HEXA Metaverse is the short name for HEXA Metaverse Gateway, a project run by the NFT marketplace HEXA. Unlike other metaverses, HEXA Metaverse has the following key features.
The NFT marketplace HEXA removed the hurdles of crypto and wallets by making it possible for anyone to sell and buy NFTs with a credit card, without crypto or a wallet. In the same way, HEXA Metaverse aims to be a metaverse anyone can enjoy casually at any time, removing the hurdles of needing a PC or installing an app, gathering at a set time, or communicating by voice. Linked with the NFT marketplace, it also aims to give birth to an economy that is completed entirely in the digital world.
Contents
- Overview of HEXA Metaverse
- Rooms in HEXA Metaverse
- LAND features of HEXA Metaverse
- Basic controls in HEXA Metaverse
- How to change your avatar
- How to place NFTs
- How to place OpenSea NFTs in HEXA Metaverse
- Setting collision for placed NFTs
- Setting links on placed NFTs (HEXA LAND landowners only)
- HEXA LAND area settings and landowner mode
- How HEXA Metaverse, Residents NFTs and LAND NFTs fit together
- Metaverse feature differences between Residents NFTs and HEXA LAND NFTs
- About HEXA LAND NFTs and HEXA Residents NFTs
- HEXA Metaverse graphics quality settings
- Avatar NFT specifications
- Area NFT specifications
- HEXA Metaverse FAQ
- Users' HEXA Metaverse spaces (selection)
- What is the NFT marketplace HEXA?
- Inquiries from businesses
- Reporting HEXA Metaverse bugs
Overview of HEXA Metaverse
The HEXA Metaverse Gateway project is a bridge to metaverse spaces. In a metaverse, just as in the real world, communities form, there are relationships between individuals, land, resident registrations and homes, and NFTs create ownership of data in a world that is completed digitally. Whichever metaverse platform becomes mainstream in the future, the HEXA Metaverse Gateway project gets a head start by building communities and ownership in the metaverse ahead of time.
Unlike conventional metaverse spaces, HEXA Metaverse aims to offer a social-media-style metaverse space that you can enjoy easily from your smartphone's browser, without everyone having to gather at the same time. HEXA builds its services around its NFT marketplace and focuses on creating a metaverse space where economic activity takes place through NFTs, and plans to keep adding more features. Don't miss this new future that will change economic activity!
On HEXA, users who hold a Residents NFT can display NFTs in their own home, and users who hold a HEXA LAND NFT (ad-space NFT) can place buildings on HEXA LAND.
Rooms in HEXA Metaverse
The room feature of HEXA Metaverse was introduced with the alpha release on May 16, 2022. If you hold a HEXA Residents NFT, you can display NFTs issued on HEXA in your own home and invite people in.
There is an owner mode and a guest mode. In owner mode you can place NFTs freely. When you place music NFTs, the owner can rearrange their default order like a playlist and set them as background music. In guest mode, anyone who knows the URL can visit to view the NFTs, and buy any NFT they like on the spot. Both owner mode and guest mode can be used from a smartphone.
The NFTs you can display differ for each Residents NFT, so see here for details on Residents NFTs.
LAND features of HEXA Metaverse
For the LAND features of HEXA Metaverse, the GOD area was opened first with the HEXA Metaverse beta release on March 28, 2023. The LAND outside the GOD area was opened on May 31, 2023. HEXA LAND holders can freely set up and build towns through NFTs.
The HEXA LAND areas form one vast, seamlessly connected space you can move through without any loading screens. HEXA Metaverse aims for economic activity through NFTs to take place in one large town.
About NFTs on HEXA LAND
On HEXA LAND you can place all the NFTs you hold, and also all the NFTs you have issued that have already been sold. This makes it possible to create things like a creator land that shows all of a creator's works, including past works. Sold NFTs you issued also display the owner's name, which can help raise the value of sold NFTs. You can also attach external links and entrances to Residents NFT rooms to placed NFTs. To keep each area a metaverse space that works on many devices, there are limits on the total size, polygon count, number of objects and so on of the NFTs that can be placed.
You can also display NFTs you own on OpenSea in HEXA LAND NFTs and in the rooms of the 1st to 3rd Residents NFTs (support for OpenSea NFTs may end without notice due to changes in OpenSea's specifications or terms, or other laws and regulations).
Hunt for Easter eggs in HEXA Metaverse!
To celebrate the release of the HEXA Metaverse beta, we hid a total of 150 Easter eggs in HEXA LAND. The first user to find them all received an NFT purchase ticket worth ¥1,000,000. Each time you found an Easter egg, 1 point was added to the scoreboard, and you could check other users' progress in real time. The period for winning the prize ran until 23:59 on May 31, 2023.
Basic controls in HEXA Metaverse
The basic controls in HEXA Metaverse are as follows.
① Switch between first-person and overhead view: Click the camera button to switch between first-person view (your avatar is hidden and you see the world through its eyes) and third-person view (your avatar is shown).
② Show/hide messages: You can hide or show messages users have left in rooms and on LAND. Room owners and land owners can delete messages freely.
③ Save your current position: On HEXA LAND you can save your current position, as many times as the number of Residents NFTs you hold. This lets you resume exploring from any saved position at any time.
④ Action buttons set for your avatar: Buttons 1, 2, 3 and 4 play the animations set for your avatar NFT. The center button is the jump button. On a PC you can also jump with the space bar.
⑤ Movement stick: On a smartphone, drag the stick to move. On a PC, use the E (up), D (down), S (left) and F (right) keys to move.
⑥ Post a message: If you are logged in to HEXA, you can leave a message anywhere you like. Note that a link to your X (formerly Twitter) account is always attached to messages.
⑦ Place NFTs: In owner mode, the owner can place NFTs freely.
⑧ Play music NFTs: When the owner places music NFTs in a room, they can be played as a playlist, so users who visit the room can listen to them.
⑨ Easter eggs: When you find an Easter egg, click it to collect it. Each one you collect adds 1 point to the scoreboard.
⑩ Post a resident diary: You can capture the metaverse screen and post a diary entry.
How to change your avatar
To change the avatar you use, go to "Settings" on the metaverse top page or the settings button (the ⚙ button) inside the metaverse. Log in to HEXA Metaverse and open the settings screen to set your avatar NFT.
If you hold an avatar NFT that can be used as an avatar, you can load it as your avatar from “New Setting.” The setting names show the animation names set by the issuer, and you can click them to preview each animation. Using the actions on the right, you can then set which action each animation corresponds to.
About avatar NFTs that can be used as avatars
Avatar NFTs that can be used as avatars have a mark indicating an avatar NFT (see the image below) at the top left of the NFT data. Avatar NFTs with this mark can be used. Before buying, you can check how the avatar actually works in the HEXA Metaverse space using the “Check HEXA Metaverse Display” button.
How to place NFTs
In owner mode, you can place NFTs with the + button. You can freely move, rotate and resize placed NFTs. NFTs with transparent images can be placed without a panel so that they stay transparent.
How to place OpenSea NFTs in HEXA Metaverse
In HEXA LAND and in the rooms of the 1st to 3rd HEXA Residents NFTs, you can display NFTs held in your wallet from among those handled on OpenSea (excluding NFTs OpenSea has removed). From the + button for placing NFTs, choose the OpenSea tab and enter the URL of the OpenSea page of an NFT you hold to place it.
The connected wallet address is shown under Connected wallet. If you haven't set up a wallet connection, please set up your wallet with the wallet setup button or from the settings in My Page.
Setting collision for placed NFTs
For 3D NFTs, you can set collision detection. Check the collision checkbox to turn on collision for the object in Residents NFT rooms and HEXA LAND. Click Details to choose from the following four collision settings (collision works only on the front side of a mesh).
1) Add collision to all meshes
2) Add collision only to meshes whose names start with collision_
3) Add collision to all meshes except those starting with nocollision_
4) Add no collision at all
*Given the performance of an average smartphone, collision with animations currently does not work
Setting links on placed NFTs (HEXA LAND landowners only)
You can set links on NFTs placed on HEXA LAND. On NFTs you hold, you can set a link to any Residents NFT room you hold, making it an entrance. On creator NFTs you have issued yourself, you can also set external links. If you want to place something like an advertising billboard on HEXA LAND, you can apply through NFT issuance application to issue the billboard image as an NFT and place it as an NFT with a link.
HEXA LAND area settings and landowner mode
HEXA LAND NFT holders can freely set area NFTs on the land they hold within one large, connected HEXA LAND. Below is an example of a Metropolis HEXA LAND; you can set an area NFT for each SAND size unit (Metropolis is 6 ✕ 6, a size of 36).
If you don't hold an area NFT, sample sets are available for Genesis and Metropolis that you can load. In addition, for these and other areas, you can set up an area from the default area sets even without holding an area NFT.
In HEXA LAND's landowner mode, you can place NFTs and set the starting position.
The basic controls of HEXA LAND's landowner mode are as follows.
⑪ Place NFTs: see here for how
⑫ Floating mode: temporarily removes gravity and collision so you can move around the area (landowner mode only)
⑬ Set starting position: set where you start when entering the LAND directly
⑭ Plot usage: the total of area NFTs and placed NFTs must stay within the limits below
Size: 32MB or less
Number of objects (meshes): 1,250 or less
Number of triangle polygons: 395,000 or less
Number of materials: 1,250 or less
Texture size: max 1024px ✕ 1024px
⑮ Link settings: set links on placed NFTs. See here for how.
⑯ Collision settings: set collision on placed NFTs. See here for how.
How HEXA Metaverse, Residents NFTs and LAND NFTs fit together
In HEXA Metaverse Gateway, what you can do depends on whether you hold a Residents NFT or a LAND NFT. The following is only a plan, but this is what is currently envisioned.
Metaverse feature differences between Residents NFTs and HEXA LAND NFTs
Here is a summary of the functional differences between HEXA Residents NFT rooms (metaverse), available by holding a Residents NFT, and HEXA LAND (metaverse), available by holding a HEXA LAND NFT.
What you can do only on HEXA LAND (not in Residents NFT rooms)
1. Place creator NFTs (even after they are sold)
On HEXA LAND, you can place NFTs you issued that have already been sold. This means you can place sold NFTs too and promote them, letting you create a space like a creator land
2. Place external links (links to Residents NFT rooms also possible)
On HEXA LAND you can place external links. You can also set links to Residents NFT rooms, so they can be used for many purposes.
3. Set area NFTs
You can place an area NFT on HEXA LAND to set up an area all your own.
4. Seamless connection with neighboring LAND
You can move seamlessly to neighboring LAND. With no loading screens, the whole of HEXA LAND is connected as one large space. Unlike Residents NFT rooms, which only people who know the link can access, this gives you more chances to be discovered by new users.
5. Set a starting position
You can set the starting position for when someone enters the LAND directly.
6. Coming Soon
More features are planned for HEXA LAND going forward.
What you can do on both HEXA LAND and in Residents NFT rooms
1. Place NFTs you hold and unsold NFTs you issued
You can place NFTs you hold and unsold NFTs you have issued. However, while unsold issued NFTs can be placed on HEXA LAND without conditions, in Residents NFT rooms this is possible only in the Creators Room of the 1st Residents NFT.
2. Add collision to placed NFTs
You can set collision on placed NFTs both on HEXA LAND and in Residents NFT rooms.
3. Write messages
You can write messages both on HEXA LAND and in Residents NFT rooms.
4. Post resident diaries
Both on HEXA LAND and in Residents NFT rooms, you can take a screenshot and post a diary entry.
What you can do in Residents NFT rooms but not on HEXA LAND
1. Place heavy files and objects with high polygon counts
Because HEXA LAND is meant to be a space anyone can use smoothly from a smartphone, there are limits on the file size, polygon count and so on of objects you can place. Residents NFT rooms have no such limits, so you can place heavy objects. However, because there are no limits, placing heavy files in a Residents NFT room may make it impossible to open on some devices and smartphones.
2. Opaque setting for objects between the camera and your avatar
By default, objects between the camera and your avatar are made transparent, but in Residents NFT rooms you can choose "Don't make transparent" in the settings.
About HEXA LAND NFTs and HEXA Residents NFTs
As part of the HEXA Metaverse Gateway project, HEXA distributes HEXA Residents NFTs (HEXA LAND Residents NFTs). In the first resident registration, more than 6,000 people registered in a single day. Resident registration has so far been open only three times, each for a short period, and a total of 26,069 HEXA Residents NFTs have been issued. The Residents NFTs were distributed free of charge, but the NFT with resident number 2 has been resold on the secondary market for ¥560,000.
HEXA LAND NFTs, ad-space NFTs that let you place ads in ad spaces on the HEXA website, were also issued and proved so popular that the first-come, first-served sale sold out in minutes. Trades have been made at prices such as HEXA Genesis LAND #6 for ¥6,000,000, HEXA Metropolis LAND #41 for ¥1,400,000, HEXA Town LAND #83 for ¥340,000, and HEXA Sand LAND #2085 for ¥100,000.
In the 3D metaverse space of HEXA Metaverse Gateway, you can display NFTs you hold, such as 3D data, images, video and audio. Users who hold a Residents NFT can display NFTs in their own home and invite friends, and users who hold a HEXA LAND NFT can build a house on their LAND and get noticed by many users.
HEXA LAND NFTs have so far been sold as God, Genesis, Metropolis, Town and Sand LAND, ad-space NFTs that let you place ads on the HEXA site (details here). With the announcement of the HEXA Metaverse Gateway project, we also plan to sell Plain LAND NFTs, located outside Sand and without ad space on the HEXA site. As the population of the HEXA Metaverse space grows, unexplored Plain LAND will gradually be opened up. Meanwhile, God, Genesis, Metropolis, Town and Sand, which also function as ad-space NFTs, are located on prime land at the center of HEXA Metaverse, and no additional ones will ever be issued (the site ad spaces have already been released). With the alpha release in May 2022, it became possible to display NFTs issued on HEXA in your own home and invite people in. With the beta release in May 2023, it became possible to build a town on your own land in HEXA LAND.
HEXA Metaverse graphics quality settings
You can switch the screen's graphics quality between High, Middle, Low and Auto. If you can't open the metaverse when accessing it from a smartphone or similar device, selecting Low under "Settings" on the metaverse top page and opening it again in the same browser may let you open it. With Auto, it first opens in High mode and the graphics quality is gradually lowered according to your device's performance. In Low, transparency, reflections and similar effects are turned off.
Avatar NFT specifications
Initially, the specifications of avatar NFTs that can be used in HEXA Metaverse will be restricted. These restrictions may be relaxed in the future, depending on improvements in the performance of the average smartphone and the maximum memory limits of smartphone browsers.
- 32,000 triangle polygons or fewer
- 14 objects (meshes) or fewer
- 14 materials or fewer
- File size of 5MB or less
- Include in the glb file at least 6 actions for the avatar: stand, walk, run, jump, float, and fly/swim, and give the actions easy-to-understand names such as stand, walk, run, jump, floating and swim (you will link the glb settings to HEXA's actions in the settings when applying for issuance and when using the avatar)
- For the jump animation, please check how it actually moves in the metaverse on the issuance application screen and adjust it as needed. We will work to provide more detailed guidance in the future.
- In addition to the 6 animations above, you can add 4 more animations and assign them to action buttons 1 to 4
- The NFT issuer sets the defaults on the issuance application screen. Holders can also freely change how actions are assigned, so we recommend giving actions easy-to-understand names
*These may be relaxed in the future, depending on improvements in the performance of the average smartphone and the maximum memory limits of smartphone browsers
We plan to provide a test environment for avatar NFTs in the future.
Why avatar NFT specifications are restricted
The restrictions are intended to let anyone casually visit the metaverse space in a web browser, and were introduced because of the memory limits of current smartphone browsers (if memory is exceeded, the browser crashes) and the limits of the processing available to smartphone browsers (things become slow). Unlike metaverses where general content is prepared in advance, users can freely place 3D objects here, so even one heavy NFT mixed in can cause a crash and stop things from working properly.
Tips for meeting file size and other requirements
Having reviewed the 3D data sold on HEXA in the past, we found that if your 3D data has a large file size or is slow to display, you can reduce the file size and speed up display with the following steps.
Some of you have already carried out the optimizations below, but in many cases they do reduce the size, so please use them for reference.
1) Merge objects
2) Compress texture data (including reusing the same texture across multiple objects)
3) Compress GLB files: e.g., the glTF Draco compression algorithm
4) Optimize animations: remove unnecessary keyframes and optimize animation loops
5) Remove unnecessary data: delete unused textures and materials, and delete unused nodes
If your 3D objects are slow to display or have large file sizes, please check the above.
Area NFT specifications
Area NFTs are NFTs with collision that can be set for each Sand-sized unit within HEXA LAND in HEXA Metaverse. Initially, the specifications of area NFTs will be restricted. These restrictions may be relaxed in the future, depending on improvements in the performance of the average smartphone and the maximum memory limits of smartphone browsers.
Size: 20MB or less
Number of objects (meshes): 750 or less
Number of triangle polygons: 200,000 or less
Number of materials: 750 or less
Texture size: max 1024px ✕ 1024px
Aspect ratio: square
Bounding box: matches the edges of the area
Origin: center of the area's floor
Area vs. avatar size: the area is 1,000✕1,000 relative to an avatar of 20*20*20 (the area is automatically resized to 1,000✕1,000)
Collision: collision is added to all meshes except those whose names start with nocollision_. Add nocollision_ to the names of meshes you don't want collision on (collision works only on the front side of a mesh)
*The edges of the bounding box must match on the sides that touch other areas. As long as the origin is on the vertical axis, no restrictions on height are currently planned. In other words, underground spaces, tall buildings and mountain ranges are possible, but they must stay within the specification limits. You will also be able to freely set the starting point for entering a specific LAND directly.
**Given the performance of an average smartphone, collision with animations currently does not work
Known issues
(2023/6/5) glTF KHR_materials_transmission extension plugin: We have found a problem with GLB files that use the glTF KHR_materials_transmission extension plugin: when an object containing such materials disappears and is displayed again, the transparent materials of not only that object but all other objects disappear. This is a fundamental issue with the rendering system, there is no immediate fix, and we are continuing to investigate. For now, we recommend not using the KHR_materials_transmission extension plugin. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Why area NFT specifications are restricted
The restrictions are intended to let anyone casually visit the metaverse space in a web browser, and were introduced because of the memory limits of current smartphone browsers (if memory is exceeded, the browser crashes) and the limits of the processing available to smartphone browsers (things become slow). Unlike metaverses where general content is prepared in advance, users can freely place 3D objects here, so even one heavy NFT mixed in can cause a crash and stop things from working properly.
On the iPhone, the most widely used device, there is an iOS issue that causes a crash when a file of 40–60MB or more is loaded in a web browser (this is not limited to HEXA Metaverse). Because the limit is on VRAM, it can crash at even smaller sizes when many apps or tabs are open. The restrictions may be eased in the future as the iPhone and other smartphones improve in performance.
Tips for meeting file size and other requirements
Having reviewed the 3D data sold on HEXA in the past, we found that if your 3D data has a large file size or is slow to display, you can reduce the file size and speed up display with the following steps.
Some of you have already carried out the optimizations below, but in many cases they do reduce the size, so please use them for reference.
1) Merge objects
2) Compress texture data (including reusing the same texture across multiple objects)
3) Compress GLB files: e.g., the glTF Draco compression algorithm
4) Optimize animations: remove unnecessary keyframes and optimize animation loops
5) Remove unnecessary data: delete unused textures and materials, and delete unused nodes
If your 3D objects are slow to display or have large file sizes, please check the above.
HEXA Metaverse FAQ
Some rooms won't open and show "A problem repeatedly occurred"
The room feature of HEXA Metaverse places no limits on the NFTs that can be placed. As a result, a room containing NFTs that exceed the memory capacity of the smartphone browser you are using shows the error "A problem repeatedly occurred" and cannot be opened.
This depends not only on the performance of your smartphone but also on the state of your smartphone's browser app. You may be able to open the room by reducing the number of apps open on your smartphone and closing other site tabs open in your smartphone browser.
HEXA rooms allow unlimited NFTs to be placed, but HEXA LAND has limits on file size, polygon count and so on so that more users can open it. We plan to lift those limits as the average performance of the smartphones and smartphone browsers used by HEXA users improves.
For reference, on iOS devices such as the iPhone 13, the browser appears to crash when the 3D data loaded exceeds 40–60MB. This is not limited to HEXA Metaverse. It depends on iOS fixing the issue and on improvements in smartphone and browser performance.
It's choppy and slow even though I'm using a high-performance PC or smartphone
HEXA Metaverse ultimately aims to let anyone display 3D content freely without limits. As a result, even when there appear to be no complex objects, rendering calculations can become huge and slow things down depending on the polygon count, file size and complexity of reflection settings of the NFTs issued by issuers.
Why it's based on web browsers rather than a smartphone app
Offering the metaverse space as a smartphone app would make it possible to run it on more devices, more smoothly and with higher display quality. However, as stated on our top page from the start, the HEXA Metaverse Gateway project aims to establish data ownership and communities ahead of time, whatever kind of metaverse space emerges in the future. Because we put weight on activities in the metaverse space centered on the NFT marketplace, we chose a web browser base to avoid an extra 30% fee to Apple/Google on NFT transactions that an app would incur. We also value being able to check out the metaverse space casually and seamlessly without installing anything.
It feels slower than other metaverses
Our 3D rendering system is basically the same as the rendering systems used by many other web-browser-based services, but we believe the following two points can make it feel slower than other metaverses.
1) The smartphone version is web-browser-based, not an app
HEXA is a metaverse centered on economic activity through NFTs, and making it an app would mean paying Apple or Google an additional fee of 30% of the transaction amount. In addition, so that people can visit the metaverse casually, it is browser-based and requires no app installation. As a result, it is subject to the performance limits of browser apps (limits on the file sizes and texture sizes that can be loaded, and on the processing resources allowed for browser apps). Compared with an app, the challenge is that it is constrained not only by smartphone performance but also by browser performance. Overcoming this requires waiting for future improvements in smartphone performance (the performance of the smartphones of the average HEXA user) and in web browser performance.
2) A wide variety of NFTs can be placed freely
Unlike many metaverses where the space is prepared in advance, HEXA aims to be a C2C metaverse where users can freely place their own content. As a result, even with the same file size and polygon count, small differences between objects can greatly change how fast a computer renders 3D. So if even one object that is heavy to process is included, things can become slow. To keep its limits easy to understand and to be a platform anyone can use easily, HEXA has chosen the benefit of simple restrictions on what can be placed over preventing heavy objects from being placed.
FAQ about displaying never-purchased NFTs (your issued NFTs) with a 1st Residents NFT
If NFTs that have never been purchased (your issued NFTs) don't appear in the list when you try to display them in HEXA Metaverse, use the settings button at the top right in owner mode to check whether your room is set to "Creators Shop" mode. In Creators Shop mode, you can display unpurchased NFTs currently in primary sale (including rentals).
Users' HEXA Metaverse spaces (selection)
What is the NFT marketplace HEXA?
HEXA is a Japanese NFT marketplace where you can issue, buy and sell NFTs using only Japanese yen. You can easily buy NFTs by credit card from your PC or smartphone. No crypto or wallet is needed at all, so you can buy, sell or issue NFTs right away. If you hold a HEXA Residents NFT, you can also display the NFTs you have bought in HEXA Metaverse. HEXA also offers community features such as Web3-style online salons and fan clubs.
Inquiries from businesses
We welcome applications from a wide range of businesses considering metaverse projects, such as holding events, opening stores, hosting exhibitions, or building amusement parks or game arcades in the metaverse space. Apply here (Japanese).
Reporting HEXA Metaverse bugs
HEXA Metaverse is currently in beta and we are continuing to improve its features. If you find a bug or problem, please report it here (Japanese). We will keep making improvements, and appreciate your support.