And all to the tune of Eye of the Tiger. [previewyoutube="btPJPFnesV4;full"] That tangent aside, this is a fun patch. Simply cause we’ve added a really nice new feature. Along with some other fixes.
This patch includes:
A New Player Ability: Stomp
Key remapping for Smooth Locomotion,
Holster bugs sorted plus UI and UX clean-up,
UI Updates - Instruction Images in the Controls Menu, and
Art Improvements to the maps.
Stomp
Giants stomp. They’re big. They’re heavy. And they make an impact. That’s why anytime you teleport now you’ll be stomping your way around the world. We’ll be building out this ability more in the future, we’re aiming to make it feel more impactful. At the moment you’ll squash a single enemy, and leave a very nice impression on the world.
For those using smooth locomotion, don’t worry you aren’t being left out of the stomping fun. You’ll still have your preferred method of movement. We’ve just added another button for you to utilize. So if you’re using the Oculus Touch, or Valve Index then Stomp aka Teleport has been added to the top button on your turning hand. For the Vive Cosmos Controllers it’s the bottom button on your turning hand. With the Vive Wand it’s up on the touchpad on your turning hand.
With the stomp you’ll get some nice effects on the ground to show where you’ve put your foot down. There’s also a beautifully appropriate sound effect that goes with it. And of course you get to squash one enemy for free. Does this hint at possible upgrades? Maybe, giants do tend to have two feet after all.
Does it need to be said that any flying creature cannot be stepped upon? You’re big, just not that big. So you’ll have to wait for any dragons to land before you can try your foot at smooshing them.
Key Remapping
It’s a simple thing and something we’re continually working on - letting you play your way. If you’re not comfortable in VR then you’re not going to play. So we’ve enabled controller remapping for Smooth Locomotion. That way anyone who wants to play with a Southpaw setup can.
Holsters
There were some minor bugs with the holsters but those have been fixed. Go figure. In addition, we’ve improved the user interface and experience for making the holsters comfortable. These improvements include additional audio cues when retrieving the club from the holster and placing it back in.
UI Updates
For further clarity, images have been added to the Controls Menu section. They help players new to VR understand the different modes of movement and turning. Once you’re in the game you’ll see what we mean.
Art Improvements
We’re not exactly throwing shade here. But we are putting in shadows. Though they’re not the traditional kind, generated by light. They’re there simply to make the world more realistic and engaging.
All in all we’re quite pleased with this patch and what it adds. You can expect the next one in time for the Steam Summer Sale, unless we have to release a hotfix or two before then. As always, we have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.
Patch 00.04.01
Who ever said that game development was easy? But that's why we're in Early Access, so that we have some leeway when it comes to the introduction of minor bugs like this.
In Patch 00.04.00 we introduced a couple of bugs related to the Club. That magic weapon we've gifted you with. And we've managed to resolve one of them in this patch.
So what's Solved:
The Club falls through the world, sometimes.
Now it doesn't do that at all. Yeah for consistency and physics emulating the real world.
What still needs to be solved:
The club is immediately available even though it is recharging, and
The right hip holster has some trouble, sometimes.
We're working on them and will get a fix out as soon as possible.
Until then, do something nice for your mothers. It is Mother's Day this weekend.
Things keep getting better and better, so much so that we can say you’ll have to holster your enthusiasm.
Well actually it’s more about clubbing. But we’ll get to that in a moment. Before we ramble on, it’s time for what the cool kids call TL;DR. Or as we call it, just the important bits with none of the fluff. We do love our fluff though.
This patch includes:
Hip and Shoulder Holsters and relevant UI
Grabbing Improvements
Art improvements to Ragged Shore and The Cauldron
UI Fixes
A Quicksand Fix
Holsters
We’ve added more holsters for your club. Now you can slot it on either hip or either shoulder. Because the Club is a magical weapon, in the vein of Mjolnir, it returns to you when you throw it or when it breaks. But because your hands might be busy at that moment it returns to your holster.
Smart, right? Well it gets smarter. The club can either return to the same holster every time. Or it can return to the holster you last put it in. And that’s up to you. We’ve updated the UI to reflect these changes so be sure to go explore and figure out what works best for you.
We’ve also made the hip holsters adjustable, since we know everyone’s a different size and shape. So you can change the width and height of the holsters to make sure they sit comfortably for you. All this means you can go full Geralt on those goblins or rock a more Han Solo style with your club slung low.
If we were to have a motto it’d probably be, “Play It Your Way”.
Grabbing
We’ve been honing the grabbing, so it’s not as reliant on what we call Reach. Reach is that beam that highlights anything you can pick up in game. It’s been a bit troublesome when it comes to using the holsters and grabbing the club. So when now all you have to do is simply put your hand in the area where you expect the club to be and you’ll grab it when you press a button.
Art Improvements
Both maps have seen some lovely visual updates. Plateaus are topped better with grass. There are patches of grass that appear throughout Ragged Shore. In both cases we’ve also improved our decal blending.
Other Stuff
Along with all of the above we’ve done some minor UI changes to improve the flow. We’ve also sorted an issue with what we call Quicksand. That’s the stuff near the exit portals that prevents you from just piling up trees and rocks to keep the enemies from escaping with all your gold.
We have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.
Patch 0.03.00
We had more planned for today, but we’re letting it bake.
More maps, more maps, everyone wants more maps! Not just you, but so do we. That said we want them to be good maps. It’s a matter of quality over quantity. So while we had originally planned for the third map to be out today, we’re holding it back to make it just that little bit better.
Still we have some nice fixes for you including:
New Wave Balance,
Updated Quest Select UI,
Two Hand Indicator,
Teleport Collide Bug,
Particle Effects Appearing When Blinded Bug,
Grabbed Tree Thump Bug, and
Grab Beam Deactivated Only on Teleporting Hand.
We’re good. Some would even say very good at playing A Giant Problem. But we’re the developers. And that in itself is an issue. So while we know what to do, and how to do it we’ve noticed that new players are struggling to get past the first couple of waves. So we’ve softened the wave balance. Meaning players should have an easier time and should be able to proceed further in the game.
There are a number of small UI changes. For example, in the Quest Select menu you’ll get more information about which map is and isn’t available, what that map looks like, and more. There are more UI fixes coming, but we just wanted to get these out.
Did you know that you can pick up boulders? And that they take two hands? Well, now the game will provide an indicator for just such a thing. Why? Cause you’re a freaking giant. And picking up boulders to drop them on passing goblins is fun.
When we’re not squashing goblins we are squashing bugs. And this patch includes fixes for a number of bugs. Some you may have encountered, others you may have not. Regardless we’re hunting all of them. And this round we quashed a bug with the teleporter, being blinded and yet seeing particle effects, and even an audio bug when you picked up trees. Did you know you can pick up trees?
Other than that we made it so when activating the teleport feature, the hand you’re using to teleport cannot also grab something new. Your other hand will still work as normal. And if you have something in your hands when you teleport you won’t drop it.
We have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.
Patch 0.02.00
What a week eh? Well at least we’ve got some updates and fixes for you!
First and foremost, if you’re playing A Giant Problem on the Valve Index using the Knuckle Controllers we recognize that things are not finely tuned. Due to Covid-19 we have not had access to that headset and controllers. We’re working to remedy that so we can fully support them as well. If you are playing and using them, please be sure to give us feedback either on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.
This being our first patch, is a minor one. But it does have some nice quality of life features.
This update includes:
Smooth Locomotion and Smooth Turning,
UI Updates for the aforementioned controls, and
Updated Trees on The Cauldron.
Smooth Locomotion and Smooth Turning are now possible. So feel free to run yourself ragged. We would love some feedback on the speed of each. And of course, if you’d like to be able to tune the speed of those.
These new options means you need a way to activate them. Which means an update to the menus. Both the movement controls can be found in the Settings Menu.
We have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.
We Launched, Now What
Look at the road map and you’ll get a great idea! TL;DR - We’ve got new stuff coming every two weeks!
Okay it’s not laid out much like an actual map but it sure is pretty. And we do have some very specific goals in mind. Everything we’ve laid out we know is achievable. And this year. Some of this will even come this week.
Why? Because we’re committed to sizable content drops every two weeks. That’s in part because of what we’ve already got in the works. But also because of the need for playtesting to fine tune much of what we’re doing. And because we want to thank you for your belief in us, A Giant Problem and making this game even better.
If you’ve watched our livestreams then you’ll have seen our allies in action. The Gnome and the Hedgehog do great things, and they’re fantastic additions to the game. But we didn’t want to just throw them into the game without them being a choice, an impact on how you play the game. Hence the need for the dispensers.
A large part of what we have coming is about expanding your abilities as a player and giant. That’s why the allies aren’t in immediately. They’re troops for you to deploy. That’s why we’re bringing you a stomp and smash ability. It’s also why we’re working on a third type of magic. And of course the repair hammer, to keep those defenses going.
What would a fantasy game be without fantastic environments? That’s why we’ve got more maps in the works! They’re going to bring new challenges and effects. We’re also adding what we call the Firing Range, where you’ll be able to practice your skills and get to grips (literally and figuratively) with all this game has to offer before jumping in and testing your mettle.
Then there’s the cosmetics. We’re already launching with a skin tone selector, since anyone can be a giant. But we want to offer you more ways to personalize your giant. And what better way than to show off your smashing ability with your smashing good looks by donning the gauntlets, helmet and weapons of your choosing.
Critical Charm is dedicated to making our games as accessible and approachable as possible. It’s why we’re working hard to include as many accessibility features as we can. Though by its very nature VR can be quite exclusionary. But we’re doing what we can to mitigate that and will continue to try to improve A Giant Problem for all.
We’ve got a lot in store for this game. So we hope you join us on this journey cause we’re going to smash, bash and mash a whole lot of stuff. Mainly goblins though.
We're Gonna Make Fools of Everyone
We’re going into Early Access on April 1, 2020!
We here at Critical Charm are excited to finally share with you all that we’ve been working on, not so secretly, over the past year. A Giant Problem is officially launching in Early Access on Steam on April 1, 2020. And you’re invited to play the game!
A Giant Problem is a first person VR action game that sees you step into the very big shoes of a giant, tasked with defending a fairytale village from invaders. Goblins, trolls and more intent on stealing all your gold! You get to smash, bash and mash your way through hordes of enemies with a variety of weapons, objects, and magic. Anything or anyone you can get your hands on is a weapon.
Face off against endless hordes of enemies as they sneak, run, and fly in to get your gold, trash your town and hurt your friends! Wade into the invaders or toss boulders and trees at them from afar. Control the battle with defenses, allied troops and magic! Fight them off your way!
[previewyoutube="Yh1GcBR98ys;full"]
The game will work with any HTC Vive series, Oculus Rift, or Valve Index headset and controllers. We’ve also included a second streamable camera that can be controlled with the mouse and keyboard to improve the viewing experience for all, whether your audience is local or online. The minimum requirements for the game are those for using the Oculus Rift, so any system that can play VR should be able to play A Giant Problem.
Early Access was an easy decision for us, given our focus on community. We want A Giant Problem to be a game that reflects players’ desires, honed by our vision and skill. We’ll be sharing our roadmap for development shortly, but some elements we have planned to include:
Four to six new maps,
Additional enemies,
A third type of magic,
Party Mode,
Character customization,
And more!
A Giant Problem will be available on Steam Early Access. The game will also be for sale through Humble Bundle and Itch.io. We plan on also launching the game on Oculus and Viveport in the coming months. During Early Access, A Giant Problem will be available at a discounted price as a thanks to early adopters. And for media and influencers we’ll be sending out keys nearer to Early Access launch.
Home. We all went home. As a preventative measure with regards to Covid-19.
Asides from washing our hands regularly and providing sick leave we’re taking the precaution of having everyone work from home. We’ve always tried to make distance work possible, and this time is really going to put this to the test. Especially as we near Early Access.
Nothing should be delayed on your end. It’s made it a bit of a mad dash on our end. But even then we’re trying to avoid crunch as much as possible. After all, what good would it be to prioritize people’s health only in the event of a pandemic and not all the time. But we can promise in the next week we’ll have more news regarding A Giant Problem.
Until then be sure to stay safe, stay clean by washing with soap and water, and stay tuned for more news from us. If you haven’t already then wishlist A Giant Problem on Steam.
We Have A Lot To Say
About culture and leadership! Especially since our CEO was interviewed for an article and our Chief Storyteller was on a podcast.
We’re apparently an interesting bunch, and not just cause we’re a charming lot. So much so that someone from Creative Finland took the time to write about us. They sat down with Marjo and interviewed her about being a CEO of a VR and gaming startup.
Marjo discussed becoming an entrepreneur, what it takes to form a solid team, planning for the future and more. Why spoil the story, when you can read it here: Becoming a Giant in the VR World. There’s also a Finnish version available here. You can also see some photos of our team in action.
At the same time Greg was on the Inter: Views podcast, hosted by Laurent Notin. He spoke about his experience becoming an entrepreneur and how he came to meet Marjo and the rest of the team, among other things. This too is one of those things we’re not going to spoil.
If you want to speak with any of the team be sure to drop us a line. Our Art Director Minna can regal with her insights into the true crime genre of podcasts, archery, and what it takes to make all the art for a VR game. Our CTO Zach can talk endlessly about amateur theater, creating mods for Minecraft, and working in game development. Our Game Programmer Patrick can inform you of the minutiae of Finnish metal bands and how they are classified by genre, walk you through just about any open world game, and tell you what it’s like going from university straight to being an entrepreneur. And of course our Game Programmer Rasmus can talk endlessly about DOTA 2, his forays into cooking, and being the youngest member of a game studio.
We’ve got some exciting news in the works. But we can’t share it just yet. So in the mean time be sure to wishlist A Giant Problem on Steam!
An AWE-some Nite Awaits
We’ll be at AWE Nite Helsinki! So why not come join us… and maybe play the game!
Our very own CEO Marjo Sutinen will be at Arcade 5 to demo the game to the crowd and talk about its development. So if you’ve been on the fence about the game and want a better understanding of it. There’s no better time to get a look! So join us on March 5, 2020 at Arcade 5!
The whole night will be about XR gaming so you’ll also get to see what some of our friends are up to, like HipFire Games. It’ll be a Blast that’s out of this World. So don’t Fail to register as Space is limited.
See we can make puns with the names of other games too.
The night is sponsored by Helsinki Games Capital, Nordic XR Startups, Immersal, and Grib. Which means there'll be food and drinks!
Helsinki Games Capital is a non-profit association that supports the capital area game industry's community, operations and culture. With the goal of having as wide representation as possible of all the different organizations around the capital area ecosystem. https://helsinkigamescapital.fi/
Nordic XR Startups is a pre-seed investor and VR/AR accelerator based in Helsinki with a mission to contribute to and improve the competitiveness of the Nordic VR/AR ecosystem and accelerate the growth of their investment portfolio companies. http://nordicxrstartups.com/
Immersal develops its AR Cloud SDK, a visual positioning and mapping solution for markerless, persistent, battery-friendly, massively multi-user AR. It can be used for enabling immersive AR experiences like indoor navigation and multi-player AR games. https://immersal.com/
Grib is the world's first 3D modeling software for Augmented Reality. You can create and design in 3D within minutes. Grib3D is for educators, kids, hobbyists, and designers to create and showcase their 3D models in AR. https://grib3d.com/
