I remember all the way back to watching the first random person play our game and watching them try to interact with the slide on the pistol and it not doing anything. After that I saw many others do something similar. It's not that I couldn't figure out how to do it because we had weapon interactions on the Shotgun and Grenade Launcher, but there were just to many bigger issues that needed to be solved before I had the time to make each weapon have interacting parts.
New Weapon Interactions With today's update all the weapons that should have interactive slides do, as well as attachable scopes which was another thing people have been asking for since the beginning.
The game is running and looking better than ever with this latest update (v1.18).
On a side note, I recently received a bHaptics vest and wrist developer kit from the bHaptics company and will be working on adding support for that soon. Thank you to djstelo and jen for making this happen!
As always thanks to everyone who has left an honest review and continues to support the game, I hope you're all doing great as can be.
Xtian
2 New Weapons & 7 New Attachable Sights
11/11/2022 (Early Access) v1.18
Player can now Grab and Interact with Slide on Weapons (VR) Player can now Grab Mag out of Backpack with Grip Buttons (VR) Player can now see Map with Use Buttons (VR) Player can now Drag Item to Hands from Inventory (Desktop)
Added New Weapon DE-357 & Mag Added New Weapon M4-5.56 & Mag
VR Players can now customize all Rotational Axes for Motion Controllers VR Players can now customize the X,Y,Z Locations of Motion Controllers
Added Physics Interaction Bullets when Hitting Physics Objects Added Screen and Light to Tutorial Messages in VR Tutorial Added Miss AutoStore Object Indicator (VR) Added Two Additional Backpack Slots
Added Force Feedback for Gamepads on Desktop Added Force Feedback Effects in Vehicles when Hitting Objects & Landing Added Force Feedback Effects for Melee Weapons
Vehicles can now knock over Trees
Increased Standard Pistol Ammo Mag to 15 Adjusted Mothership Damage based on Difficulty Setting Increased Fire Rate of all Weapons Decreased Mothership Damage Distance
Big Improvement to Performance of Dragging Inventory Items on Desktop (Client) Desktop Players can now go from Sprint straight to ADS Updated Tutorial with New VR Controls Removed Lean Toggle On
Fixed Radio Tower Rotating to far and stopping Player from Climbing Fixed Tutorial Not Saving Completion
ALIEN DAWN - Update 17
The other night I was watching my Dad play the game (he has over 200 hours in), and when he called for extraction at the Radio Tower the Extraction Point didn't appear on the Map.
I'd never seen this happen before so I thought it was a one off thing, but then someone mentioned in it in the Steam forums. Must be a bug from the last update.
Because of this we're releasing this new patch today in an attempt to fix that bug, among some fun new additions like the gigantic physics based Ferris Wheel that works in multiplayer.🔻
⚠️Moving forward I would like to put a group together to help test for bugs like the missing Extradition Point before releasing new patches. If you're interested in helping me out with this, please reach out to me on Discord and I will add you to this new testing group.
As always thank you to everyone who has left a review as well as continues to support the game.
Xtian
9/29/2022 (Early Access) v1.17
Added Virtual Keyboard for VR
Added Carnival Location to Map 1 Added Ferris Wheel Added Merry Go Round
Added dust behind Vehicles IF traveling fast enough Added more Particle FX for different Surfaces
Revised all Weapon held locations on Desktop Revised Alien Dawn Game Icon Revised Level loading image Revised Video Quality Preset names Sniper now always starts with full Mag Main Menu is now smaller and closer Idle animation now gets canceled when Inventory is Open
Removed Apartments Location
Fixed Glass breaking sound Fixed Sandbags at Mini Base Fix Trees Spawning wrong Mesh when chopped down Fixed some world meshes being deleted incorrectly from Random Location spawns
ALIEN DAWN - Update 16
Hello!
🏠 Home Screen 🏠
A focus of this update has been on revising the opening Home Level of the start of the game.
Instead of the Cabin it's now the Old Brick Mansion, and time was invested in adding higher quality models, along with more Physics and Player Interactions to this level.
There's still more to be done on the Start Scene Home Level, but it shows a step in the right direction to improving the graphics and game play interactions in the game.
🏆 Achievements 🏆
We've added Achievements to this version, with the plan for future versions to have the achievements unlock Modifiers for the various game modes. This new stat system also saves your progress to your Steam account, so your stats will now travel with you to different devices. Moving to this new stat system will reset any locally saved stats you currently have in the game.
*Working on adding Leadersboards to this soon*
🎥 A.I. Camera (Alpha) 🎥
Anyone that has been following ALIEN DAWN knows about the new type of Spectator Camera we've been developing to create movie like stories out of your game play. Previously this was only available on our official VoyagerVR server, but you can now experiment with it as a VR player on your own computer.
🔻 In addition to the updates mentioned above, here are several gifs of some new game play 🔻
Added Steam Achievements (10) Added Player Stats to Main Menu
Added New Weapon - Sniper Rifle with Scope
Enabled A.I. Camera for VR Players A.I. Camera now cuts to what the Player is shooting at A.I. Camera now cuts to NPCs or Players on Death Smoothed first person perspective of Player with A.I. Camera
Added New Sounds to Physics Objects Added New Particle FX to some Surfaces
Glass Physics Objects now Fracture when thrown Desktop Players can now Push Physics Objects VR and Desktop Video Settings now save to separate files Mothership now leaves randomly during Escape Redesigned Opening Level House Home Increased Distance Soldiers can See Player
Fixed Grabbing Mag out of Weapon with both Trigger and Grip Fixed Crates disappearing sometimes when Exploding Fixed Iron Sights on KA74
Alien Dawn - Update 15
After watching many streamers, getting feedback on the forums and reading many reviews we decided to focus on 3 things in this update.
1. Performance
Performance is the first priority when it comes to VR. One of the most difficult things to do is an open world with hundreds of thousands of individual objects, in particular with multiplayer.
Version 15 of Alien Dawn pays specific interest to optimization and should solve many of the performance issues hindering the game, in particular frame drops that happen the longer you play, and in multiplayer.
2. Gameplay
An actual tutorial has been something we've thought was important since we released the game in Early Access in October of 2021, but there were other factors that needed to be addressed first.
In addition to teaching new players the idiosyncrasies of the Alien Dawn controls, it also demonstrates SOME of the graphic fidelity we will able to achieve as we optimize the game more because the tutorial is constrained inside of a smaller world.
3. Graphics
Graphics are improved in this version, but see #1 and #2. We also did a lot general cleanup of the main menu and settings options to make things a bit easier to read and adjust.
There's a lot more we want to do for the next update, but Jes and I thought these improvements were important to release ASAP for player's familiar with and new to the game.
Xtian
THANK YOU to everyone who has taken their time to leave a review of Alien Dawn.
8/22/2022 (Early Access) v1.15
Added Tutorial for VR and Desktop Modes
Added updated version of Escape Map 2 Added Proxy Meshes to view Shacks at long distances in VR
Added Splash Screen for VR when loading new Level Added Screen Space Reflections to Weapons and other Items Added Dust Mote Particles Added TedSan Easter Egg
Melee Weapons now break when used multiple times Revised “Never Hold Items” Grip option for VR Revised Vehicle Interaction Buttons on Desktop & Gamepad Cleaned up all game menus Cleaned up many Actor Blueprints Reduced Food consumption speed Zombie Aliens now Attack even IF Alien Master is Dead
Enabled RHI Thread for improved Frame Times Resolved Tick Enabled on Multiple Components Turning Off More World Actors shut off when leaving Open World Areas for Better Performance
Fixed proxy textures on Ruined House 2 Fixed interiors for Mothership attack on Cabin 1 and House 6 Fixed Punching when still Gripping Item Fixed “Never Hold Items” Grip option IF on for Desktop
Alien Dawn | v1.14b (HotFix)
8/6/2022 (Hot Fix) v1.14b
Quest and HP Reverb G2 Bug Fixes
Alien Dawn - Update 14 | Steam Survival Fest!!!
Welcome to the Steam Survival Fest!
We've got a new update in honor of the Survival Fest that includes new content, performance enhancements, new features and 1 new mode.
The new Survival Mode is the result of us implementing a save game feature for the player and all of their inventory and vehicles. The save game feature has been requested by many people, and is also helpful to us for development. The Survival Mode also allows us to implement features that have been programmed into the game, but didn't fit into the Escape Mode, like the flyable helicopters you can find at the Radio Towers.
Our primary focus will still be making the Escape Mode the best it can be, but all improvements to the game will benefit each mode because it gives us additional options to test under. As an example, before there was ever an Escape Mode, we programmed a sample PVP mode to get some of the gameplay and multiplayer code improved. The same will go for the Survival Mode and save system. It's something new for players to do and will help us develop the game as a whole.
Speaking of the PVP Mode, it's been in the game for sometime, but now it's actually selectable from the Main Menu again. I hope people give it a try.
And finally... "We have the mini wini! A part of the American tradition, and today on the cutting edge of design and function in a Class C MotorHome... Do you believe any of that $#^T?"
Video contains strong language https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWUWPx2VeQ
I've been wanting to add a vehicle like this to the game forever, and it's super fun to drive around.
Xtian
8/1/2022 (Early Access) v1.14
+ Added new Vehicle “RV” + Added Alpha version of Save Game System with test Survival Mode + Added PVP Mode to Main Menu
+ Re-Added Semi Trucks back into Open World Map
+ Revised Loading Splash Screen + Revised Server Browser Name Hosting options
+ Fixed various Vehicles Spawns not Spawning + Fixed Scoreboard position in PVP + Fixed Helicopter door closing all the way + Fixed NPC Items going to above floor in Houses + Fixed Shack Loot Spawns
+ Performance Improvements
Update Video / v11-13 - New Free Test Demo!
Hi All!
We've got some nice updates for you today with our new devlog covering versions 11 through 13 as well as our new Free Test Demo.
We decided to release a Free Test Demo so that everyone is able to test their VR hardware to check for compatibility and performance before purchasing Alien Dawn, and confirm that their VR controller and gameplay preferences are supported.
We want anyone interested in this game to be happy with their purchase.
There are also several new updates below in today's HotFix.
6/30/2022 (HotFix) v1.13c
+ Added Free Test Demo to Store Page + Cleaned up Opening Message Screen + Fixed bug where Map 2 would not start sometimes + Fixed bug on Map 2 when loading map will now start with a black screen + Fixed Shack placements + Fixed Pitch limit on Player Camera | Desktop
Alien Dawn | v1.13b (HotFix)
Hi All,
Thank you to some of the members of our Discord community that helped point out some of these bugs in the latest update (#13).
6/25/2022 (HotFix) v1.13b
+ Turned on Async NavMesh Gathering - Big performance increase bug fix + Removed Sliding Bug | VR + Changed [HMDPluginPriority] to OpenXRHMD=40 Highest
Xtian
Alien Dawn | Update 13
Hello Everyone!
An exciting update for everyone today.
First off a big thank you to Brett Driver (Boneworks) for starring as the Resistance Commander character in Alien Dawn. He’s been fantastic to work with and we love the new voice over he’s added to the game.
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We’ve also had our main Alien Dawn logo redesigned and are very happy with the results!
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Another big update is the addition of a whole new map to play in Escape Mode! Now that we’ve added support for multiple maps, adding more areas to explore will be a much simpler process moving forward.
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Jes and I are still working on the map so it's a work in progress, but we thought it would be nice to give everyone a new environment to explore and play the Escape Mode in.
We hope you enjoy all of these new updates as well as the ones listed below! <3
Xtian
PS. Thank you to everyone who has left a review!
6/23/2022 (Early Access) v1.13
+ Added new Map for Escape Mode + Added new Voice Over for Commander by Brett Driver + Added new Logo to Store Page and Game
+ Added Never Attach Option for Grip | VR + Added Out of Body Navigation | VR + Added Auto-Store Item if Mouse is over Storage | Desktop
+ Added Proxy Mesh to Ruined Houses to see far away + Added Volumetric Fog | Desktop
+ Random Locations now align to the correct angle on Landscape
+ Re-Added NPC Attack Vehicles + Revised Vehicles Buttons for Engine and Lights + FPS Mag Reload from ground now works if Mag is at 0
+ Fixed NavMesh for NPC's in underground levels + Fixed missing tutorial video files + Fixed Lights on Random Locations + Fixed Helicopter Pilot on Client being in right place
Alien Dawn Update #12
Hi Everyone,
It was brought to our attention that there was a bug on the server side that when a client connected the server would loose their audio. This patch should address that issue and add the new features below.
Hope you enjoy and be in touch with more updates soon!
Xtian
PS. Thank you to everyone leaving your supportive messages and reviews.
6/5/2022 (Early Access) v1.12
+ Added obstacles to Mini Bases, Ammo Bases, Radio Tower & Exfil + Added Crawling Alien to Interior environments + Added Invert Mouse option + Added Music Volume option
+ FPS Hud Quick Slot Bar now flashes which type of Slots are full + Can now Reload Mag on ground if Inventory is full but Weapon needs Ammo + Opening Message now appears on Desktop + Green Health Packs now are one time use in Single Player + Apple Carts now are destructible + Increased brightness of Flashlight, Chemlight & Vehicle headlights
+ Tweaked explosion radius of explosions + Tweaked Blue Soldiers Weapon Damage and Accuracy + Tweaked Occlusion Culling (Removed)
+ Removed handles from Start Helicopter
+ Fixed Server/Host having no sound when other players connect + Fixed Controller/Hand offset for OpenXR + Fixed Map not updating while in Vehicles + Fixed darkness at night + Fixed Trees falling from Axe Hit + Fixed Bush particles when Hit by Axe or Knife + Fixed Primary Locations Spawning to far off of Map + Fixed Chemlights and Shotgun Shells now highlight when looked at + Fixed Backpack random colors + Fixed Elevators in Multiplayer + Fixed A.I. On Sight
