I'm super excited to finally show off the new bullet destruction system and new building modules!
Obviously things can be tweaked later such as dialing down the effects, but I was having too much fun unloading chaos in the test compound. Different materials react differently when shot by bullets, and there are currently 4 material types: wood, drywall, concrete, and metal.
In the next update I will showcase the explosives rework, which allows explosives to utilize these new destructible components and much more!
For a more detailed look, check out the latest devlog below! [previewyoutube="bxlEUqobIj0;full"]
Visual Overhaul!
Lots of exciting new changes are arriving! A new shader has been created which significantly improves the visual quality of the game (especially in VR), and more details about the world of Crunch Element are solidified. Stay tuned for a showcase of the new destruction system!
Because of the scale of this change, the new look will be available to testers later along with some other major updates that are described in the video.
[previewyoutube="93NFroR2sxA;full"]
Crunch Element Kickstarter is now live!
Today is the day! The Crunch Element Kickstarter is NOW LIVE! I am happy to announce that Crunch Element is now my full time job and I will be going all in on this game through full launch. I will be doing everything in my power to push this platform forward no matter how small. Development the last few months has been spectacular and I can't wait for an amazing year of development ahead.
I would be overwhelmingly grateful if you would consider backing the project and sharing it with a friend! We will make this happen together. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crunchelement/crunch-element-vr-infiltration
Feature Update 0.7
Hello everyone! It's about time for some new content to be added, and I hope you are excited as I am to check it out!
Features <*> Added new breaching charge which will replace the old laser charge! (Laser charge will come back later with different functionality) The new charge is available in the destruction room in the station as well as in the tutorial and armory truck! <*> Added explosive barrels. Don't stand too close! <*> Updated frag grenade explosion effects and sound (they can damage the player now too!) <*> Removed the ultra-short stage 1, and added a new stage!
Fixes <*> Tutorial visual cue for navigating out of the target shooting section <*> Changed magazine grab action to trigger <*> Fixed issue with not being able to grab an item if both hands are hovering the item <*> Haptic feedback when detonating charges <*> Added another enemy in tutorial and fixed issue with them disappearing <*> Fixed miscellaneous tutorial colliders <*> Improved UI for the post-stage menu <*> Removed doors auto-closing <*> Removed V shaped roofs and replaced with square modules <*> Fixed issue with player occasionally spawning outside of truck
The Future <*> Procedurally generated infinite mode <*> Item unlocks and attachments
I want to give a massive thanks to everyone who is supporting on the Patreon, which has helped will dampening development costs to bring more features into the game such as the tutorial and quick-turnaround bug fixes. Your help is directly bringing this game towards its potential and you will see some big changes coming soon. This is just the beginning of something great!
Feature Update 0.6.0
Hello everyone! Lot's of exciting stuff in this update so don't sleep on this one!
Features
Added a tutorial! This is the largest addition to this update, and is the first iteration and I can't wait to hear your thoughts
Station rework! The menu room got a face-lift
Sandbox rework! The firing range and detonation testing area is now accessible directly from the station (and is much more consistent thematically).
Grenades now do plenty of damage, and have a pin to pull with the trigger!
Queued charge detonation! Press the detonate button multiple times to detonate multiple charges sequentially
Breaching charges do AOE damage
Added charging handle animation on m4-style rifles
Updated player watch health display
Added another holster and updated holster material
Empty mags do not show bullet graphics
Fixes
Updated the input handling for charges (should fix the issues with charges not detonating)
Reduced the size of holsters
Fixed bug with player sometimes being able to jump unlimited amount of times
Fixed issue with the M4ISR moving the player around when close to body
The Future
Immediate known fixes (IE: Gun spinning)
New breaching charge (more info coming soon)
A new experimental mode which I am super excited about (info also coming soon)
I want to give a massive thanks to everyone who is supporting on the Patreon, which has helped will dampening development costs to bring more features into the game such as the tutorial and quick-turnaround bug fixes. Your help is directly bringing this game towards its potential and you will see some big changes coming soon. This is just the beginning of something great!
Feature Update 0.5.0
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful feedback during testing. We have taken your criticism into consideration and have began the first of many improvements of AI. There is still quite more to improve but it has come a long way!
Features
Enemies now have suspicion meters that increase based on vision, loud sounds, and taking damage
Enemies will walk towards sounds or last seen location of player when suspicion is high enough
Enemies communicate with each other (if one enemy is engaging, other enemies should target player and move to cover)
Jumping!
Improved interaction with the lever and door knobs (yes, they are knobs now)
Increased enemy damage and accuracy
Added holographic emotes on enemies that broadcast their suspicion
Dropped the "dropped" text and replaced it with a skull emote
Climbing haptics and sound
Weapon grabbing haptics and sound
Fixes
Magazines now automatically attach when close enough to weapons
Updated help screen for reloading
Fixed level 9 spawning location issue
Decreased enemy ragdoll/floppiness unless dead
Fixed issue with enemies occasionally shooting through walls
Fixed issue with players being able to move outside of the truck if they move the joystick while in loading screen
Fixed issue with pistol slide being racked when hand is far away
Fixed issue with being able to use magazines on any gun
Bugfix Update 0.4.2
Thanks for your patience as we do our best to knock out these initial bugs in a timely manner. Below are the changes in this update
Implemented a ledge-assist which allows players to pull themselves over a wall easily
Fixed issue with holster behind head being grabbable outside of edit mode
Fixed issue with breaching charge being tracked to the player if it was released inside of a holster
Added additional front holster
Fixed issue with door closing while player is inside the truck
Fixed issue with help menu moving the player when the player's hand was lowered
Added haptic feedback on both hands when firing a gun with both hands
Lessened pull distance of lever (hand-grabbing and easier interaction coming soon)
Added slider to adjust smooth turn speed when smooth turn is enabled
Added option to choose number of degrees to snap while snap turn is enabled (30/45/90)
Lowered damage on the Mac 10
Pre-loaded all the weapons in the armory
Increased enemy accuracy
Adjusted pointer angle on Oculus and Index for a truly groundbreaking and organic pointing experience
Distance detach when grabbing weapons is now an optional setting
Flipped the direction of guns in the armory for a less-spinny gearing up experience
New weapons update! Beta testing approaching
Hello everyone!
I'm excited to announce the addition of four new weapons to Crunch Element! These work modeled by the extremely skilled artist, Vextric They are currently active in the latest build and I hope you enjoy them!
M4ISR
DMR
PPK
AK
As I mentioned in a devlog in July, once the fundamentals are present, more content such as weapons and compounds will be added. That time has finally come! While adding these last 4 weapons, I have also been creating many new and improved compounds which will be released in the next update now that the skeleton of the game is proving itself to be robust enough due to consistent improvement. A testing build will be available in 1-2 weeks for everyone who joins the Discord
Climbing and Weapon Cycling! Patch Notes 0.2.0
Super excited to announce the newest feature update to Crunch Element! Below are some of the highlights of the update.
Weapon Cycling
Magazine-fed weapons use bullet chambering functionality! Insert a magazine and rack the slide back using the trigger to chamber a round.
The last shot fired from a magazine will leave the slide open.
Either manually pull the slide back or release the slide using the new “slide release” binding (Touchpad up on Vive, double click eject button on Rift and Index).
Climbing
The first iteration of climbing has been introduced into testing!
Use the grip buttons to grab onto a wall and alternate hands to pull yourself up
Added a parkour section to the sandbox level for testing
All buildings are climbable, however some floors are neither grab-able or destructible (changing it up during the next update)
Going Forward
Adding settings menu so players can toggle settings such as holster placement, head-oriented walking direction, snap/smooth rotation option, and more.
More weapons! Now that the fundamentals are (finally) in place for weapons, you can expect to see a whole slew of weapons to join the party
Enemy overhaul. Don’t worry, the enemies ARE getting better. This is being done in parallel with this update. Expect to see improvements in animation, realism, and less-jankyness overall.
New compounds. It’s about time that more levels are added, as well as giving the current compounds a face-lift. Expect to see 10 stages available with the release of closed beta (coming mid-September), as well as short-term experimental stages with new architecture. Closed beta will available to everyone who joins the Discord
Two Handed Weapons! The DDMK18
Excited to announce the beginning of two-handed weapon support in Crunch Element! We are kicking this system off by introducing a new weapon, the DDMK18, a heavyweight rifle excelling in damage and accuracy which makes up for its so-so rate of fire and ammo capacity. It is currently available for testers, who should experiment with the two-handed functionality and attempt to find any bugs with it. For the time being it also features a functional red dot sight! Enjoy!
Check out this sweet video of it in action!
https://twitter.com/BlackBoxVRLab/status/1160237515930034181
