Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives
Huge Performance Improvements! Try It Out!
We put up a public beta that increased performance for dozens of early testers and now we'd like for everyone to try it out and make sure it's bulletproof before we ship it to every Vive owner! Since there's so many hardware configurations that we can't test ourselves, we simply want to ensure that everyone will have a smooth experience using this new version (which has tons of changes/fixes!)
To get to the beta, right click on Job Simulator, go to Properties, go to the Betas tab, and pull down the list to select the 'perftest' beta. Then play the game and let us know if you find any bugs on the Steam forums!
We'll let the community bang on this for a week and launch it next week if nothing catches on fire! :)
EDIT: This beta has been pushed live so everyone can enjoy the huge performance increases! Enjoy, humans!
Job Simulator Update 5/3 - Shorter Human Mode and more fixes!
Shorter Human Mode!!
We've received a ton of requests from some of the less vertically-gifted players to build in a way to reach all of the areas of Job Simulator that may have been previously out of reach. We've delivered!
In the museum, we've added a secret little door under the job kiosk that allows for enabling and disabling Shorter Human Mode.
Full Update List - May 3rd Update
-Options panel with highly requested ‘Shorter Human Mode’ -- enabled near the floor in the Museum!
-Spectator mode able to be enabled from inside the Museum scene
-Fixed mixed reality rendering issue
-Fixed a few cases where the Spectator Mode hand-held camera could be permanently destroyed (will it blend?)
-Fixed rare issue where bite sounds sometimes would not play when an object that could be blown on was near your mouth. Yep.
-Fixed a strange missing reference in automotive
-Fixed items in car trunks exploding wildly
Note: We're still working on fixes to performance issues that some are seeing. We're in the process of updating to the latest Unity to gain some performance with regard to CPU, which we hope will resolve some of the issues on lower end i5 machines.
<3
Owlchemy Labs
Job Simulator Update 4/21 - Hats, Twitch, and Perf!
First, we've added in-game physical Twitch chat!
As part of our efforts to make VR more social, we wanted to add the ability for streamers to be able to react live to their viewers when broadcasting Job Simulator gameplay. When you're inside VR, it can sometimes be hard to get to the information you need, so why not pipe it directly into the experience!
We've also added hats! HATS!
Finally, we've been working hard on performance, with more perf gains to come!
With that, here's the full change log:
New features!
-Twitch chat can be shown in-game! Use the Spectator Mode overlay panel on your PC (the camera icon in the bottom left) to enable Twitch chat view.
-Hats! Hats can now be stolen from bots and worn! Also, hats can be placed on other bot’s heads. Go nuts.
Major fixes!
-Performance optimizations and memory reduction all over the project, which should result in better framerate. More optimizations to come when we successfully upgrade to Unity 5.4 in the upcoming weeks.
-Spectator camera can now be copied in the scanner. Thanks Giant Bomb.
-Corn now pops when it’s hot
-Museum lever is less crappy
-Fixes to Dollhouse mode (spoilers!!)
-Fixed some logic on certain bots to allow them to accept gifts
-Bots were accidentally hitting car horns when exiting vehicles. Bug or feature? You decide.
-Sink water no longer funky
-Exit burrito is harder to accidentally double-eat / confirm your choice
-Hood ornament placement bug fixed
-Subtle fixes only the developers would catch but it makes us feel better to fix them, okay?!
-Ctrl-Shift-H shortcut added to toggle hand visibility for Mixed Reality filming purposes
-JobBot says fun things in the Museum now
-Teabag handling improved
-Added some secrets for you to find...
Job Simulator pricing
Today we’re announcing that we’re lowering the price of Job Simulator to $29.99. Anyone who purchased the game at the original price have the opportunity to request a refund to grab it at the new price. Why did we decide to change? Let us explain.
The decision to price the game at $39.99 was the culmination of our thoughts on the VR market at launch. With the launch of a brand new platform, no one quite knew what to expect, so we had to use whatever metrics we had available to us. With 15 people on the team and over a year and a half of time in development, a ton of human-hours have been dedicated to the Job Simulator project. That makes it quite an expensive title to produce. Additionally, we’re attempting to pioneer mechanics that have never been explored by building a VR game from the ground up. Designing in VR is also a much more intensive process than what we’ve seen in traditional game development, with VR design taking a lot of iteration. Lastly, we knew that the initial market for VR would be something that would grow over time, but as it takes a long time to get this brand spanking new hardware into consumers hands, we knew it would be a slow start. In order to recoup our costs for the smaller audience, we placed what we believed to be a competitive, but fair, price on the game.
The point of Job Simulator was always to share the joy of VR with as many people as we could convince to put their hands (both gloved or un-gloved) on it! So we’re lowering the price. This will allow even more people to experience the mind blowing moment when you realize your hands can truly work in VR -- and then be used to throw a stapler at your boss. The community has been sincere and honest with their feedback, and so we’re responding.
Those who paid the original price and want to take advantage of the new one can get a refund and then re-buy the game at the new price, even if more than 2 hours of playtime have been logged. Details on Steam’s refund procedure are outlined here: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6695-QIKM-7966. The refund period will be ending next Tuesday, April 26th.
Thanks so much for your patience and support as we help build this brand-spankin’-new industry, and figure out how it should work and where it’s going. We’re here together making awesome future-things happen, and we couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.
Cheers!
-Owlchemy Labs
Job Simulator in the Press!
Job Simulator is a success!
Now that Job Simulator is released into the wild, reviews are starting to roll in! Here’s a sample of what people have been saying now that they’ve had their comically-oversized, white-gloved hands on it:
TIME Magazine - 5 Best HTC Vive Launch Games
The folks over at TIME gave us one of their coveted five top spots in their HTC Vive Launch games list, knocking us flat down with that honor. I mean, Job Simulator is business, but TIME is SERIOUS BUSINESS.
http://time.com/4279509/best-vive-launch-games/
Digital Trends - Our 6 Absolute Favorite HTC Vive Launch Games
Digital Trends named us one of their top 6 “absolute favorite” Vive launch titles and then further inflated our ego by claiming that Job Simulator is “one of the funniest games we’ve played in ages.”
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/best-htc-vive-vr-games/
Digital Spy - # 2 best Vive experience currently available!
The best HTC Vive experiences you can have right now!
http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a790080/best-htc-vive-steam-vr-experiences-you-can-have-right-now/
Gizmag - The 10 best launch games for the HTC Vive
Gizmag gave us some love in naming us one of their top 10 Vive launch games saying, “The game is both a showcase piece for tracked controllers and a playground for your inner id.”
http://www.gizmag.com/best-htc-vive-games-steamvr-2016/42639/
UploadVR - Why a Cup of Coffee in Job Simulator took 850 Hours to Make
UploadVR went deep into the discussion on some of the trials and thought processes behind generating physics in a virtual reality environment.
http://uploadvr.com/job-simulator-coffee/
Polygon - Spectator Mode!
Ben Kuchera at Polygon talked to us about our new Spectator Mode in Job Simulator and the importance of streaming tools as we start sharing VR experiences.
Let’s Plays
Achievement Hunter
The guys over at Achievement Hunter played Job Simulator and Gavin’s voice reached exciting new octaves as he found out just how responsive the physics are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAMpL5I_mJc
JackSepticEye
Jack has been dutifully jobbing his way through the game, as seen below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JyUD79ky8s
Reviews!
So many reviews!.
Stuff:
http://www.stuff.tv/me/htc/vive/review-0
Daily Dot:
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/htc-vive-review/
Polygon:
http://www.polygon.com/2016/4/5/11336864/the-htc-vive-review
UploadVR:
http://uploadvr.com/job-simulator-review-making-the-mundane-magical/
PC Gamer:
http://www.pcgamer.com/job-simulator-2/
GameCrate:
http://www.gamecrate.com/reviews/review-job-simulator-vr-riot-thats-better-audience/13249
Road to VR:
http://www.roadtovr.com/htc-vive-review-room-scale-vr-mesmerising-vr-especially-if-you-have-the-space-steamvr/
More to come!!