I have a big update to Exoplanet today. This update includes:
Free movement and a jet pack!
Support for Windows MR thumb-sticks.
Angled orbital planes. Solar systems are no longer "flat" but much more immersive and 3D.
A larger procedural galaxy with more depth and scale.
A more beautiful and dynamic skybox.
Options for draw distance and comfort vignette.
Brighter stars.
A revamped menu system.
Better grass
Many minor fixes, including a few new sound effects.
Enjoy!
January Update Is Live With Life!
Hi Everyone,
In this month's Exoplanet update, let there be life! Procedural animal life, that is.
There's lots of behind the scenes changes in this update. The life forms are in a very alpha state, however basic path finding and wandering should work acceptably.
Note, the little (and big) critters may get stuck occasionally, procedural life on procedural terrain can be a challenge.
Other changes include:
Improvements to the terrain generation.
Much faster teleportation.
More accurate grass/tree/rock positioning.
Scan bubbles for planets and systems.
Fixes to the planet meta-data and more accurate gravity readings.
Some minor font adjustments.
Enjoy!
Minor Update With Thunder And Lightning
Hi Everyone,
I took a break in recent weeks, but I'm back today with a small update.
It includes:
Lightning and thunder! The effect is pretty great, if I might say so.
A bug fix to render the large planet right in front of the player so it's easier to teleport to.
A few minor bug fixes and some serious debugging enhancements throughout my code, which of course the player won't notice.
I hope you enjoy and I'll keep iterating.
Thanks,
Minor Bug Fixes And The Sun
Hello Everyone,
A minor update today that includes some polish to the UI icons, a tweak to a few terrain textures, and the Sun is now drawn in the sky. So, look up!
I'm starting to work on some "gamification" elements. Hopefully, by spring I will have much more to say about this. Stay tuned!
Thanks,
October Update Is Live!
Today I released a huge update!
Including:
Star system, galaxy generation and meta data
UI improvements, UI sounds
Interactive, 3rd person maps to guide your starship around
Two new planet types, gas giants and icy giants
Animated and improved cloud shaders
Improved skyboxes
Various bug fixes
Official Windows MR support
Known, Minor Issues:
You can't land on Gas or Icy Giants. This is only logical!
The temperature, mass and gravity calculations in the meta data need some work
There's lots of boring molten planets, try landing on some terra/Earth like ones for more variety
Cheers, to my handful of fans. Please enjoy!
October Update
Hello Everyone,
I thought I'd share some of the things I've been working on with Exoplanet.
The goal is to have something with rules, challenges and maybe even a story, within the next 12 months. Basically, a game to add to the exploration. To that end, I've been working on many updates in the last few months.
Procedural galaxy generation with star systems, planets and all the meta-data.
An interactive room scale galaxy map, with a ship you can guide through the stars.
More options; graphics options, locomotion options.
Two new planet types; icy giants and gas giants.
UI sound effects.
Creative commons sourced music.
Continued UI improvements and official WindowsMR support.
Thanks Everyone!
https://youtu.be/hBb83FzMu4c
September Update
Hello Everyone,
Today's update includes a complete UI overhaul. The UI is now a more traditional point and click affair with limited touch-pad fiddling. This should be much more comfortable for WMR and Oculus Rift users. You will need 2 controllers.
Pro Tips:
Use the menu button (on your left controller by default) to bring up/dismiss a projected menu.
Simply point and pull the trigger with the right controller to select things.
Squeeze the grip to swap primary/secondary controllers, or sometimes to dismiss dialog boxes.
The Object Scanner is on by default upon first teleport. You may disable it from the main menu.
Also included in this update are some minor bug fixes.
More to come,
Enjoy!
A Small Update
Hello, a minor update before I add some significant features later this summer...
Control Enhancements:
Added snap turning (left and right) to the teleport menu.
Exoplanet will now display both controllers. You can swap controllers by hitting the menu button.
You may now select menu items by using the grip buttons instead of pushing down on the thumb pad (for Vive, WMR, and presumably, Oculus Rift).
Other stuff:
Chance for SNOW on all planets, except rocky planets.
Fixed a collider bug that could cause atmosphere and cloud weirdness.
Minor performance enhancements.
Known Issues:
Snowflake world space issues, more noticeable at elevation.
Thanks Everyone!
Initial Release Of Exoplanet
Hello Everyone,
Exoplanet is a relaxing exploration experience for VR. I developed Exoplanet on my own as a hobby. Toady, I present the initial release.
I've made the engine for Exoplanet open source, available with the MIT license. You can find it here.
I hope you enjoy it and stay tuned for more updates!
