Hello all, and thank you for your feedback and help. I uploaded a new version last night, with a whole bunch of changes:
VR Improvements
Here's a video with me talking through most of the improvements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urL3r9Audpc
I am continuing to work on VR as I find out how people play it, and I think in this new version, it should now be good and easy to play no matter which VR platform you are on. I think even Windows Mixed Reality should work fine, except you will need an xbox controller - but this works well due to the new options flat hud.
Please let me know if you have any problems and which platform/controllers you are having problems on
I know there have been some teething problems with VR that some people have been frustrated with, I thank you for your patience and your very helpful feedback
VR Options...
Defaults to follow cam, as this seems to be the preferred way of playing, good for seated play. Still has "top down" fixed camera view and cockpit
Can recenter your position, but doesn't yet take into account rotation. Will add that later
Scaling - you can resize the whole game to your preference.
Height - can move camera height up and down
HUD mode: you have the standard hand held hud as before, but now also can pick a flat mode, more like it is in 2D, and angled, where all the panels face you.
You can also alter the distance and size of the HUD. I will add height later if people want it
I've also improved the in station camera and fixed the bug that was causing a drop in frame rate in stations.
Future VR options
I would like to improve the cockpit view for VR players, to make visibility better and maybe add some more fun features
Somebody also suggested some voice commands or speech-to-text which I really like the idea of. Would make chat much easier in VR and also it would be fun to active hyperspace by saying "Engage!" in a captain picard style... well i would enjoy that at least.
Other Changes
Its not all been VR, ive fixed lots of little things and added in a new Help Terminal in space stations - I basically wrote out a game manual this week while waiting for things to compile etc. I will also add this to the website before too long
New low shield alarm - sound like a basic thing, but I'm really pleased with it, it adds something and isn't too annoying I dont think - you can switch it off in the options menu if it is!
Other Plans
Ive been working on making our own solar system, and players have been discussing the idea of "Capital" Star Systems, which i think sounds quite fun. I am trying to think what humans should do in the human capital, maybe just courier missions etc, or maybe some pirates etc... I think though for high level aralien empire players, this could be like going into the "lions den", which could provide a unique challenge...
I am also working on an Offline Mode, and also making the game attempt to reconnect if your connection drops out for whatever reason.
Loads of other plans of course, im coding as fast as I can! but the priority is still making the game playable and understandable to all
List of Changes
Low shield warning alarm - is adjustable in options menu
Help Terminal added to stations
Fixed the VR crash in stations + when using the steam menu - this might also have been the cause of the slowdown people were getting at stations - let me know
Also improved the VR camera in stations
Some more minor VR tweaks
Should no longer give you collect and deliver missions that deliver to anything other than a refinery
Large weapons are no longer removed when out of ammo, but ammo costs are now the same as the original weapon
Turrets now respawn on stations (quicker in higher level star systems)
New weapons: Double and Intelligent Broadsides
New weapon: Stilletto Rocket
New Weapon: Plasma Cannon Plus
Fixed bug where you couldnt look at/sell augmentations on the cargo screen
Improved turret AI so that they are not always turning/making noise
Burst weapon stats fixed
Fixed problems with proton beam
Andromedan Ram shield no longer massive
Fixed some problems with the bug reporter - still an issue with voting, will fix that soon
New Version Ready
Hello Starfighters
Thank you all who have bought the game and given good feedback. its been pretty intense so far, Ive had trouble keeping up with it all and Ive certainly lot replied to it all, but I have been paying attention.... Its been emotional sharing this game with the general public and has been tiring, but overall im pretty pleased with how things are going so far...
General plan
I've been working hard on the game and my initial focus is to try and get it working for all and cater for the different ways that people want to play. After that I will add some more features and content to the game - theres still areas of the galaxy that I would like to flesh out + I would like to add more to do for higher level players
In version 0.13.5
I've fixed a few errors and a few usability and UI things:
Can now bind mouse buttons (and wheel) to keys for those that want to fire with the mouse buttons.
Fixed the floating point NaN error that was coming up in stations
Moved "Prospector One" Augmentation blueprint to first star system (hack the pirate station to get it). This is an augmentation that colour codes asteroids on the radar, and ive moved it earlier as there are a few ore hunters out there wanting it
Bigger HUD sizes added - Some people finding things hard to read depending on their screen and resolution. I think i will have to redo all the HUD and screens later with a better bigger font. but this will take a long time, so use the option in the options menu (under video) for now
Made lots of tweaks to the shop UI to hopefully make things easier..
Fixing some VR issues
VR tutorials and tips should hopefuly now be correct for Vive, Oculus Rift and valve index. I would appreciate any testing/feedback from those with these systems...
Joypad should now work in VR, although as the hud is currently attached to the controllers, it is not yet ideal. I can see that playing with a joypad in VR actually feels pretty good. So my plan is to have an option to just have the HUD appear in a rectangle in front of you, more like 2d mode.
WMR headsets - i am hoping that when i have the above "joypad mode" hud working that the game will be playable on most WMR setups (with a joypad), as for other controllers e.g. samsung odyssey im not sure yet, but maybe in later versions
Plans
Someone suggested that it would be good to see your steam friends on the map, I think this is a great idea, so am going to look into it
Help Terminal - You'll see this in stations already, but its not yet active. I am going to put a few pages in here that will help explain. Let me know if something has confused you in game that you would like explaining
Co-op missions. I think this is going to work by inviting other players to join you on an existing mission. Missions sectors are currently single player only
PvP sectors/matches - Currently all sectors are can potentially PvP sectors. But I appreciate that this doesnt really focus players. So what i am thinking is that players could maybe set up a "match" via a station terminal and it would show up on the map for all players. These matches could have different options/restrictions
Reconnecting - Some players have experienced the occasional disconnection, which i know is frustrating. So what I am planning is that the game will attempt to reconnect you without kicking you back to the main menu. For those with no connection another plan is:
Offline Mode - This will not use the online database, and therefore will not use your usual characters. So will essentially be single player only. This will be handy for those on a laptop away from their internet, but also
Pointers - you currently get an arrow pointing at the closest enemy, closest friendly, closest asteroid etc, Im thinking maybe it would be cool to have mini arrows for all objects within 100su. Maybe just in top down view, or maybe in all. Will experiment
Other plans for VR:
I want to make the VR experience better for all and have been listening to feedback
I'm planning to add extra camera options, rather than just the 3 modes, i will have settings to move the camera position as well as scale things up and down.
I also plan to do a separate cockpit for VR so that its easier to see around you
There are of course loads of bugs to fix and loads of other ideas to put in. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask here, or use one of these other channels of communication:
Official Website: http://www.starfighterinfinity.com/ - has a database with item/ship stats
Discord Server: https://discordapp.com/invite/DCnp3Vp - discuss game with other players and me, also can be used to report bugs etc
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StarfighterInfinity
My other facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BenOldingGames/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvRirW8kZg-GAcRvd-uDp9g
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenOlding
My main website: http://www.benoldinggames.co.uk/
Live on Steam Early Access
Finally live on here! please have some patience as there are bound to be a few teething problems. If you have an error, you can use the button to email it to me, and if you find a bug, then there is the in game reporting tool.
Thanks to all kickstarter backers and all of those who have supported the game so far! its late now, but tomorrow I will post about future plans/ideas for the game.
Slight Delay with planned release date
Hi All,
Its taking a bit longer to get through steams review process than I anticipated, so I've had to push the early access date back a couple of weeks. Sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience
In the meantime I am continuing to work on the game and hopefully will have multiplayer and a few other things a bit more stable by then
Trailer is Up
Hi All, the trailer is up, check it out.
I'm hoping to release on Early Access one the 2nd July, but this will be dependent on it getting through steams review process, so there is the chance of delay
Feel free to follow on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarfighterInfinity/
Also we have a discord server: https://discordapp.com/invite/DCnp3Vp
