>>321684449
>Very occasionally someone will debut in a lobby posted in the thread, but no-one will care they exist until they log in to VRchat.
This feels tautological, if by "care they exist" you mean "talk to them/about them in vrchat" or "post screenshots of their vrchat avatar". When I play in lobbies for other games, I see plenty of names go by I don't recognize, but it doesn't matter because we're just playing a game and having fun, not trying to maintain a relationship.

For hosting games in the thread in general, I recommend stepping up your shilling game. Post your webms and pictures, post strategy guides/tips, and when you shill your lobby time, do it a few days in advance, then a few hours in advance. make simple polls to decide on a time if you can host at flexibly. It may feel artificial at times, but that's just how you generate buzz on an anonymous imageboard. You're aiming to catch the 90% lurkers, not the people who are already ingrained in whatever discord/vrchat inner circle they're in. Similarly, if your game has some complicated setup or weird issues, post instructions to make downloading it and finding your lobby as retard-proof as possible.