Vector 36 is back and better than ever. I am very pleased to announce version 1.3, a complete overhaul of the Vector36 framework.
Since its inception, Vector has been plagued with various optimization faults. But enough is enough and it was time to make some much needed improvements. I have converted nearly all of the code, and with it, some vastly improved methods. You should notice some much quicker frames, and a load off the cpu, which is great news for big rig owners but also VR users as well.
The engine has also been updated, improving the physics, graphics, overall performance. There is an entirely new post processing stack that has been added which dishes out free ambient occlusion to the world and an improved motion blur among other things.
To celebrate, the infamous and game breaking GK-Kissaki is now available in the store. Skim carefully.
This build includes, but is not limited to, the following improvements:
• GK Kissaki now available in the store.
• Updated engine.
• Completely rewritten, optimized, and improved code framework.
• New Post-Processing effects stack, optimized for performance and VR.
• VR management updated to include Vive Pro and Linux based VR (Linux untested, just released).
• Mappable VR-recenter button added. (R key)
• Improved special effects.
• Improved scene models.
• Cleaner skimmer models.
• Race timer overhauled.
• Updated atmospheric and environmental effects.
• Skimmer temperature overheat model changed. (again!)
• Skimmer temp based on vector outputs.
• Skimmer stability improved.
• Purge effects and affects updated.
• Skimmer AI improved.
• Skimmer height penalty curve smoothed out.
• Audio optimized/ sources removed
• Tutorial levels modified for easier explanations and bullet-time helper.
• Garage cameras refined.
• Esc-key out of logo.
• Modified UI scale for ultra-wide screens.
A couple notes:
• This major update is PC only. I have more testing to do with Mac and Linux, but rest assured, they are next on the list.
• You may experience some new bugs and glitches. I can only apologize ahead of time for these. I have tested the game to make sure the core gameplay is stable and have been happy with the results, but you never know what can pop up.
• This is the first stage to getting dedicated MP. It is not so much a technical issue now as it is designing the game to work smoothly with online MP.
Remember to give the game a good review if you enjoy the experience and I look forward to taking it further.
-Ryan
Build 1.2 Hammerhead Update
Included in this update is the new Hammerhead Skimmer Tow Vehicle!
Born to haul Mars junk from port to port, but also makes a capable racing vehicle when unencumbered; the HammerHead is an excellent choice for those pilots who don't particularly want to stop for anything, or turn.
Patch notes:
• Hammer Head STV Skimmer!
• Rebalanced part prices.
• Glowing lights in the cockpits.
• Heat calculations modified to freeze heatramping while in cooling zone.
• Quill ECU remapped.
• New ECU panel layout.
• Main thruster auto rotated to point to true COM, instead of just chassis center.
• Skimmer history not scrubbed when renamed.
• Minor terrain texture changes.
• Object render auto-culling removed.
• Control inputs Horizontal, Vertical, Rudder renamed to Yaw, Pitch, Roll.
• Minor code optimizations to steer away from string parsing
• Brake now offers a "downward push" to get you back on the ground quicker.
• Fixed bug while typing letter C into new skimmer name.
• Upgraded Unity to 5.5.2
This week will celebrate 1 year of VR innovation by discounting 36% off the game. Grab one for you and your friends and challenge each other on the leaderboard ghost system. Please leave Vector 36 some good feedback if you enjoy the game.
Thanks!
-Ryan
Update 1.1
This update includes the following changes:
Generic rudder controller support added.
Noctis Chasma colliders refined.
Head Bob Disable added to advanced menu.
Local Best Time delete button in advanced to troubleshoot ghost replay upload issues.
Local Best Time now based on League.
Holding Right Click on Mouse or Camera button orbits in garage.
Edit Visualization tools include realtime Center of Mass .
Edit Visualization tools include realtime Center of Gravity.
Edit Visualization tools include suggested Main Angle.
Realtime League indicator added to Edit mode.
New Icons created.
Advanced ECU panel UI update.
Advanced ECU panel positions averaged to middle area.
Edit panels no longer allow component placement click-through.
Mass Specifications corrected.
Braking disables magnetic envelope to stop unpredictable movement.
Heatrate model modified to prevent permanent boosting.
Heatrate model modified to provide greater cooling at higher speeds.
Heatrate model modified to include heat based on thruster output.
Cockpit UI refresh and warning colors.
Simplified Chinese localization (Stage 1) Added.
Multiple small changes and optimizations.
build 0.999 99 9999 9
Quick announcement:
Only a few days (weeks?) away from final release to version 1.0 (woop woop!). No big deal, only the most important professional milestone in my life.
When I initially hit the big green button for Early Access, it was pure panic and cosmic chaos. I remember pacing around the house for a couple hours beforehand. When it came down to showtime, it was a little like the idol scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
This time is different, and while I am apprehensive about letting Icarus fly on his own, I am strangely calm. I don't understand why. Maybe I have reached the other side of anxiety and have transcended into a realm of pure madness. It must be some natural defence mechanism designed to keep my head from exploding.
Anywho, once this is out the door, I can start to work on the Xbox version, followed by the PS4/PSVR, followed by a new VR-only game that I have been cooking up in my spare time.
Some important notes on Leaderboards and Workshop:
All leaderboard and workshop records will be smooshed on build 1.0. This assures new players that everybody is on the same playing field, as a lot of those records and ghost replays were done on old maps or with different physics rules.
If you have worked hard for your records, and I know a lot of you have, I deeply apologize, but it's a necessary step, and well, I'm pretty sure you knew I was going to do that.
Also, it turns out that a massive amount of ghost replays were hidden due to the Steam Workshop T&Cs checkbox that nobody has bothered to check. This has been resolved and if you upload a replay without agreeing to the terms, you will get a new prompt in Steam and a link to the legal page. Fun!
Feelin' fine,
Ryan
Attention DLC Owners! Don't pay twice for DLC!
This is an important message to all DLC Upgrade 1 Owners.
I have changed around some DLC packages in the game in preparation for release. Basically, the old DLC that you have paid for is now becoming "hidden" from the general public. Only you own that DLC now and as a proud owner of the Early Access DLC, only you are entitled to certain perks within the game as a thank you for your support.
You will have unlimited access to the GK, the top of the line Skimmer.
You will receive the Original Soundtrack in high quality form.
Now, the only caveat is that I have to re-release the old DLC as a new one. So on the store page you will see NEW DLC that looks COMPLETELY IDENTICAL, that you don't own:
DO NOT BUY IT IF ALREADY BOUGHT THE FIRST DLC. Unless of course you really really like the game and want to support me further, but you've already helped and I am appreciative of it. :)
If you end up buying both and missed this message, I will do what I can to help you out.
This was the only way I could keep record of those that really went out of their way to help with the project. Once again, thank you.
-Ryan
December Update. TrackIR, New Tracks, Major Physics Change.
First to mention is Vector 36 now supports TrackIR!
https://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
If you have a TrackIR, turn it on, center it in your runtime, then behold the magic when sitting in the cockpit. It supports all 6 degrees of freedom. Pretty cool gadget if you don't have VR.
Next to mention is there are a few more tracks, and a few rebuilt ones.
Noctis Chasma and Lana's Run are now completely rebuilt with some nicer meshes and textures. 2 new tracks include Noctis Loop Reversed, and Taenarius Reversed.
The next major change is the way the Lift Vectors perform.
Story time! So, I updated Unity to 5.5, which has done remarkable things to performance and VR. It also upgraded PhysX to 3.3.3 which has done remarkable things to physics accuracy and optimizations. So much so, that it has completely changed the flight characteristics of Skimmers. Modding a skimmer in the garage has resulted in overly sensitive outputs, and in some cases, unmanageable flight. It is now overly easy to go completely airborne and bypass all the terrain as you collect gates.
Veteran Vector36 engineers have known for a while that they can simply raise the main thruster up a few degrees to float in older builds, but now it is even easier, if not unavoidable.
This has never been the point of Vector 36, so I have spent some time on retooling the way the skimmers perform on the ground. Normally, the lift vectors work through a sort of repulsion to the ground. As you lift off the ground, the weaker they get.
The new model acts as an electro-magnetic "pocket" that keeps your lift thrusters at a nominal height based on their power output. Wtf does this mean? Each lift vector will push away from the ground if it is too low, but draw back to the ground if it is too high. This keeps all the vectors closer to the ground at all times and acts like floating rails. HOWEVER, if you exceed this magnetic pocket and launch too high, the vectors turn off completely, as they have no ground to attach to. This happens frequently with high speed jumps.
You can technically still float high above the terrain and collect gates, but 2 things:
1) I have made the gates half the height now.
2) You now only have your main thruster to steer when floating, which is not as nimble.
I am hoping this encourages more skimming and less ICBMing, but if your tactic involves going airborne, you can still do that. As a precaution, "Jump" still functions as it always has.
If you already have some finely tuned craft, the bad news is that you might have to change a few characteristics, mostly in the angle of the main vector. It will also take a bit of time to get used to the new flight dynamic. As always, give it a shot and let me know what you think. I will be constantly refining it in the days to come as there are still some kinks here and there.
Those of you that participated in the final release megathread; Thanks very much. Your feedback has been received and taken into consideration.
Max and Linux releases will come in a couple days, after some more testing.
Thanks again and remember to give the game some tasty tasty feedback if you want to see more.
-Ryan
Attention Vector 36 Pilots! Your feedback is required!
I have opened a thread for you to voice your opinion on the game. So far there has been a wealth of information from the forums and your feedback, and I have made it a big priority to get that feedback into the game. Now that the game has developed, I would like your final thoughts.
What could still be improved? What do you like the best? Final release is scheduled for Q1 of 2017, so right around the corner. Thanks as always for the feedback and I hope to make Vector 36 the best it can be for you.
-Ryan
October Update!
This update includes all manner of goodies for Vector36. New level, massive optimizations, some rule changes and XBox One Controller is back! We are getting closer to final release so I am happy to hear your thoughts on the game.
Update includes:
New Tutorial Crater and test area.
New Skimmer port and Bootleg-Terraformers.
XBox One Controller Supported again.
Reworked Lap system. Start and end gate are now the same, for one complete lap.
Notifications Toggle in Advanced options menu.
Optimized skimmer base code.
Optimized component code.
Optimized terrain details.
Optimized pilot IK motion.
New post processing.
More stable garage testing facility.
New gauge helper icons in Tutorial.
Button Help Hints when cursor hovers over button.
General fixes and improvements.
As we get closer to release, your feedback becomes more critical.
Let me know what you like, what you don't like, or what you would like to see in relation to the current feature set. At this stage, Vector 36 is feature complete with the exception of a few things I am still testing:
Track IR support.
Vive/Oculus Controller motion support.
Remember, I am a one man team, and I am trying my hardest to please everybody, but in the end I can only do so much. Because of the heavy optimizations and code reworking, I am sure there will be bugs and glitches, especially for Mac and Linux users, as those platforms are not fully tested. Please let me know how I can make it better for you.
Thanks, and give me a big thumbs up in the reviews if you have enjoyed the game. Don't be shy, delicious up thumbs.
-Ryan
Important Update: Leaderboard and Ghost Replay Features
This update is a major improvement to the leaderboard system. Along with an interface update, you can now race other players around the globe through their Ghost Replay data! Heres how it works:
Beating your own high score and placing yourself on the leaderboard will now additionally upload your ghost data to Steam through the Cloud Services. You click a contender, and if they happen to have their data uploaded, you can challenge them to a race on a particular track for a particular tier of skimmer. For the moment, beating them will upload your score over theirs on the leaderboard, and you get Mars street cred, however future updates will give you the opportunity to buy their skimmer and even race multiple replays.
That all being good news and all, please expect some quirks in the new code. There are a couple instances where uploads don't make it, or textures don't get downloaded properly, but I am hoping to address these soon.
I cannot express how excited I am about this update, because it finally brings some PVP action to the game, which is what it needed. In many ways, this system is superior to a dedicated multiplayer. You can play offline, theres 0 lag, ghosts cannot grieve you, and theres no hassle of servers and such.
You can also have a look through the workshop panel in Steam, where you can see all the replay sets, vote on them, complain about Moocow's stupid fast Carbon Viking, etc.
Other features include:
Revised Physics characteristics
Revised default ECU settings
Noctis Chasma terrain update
New Garage improvements and optimizations
I would also like to mention we are getting closer to final release, which is looking like around the end of the year if all works out. Final release will showcase some new tracks and skimmers, optimized engine, and terrain improvements. The price will be increasing as it leaves Early Access so pick up a copy now if you are on the fence.
Give it a whirl and I will continue to improve it. Leave the game some good feedback if you like where it's going.
Thanks!
-Ryan
EDIT: Sorry, forgot to mention that this build is PC only at the moment. Mac and Linux love coming very shortly!
Big Garage Update
Thanks everyone for an amazing Summer sale and an even better VR sale. Im glad to see so many people picking up the game for their new headsets and giving it a try. I have taken on some of the feedback and the result is pretty compelling.
This update showcases the new, new, (new?) garage system. It is a huge improvement from the original garage because:
Instant Edit. Now you can move parts around without setting them, just adjust and save!
Flight Sim Mode. Instead of loading into a test scene, you can immediately swap into the sim area and test with your controllers. The sim area is endless, so you can test top speed as well as agility.
Flight/Edit Quick Change. Quickly flip between editing and testing for a very fast tuning experience.
Realtime HUD. Monitor your skimmers stats with the new HUD overlay.
Realtime Visualizations. Monitor your skimmers thrusts and gyro with the vis tools.
Also featured in this update:
Optimized garage code.
Bias can now be controlled by an analogue axis.
Diverter settings can now be edited through the Advanced ECU button.
Diverter can change 1)Initial Bias and 2) Max Boost Level.
Improved "Noctis Chasma" track.
Improved cursor performance.
Optimized collision meshes.
And more!
Next up on the list is ghost replays for you and (hopefully) leaderboard players.
Keep up the great track times and I will give you heads up when it's all ready.
If you like what I have done with the game and want to see more. Give me a good review on Steam reviews.
