VRChat gets clogged by dreaming furries attending Furality Somna

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As the sleepers awakened from their slumber in early June, a total virtual attendance count of 26,405 and a total of $109,000 was raised for the returning charity, The Center of Orlando Florida, at the 2025 virtual gathering of Furality. The sleep in the ninth iteration of the gathering was not always an easy one, with a VR Chat system outage during Saturday’s peak times. But in relation to the prior year’s experience, things actually went much smoother for the event itself. It continues to be a wonderful experience for people who like to explore new worlds, and the revel creation of their fellow eccentric dreamers.

This year we’ll go over the worlds and environment and their purposes, and other general thoughts now that I have been to two and can see the foundation and standard layout. Preliminary thoughts about Virtual conventions in general and their comparisons to real world gatherings can be found in last year’s Umbra review found at this link which remain generally unchanged in this passing year.

The Ethereal World

The explore screen on the events page gives an element of what each world within Somna represents. Similar to the prior year, there are a handful of worlds to explore that each have their purposes for the convention. Since this appears to be the standard format for Furality it will be of use going over each of them, their purpose, and how these areas presented in this year’s dream based affair.

Meetup

The primary usage of the “meetup” worlds are for general meet and greet style functions where conversation with peers is the primary focus. In this world there is no central performance occurring, so there isn’t a necessity to try to worry about interrupting other’s experiences by engaging with one another.

This year took place amongst floating chess pieces, the theme of this area is that of the board games found on the table in the explore site, where sure enough the text for link to the Meetup instances resided. There is plenty to explore. You can jump across checker pieces to other platforms, but this is not a platformer, the jumps are not too challenging and if you miss you will be popped back to where you fell from, not back to the respawn point, which is usually the standard behavior in most VRChat worlds. But if you don’t feel like jumping to your private rook top, you can just hang out in the main foyer within the central piece with plenty of room for dozens of folks to dwell.

Or if you’re in the mood for an actual board game, your group could have stumbled on one on the floor in one of the hideaways which seems to be a play on chutes [or snakes] and ladders. This version seemed to utilize clouds and balloons instead. I’m going to guess not too many furries played it, as it is a very passive board game for what nerds in the fandom are used to. Have you ever heard of one with animal characters called Root? Turns out it’s quite a beast of a board game.

I will say there is an element of this version of the classic game that does have me scratching my head. There are spaces that have food on it, which doesn’t seem random to me, so I’m not sure if it’s a lose a turn, or take another turn space?

The space at the beginning says a word in the exotic-scripted alphabet, yet English language text called Somnatus. The ‘cipher’ to translate the exotic script to our vanilla Latin based alphabet can be found in the back rooms of the Main Events world. But even if you didn’t find that the second letter and the last being the same along with it being five letters long indicates it translates to “Start” given the context. There are many lore items and signs around the world that use Somnatus, and you could probably have spent the weekend doing that kind of translation if you desired to.

Main Events

The main events this year took place upon the bookshelf in the dreamer’s room of the explore webpage. That being the “case”, the main stage is silhouetted by stacks of tomes reaching the sky. But the true question is clearly whether the dreamer actually read them or are they just for show?

While the main focus was the stage where the performances like last year would be projected, this area was much more expansive and not a condensed cantina. In fact there was an entire back area that had the previously mentioned cypher, but also furnishings and a grand foyer. I really wonder how many even realized there was such an expansive back room.

There were some curiosities in the set up. A rogue pillow on one of the couches had collision enabled which would cause some issues with people laying down or sitting on that end of the couch. And there was a large opera box seat (or loge) that gave a large overview of the stage and viewing area, but the loge itself was uncharacteristically barren with no furniture or decoration.

The facade of the building, stages, and pathway to the affair in contrast were highly detailed and memorable. And given it seems to be that the main stage is the world that typically does not survive into being utilized in revisits, it will definitely be one I think back on fondly, despite the quirky pillow.

Club FYNN

This takes place in a bird fountain. But you’re basically the size of a waterbug so you may not even realize that is what it’s supposed to be. Once again, this is pointed out by the explore map, but also the water on the dance floor that pools around your ankles. You are also not alone as a large peacock-like bird has taken homage at the edge of the stage, its plumage spreading across the dark sky with video streaming and light dancing from the feathers. And in front of the bird stands the DJ, who has taken control of the bird to use it as their playing platform for these weird furry insects.

The dark side of FurAffinity interpretation of this dream aside, this simple club layout made for a better experience than last year’s version of the club in almost every way. You start out with the ability to customize what effects you want to see. Don’t like quick pulsing lights? You can turn those off. Also, there is an element of accessibility where you can enter the world with the options of “720p, 1440p, or Audio Only”. This impacts the music and the show, not really the world itself. Lowering the video pixels can improve performance, and if your system or internet really is not capable of getting it done you can do audio only.

The lounge areas also had an overview of the dance floor, instead of being far away on the opposite side of a long treacherous walkway like the Umbra version. If you do happen to fall off the fountain though, like with the Meetup area, you will be instantly put back to the point you last touched the ground to minimize punishment.

There was also a hidden scavenger hunt game. All around the club were glow sticks. On tables, on the bars, and maybe one pair on the floor itself. If you get a group together you can go around and collect the sticks to put them on the dance floor, making you feel like a part of club logistics. If you can’t dance, may as well help those that can. Rumor had it that one of the sticks was more lethal than the other and had collision with itself so you could smack yourself off the platform if you’re clumsy with it. Wasn’t able to confirm that though.

Given the improvement and optimization, my computer could handle the 35 - 70 size instances with minimal drops, this ended up being my downtime zone during Somna. And thankfully with the hours I’ve put into Beat Saber I felt my ability to keep up with movements was better, and I could actually last entire sets. I also learned I like the Genrefluid genre, which usually mixes well known songs together in new ways, like two songs being mixed to make something familiar, yet new. The familiarity gives you the ability to guess where the song is going, and when you guess correctly it feels great.

Being active and present in this place also helped in that I ran into a handful of folks I wouldn’t have while dancing and getting some exercise in. So unlike last year where I actually hung out in the lobby as my primary downtime area, this club ended up being the place I would go between events.

Dealer’s Den

The dealer’s dent this year took place on a handful of floating islands, or so that would seem. It turned out these islands were actually on a bunched up rug in the middle of the bedroom’s floor that had an incomplete train set on it. Likewise, when you first enter the world you would find yourself at a train station. Taking this train would have you fly through a sweeping open cinematic where you could see the large market space from the clouds.

This was likely to be the first experience most attendees saw of the convention, given that the Dealer’s Den was the first instance to be shared this year, a lesson learned from the prior Umbra that had opened their Den during the weekend and crashed under the load of pent up demand. I think opening early also worked in the conventions favor as trial avatars with Somna theming were available for people so they could get in theme before the start of the convention instead of finding something in the middle of the festivities.

There were nine pavilion hubs of three categories to explore. The observant would have realized that the color of the water in the central fountain would indicate what category you were in, just in case you forgot what you selected earlier. Gold for Avatar Bases, blue for Avatar customization, and magenta for the miscellaneous art, music, and services. The magenta color for the last category did leave me a bit confused as the iconography of the tying on the teleport board was green, and it was the only one of three where the iconography and water were different. And in that vein, for those that are colorblind, the iconography of the section could be found between each booth on a small plaque as well.

Compared to last year, the ease of navigation, being able to label flag favorites to revisit later, and the overall semi-circular logistical flow made it so much easier to go browsing and find things of interest than last year’s more boxy bazaar.

The Lobby

This area is typically the area you’re supposed to use for down time to hang out with friends. As noted in an earlier section though, I didn’t utilize it as such this year. Therefore the coverage of this one isn’t going to be as extensive as the other areas, or even last year’s lobby.

The irony here is that I believe the creators of Somna designed the Lobby as the assumed first place you would go. This is because when you arrive you go through an interactive opener where you open a door to your bedroom and fall asleep. When you awaken, you’re on your bed but like the other places in Somna, you’re now small and upon your bed is now a sprawling courtyard and castle.

There are a lot of details to take in, some of which are removed from the Firework version (which we’ll go over later). One of the big secrets for this year was that if you were to platform and tightrope walk up to the top castle dome you could find a room full of singing Beejis (not sure how it was spelled). No, not the Disco band, the creatures of Somna that kind of look to have a consistency of marshmallow peeps.

Furry dreams causes VRChat to go comatose

On Saturday night, as the Showcase presented on the Main Stage moved forward to JT’s live performance at 10PM EDT, the dream became a nightmare. The VRChat program had started to have several issues that prevented user actions. People could not change worlds and avatar switching was also having issues. One person in the world I was in tried changing from the bird-like avali back to being a kobold and ended up in some strange state where the colors flushed out and the avali became transfixed in a rubber chicken like stature. This was not just an issue with Somna, this was a VRChat wide issue, so even normal users not at the festivities were impacted by the breakdown.

JT’s performance was ironically not interrupted by this, so anyone who had remained in the Main Stage after the Showcase and stayed for his performance were spared. The live nature of the performance was absolutely brought to bare as he echoed the announcement of the technical failings. Laughing nervously as the playful blames of him causing the issue slid in.

As friends had leaked out of the private party I had attended during this event just when the world looked like it was just getting back on its feet, I opted to stay put. Instability in these situations is like a T-Rex from the movies. It won’t get you if you don’t move. So I found myself and only one other friend, who fittingly went by the name Lucid, remaining. We joked about the apocalypse that had left us to remain isolated in the dreamscape, until they also had to go to actual bed, allowing me to get one last look at the empty server before taking a breath, and failing to teleport to another instance, being taken by the apocalypse on a frozen white load screen.

This was the only really major issue this year, compared to a handful from last year (Umbra) which had included traffic issues around the eclipse event, and also the Dealer’s Den breaking down after it opened up on Saturday.

Given the issues of Umbra were more API and technical issues with Furality and not VRChat, and this year’s issue was more that VRChat couldn’t handle the load, this is very much a show of improvement for the staff and technical direction of the convention. Apologies to the non-furry VRChat users for busting your Saturday night plans.

Fortunately Sunday and beyond went a lot better.

Reality of Hope Review

[Section contains a spoiler, skip section if wish to watch first]

The documentary primered on the Main Stage, and is set to be released this month.
The sign of a true craftsperson is to convey a story in a short amount of time, and in that short time allowing the viewer to connect with the subject’s trials through difficult times. The panel was an hour long, but the video was only half of that with the end being a Q&A session, to which one of the questions was astutely, “How do you clean tears from a VR headset?”

The part that had impacted me the most was when Hiyu had finished a particular dialysis session. It’s a real world scene, and Hiyu gave a long stare at the machine before Photographotter, in the room with them, said the number zero. At the presence of that mere number, Hiyu’s human face contorted as if a wall of grief, fear, and hardship cracked and released a joyous relief of a long and arduous chapter ending. The inner strength no longer needed, cascaded to the outside through those tears. Months of spending several hours on regular intervals and the impact it had on Hiyu’s life could be felt in that moment. The number zero was a call back to the fact that the otter was keeping track of three numbers, and that number he said was the indication that this session was the last dialysis prior to their kidney donation surgery.

The blend of cinematography in both the virtual spaces and real world spaces is quite impressive, and the joining of those forces to make this film is just as incredible as someone having a friend through virtual spaces willing to give them a kidney halfway across the globe.

Also, in some way I can’t put my finger on, this story about a person giving one of their two kidneys to save a friend reminded me that I had not yet given out my buddy pass, and so best to give it away before it goes to waste without being used.

Firework show

As previously mentioned I didn’t get much use of the Lobby area this year. However, the firework show took place in the bed, as signaled by the poster of fireworks over the headboard in the explore window. Like last year this was held at the bottom of the hour every hour from Sunday evening and throughout Monday, extensions put in as an apology for the Saturday night situation.

Similar to last year this was very well choreographed and put together. However, unlike last year there was very much a major reason that you may want to experience the show more than once, because you have a lot more freedom of movement in Sombra that you did not in Umbra. You could even move about the lobby during the show itself. This freedom of movement makes reviewing the show much more complicated. So I would highlight three main vantage points and its impact on seeing the fireworks it had.

On the Towers

By far the most popular vantage point as many furs would gather there. It being the obvious option is obvious. These high points give you a full view of the main courtyard and castle along with seeing the fireworks in the back. If you were to search on YouTube for the Somna Fireworks show this is the view you’re going to see.

It is not without its disadvantages though, on my first viewing a previous viewer had to point out that I needed to look up and back during quieter moments as constellations began to form into the sky. In essence this experience is much more 360 than the vantage point from the towers easily provides. Before I realized that there were more angles to view this from and that this was the pure experience I was going to critique the show for not using some sort of light or motion to draw the eye of the audience up and away from the castle toward the constellations. However, when I later learned you had much more freedom than Umbra, it became more of a problem of the vantage point than the show itself.

The Castle and Courtyards

This vantage point has the opposite problems of the towers. The quiet moments and constellations become much stronger in focus as you can see the world from a more centralized view, but the fireworks themselves are going to be mostly obstructed by the walls and building you’re watching from. Unless you like looking straight up.

Overall it is interesting to experience once because some of the motions of lights are moving in your direction rather than away from you. It also is one of the rare situations where the fireworks and constellations actually interact with one another, but you’re going to have to be on the move to get to the best points in the zone during the show so it’s a much more active experience than the other two I’m listing.

The Blanket’s Edge

This one I don’t think would have had many finding it as I had come across it only at the very end of Furality Somna. However, I believe that it is the only other view to rival the towers and I feel it combines the best elements of the show from a different angle. The main disadvantage I would probably note is that if you like the deer consultation, you will not see it in this viewing as it is behind your back.

I did a quick recording of this one, figuring it wouldn’t be one that would have been captured. Unfortunately the audio quality isn’t great, because I didn’t have a chance to re-record.

In the theory of watching fireworks I call it like being on the lake, because of the “water” there are not a lot of plants or buildings to obstruct your view of the show. But in this dream world it gets even better because unlike water the blanket is not flat and low. Instead it curves up in a paraboloid and its highest point actually rivals the tower's furries primarily utilized at the other corner of the world.

From here you get to see the full interaction of the lights and the two constellations in front of you. You even are so close to the lights that you get to literally catch the slow shooting star as it comes back down to the horizon that you stand upon.

Like the castle you can move about to get the best angles, but unlike the castle there are no obstructions as you move around. But that I believe is also ironically the negative side to this view point. The town and its interaction with the light show is minimized, which is interesting to think of that the buildings and silhouettes have when a show like this is created, but from this angle you can see that while you get to see the lights with minimum obstruction, sometimes that obstructions adds some depth to the show.

Conclusion

The mastery and polish performed by the staff of this gathering has continued to innovate a unique experience that is well worth the cost of entry. At the end of it all, It seems like the platform that hosts it, VRChat, will need to be the one focused on continued growth in order to be able to sustain such demands during these gatherings. Given that just before the weekend VRChat had put in a long awaited marketplace for buying avatars directly on the program, it seems like they are looking to implement an economy that they may need in order to do so.

Of course, this continued success is wonderful, and doubling the donations is great. I just wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have to think about it to the point of the traumatized Mr. Incredible meme and thinking about a part of why this growth has continued. Something tells me the amount raised for an LGBTQ+ institution in Florida would not have doubled year over year had the politics in the United States have turned out different than the way it is currently moving. As many furries see the situation as dire and urgent, it will certainly inflate donations. And as furries are warned from traveling to the US during these times by folks such as Boozy Badger, using the internet as a safe means of getting together without having to take on those risks is definitely going to continue to lead to its success.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the gains made by Furality would have been made regardless of these circumstances, but in a way I just wish the need for this growth would have had a different underlying motivation. Our ancestors also went to new lands when looking to escape the cages created by those in power, but we are out of places to run from this on our planet. So perhaps this land of the virtual is some kind of promised new world of our generation. If so, with the way things are going, that growth in demand for these spaces is not going to slow anytime soon.

When I got in my car to go back to my job for the first time following the event, the FM radio turned on and began playing These Dreams by Heart. The echoes of the weekend reverberated through the vehicle as I laughed at the harsh coincidence. But, as long as furries still breathe, the dream of a world that can move beyond its childness of control over an eroding hill can hopefully one day be replaced by one more apt to sharing our creativity and friendship with one another.