Push For Emor
Re-Build Now Live: Bug Fixes, Oculus Touch, Enhancements and other froody things.
What’s new in this patch? Well almost everything. It may be considered a sledgehammer to crack a nut (or bugs in this case), but I decided to re write large parts of the game to try to make it a really good experience for everyone. I’ve reworked the cameras so they are better for current headsets and made it easy to incorporate new ones, re written the locomotion system and also added snap turning for those that want it and moved teleport to the right controller, overhauled missions, re made picking up weapons and turrets, fixed the vehicle interaction, nailed in Oculus touch, re written re-loading of weapons, added super sampling and also done a lot of work on optimisation and beautification, along with a whole host of improvements to the game as a whole that are too long to list.
So is it bugfree now? Am I happy with it? Well it’s as bug free as me and my much appreciated beta testers can make it, but sadly we can’t test for every gaming setup in the world, so please do let me know if you encounter anything that is game breaking for you as you play: (lupus@lupussolus.com) Am I happy with it - well yes and no. I’ve very happy with how it has turned out, but there is always something more that I want to tweak, make better, a new feature that came to me in the middle of the night (or in the shower) that I would love to implement, yet another layer of polish I would like to add; but sadly I’m just one guy, so I had to draw a line in the sand somewhere or I’d never get the update out.
There are bound to be some new bugs that come with this build (every new patch has them) but I’m rather hoping they won’t be major, which will allow me to get to making the next solar system. I have a very large creative itch right now, and making some steampunk adventures might just help scratch that. I'm very excited about the development going forward and I can't wait to get started, but please let me know if you have any steampunkesque suggestions about these next planets, as I'm just starting them, now would be the ideal time and I’d love to hear them!
Cheers guys and have fun in game!
Lupus
P.S. Please let me know what you think about this latest build - feedback is GOLD to us solo indie devs ;)
Colonel Glutes, a deep cover agent is reporting in....
First off - APOLOGIES!! For being silent for so long; so long in fact that some of you (with very good reason) thought that I had abandoned the project all together. This is understandable considering my long public absence, but I am happy to assure you that this is not the case.
I did have some time away from the game’s development as I had to go get, what our mothers would call, ‘a proper job’. I was as shocked as anyone when PFE didn’t instantly sell millions of copies and I wasn’t sat in the back of a limo flipping through ‘What Trophy Wife’. Then the Girlfriend stepped in and gave me a reality check. She said that I had to get a job because she likes the finer things in life, like ‘not being homeless’ and ‘not having to beg for food on the streets’. I tried to convince her that I was suffering for my art, but she convinced me that I would be suffering from her foot in my ass if I didn’t get jiggy on the job front.
I got a job :( but to be honest, I needed a bit of a break for a little while - 18 months of 18 hour days had taken their toll and I was a bit burnt out. It wasn’t just the game dev, it was the constant changes by oculus / valve / Unity. The oculus and valve software was still basically in beta and in a constant state of flux and every time they changed something, Unity changed the game engine to keep up, which would instantly break the build I had on the dev machine and I’d lose days trying to get it back how it was. It was both heart breaking and soul destroying.
Needless to say, I could not stay away for long. As soon as I got through the probation period at work, I went back at developing Push full time in my spare time (if that makes sense). To help things along, both oculus and valve now seem to have much more stable builds of their headset software and Unity has released a new version of their engine that seems stable enough for me to not want to update with every patch, which should save me weeks/months of pain.
So where are we up to? Well, pretty much new everything. New camera system to accommodate different headsets. I’ve completely ripped apart the locomotion system (again!) and it’s much more stable now, revamped the mission system, re worked vehicle enter / exit system, totally re-made the tracked controller layer to easily accommodate new controllers, nailed in the support for Oculus touch, re made picking up weapons, fixed the issue with picking up turrets on the resource planets, basically everything that anyone was having issues with, I’ve taken back to bare metal and started again. It’s been a slog, but now I have a solid foundation to build the rest of the game on.
So no Guys, not given up; I couldn’t if I wanted to. I love the project too much to just walk away and I get such a massive kick when I create something new or implement a new feature. Hell, it’s like being Flynn - Digital Jazz man!
Why so silent for so long? Well, I needed to have a fixed and improved version of the game on my drive before going public with it. Silence is bad enough, but to go public too early and then promise deadlines that might not get hit, well that felt worse.
So YES! New improved PFE! Can you see it? NO!
I won’t be doing a steam update until it’s been thoroughly beta tested. The last thing I need is a bunch of new bugs and more negative feedback. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BETA TEST? I’m rather hoping that some of the usual suspects on here might be up for the challenge of doing some testing with me. If you have the time and inclination and would like to get involved, and you can provide me with bug reports and feedback, please do drop me a mail at lupus@lupussolus.com I especially want to hear from you if you have had problems with the game in the past (I need to know I’ve squished those bugs!)
What can you expect to see once you get in the new build. Well, if you have never had a problem and you completed upto the end of the first solar system, then not much tbh; things might feel a bit smoother, some extra options, you were one of the lucky ones. If you have been playing this on an oculus, then you guys get Touch! Dual wielding a cyber sword and a shotgun is just waiting for you! If you were one of the unlucky ones who could not pick up a gun or get in one of the vehicles - well my friend, new space and planetside adventures await ;) If you are a monitor player, the gunplay has been considerably tightened up.
I just want to say, to those of you who like the game and have remain interested enough to check in here every now and again, and possibly got upset / angry at the thought that it might have been dropped: Thank you. Your support is very much appreciated and a great source of drive. Again, sorry for the radio silence and working under the radar: will try harder in future.
Email me, we’ll do Beta!
Cheers! And many thanks,
Lupus
Dev Report - Touch Coming Soon!
I just wanted to give everyone a quick Dev update. Some people have been asking when will Oculus Touch support be implemented. ‘Very Soon’ is the short answer. I have Touch working in my current dev build (and yes the the thumb sticks do rock!) and I am currently changing ingame menus to accommodate people who will be using them. The Touch controllers mirror the functionality of the Vive controllers, so Onward point to move is in, fps movement is in along with the teleport system.
Alongside the Touch work, I have been implementing some of the suggestions that you guys have been feeding back to me and squishing some annoying little bugs that have been popping up for some people. Your feedback and suggestions are very much appreciated and go a long way to making the game what we all ultimately want it to be.
Cheers for now!
Lupus
Point To Move update live!
Once you start the game, you will be asked which method you prefer. This will only happen once, but you can hot swap between Point To Move and Standard FPS through the in game menu.
I have also taken time to fix some other bugs that you guys have been feeding back to me. These include, but are not limited to:
1. Trouble equipping / swapping weapons with grip buttons.
2. Sometimes juddering when moving up and down slopes.
3. Ammo box is now connected to your head height, so will now move down when you crouch in the real world.
4. Locomotion direction fixed in the warp gate star map.
5. Flying vehicles are now more comfortable to drive (less wobbly).
6. Lots of little tweaks and updates as I went along.
Just a quick note on item 2. After lots of testing, the only way I can induce judder whilst moving is to be occluded from the lighthouse sensors or by having super sampling too high. If you find you experiencing juddery movement whilst you are walking, please check you have not moved into a position where the light houses may have trouble tracking you ( I tend to move back to center of my play area) or that you have not got your super sampling file edited to high or the ingame AA is not set too high.
I hope you like the Updates! I must admit, I am quite liking that point to move system ;)
Cheers!
Lupus
Ok Vive owners - I hear you - Onward it is!
First off, I’d just want to say that I am totally bowled over by the feedback and suggestions from all of you guys on this first day and I can only say thanks! Today has been awesome.
One of the things that I am hearing quite often from Vive owners is that they are having a little trouble getting to grips with the movement system and that they wish it was more like the mechanic that Onward uses.
OK guys, no problem. I’m not about to close my ears to a majority vote and I do feel it would be a good addition to the game. I believe that I should be able to create a very similar system that will keep everyone happy. BUT, please realise this may take a little time. I’m pretty sure that this isn’t something I will be able to knock up in an half an hour whilst I’m having my morning coffee. Having said that, I am going to be working hard to get it completed, implemented, tested and deployed into the game ASAP.
To all of you who suggested the Onward system over the last month, please feel free to say ‘I told you so…’ when you bump into me either virtually or in the street. ;)
Other than that, thank you all very much for being a part of my first indie game on Steam and I am looking forward to creating more adventures in the Emorian Empire.
Cheers!
Lupus
Push For Emor is now live!
I would just like to say a massive thank you to all people who have contributed with feedback, beta testing, ideas, suggestions and support thus far, your help has be invaluable and PFE is greater for your input.
Early Access
As I’m sure you are aware, this is an early access release of Push For Emor. In this version of the game you will get to explore 4 planets with accompanying space scenes, a space station and you will also be taking out and boarding pirate ships. In addition to this there are missions to complete and weird and wonderful scifi vehicles to drive and spacecraft to fly. (Needless to say, there are numerous baddies and monsters that need to be dispatched and there is some fun asskickery available to help with that dispatching.)
As with all Early Access titles, this is a work in progress. Whilst I have worked hard squashing any game breaking bugs, but you may still encounter a few rough edges. Please rest assured that I have these on my todo list and I am working hard towards polishing them out.
For those of you who play Push For Emor, I would like to welcome you to the early access program. I feel community input to be very important going forward with PFE’s development and all your suggestions will be taken very seriously and any bug reports will be received with much gratitude; your feedback will help shape the game's future and I am really looking forward to reading your comments.
Cheers!
Lupus
Push For Emor go live time for October 24th
As some of you will know, Push For Emor is going to be available on Steam tomorrow (October 24th 2016). I just wanted to give you guys a heads up of exactly when the steam page will be flipping over to a ‘live’ status.
I will be pressing the big GO button tomorrow at 9am PDT (thats 5pm UK time, 6pm CET).
I know some of you will have questions and queries that you would like answering at that time, so I will be standing by in the community section and be ready to talk to anyone who might feel the need to reach out.
This is an early access release, so there are bound to be a few rough edges, but please rest assured that I will be online for anyone who has any questions for the Dev.
Until tomorrow then!
Lupus