Allspace
Voice Chat in Allspace Improvement
Voice Chat in Allspace
1) Implemented some minor performance improvements in match making server.
2) Added Voice Chat feature.
3) Change default key for target locking from T to L.
4) Added default Push to Talk key T.
5) Voice Chat volume and push to talk mode can be selected through the Audio screen in the Main Menu of Allspace.
Note: The Voice Chat feature uses the Vivox middleware, which is also used by popular games like PUBG and Fortnite. Vivox supports PC and Mac, but unfortunately not Linux yet.
Control Improvements in Allspace
1) Fixed background color on selected menu button in Controls page.
2) Refactored the default throttle control scheme for game controllers and Oculus touch controllers. Previously, the y-axis on the left analog stick was a direct analog throttle control. This meant players had to constantly hold the position on the y-axis to maintain throttle level. The new throttle design implements Throttle Up and Throttle Down actions using the left stick. So now players do not need to hold that stick. They can set their desired throttle level and then let go of that stick if they want. Note: HOTAS joystick throttle input is unchanged.
Graphics Improvements in Allspace
1) Engine level updates
2) Graphics overhaul
3) Fixed selection cursor color in pause menu
VR Improvements in Allspace
1) Reduced size of cockpit in VR.
2) Reduced size of main menu in VR.
3) Added support for analog sticks and buttons on Oculus touch controllers, so they can be used like a game controller. NOTE: There is no virtual hands support using the touch controllers, though.
4) Improved image affects, so the textures on the space stations are more detailed and less blurry.
5) Changed the ship tracking to add more realism and challenge during dogfights. The tracking UI no longer shows the player where enemies are behind them. The tracking UI is now only shown when an enemy is in front of the player. This change also reduces visual clutter when lots of people are playing.
6) Refactored the cockpit camera to eliminate jitters in cockpit model.
7) Improved weapon visuals.
8) Improved engine visuals on enemy ships.
9) Improved damage visuals when receiving damage from weapons and/or collisions.
Allspace - Full Release
Allspace - Full Release
Allspace is now officially moving from Early Access to Full Release on Steam! Allspace is a multiplayer first person space pilot game where up to 100 pilots blast each other with lasers, plasma, and missiles.
I released Allspace on Steam Early Access in January 2019. My main goal for Early Access was to get feedback that I could use to improve Allspace. Along the way, I have received a lot of useful feedback, and I have had a lot of fun getting play Allspace with other players around the world.
Thank you for the Feedback
I want to thank everybody for their feedback. Thank you for both the positive and negative feedback. I read every forum post, read every email, and watched every video in order to absorb all of the amazing feedback that all of you have shared regarding Allspace. I have tried to incorporate as many of those idea as I could as quickly as possible during Early Access.
I built Allspace on top of my Disputed Space game that I released on Steam in 2017. I developed a custom network stack from scratch on top of raw sockets specifically for Allspace, and I developed scalable game servers and match making servers from scratch specifically for Allspace.
I posted 46 different builds of Allspace to Steam during Early Access in response to all of the valuable feedback I received. Each of these builds was created for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
During Early Access, many features were added or improved, including:
- Added FOV options
- Improved HUD
- Improved menus
- Improved network code
- Added an Event System to try to encourage players to play at the same time
- Added VR (virtual reality) support
- Added headlook option for non-VR users as well
- Improved code throughout my framework to achieve zero memory garbage collection per frame across entire project
- Made various improvements specially to improve performance on low end computer hardware
- Added networked Bot support
- Fixed many bugs
The current build of Allspace is much more enjoyable to play than the build I originally posted to Early Access back in January, and that is the direct result of all of the fantastic feedback. Thank you again for that feedback.
Price
In addition to feedback about the game itself, I received feedback regarding the pricing. My original plan was going to be giving away Allspace as Free to Play, and then selling DLC to generate revenue. After discussing this with many players, it was obvious that players wanted me to sell Allspace for a flat price and not have any DLC. Players did not want a Free to Play business model, so I changed Allspace to a simple, low priced paid game on October 14, 2019 on Steam. Also, any players who downloaded Allspace for free prior to that date can still play Allspace for free. Thanks for the feedback, and enjoy the game.
Future Plans
I plan to continue releasing updates to Allspace, but not at the pace I was releasing updates during Early Access. These additional updates will include bug fixes and possibly some additional features.
In addition to some more updates to Allspace, I am always excited to build new games. I have written notes new game ideas throughout the past few years, and I am planning to prototype some of those ideas and see what plays the best. I plan to build small prototypes and post some videos to the ShilohGames YouTube channel in the near future to get some initial feedback on those new game ideas.
Allspace Price Change on October 14, 2019
This pricing change is in response to player requests. A lot of people asked me to switch to a simple one-time payment model instead of a less straight forward Free to Play model.
More Bug Fixes for Bots in Allspace
Bug Fixes for Bots in Allspace
Bots in Allspace
1) Added Bots.
2) Improved joystick support.
3) Switched all geo-zones to play in USA server group.
4) Engine level improvements for general stability.
5) Corrected some VR specific launch flags for VR support on Steam.