The Cavern
Update 1.3 - Performance Improvements & Settings Fixes
Today we just pushed update 1.3 which brings a bunch of performance improvements across the board, mainly focused on lighting optimizations. We were able to remove a lot of the shadow casting lights without affecting the overall visual quality of the game much and it seems to be running much better! We also found out that our culling system wasn't working which wasn't helping the matter.
Other than that, we also fixed several issues that were causing settings to not be saved or applied. There are a few Video options that are quite heavy, so be wary of Ambient Occlusion and Volumetric Lighting if you're close to the minimum requirements.
There was one other small visual bug fixed with some of the lights in the first room when the bulbs were glowing when they shouldn't be.
That's it for today guys, please let us know how the update works for you and if you missed it before, Oculus Rift support is coming in the very near future!
Progress Update - Oculus Rift & More!
We just wanted to post a quick update on the development progress to keep everyone updated.
First and foremost, there will be an update live this weekend with some pretty serious performance improvements that should smooth out any issues that some were experiencing. This comes with a bunch of bug fixes as well so it should be a great update!
And for the most important piece of news, we've ordered an Oculus Rift and will officially be adding support as soon as it arrives! We received a lot of interest from the Oculus community and we're excited to get the support out ASAP.
Thanks for all of your support everyone and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for these 2 updates coming in the very near future!
Update 1.2 - Puzzle Improvements, Fixes & More
Today we bring you treasure hunters another update that fixes a few bugs that we've noticed players experiencing and some improvements for one of the puzzles that we felt was a bit too tedious.
The puzzle we're talking about is in the room with the buckets and the waterfall. The symbols around the room have been grouped up in a way to make them a little easier to find which should drastically help people solve the puzzle without making it any easier. Just less time consuming.
As for fixes, your controllers were supposed to turn off when picking up most objects but weren't, so that is now fixed. The volume slider simply didn't work at all, on top of that we've added 2 new sliders. You can now control Master, Music and SFX volumes independently.
Now one thing we were hoping to have with this patch was some performance improvements. The biggest problem is we have too many shadow casting lights. We are still experimenting with some ways that we can fix this issue without severely reducing the visual quality of the game so these optimizations weren't able to make it in yet. This is definitely our main priority at the moment and should have something out soon for you.
There's a few more things, so check out the full changelog below!
Fixes:
- Controllers weren't going invisible when picking up items.
- The lamp will no longer fade your camera to black when near your head.
- Fixed the volume slider that didn't work.
Changes:
- The symbols around the room with the waterfall and the buckets have been grouped up into two's. This should make it less tedious to find them all while not making the puzzle much easier.
- The lantern in the first main room of the cave now casts shadows.
- Added new Music and SFX volume sliders.
Update 1.1 - Bug Fixes & Improvements
We listened to people in the online gaming community *doc reference* and have come up with a nice update that should improve quality of life in a number of areas!
A major point to mention would be the fact that you will now never again have the problem of dropping something small like a page or a key and not be able to pick it back up off the ground. Due to differences in the Vive's calibration, the floor could be too far away for you to pick things up.
The head collision system has been improved as well and should come on far less when you don't want it to. There's a slew of other things, so check out the full changelog here:
Fixes:
- Head collision system comes on too frequently and can be annoying
- You could keep throwing rocks in the buckets which would eventually break the game
- The light in the generator room didn't turn on when the generator started
- Axe now makes sounds when it collides with objects in the world
- Fixed the loading screen in the Main Menu being parented to your head
- Sometimes you wouldn't be able to pick small object off of the ground due to some Vive floor calibrations.
Changes:
- Certain tools now should only take one swing to use instead of several
- If you throw far too many rocks into a bucket, the bucket will reset
- One of the notes in the waterfall room has been moved to a better location
- Some tweaks to the loading screen, but more will be coming shortly to fix some visual issues
- The large combination wheels have been moved slightly and angled toward the player so that they're easier to reach
Thanks for all of the comments and feedback, keep them coming!
What's the Gameplay Like?
Don't worry! Closer to launch we will be posting a gameplay trailer that will showcase much more of the actual interaction and minute-to-minute gameplay. That being said, you can expect it to play similar to an elongated escape room, but with a fully (and professionally) voice acted story! This will be told through notes found throughout the cave, left behind from a group of previous explorers, as well as bits from the main character who will narrate along the way.
Our 'Coming Soon' page is LIVE on Steam!
We are excited to finally get our store page up and running for everyone to see! This a huge step for us, and it's getting us seriously pumped to get this game finished up as soon as possible and in to your hands.
If all goes well we're expecting a March release, but that's tentative right now as we want to make sure the game is stable, polished, and of course fun! As of right now all of the core gameplay has been created. All that is really left is audio work, some menus, bug fixing and some polishing.
If you'd like to show your interest, please leave us a comment, create a discussion or add The Cavern to your wishlist!