First off all I hope everyone is well and still coping with the current situation concerning the coronavirus. For anyone having practical questions about the coronavirus, the dutch government has a pretty complete overview here: Covid19
Please keep in mind that some measures are specific to my country, the Netherlands.
In this update I’ve focused on the following:
Realistic hand behavior, I wanted the hands to react to the world.
Flying improvements, more work on making flying fun and enemies fun to play with
Bug Fixes, as always I try to fix as many bugs as I can. Thanks community for mentioning them!
Just a reminder, the game is in alpha. I’ve found that sometimes players are enclined to write a review in which they mention many usefull improvements and bug-reports. I would appreciate it if any comments, ideas and bugs would be mentioned to me on my discord channel for the game instead. Trust me, I am listening and always answer any questions and reports. see the link below in this update text.
Realistic hand behaviour I wanted the hands to not move through objects anymore. As most big VR games have this feature and it’s really becoming the norm I wanted to make sure Under a Desert Sun does not lag behind on this aspect. I’ve implemented an early version of hand collision that in my opinion works quite nicely. It does the following:
Hands do not move through objects anymore
If you push your hands through a wall or an object the hand stays somewhere close to the entry point of the wall
You can still move your hand along the wall
Your fingers move in accordance to the wall, this is quite neat, the vingers bend a bit with your hand, just like in real life! It doesn’t work perfectly because that would cost too much performance but the illusion works well enough. I Think it adds to the immersion.
When holding a weapon your hands still can’t go through the wall and when a weapon sticks out too far into an object it will turn and make sure it does not go through the wall, this last bit is not perfect yet, weapons can still stick slightly in a wall.
As a lone developer this is some pretty intense/math stuff so I will keep working on this to perfect it. However, I think for a first attempt in the alpha this works quite well already.
Flying The flying testmap has been improved. Please keep in mind this is very alpha stuff, if you test this map all feedback is greatly appreciated, come tell me on discord!
Added working throttle and airspeed Gauges
Added artificial horizon, now you always know when you’re upside down
Added airplane targeter, it points towards a target, handy!
Added more enemies with more complex follow behavior(The enemies no longer crash into you and try to shoot you while getting behind you)
Please keep in mind that I am still working on bullets and shooting, even though the enemies try to shoot you and you can shoot, you won’t be able to hit anything yet ;) As I said, very alpha and only released so people can test things as early as possible.
Small stuff
I added a fade to black before a level is loaded. This is much easier on the eyes as the normal level loading behaviour was a bit jittery.
Bugfixes
The mummy-like enemies no longer faded away after death, This is now fixed, dust everywhere!
You no longer hang still midair when stopping movement on stairs, instead gravity does its work properly now
Discord Don’t forget the discord channel. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! The discord: Discord
Roadmap Also don’t forget the Under a Desert Sun roadmap. You can find it here:Trello
Be safe everyone and kind regards, Raymond
Under a Desert Sun - Work in progress update
Hi everyone
I hope everyone is safe and well. I wanted to keep everyone up to date on what I am working on for the next update. Currently I am mainly working on Three topics Singleplayer, Physics for hands and the airplane mechanics.
Singleplayer, I am working on the flow of the first chapter of the singleplayer. Above a small image of a new map I am working on.
Physics for hands
I've worked on the hands in Under A Desert Sun with the result that they now no longer go trough walls. As you can see in the examples the fingers behave realistically when you touch a surface as well. I think this adds greatly to the immersion of the game and the difference is very noticeable compared to the old method where hands could freely move trough walls.
Airplane I've worked on better airplane gauges. You now have several meters and such that give a more realistic few of speed, rpm, artificial horizon etc. I also added a enemy targeter because it's just handy to have. Before anyone starts..nooooo ...this is not super airplane sim accurate... I know.. but it serves the purpose of what I have planned for the singleplayer nicely. I also added more enemies which will try and shoot you. You'll notice that they now keep more distance to you. In the first builds they would simply try and crash into you.
All these things and more will be released in Under a Desert Sun alpha 0.9.
Discord If you like what you see. Found bugs during this early access phase or just would like to talk and mention ideas for the future of my game, we have a discord!:https://discord.gg/g5fK7Df
Kind regards, Raymond
Under a Desert Sun alpha 0.89 - progress
Hi there,
First off all I hope everyone is well and coping with the current situation concerning the coronavirus. For anyone having practical questions about the coronavirus, the dutch government has a pretty complete overview here: CoronaVirusInfo
Please keep in mind that some measures are specific to my country, the Netherlands.
In this update I've added - Update on the flight-model, you can now shoot bullets and the AI shoots at you(Work in progress) so expect some bugs. If you try this feedback is welcome, please don't see it as finished. -Added more realistic Rpm and Speed gauges - Added a - not so realistic but handy - enemy indicator - you now have 3 enemies following you and shooting. - Please keep in mind that enemy bullets and your own bullets don't do damage yet! Working on it!! So if you test this, it's purely info on how it all feels that I need.
Improvements and fixes - Climbing has been improved, try it in the tomb test level - Falling bug, you now always fall and can't get stuck flying when descending stairs - Shotgun shells backwards, they are now correct - Invisible enemy bug in city map solved - Occlusion bug in desert wave maps solved - Overall stability improvements
With these fixes i'm going to leave Under a Desert Sun Alpha 0.8 and start working on the next big update. In this I'd like to work on the first full narrative level and further addition of game mechanics.
Discord Don’t forget the discord channel. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! The discord: https://discord.gg/g5fK7Df
Roadmap Also don’t forget the Under a Desert Sun roadmap. You can find it here: https://trello.com/b/CEDvwMAb/under-a-desert-sun
Be safe everyone and kind regards, Raymond
Under a Desert Sun alpha 0.85 - progress
Hi there, I find it very important to acknowledge the need for people willing to test and think with you during an early access. The following fixes are all due to feedback from players:
Fixes, Special thanks to Soanos and [Suche] NintendoMonsen -Animation errors in mummies that are fixed -Made sure the blood animation when getting hit doesn’t repeat to often Additional after this update: Movement -- pushed a fix for movement sometimes jerking you around when going from walking roomscale to trackpad/joystick movement - Pushed a fix smoothing trackpad movement - Pushed a fix where colliders of certain objects would have effect on movement even though they should not. Maps - pushed a fix for the nighttime desert level, sometimes the enemies would not spawn - pushed a fix where you could sometimes walk trough walls when walking roomscale - pushed a fix for the nighttime city level, enemy navigation should be improved Weapons - Pushed improvements on Garand, Shotgun, behaviour and sound should be better - Pushed a fix for reloading issues - Pushed a fix for certain animation errors Enemies - Pushed an improvement for shooting enemies, bullets no longer stay on the ground for a long time. - Enemies no longer keep turning towards you even though they are dead
Reminder - For those who like to adjust the gun holsters or other settings like turning using trackpad/joystick please go to the menu! - Please don't forget to try the tutorial if you are new. It;s the mapcube with the gun in it!
Discord Don’t forget the discord channel. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! The discord: https://discord.gg/g5fK7Df
Roadmap Also don’t forget the Under a Desert Sun roadmap. You can find it here: https://trello.com/b/CEDvwMAb/under-a-desert-sun
Under a Desert Sun alpha 0.85
Hi there,
In this update I’ve focused on the following
A new friend Meet Murdoc, he’s such a guud boy yeshhhhh!! In the starting area you might find that you have a friendly little stalker now ;) Murdoc will grow during the coming updates into a more competent and handy partner in your adventures. For now, he just likes to cosy around when you’re picking a level or look at the wall of shame..I mean leaderboards..Such a judgy dog..Still love him though!
Shooting enemies update I’ve updated the “human” enemies. They now use real physics bullets (Instead of a raytrace) to shoot at you. This allows me to show bullets flying around and to make some cool bullet-trails that make it easier for the player to avoid getting shot.
I am personally still unhappy with the behaviour of human enemies especially. I plan on overhauling the animations and behaviour in the upcoming updates. Any feedback or ideas are welcome as always.
Climbing If you search you might find an area where you can do a bit of climbing now in the pyramid test level (The level cube is hidden in the starting area). I plan of making this part of the puzzle/adventure aspect of Under a Desert Sun.
New wave map (Yes Miry it is here.) This urban map will be used in the singleplayer. I’ve made the map stable enough that it is now playable and therefore thought it would be fun to release it as a wave map. As usual keep in mind that these maps are actually intended for the singleplayer and releasing it as a wavemap is my way of making sure people can test these maps for bugs and performance issues. So if you notice anything, feedback is greatly appreciated!
Fixes, Special thanks to Soanos and [Suche] NintendoMonsen -Animation errors in mummies that are fixed -Made sure the blood animation when getting hit doesn’t repeat to often Additional after this update: Movement -- pushed a fix for movement sometimes jerking you around when going from walking roomscale to trackpad/joystick movement - Pushed a fix smoothing trackpad movement - Pushed a fix where colliders of certain objects would have effect on movement eventhough they should not. Maps - pushed a fix for the nighttime desert level, sometimes the enemies would not spawn - pushed a fix where you could sometimes walk trough walls when walking roomscale - pushed a fix for the nighttime city level, enemy navigation should be improved Weapons - Pushed improvements on Garand, Shotgun, behaviour and sound should be better - Pushed a fix for reloading issues - Pushed a fix for certain animation errors Enemies - Pushed an improvement for shooting enemies, bullets no longer stay on the ground for a long time.
Reminder - For those who like to adjust the gun holsters or other settings like turning using trackpad/joystick please go to the menu! - Please don't forget to try the tutorial if you are new. It;s the mapcube with the gun in it!
Discord Don’t forget the discord channel. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! The discord: https://discord.gg/g5fK7Df
Roadmap Also don’t forget the Under a Desert Sun roadmap. You can find it here: https://trello.com/b/CEDvwMAb/under-a-desert-sun
Under a Desert Sun - Work in progress update
Hi everyone, Just a short update. Work is still being done on the new level which I plan to release as a wavelevel first. It's close to being done. I am polishing it so framerates aren't bad on lower spec machines.
I also plan on adding a test for the climbing mechanics in the pyramid singleplayer test level.
Lastly I have surprise new character coming up. Not going to show what it is yet, but I think people will like it ;)
Kind regards, Raymond
Under a Desert Sun Alpha 0.8
Hi there,
I am proud to announce that I've just released Under a Desert Sun Alpha 0.8. This update contains a lot of changes and improvements. You'll also notice that you get access to a few more areas to get a feel for what the final games style is going to be. Furthermore there are a lot of improvements and fixes. I will make sure that a trailer update will be made since this update really changes the feel of the entire game..for the better in my opinion and hopefully yours!
Goal Goals for this update are.
Make Under a Desert Sun ready for:
Singleplayer use
Areas in sync with vibe/style of the game
More user-friendly and entertaining starting area, no more huge portals instead I made a neat level picker system that makes sure we can add more and more levels without having to create huge portals. You can simply use level cube’s to play a level.
Allow access to more of the singleplayer area’s. Keep in mind these are work in progress
Test and verify Oculus headsets works. They work! So are now supported with Under a Desert Sun.
Oculus support As mentioned above, the game will from now on support the Oculus headsets.
New areas to explore
The starting room and a Tutorial level are new! I’ve also added a work in progress map of the city at night. You can now enter levels by placing level cubes on the pedestal in the starting area. Can you find al the level cube’s to see what’s being worked on? I’ve hidden them in the level. More new areas are coming very soon including a new wave level. Most levels have also been updated go see what’s changed!
Gameplay changes Reduces holsters from three to two. I found the middle holster mostly annoying. I have reduced the holster number to just two. The hip-ammo holster and a holster on your other hip. This way you can carry a max of two weapons.
Changed way leaderboard updates The leaderboard will always upload your score. Previously you had to fight until death to get a score upload.
Wave level changes The wave levels can now be accessed using the level picker cubes. I've also added weapons stashes to each map. You no longer need to bring a weapon to the level, you'll be able to pick one at the start of the level. I've also hidden some “special” weapons throughout each wave map.
Fixes Lots of lighting fixes in all maps Tremendous improvement in collision detection using trackpad movement. No more jitters. Fixed highlighting bugs on the bolt of several weapons Fixed some small damage bugs on enemies, sometimes they would not get hit.
Upcoming City level as promised I will soon release a new wavemap (This map wil lateron be used in the singleplayer.
Climbing mechanics To make levels more vertical I'll add climbing, you can see a work in progress here.
Discord We have an active discord channel. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! The discord: https://discord.gg/g5fK7Df
Roadmap Don’t forget the Under a Desert Sun roadmap. You can find it here: https://trello.com/b/CEDvwMAb/under-a-desert-sun
Under a Desert Sun - Work in progress update
Hi everyone, I've updated my previous update with some extra footage of what is coming up!
New maps /single player
Several new areas will be playable soon. In the images you can see the new starting area, an urban map I am working on and the new tutorial map.
Collision detection overhaul As many of you know the collision detection when walking using trackpad has been jittery and inaccurate. also you aren't able to get up stairs and such. I currently have a working build in which the jitteryness is gone and you indeed are able to ascend and descend slopes. This might not seem like a big deal but getting this to work well in VR is well..complicated.
All these things and more will soon be released with Under a Desert Sun Alpha 0.8
Kind regards, Raymond
Under a Desert Sun - Discord!
Hi everyone,
I wanted to make sure that feedback is easy to give during development of Under a Desert Sun. Therefore I decided to create a discord channel: Under a Desert Sun discord. I hope this helps in getting feedback and finding bugs during early access. I'll be there to answer any questions or just talk about random topics ;)!
Feel free to hop in!
Kind regards, Raymond
Under a Desert Sun - Work in progress update
Hi everyone,
Just a short update to let everyone know what I am working on.
Collision detection overhaul As many of you know the collision detection when walking using trackpad has been jittery and inaccurate. also you aren't able to get up stairs and such. I currently have a working build in which the jitteryness is gone and you indeed are able to ascend and descend slopes. This might not seem like a big deal but getting this to work well in VR is well..complicated.
I hope to release this soon in a new test alpha, before I do I want to test it thouroughly mystelf because it's quite a different approach then I was using before.
New map /single player With most of the core mechanics in somewhat working order I figured it was time to start working on more of the singleplayer.
THe above Gif gives an idea of the urban map I am working on. I will release this map together with a startscreen overhaul a bit later. Hope it gives an Idea though..Shoutout to Mirry..see that..new map! ;)
