Custom Object Placement Tool for VR Scenes

In our practice, a VR project's level designer was placing 300 objects manually using the standard Unity Transform gizmo. Each object — position, rotation, scale — was adjusted by hand. A single room took two days. This isn't an artist problem — it's the lack of the right tool. A custom Editor Tool reduces this time to a few hours and pays for itself after the first level.

How a Custom Placement Tool Accelerates Level Design

The standard Unity Transform tool is built for general modeling, not mass placement. It doesn't support surface snapping, random parameters, or overlap checking. Designers manually align objects, leading to fatigue and errors. Our custom tool automates these repetitive tasks, cutting work time by 5–10x per level.

Features Included in a Custom Placement Tool

Snap to surface

An object is placed on any scene surface via Physics.Raycast from the cursor point — floor, walls, sloped planes. Without this, each object must be manually raised or lowered on Y to avoid clipping or floating. Implemented via HandleUtility.GUIPointToWorldRay() + Physics.Raycast() in OnToolGUI() with subsequent Undo.RecordObject() for Ctrl+Z support.

Randomized placement

A left-click selects a random prefab from a set, random rotation within a range, random scale. For organic scenes — bushes, rocks, debris — the tool does in seconds what would take hours manually.

Grid and radial distribution

Select an area — the tool places objects on a grid or circle with defined spacing and random jitter. Useful for regular structures: fences, columns, lamps.

Alignment helpers

Align selected objects on X/Y/Z, distribute with equal spacing between extremes. Standard Unity Align Tools don't handle this as needed.

How the EditorTool Implementation Works

We use the EditorTool class from the Unity Editor Tools API. According to the Unity documentation, it allows intercepting mouse events and drawing custom Handles in the Scene View. For complex tools with UI, we use EditorWindow + SceneView.duringSceneGui callback. The window contains a prefab list (drawn via GUILayout with previews using AssetPreview.GetAssetPreview()), randomization settings, and mode toggle buttons.

A critical point for VR projects: the tool must account for VR placement specifics. Objects in VR are visible from all sides — we need an automatic check for overlaps via Physics.OverlapBox() or Physics.OverlapSphere(). Overlaps are highlighted in red with Handles.DrawWireCube() directly in the Scene View — the designer sees conflicts immediately. Overlap checking takes ~0.05 ms per object, allowing work with 5000 objects without frame drops.

Tool state serialization uses EditorPrefs for simple settings or ScriptableObject for saving placement presets between sessions. A team of 3 can share presets via VCS.

Tip: Use ScriptableObject presets to save randomization settings and prefab sets. This allows quick switching between environment styles.

Case Study: NPC Placement in a VR Escape Room

From our practice: for a client developing a VR escape room with 8 rooms, we needed a tool for placing interactive objects with automatic InteractionZone component assignment. Click on a surface — object placed, XRGrabInteractable added automatically, InteractionLayerMask set by object type (grabbable, pressable, turnable), colliderOffset adjusted for VR grab. The custom placement tool was 8x faster than manual work with the standard Transform tool.

Without the tool, configuring one interactive object took 5–7 minutes manually in the Inspector. With the tool, 15 seconds. Eight rooms with 40–60 objects each: a week of work saved. The custom tool cut placement time by 8x, saving over 100 person-hours on that project. The budget savings on object placement exceeded 150,000 rubles.

Our Work Process

1. Analyze your current workflow and identify bottlenecks.
2. Design tool functionality with VR specifics in mind.
3. Develop a prototype in 1–3 days and demonstrate it.
4. Iterative testing and refinement.
5. Deploy and train your team.

Contact us for a project assessment. Our certified engineers with 5+ years of game development experience and over 10 completed projects guarantee the tool will be fully customized to your pipeline. Get a consultation on creating a placement tool for your team.

Estimated timelines are in the table above; pricing is determined individually after requirements analysis. Reach out to us — we'll propose the optimal solution.

VR and AR Development

When we first launch a project in a VR headset, most teams face the same thing: technically everything works, but in the headset either motion sickness occurs, or hands 'float' with a delay, or the scene looks jerky at the periphery. These are not bugs in the usual sense — they are a consequence of the fact that VR/AR development requires a different approach to render architecture, interaction, and UX from the very beginning of the project. Our experience: over 7 years in game dev, 15+ completed VR/AR projects for Meta Quest, SteamVR, PSVR2, HoloLens. We work with teams that need not just a prototype but a production‑ready application with a stable frame rate.

Platforms and SDKs

We work with all relevant stacks. We use OpenXR as the base layer wherever possible — it provides cross‑platform compatibility between Meta, Valve Index, HP Reverb and other PC VR devices. On top of OpenXR, we build on the XR Interaction Toolkit (Unity) or VR Expansion Plugin (Unreal). Contact us for a stack assessment tailored to your project.

How to minimize motion sickness in VR locomotion?

Locomotion — the main source of motion sickness for inexperienced VR users. According to research, about 70% of users experience discomfort with improper movement settings Oculus Developer Guidelines. Teleportation — standard navigation method when smooth movement is undesirable.

Components from XR Interaction Toolkit: TeleportationArea, TeleportationAnchor, TeleportationProvider. Basic implementation works out of the box, but for production we refine it in four steps:

1. Setting up XRRayInteractor with a curved ray (Bend Ray) — the teleportation arc looks more natural than a straight ray and is perceived better by users.
2. Adding a valid landing zone — a visual indicator changes color when hovering over an obstacle (red/green).
3. Implementing fade transition — smooth screen fade (black fade) before teleportation reduces disorientation.
4. Rotation snapping — after teleportation we offer snap rotation by 45° or 90° instead of smooth, reducing motion sickness risk.

For projects requiring smooth locomotion (action games, simulators), we use comfort settings: vignetting during movement, reducing FOV during acceleration. Settings are available to the user in the menu — different people have different sensitivity thresholds. The difference between kinematic and physics‑based movement: kinematic gives instant hand following but lets objects pass through walls; physics‑based via Joint provides realistic collisions but requires velocity damping and max joint force tuning. We choose based on the type of interaction.

How to make object grabbing in VR physically realistic?

This is the most underestimated part of VR development. Clients often perceive it as 'just hand animation', but in practice it is a complex system where physical correctness, responsiveness, and comfort conflict.

Grab (grabbing)

XR Interaction Toolkit provides three types of Interactable for grabbing:

• XRGrabInteractable — standard grab, object follows controller via physics joint or direct position/rotation
• XRSimpleInteractable — for objects without physical movement (buttons, levers)
• Custom Interactable by inheriting from XRBaseInteractable

Attach Transform — a frequently ignored detail. Each Interactable must have a properly configured Attach Transform (the point where the hand 'attaches'). Without it, the pistol grip will be at the center of the mesh, not where it is held.

For weapons and tools with two‑handed grab — a separate TwoHandGrab system: leading hand determines position, the second — orientation. XR Interaction Toolkit supports this via XRTwoHandGrabInteractable or custom logic with two Attach Points.

Throw (throwing)

Velocity smoothing is critical for realistic throwing because the Rigidbody.velocity at the moment of controller release reflects instantaneous speed, often incorrect due to tracking discretization. The user makes a quick wrist movement — but the object flies half as fast.

Solution: velocity smoothing over the last N frames (typically 5–10 frames, ~80–160 ms at 60 Hz) before release. XR Interaction Toolkit does this via VelocityEstimator. Additionally, we apply a velocity scaling multiplier — a small speed increase (1.2–1.5×) makes throws subjectively more satisfying. Angular velocity (for objects that should spin in flight) is also averaged similarly.

AR: Plane Tracking and Environment Interaction

AR adds a different class of problems — working with real, unpredictable environment. AR Foundation — a cross‑platform layer on top of ARKit and ARCore. Most basic features (plane detection, raycasting, image tracking, face tracking) are available through a unified API.

Plane Detection

ARPlaneManager detects horizontal and vertical planes. Practical nuances:

• Initialization takes time — the user must look around the room while the system builds a map. An explicit onboarding with instruction 'slowly move the camera across surfaces' is needed.
• Planes are unstable — their boundaries and position are updated as data accumulates. Objects placed on a plane need to be attached via parent to ARPlane, not to world coordinates.
• Plane merging — two detected floor segments may merge into one, moving the anchor. For critical anchors, use ARAnchor instead of direct attachment to the plane.

Image tracking (via ARTrackedImageManager) quality directly depends on the quality of reference images. Images with high detail frequency and contrasting edges (like a QR code but stylish) track more reliably than smooth logos. ARCore Geospatial API — for outdoor AR with real‑world coordinate binding (accuracy up to 10 cm in well‑mapped areas).

Optimization for VR: Frame Rate and Comfort

VR requires stable high frame rate. About 60% of development time in mobile VR goes to optimization, not functionality — retrofit costs twice as much as proper architecture from the first sprint.

Single Pass Instanced Rendering

The main render optimization in VR. Without it, the scene is rendered twice (once per eye), doubling draw calls. Single Pass Instanced renders both eyes in one pass via instancing: geometry is processed once, the shader gets two view/projection matrices through GPU instancing. Enabled in Unity via XR Plug-in Management > Rendering Mode: Single Pass Instanced. Important: custom shaders must support SPI — standard URP/HDRP shaders support it, custom HLSL requires modifications (UNITY_SETUP_STEREO_EYE_INDEX_POST_VERTEX and related macros). Applying this technique reduces draw calls by 40–50%, making it twice as efficient as naive double rendering.

Foveated Rendering

On Meta Quest, Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR) is available — reducing resolution at the periphery where visual acuity is lower. Configured via OVRManager or Meta XR SDK:

OVRManager.fixedFoveatedRenderingLevel = OVRManager.FixedFoveatedRenderingLevel.High;
OVRManager.useDynamicFixedFoveatedRendering = true;

Dynamic FFR automatically increases the level when frame rate drops — more convenient than fixed in scenes with variable load.

IPD and Comfort Settings

IPD (Inter‑Pupillary Distance) — affects depth perception. At the programmable level on most devices, only reading IPD is available (OVRPlugin.GetSystemDisplayFrequency), physical adjustment is on the headset. For applications requiring precise positioning (medical simulators, training), we account for IPD in scene scale calculations.

Haptics

Haptic feedback — an underestimated tool. Even a simple vibration response when grabbing an object or hitting significantly increases the sense of presence. On average, integrating haptic patterns takes 30–80 hours per project.

XR Haptics via OpenXR:

var hapticImpulse = new UnityEngine.XR.HapticCapabilities();
InputDevice device = InputDevices.GetDeviceAtXRNode(XRNode.RightHand);
device.SendHapticImpulse(0, amplitude: 0.5f, duration: 0.1f);

For complex patterns (tactile 'texture' of a surface when touched, increasing vibration when drawing a bowstring) we use Meta Haptics Studio — allows designing haptic clips visually. This can reduce time spent on manual haptic tuning by about 30%.

What does VR/AR application development include?

When ordering a turnkey project, we provide the following deliverables:

• Architectural document with stack description, render logic, and interaction system
• Working prototype (MVP) for testing on target device
• Integration of necessary SDKs (Meta XR, OpenXR, AR Foundation, etc.)
• Optimization for target frequencies 72/90/120 Hz with draw call and FPS profiling
• Testing on physical hardware (Quest, SteamVR, HoloLens) with user involvement
• Full documentation for build, deployment, and support
• Training for the client's team (workshop on XR Toolkit)
• Warranty support for 1 month after delivery

What affects cost and timeline?

VR/AR projects are more expensive than regular games of similar scope. Iterations are slower — each fix must be tested in the headset, an emulator does not convey the real experience. Motion sickness forces reworking some conceptual decisions after the first playtest. Optimization takes a significant portion of time — for mobile VR (Quest) up to 60–70% of the cycle. For Quest projects, we start optimization from the first sprint. The cost of basic SDK integration (XR Interaction Toolkit) varies depending on the scope of custom Interactable. Typical budgets for a full Quest project range from $25,000 to $80,000 depending on complexity, number of custom interactions, and depth of optimization. Proper architectural planning from sprint one typically saves 40% on later rework compared to fixing performance bottlenecks retroactively.

Get a consultation on your project — we will assess the task, stack, and timelines. Order turnkey VR/AR application development with a guaranteed stable frame rate.