This is a little bit embarrassing, but after all this time, we have a huge update for AmaranTime Arena! It’s been an extremely busy year, from going to my first GDC in 2019, to taking this game to Momocon 2019, and finally presenting this game at DreamHack 2019! Just as we were collecting feedback from these events, tweaking game mechanics, and polishing up designs, the Coronavirus hit and pulled the rug a bit. Worry not, we are safe, and we were even able to work on a version of this game for the Oculus Quest, which the release date for that is TBD. This update is pretty big, we have new enemies, a new environment, a new shield mechanic, and new updates to the overall game design! We are nearing the completion of this game pretty soon, but not without a few new updates we have down the pipeline.
Thank you so much for being here, for being awesome, and for being safe. This Coronavirus straight up just sucks; we hope that this game can entertain you and your friends and family from the real world, to challenge you to move and play in ways you never knew possible, and empower you to be the true badass that you are.
Now enough of this pity party, you didn’t come here to be reminded of how much things suck, you came here to find out the latest and greatest in this robot blasting mayhem, and we are here to deliver! Feast your eyes below on what we have for AmaranTime Arena this go around!
The Technicalities:
Two New Enemies!
HB-1
This annoying robot bug will fly erratically around the map, waiting for the perfect time to swoop in and steal life energy from you. It’s small and weak, so only a few pistol shots or sword swipes will kill it!
MRTR-1
This tank like enemy is big and beefy, but slow. Don’t give it the chance to attack! It will lob a mass of dark energy at you, dealing both direct and splash damage. Avoid these mortar blasts at all costs, or destroy this enemy before it’s too late!
General Updates
Redesigned the City! Thanks Modesto for the great design here!
Teleport Disk - Players on the Oculus platform will be able to throw the disk farther.
Pistol - Ammo snaps to the chamber position much easier than before, should make reloading a snap!
Reworked how and which enemies spawn in the game, makes the waves much more varied over time!
New Shield Mechanic
Cross your arms to form a field in front of you! You can redirect where the shield faces by moving your crossed arms around. Uncross your arms to lower the shield. This shield is now a part of you throughout the whole entire game.
Time Mechanic Redux
Twist your timewatch so that the watch face is facing up. A hourglass hologram will appear, touch that to slow down time! Once used, you have to wait a certain amount of time before it is useable again.
Run In Place Redux
In order to reduce the amount of times the Run in Place system gets activated, we have decided to use a button press to help with the power activation. In order to slide forward slowly, press the forward button. To sprint, press the forward button while Running in Place.
AmaranTime 2.4 - Sword and Melee System
Today, we are releasing a new weapon to AmaranTime Arena, the Laser Sword! We wanted to explore how we can destroy robots in a different fashion than just shooting at them from afar, so we developed this new melee weapon! You can pummel enemies with the blade, and once you have charged the sword enough, you can release it’s energy into a homing missile, very similar to the rocket launcher! We are super excited to see what you guys got!
As you may have noticed in the gifs, we have also received Knuckles controllers from Valve (we’ve actually had them for a while now), and we are working on official integration. Right now, the default bindings are actually pretty good, but not perfect. We will have an official announcement on Knuckle bindings when it’s ready!
The Technicalities:
Melee System
Melee based weapons (like swords) will inflict damage on contact.
Melee based weapons can also be used to protect against some projectiles.
Laser Sword
The sword is a melee weapon. Swing at an enemy to inflict damage!
The sword has a secondary mode of attack, the laser missile. Shoot by pressing the trigger button when holding the sword.
The sword’s secondary attack can only be initiated when the sword is charged up. The sword charges up slowly over time.
The sword can also be charged by successfully attacking enemies, or by blocking projectiles.
The sword will play a supremely wimpy sound when you try to fire an uncharged laser missile.
The Laser Sword is holstered on the right side of your head.
AmaranTime 2.3 - Preliminary Windows Mixed Reality Support
Today, we are adding Windows Mixed Reality support to AmaranTime Arena! If setting up the Oculus cameras or Vive base stations makes you as tired as I am, then you will love this update! In order to accommodate the new platform, we added a new Guided Throwing mechanic. Now, when you toss an object in the general direction that you are looking, the item will land to where you were looking. This was needed because all controllers calculate velocity and acceleration forces a little differently, and in WMR it was way off than we were used to. This new mechanic should benefit the other VR platforms as well, but if not please let us know!
We’ve got a cool looking new weapon making its way into the game, that should be coming in the next weeks. The current plan is to add that weapon and hopefully a bit more before we head to GDC this March. Let us know your thoughts and happy blasting!
The Technicalities:
Windows Mixed Reality
Added colliders that match to the Windows Mixed Reality controllers
Added Guided Throwing. Essentially, when you look in a direction and toss something in the general direction, the item will be tossed to where you are looking.
Added missing controller hints to the Windows Mixed Reality controller.
Known issue: The Run In Place does not work on the WMR platform right now. A disclaimer has been added to the Menu.
Quality of Life Updates
<*>The LASR-2000 enemies attacks now have spatial audio rather than just blasting in your ears.
AmaranTime 2.2 - Rocket Launcher
In this update, we are releasing a new weapon type, the Rocket Launcher! The rocket launcher is an unlockable in the game, and is located on the left side of your head. The rocket itself homes on enemies when fired, so proper aiming is not required. Don’t fire the rocket to close to yourself though, the rocket is very dangerous and will hurt you too!
We are still working hard on new guns and enemies for this game, along with a couple of really cool features. I know there are a few issues with the rocket launcher, but I want to get this out there for everyone to check out the latest and greatest! Let us know what your thoughts are, and have a literal blast!
The Technicalities:
Rocket Launcher
Upgrade System
Quality of Life Updates
AmaranTime 2.1 - Pivots for the Better
Woah, what happened to 2.0? Apparently I forgot to do a little write-up for that update, my b. All in all, I had this really cool upgrade system where people could earn points, then spend them on upgrades in a VR menu. It was awesome, except for that no one knew how to make the menu appear, and people didn't want to learn how to do that in the middle of the battle. So in this update, I took out the upgrade menu part. Upgrades will now auto unlock as you progress through the waves, making it much easier to get players to use upgrades. I've made a bunch of other changes based off of feedback I've gotten at Momocon and Southern Fried Gaming, check it out!
Upgrade System
Upgrades are auto unlocked over time now.
Upgrade Descriptions now show as a toast that pops up in front of the player when the upgrade unlocks.
Upgrades are reset every match
Upgrades have a spawn particle system and notification sound to alert the player it’s ready
Now Some Actual Upgrades:
Enemy Tracker
Touch the Enemy Tracker to show a beam between the tracker and the enemy!
Light Shield
Hold the Shield to activate it!
Shield will block basic projectiles and lasers
Tossing the Shield will deactivate it
Other objects should be able to phase through the shield
Time Wristwatches
The old wristwatches are now unlocked after destroying the first enemy
Double Trouble
A Second Pistol is now an unlockable!
Accessibility and QOL Adjustments
Added Ammo holsters to the left and right side of the hip. No need to search the Arena for ammo now!
Made the gun chamber collider a bit bigger to allow easier reloading
You can now reload the gun when there is still ammo in the gun
The gun now draws a line to the nearest ammo when the gun has no ammo
Some Much Needed Polish
My friend Modesto has been helping me out with upgrading the look and design of AmaranTime. Here are the details:
Swapped in new more technical Pistol
Swapped in more technical and artistic Teleporter Disk
Added 2 new Enemy Drones
Updated Color Highlights on the Buildings
Added new OutRun Skybox to give a more Arcadey Feel
Bugs and Other Fixes
Fixed Teleport Offset - The teleport is now based off of the player position rather than the center of the player room
Dropping the teleporter on your feet will now return the teleporter to your hip
Lasers no longer go through objects
Adjusted Colliders on Vive and Touch Controllers so that accuracy is improved
Added BoxCollider to Teleporter Disk to improve performance
Added Controller Hints only available before the game starts
AmaranTime 1.8 - Locomotion Adjustments, Enemy Adjustments, and the FUTURE
Long time, no see! I've been working on these over the holidays, and have started some prep work for future earnable upgrades in game! Some of these updates you will not see until the next big update, hopefully in March. Happy blasting!
Balance Adjustments
The LASR-1 enemy is now twice as large.
The LASR-1 enemy is now three times slower than before
The LASR-1 laser beam is now two times wider than before
Locomotion Adjustments
Run In Place detection now tracks the headset position in the real world, rather than the headset position in the virtual world.
Updated Run In Place detection to use a Running Standard Deviation algorithm. Getting the Standard Deviation now takes amortized constant time!
Pressing forward on the control stick / touchpad will move the player forward at a slow walking speed. Great for micro-adjustments!
Players stop running when they stop Running in Place much more quickly now. The player will also stop walking when the control stick / touchpad has been released.
Adjusted data structure for Run In Place detection to ‘reset’ when floating error propagation has grown too large.
Bug Fixes / Enhancements
Adjusted Colliders for the Oculus Touch controllers and the HTC Vive controllers
The time wristwatch now spins around!
The time wristwatch will spawn blue particles when Slow Motion has been successfully activated.
Getting ready for the FUTURE (Changes that are not ready for release, but work was started)
Added device that points to where enemies are. Touch the device to activate it!
Came up with a list of earnable upgrades to add a positive feedback loop into the game.
Pressing the App button pulls up the Player Menu! Players can view the available upgrades here. The Player menu spawns just in front of the player.
AmaranTime 1.7 - Enhanced City, More Intuitive Controls, and Fixes Galore!
Environment
Replaced basic blocks with City Tower blocks that glow!
Added the unique tower named Quartz Tower!
Controller Highlights
Controllers fade out when you hover over an item
Controllers also use this system for haptic feedback
Depending on the hovered item, the controller will have buttons highlighted to indicate the button to use to interact with the item
For the Ammo, the grip buttons will be highlighted
For the Gun, the grip and trigger buttons will be highlighted
When holding an item and then hovering over the holster, the controller will fade in with the grip button highlighted
Works with the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift
Chamber System
Redid the chamber system so that ammo moves with the gun on recoil. Also eliminates accidental unchambering.
Balance Adjustments
Reduced the amount of damage the yellow projectiles deals out
The first enemy of each wave always spawns at the same place as the blue box now
Bug Fixes / Enhancements
Changed the particle system for pickupable items. They now utilize a spotlight to be better spotted
The music slows down and speeds up in relation to the slow motion mechanic
The Health Bar is now vertical located on the left side of the screen
Added gif of the Run In Place demonstration
Touching the Time watches will vibrate the controller
Fixed bug where dying will dereference held items, causing items to stick to hands with no way to remove them
AmaranTime v1.6 - Redesigning the Pistol and Music!
AmaranTime v1.6 will be available super shortly, with a bunch of updates from lessons learned! This update revolves around interacting with the gun, which admittedly may change in the future. Neverless, here are the updates!
Upgrades
Upgraded Unity to version 5.6.3
Upgraded SteamVR plugin to version 1.2.2
Upgraded Lighting to work with new Unity version. Also provided a nice
performance boost
Gun Upgrade
Built my own Gun Pistol Model
Added shiny materials to model. Rotate it to see the sheen!
Non-realistic gun smoke emits from the tip when fired. May change this
later.
A “laser sight” is added to help players know where their shots will land.
It will only appear when the gun is loaded.
Added Recoil to the Pistol
Fires at the same speed when is slow mo as well.
Ammo Upgrade
Built my own Ammo Model
Also added shiny materials to this model
Ammo Count is now next to the Ammo. It will always be facing the player’s head.
Ammo disappears once the ammo is fully depleted.
New Reloading Mechanic
You must place the Ammo inside the empty space of the Pistol to reload
Or just slap the pistol against the ammo, that works.
Added Chamber and Dechamber sounds.
The ammo auto-ejects when the ammo is fully depleted
Other Features
Added a Horizontal Health Bar. Will convert it to Vertical Health Bar is a future update.
Health UI and Damage Feedback Canvas has been separated.
Damage Feedback Canvas is only enabled when the Player takes damage. Provides a significant performance boost.
Music
Thank you Jared Le Doux for the awesome battle music! It’s so freaking amazing!
AmaranTime v1.5 is Live!
AmaranTime v1.5 is live with some big fixes and enhancements for you all!
Enhancements
Rounded the value of the health status on the HUD
The LASR laser beam has a unique sound
LASR now has a unique charging sound
The LASR laser beam inflicts continuous damage
Bug Fixes
The health status now accurately represents the player’s health
LASR now doesn’t hurt itself when it attacks
Shooting the LASR laser beam now does not have sparks flying out
Oculus Rift Support and New Enemy!
Hey everyone! I'm not dead, development just takes a lot more time than I thought. Now that we are on version 4 or whatever now, here are the highlights!
Refactor and Enhancements
Created an Event System to handle both Vive and Oculus Touch Controllers
Adjusted the Lighting
New Features
Added Oculus Touch Controller Support
Added a Better Skybox (there are clouds in the sky!)
