Patch 3.9.8 Set Outdoor Gravity to 0.003x — All Exterior Avatars Have Been Slowly Drifting Upward Since 9:00 AM and the Sky Is Now Full of Confused Users

Patch 3.9.8 deployed at 9:00 AM EST with 18 documented changes, including what was described as 'a minor calibration to the outdoor physics engine to improve surface responsiveness.' The calibration set the gravity constant for all outdoor zones to 0.003 of the intended value. Users standing outside at the time of the patch began rising at a rate of approximately 0.4 meters per second. Within 20 minutes, the first wave of affected avatars reached cloud altitude, which in MetaCity renders as a semi-translucent fog layer at 800 meters. There are currently an estimated 140,000 avatars floating between 50 and 800 meters above the MetaCity surface. Several users have reported forming impromptu communities at altitude. One group at 600 meters has organized a volleyball match. The patch notes have not been updated.

MetaCity's physics engine maintains a gravity constant for each zone type: indoor spaces, enclosed vehicles, tunnels, and outdoor zones each have independent settings. The outdoor gravity constant has been 9.81 since the platform's launch, matching real-world physics to provide consistent movement feel across exterior environments. Patch 3.9.8, deployed at 9:00 AM, contained 18 changes. Change 11 was described in the patch notes as 'minor calibration to outdoor physics engine to improve surface responsiveness.' The calibration was intended to address a long-standing community complaint about avatar footfall feeling slightly floaty on elevated terrain. The update changed one value in the outdoor zone physics configuration. The intended new value was 9.81. The deployed value was 0.029430. Expressed as a fraction of the intended value, outdoor gravity became 0.003x. The patch deployed cleanly. All automated tests passed. All systems were marked stable.

At 9:00 AM, approximately 140,000 avatars were in exterior zones across MetaCity. All of them began rising at the same moment. The sensation, described by multiple users in real-time posts, was gradual at first — a slight reduction in the feeling of ground contact, then a visible separation from the surface, then a slow but continuous upward drift that could not be countered by any movement input. Avatars who attempted to walk accelerated upward. Avatars who jumped did not come down. By 9:20 AM, the first wave of outdoor users had reached 50 meters. By 9:45 AM, the leading edge of affected avatars was approaching the cloud layer at 800 meters. Cloud altitude in MetaCity renders as a semi-translucent fog with reduced visibility and ambient wind audio. The first users to reach it posted screenshots. The screenshots showed other users already there.

The Sky Is Full of People Who Were Just Standing Outside

MetaCity support received the first gravity-related tickets at 9:03 AM. By 9:30 AM, the volume had triggered the automated anomaly detection system, which categorized the incident as a 'physics anomaly — outdoor — widespread.' The category routes to the environment engineering team, whose on-call rotation begins at 10:00 AM. By the time the on-call engineer logged in at 10:02 AM, 140,000 avatars were airborne, spread across altitudes from 50 to 800 meters. The on-call engineer's first public post, on the MetaCity developer forum at 10:14 AM, read: 'We are aware of the outdoor gravity issue and are working on a fix. Please do not attempt to log out and back in — returning to your login position may place you at your current altitude.' This was correct. Several users had already tested this and confirmed that their login position had been recorded at whatever altitude they were at when they logged out. One user is now anchored at 412 meters.

As the fix has not yet been deployed, the floating population has begun organizing. A district-level chat for Apex District has documented at least four distinct communities forming at various altitude bands. At approximately 400 meters, a group of 200 users has established what they are calling the Mid-District, with a community board and a set of informal rules about personal space. At 600 meters, a group of 30 users organized a volleyball match using a physics-bugged ball that was also affected by the gravity change and therefore remained playable. The match has been ongoing for 90 minutes. At 800 meters, in the cloud layer, a single user identified as Sable_Mondreau has posted once: 'I can't see anything up here and it's the best.' MetaCity's patch notes have not been updated. The outdoor gravity constant remains at 0.029430.