls.

Additionally, even in the VERY POOR category, you should see a noticeable improvement to performance over the previous versions. I get around +10 FPS on this version on my system.

The only major hiccup with this system is the polygon count. The PC Version of the base itself is 66,500 polygons. So once you add any clothing or hair, you immediately drop into Very Poor. However, I have now included a "Questified" version of the base that is under 7,500 polygons that you can combine with multiple hairstyles to keep it below "Very Poor".

Three-and-a-Half Humans in a Taur Suit

At the very base of it, this avatar is nothing more than a standard human according to VRChat. Unity and VRChat recognize the upper body and front legs as a (slightly odd) humanoid. This means that MOST additional features and addons will work normally with this avatar. As the community begins to experiment with the AvaTAUR, I will compile a list of packs that are known to be compatible with this character.

• Most general VRCFury addons for accessories and clothing will work.
• GoGoLoco can be installed, but it will only control the upper half of the body and makes some changes to how sit poses are handled.
• Face Tracking is compatible, but a few minor changes need to be made.

(If you have tried other packages, please let me know so I can add them to this list!)

But how does it work?

VRChat is given an invisible skeleton that it can have free reign over. A second invisible human is then loosely connected to VRChat with constraints. On the hips of this avatar, a "spine/tail" is connected and animated. Another invisible human is then anchored to the end of this "tail" and given animations and Final IK's VRIK component to make it walk and keep it's feet on the ground. Finally the digitgrade legs are connected to these humans with Final IK's LimbIK component.

TLDR: Three and a Half Humans in a Taur Suit.

So you want to be a Taur?

Let's get started! First, lets get some FREE prerequisites.

1. Download the Final IK Stub from VRLabs. (If you have already purchased Final IK, skip this step.) https://github.com/VRLabs/Final-IK-Stub/releases/tag/v1.0.0
2. Download the Poiyomi shader. (Optional, but you will need to configure you own shaders later.)
   https://github.com/poiyomi/PoiyomiToonShader/releases
3. Follow these instructions from VRChat on how to setup a new project via the Creator Companion.
   https://docs.vrchat.com/docs/setting-up-the-sdk
   https://vcc.docs.vrchat.com/guides/getting-started
4. Make sure "Gesture Manager" is installed in the project via the "Manage Packages" option.
5. Open the Project
6. Drag the "Poiyomi" unitypackage into unity and click import.
7. Drag the "Final IK Stub" unitypackage into unity and click import.
8. Drag the "AvaTAUR" unitypackage into unity and click import.
9. If you have any other unitypackage files from me, import those now.
10. Navigate to "Assets\AvaTAUR\1 Base\Scenes START HERE\AvaTAUR 000" and open that scene by double clicking it.
11. Create a new object with your character's name and make sure it is located at 0, 0, 0. Gather all of the body and hair prefabs you would like to use and place them inside. Set all of the materials, textures, and blendshapes how you want. (We have included three example templates in the scene named "Tio", "Mocha" and "Ava".)
12. Convert your setup into a prefab by dragging it down into the project window.
13. Unpack your files by Right Click -> Prefab -> Unpack Completely.
14. Open each body or hair prefab and follow the instructions inside.
15. At the top, select "VRChat SDK > Show Control Panel" and then login.
16. Click on the "Builder" tab.
17. When it has loaded, enter a name for the AvaTAUR and agree to the terms and click "Upload"
18. Taurfit?

Note: If you are just using the "Final IK Stub" from VRLabs and not the full package, the AvaTAUR will not preview well in unity. You will need to upload in order to see it actually moving correctly.

When part of the instructions refer to "Drag this into the Face Mesh" it's referring to the process below.

Why is VRChat so Angy?

It just does that sometimes...

When you go to upload, you'll be met with a few warnings.

1. "A Material has custom shader keywords" - This avatar includes a few custom shaders for UI style elements. Specifically I am animating the falloff radius of the screenspace shader for the Desktop 3rd Person Camera. If you REALLY want this gone, you can delete that and then set the "Green Wireframe" and "Red Wireframe" to standard shaders.
2. "Audio Sources found" - Well... yeah, I'm using sounds for the "Pop", "Elevator Music", "Purring", and "Stretch". If you want these gone, go ahead and delete them.
3. "LowerArm is not the first child of UpperArm" - This is a naming convention issue, I have not noticed any issues with it, but if people report problems, I can update it so VRChat doesn't complain.
4. "Stations found" - There are 3 seats on the AvaTAUR. Two normal passengers and one for controlling the hind end directly. Best seats in the house! But if you want them gone, you can delete the "Stations" object under "Scripts".
5. "The angle between pelvis and thigh bones should be close to 180" - I've seen MANY avatars with this exact same issue. Once again, I haven't seen any issues with the current setup, but if people report issues I can finangle with it to make VRChat happy.

TLDR: Don't worry about it, just hit "Build & Publish"

But I want to be a CUSTOM Taur!

This pack does NOT include the Substance Painter files for this base. These are intentionally separated into a different purchase page on Gumroad. (This is so people that want to make custom textures for clients don't have to purchase the whole AvaTAUR just to do a texture commission and people that don't intend to make their own textures can save a few dollars.)

Once you have obtained custom textures, you can apply them by starting with one of the bases and then modifying the shader properties.

You can also adjust the blendshapes (Body Types) by navigating to "Body" and opening the list of blendshapes. You're welcome to adjust any of the sliders, but everything above "CUSTOMIZATION" will be overwritten by animations. Additionally, the Breast and Belly sliders will be overwritten by animations. In order to set a specific size, you should adjust it in game and it will save. After you have set the purfect L shape, make sure to also make the same changes to all of your clothing!

Additionally, we will be releasing many outfit pieces in the future. You can find a list of everything that will eventually be included under the "UNUSED CLOTHING IN HERE" object in the scene. If you want to apply clothing to your character, make a duplicate of the clothing you want to use and then remove the "(1)" at the end of the object name. Then place it into one of the objects inside of the "PUT CLOTHING IN HERE" object.

I want my custom Taur on QUEST!

You can easily take your current setup and upload for quest. However, PLEASE make sure you make a backup of your scene, since this process will remove a lot of things from the project that you will need when you want to go back to PC.

1. Backup your scene.
2. Move "0 GOOD PERFORMANCE" "0 LICENSE KEY ENTRY" "1 MEDIUM PERFORMANCE" "2 POOR PERFORMANCE" and "3 VERY POOR PERFORMANCE" into "PERFORMANCE OPTIONS".
3. Move all Body, Hair, Tongue, and Clothing options out of the "AvaTAUR" object.
4. Under "TEMPLATES / QUEST" you will find a "Body" object. Move this into "AvaTAUR".
5. In the upload window, change the Build Target from "Windows" to "Android".
6. Hit all of the Auto Fix options that appear.
7. Upload!

VSeeFace VTuber Ready!

Yep! You can get four of your legs in streams as a VTuber or as a Webcam in discord! All of the IK, the automatic steps, idles, and poses are configured to work within VSeeFace! We are still using a generic humanoid as the base, so this avatar is compatible with all the default features of VSeeFace!

Below are the steps to get a custom version exported as a VSFAvatar file. (Note: this is NOT a VRM file and is only compatible with a few specific platforms.) This process does require that you purchase a few components, please be aware of this when following these instructions.

1. Install the Unity Hub. https://unity.com/download
2. Install Unity 2019.4.31.f1 via the Unity Hub. unityhub://2019.4.31f1/bd5abf232a62
3. Make a new project and open it.
4. Import the UniVRM 0.89 unitypackage. https://github.com/vrm-c/UniVRM/releases/tag/v0.89.0
5. Import the VSeeFaceSDK unitypackage. https://github.com/emilianavt/VSeeFaceSDK/releases
6. Import the Poiyomi Shaders unitypackage. https://github.com/poiyomi/PoiyomiToonShader/releases
7. Import the Dynamic Bones Stub unitypackage. https://github.com/VRLabs/Dynamic-Bones-Stub/releases
   1. We are not confident at this time if the stub will work correctly in this context, if it does not, you will need to purchase Dynamic Bones via the Unity Asset Store. https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/animation/dynamic-bone-16743 Then import to your project via the "Package Manager"
8. Import the FInal IK Stub unitypackage. https://github.com/VRLabs/Final-IK-Stub/releases
   1. We are not confident at this time if the stub will work correctly in this context, if it does not, you will need to purchase Final IK from the Unity Asset Store. https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/animation/final-ik-14290 Then import to your project via the "Package Manager"
9. Import the "AvaTAUR" unitypackage.
10. If you have any other unitypackage files from us, import those now.
11. Import the "AvaTAUR VSFAvatar" unitypackage.
12. Navigate to "Assets\AvaTAUR\SPECIALS\Scenes\AvaTAUR VSF 000" and open that scene by double clicking it.
13. Gather all of the body and hair prefabs from "Assets\AvaTAUR\SPECIALS\Prefabs" you would like to use and place them into the scene inside of a new object with your character's name. Set all of the materials, textures, and blendshapes how you want. (We have included three example templates in the scene named "Tio", "Mocha" and "Ava".)
14. Convert your setup into a prefab by dragging it down into the project window.
15. Unpack your files by Right Click -> Prefab -> Unpack Completely.
16. Open each body or hair prefab and follow the instructions inside.
17. Select "AvaTAUR VRM".
18. At the top, select "VSF SDK -> Export Avatar Bundle".
19. Open VSeeFace and import the model.
20. Set all of the following under "Expression Settings".
    1. Fun - Additive, Toggle
    2. Angry - Additive, Toggle
    3. Joy - Additive, Toggle
    4. Sorrow - Additive, Toggle
    5. Surprise - Additive, Toggle
    6. Brows Down - Additive, Toggle
    7. Brows Up - Additive, Toggle
    8. Cheekpuff - Additive, Toggle
    9. All "POSE" Expressions - Toggle, Set a Hotkey, Transition Time Maximum
    10. All "WagSpeed" Expressions - Toggle, Set a Hotkey, Transition Time Minimum

Terms of Use:

These assets are provided on a royalty-free basis for personal use while adhering to the following restrictions.

1. You may not sell, share, or redistribute these assets, even if modified or in parts.
2. You may upload these assets to a virtual game platform or simulation (such as VRChat) so long as all assets are unable to be downloaded under normal means.
3. You may not sell 3D prints of these assets.
4. Group purchases are not available for these assets. Each user must purchase these assets themself.
5. You must acknowledge the original author of these assets in all verbal and written communication.
6. You are not permitted to remove any built in copy write information in the assets.
7. If these assets or any derivatives are displayed publicly, (Streaming, Social Media, Advertisements, ect), you must credit the original author of these assets.
8. You may not use these assets for any harassment, obscene, or racist purpose.
9. You may not use these assets for the promotion of any alcoholic beverages, tobacco, gambling, or unlawful activities.

These assets are non-refundable and provided "as is" with no warranty or guarantee that it will fill a specific purpose.

The owner of these assets is permitted to update these terms of service or to terminate the use of these assets at any time.

"Halp!"

If you happen to find yourself with two left feet during the setup process... well, that's probably intended.

Jokes aside, if you need any help, if you have any suggestions, or find any bugs, please head over to the Virtual Limbs Discord group and send me a message! I'd be happy to help.

All future updates on this model will be included in this single purchase.

6/2/2023 Updates:

The flat chested option has been completely reworked! It should look a lot better now. Almost all of the control systems have been reworked to be as efficient as possible. You will still see a drop in FPS when using the AvaTAUR, but it should be significantly less than before. A few minor options like the "Belly Pass" function have been removed for performance reasons. The AvaTAUR now supports half body! If all you've got is a hip tracker, go for it! The hands have been adjusted to feel more natural. Feet webbing works as intended now. Fixed some major bugs related to some sliders getting reset to default randomly. Fixed an issue with the contacts causing the AvaTAUR to freeze while in Ghost Mode. We now have feet contacts! You can boop someone else with your forepaws! :3 I've included a "FBX 2014" file for those that want to work with the model in Blender. There's a special lanyard just for Furality! So many other small improvements have been made, you'll have to try it out for yourself and take a look! This officially concludes the BETA period!

6/10/2023 Updates:

MMD Dances work properly now! I was able to pull the voice away from your real body and keep it anchored to the head while in ghost mode. In ghost mode one of the claws was incorrectly constrained. Some blendshapes have been updated and fixed, specifically the female face. There is now a locomotion toggle to disable locomotion (mainly for non FBT users). The fluffy tail has been updated to give it more curl. Parameter updates should be a lot cleaner now between users. We brought back the belly pass and added some additional features in the same menu.

11/22/2023 Updates:

Completely overhauled the entire control system to utilize Direct Blendtrees. Changing any setting should happen immediately now with no delay. There is a significant frame rate increase. We now have a Quest Fallback version available in the files. You can select your performance level from a range of "Quest Fallback" to "Very Poor". Fixed skin weighting on the shoulders and crotches. MANY small fixes. Added an expression puppet. Closing your left fist will stick the tongue out, closing your right fist will close your eyes. The tail will now change with each pose and some expressions. New Menu Icons. Fully MMD Compatible now. Much better forepaw movements. Tweaked the walking system to allow for better hip movement.

12/17/2023 Updates:

We've added a "hotfix" file that fixes the following issues. Crouching generally works better on all versions, the pinky has been adjusted in non-Index controllers, Prepare to Pounce and then Ghost Mode no longer breaks, and fixed an issue where using VRCFury would break the hands. To apply this, first import everything as normal, and then add the hotfix file. This will eventually be implemented into a full release version once we confirm that there are no additional necessary fixes.

1/3/2024 Updates:

The entire setup is now built on prefabs. This has cleaned up the default scenes a lot and makes updates WAY easier. The face mesh is completely undefined and VRChat will yell at you if you try to upload without it being mapped. There is now a quest version without hair that can be used as the main body if you are aiming to have hair and clothing, but still want to have a rating better than "Very Poor". The belly now has full jiggle and squish support. The face now has a "FoxMuzzle" shape that is MUCH more canine / vulpine accurate. Crouching and Prone animations have been completely overhauled and should look significantly better.

1/14/2024 Updates:

A VTuber, VSFAvatar setup is now included in the package!

Known Issues:

• None yet! We need more testing and feedback!

Credits:

VRLabs - https://github.com/VRLabs

• Contact Tracker
• Final IK Stub
• World Constraint
• Avatar Manager
• Local Mirror Detection

AkaiMage - https://github.com/AkaiMage/VRC-Cancerspace

• Cancerspace Shader (I promise I used it Responsibly)

Eslar - https://eslar.gumroad.com/l/hxlDG

• Substance Painter Fur Brush and Filter

Special Thanks to these Wonderful Beans!

♡ Bananabeans - For trudging through all of these UV maps.
♡ Ahzealion - For being with me through all of this, and helping me troubleshoot/brainstorm solutions.
♡ TheCatnamedFish - For SO much more than I can type here, the original design of the model, as well as her AMAZING work on the textures.
♡ Laser Raptor - For pointing out the simple solutions when my train of thought was getting twisted.
♡ BlackbloodQueen - For her support and fantastic "AvaTAUR" Logo.
♡ FishBoyBlue - For making that the original demo video!
♡ Tenshio Luma - For the custom song in the demo video!
♡ Radovan - For so much inspiration and support. And for recording the MMD video used in the demo.
♡ Everyone on the Virtual Limbs Discord - For showing interest in this project and keeping me going!

And to you! Even if you don't purchase this pack, I'm happy to see people are curious and interested. You make it all worth it!

Virtual Limbs

If you're interested in this kind of content, or want to see what others are doing with the AvaTAUR, the Virtual Limbs group is dedicated to those with extra limbs, eyes, heads, ect!

We also have a VRChat Group!