Hey team,
Just want to say thanks to everybody for hanging out while I had my vacation. Me and the Mrs. had a great time but enough of that, time to get to work.
I am really happy with some of the feedback you guys have been leaving and have taken it all on board. I have done a mini update which has fixed a lot of controller issues and compatibility.
I have also completely changed the way the boost system works in the game. Before anybody panics, let me explain: New boost basically is 200% throttle now, which is rad because it really punches you, but now you overheat faster. This means you will now use the boost less, but when you do, its very potent. Also! flying near terraformers and water have a better cooling effect on you, so you sort of have to dance from one cooling zone to the next if you really want to get some good speed. I have played around with it, and really enjoy how dynamic it makes piloting, but I will let you play with it and see for yourself.
Some of you will be pleased to know I have contacted TrackIR and should be working on getting that in the game. Who loves you? This guy.
I still plan on fullfulling my previous list of updates, so that is the priority. Also, I am on the verge of adding some more team members to get some more content out the door. All good news.
Leave the game a sparkling review on the store page if you enjoyed it.
-Ryan
Minor Update and News
This update brings a couple minor updates to the game.
The most prominent is that the VR notification popup has been pushed a bit higher and further out to address some concerns that you will go cross-eyed looking at it XD.
Also changed is the Non-VR mode within Steam should disable all VR without you having to unplug your HMD. All good news.
As I mentioned in the last update, I will be away for about 5 weeks to globe trot a little bit and, well, get married. So you can expect more updates around the end of July.
These updates will be substantial!
Helmet mounted HUD to show player positioning, timing, other skimmers, motion telemetry, damage, etc.
Complete Garage rebuild so you can modify your skimmer while its flying in real time. 5th time the charm.
Refined levels, probably a whole new Noctis Chasma.
Introduction to the HammerHead
Ram Bar/Landing Skid bolt-on parts
Refined Quick Race system to have multiple skimmers to choose from.
Now, on to important business.
The next Steam-wide sale will be the last sale for Vector 36 before it becomes a final release . After that, the price will increase to a yet undisclosed amount. Final Release will include more levels, more skimmers, and extra fun things, but I have already said too much.
Those of you who have purchased the DLC in the EA phase, I thank you so much for your support of the game and you will be rewarded when the game is in final release. I may remove DLC sales for this last push up to Final Release, but haven't decided yet.
Once again, thank you to the players, your response and feedback has been humbling and motivating. Feel free to let me know what you think on the forums, and if you like what you see, give it a good review on Steam reviews.
Cheers!
Ryan
Build 0.920 Update
Optimize optimize optimize!
Thats all its been for the last week. I have spent days hunting down various cpu and gpu drains in the game to address judder or frame rate issues. I made a massive improvement by reworking the thruster lights. Turns out if you modulate intensity of a light in Unity, the GPU loses its chill, but if you simply adjust the range of a light, it doesn't make a dent to performance. Even slowly rotating a "Sun" like light in a scene absolutely kills performance. That all being said, I have gained an extra 10-15 fps and reduced a lot of judder in certain scenarios. If you are still having judder issues on high spec machines, please don't tell me about it unless you want to see a grown man cry.
I also discovered that if your audiolistener is violently shaked in your game, there is a performance cost as I believe it has issues calculating the doppler effect. If the listener is parented to something like a physics object that is being motivated by something else, the GPU loses around 6-8 ms. I haven't found a way around this yet, but there is room to improve.
Also, I have added an "Instant Race" menu item which puts you into a randomly selected map that you have unlocked. For the moment, I stick you with the basic Hopper, but I will be adding more custom skimmers in the future. Its just a test to see if it works or not. You can earn a fixed amount of money based on the difficulty.
Total updates include:
Optimized thrusters.
Optimized Intro scene.
Totally sweet new title reveal.
New "Instant" mode.
Revised waypoint markers.
8 start pads added to Noctis Loop.
Added "Position" to your gate popups, to show where you place in VR.
Other improvements I cant remember.
I will be updating this game one more time before going on holiday June 12th to July 15th. I am off to Ireland to get married to my amazing lead play tester, Claire, who I proposed to last year after PAX Aus. Laptops are not allowed, so I hope to make as many improvements to this build as I can before then.
Once again, thanks for your patronage and please give the game a stellar review. I am always open to your feedback.
-Ryan
Update 0.910
This weeks update focuses on some of the feedback from the community, specifically on VR improvement and performance.
Improvements:
Reworked load system to gradually load in assets at start to reduce VR hangtime.
Various VR improvements to reduce cpu load.
Rebuilt the garage angle adjustment system to be -/+ as opposed to sliders.
Rebuilt the ECU programming panels to lay flat on canvas.
Multiple Garage enhancements.
Quality Settings now change terrain detail and cloud shadow coverage.
Store optimized to hide excess poly (8 million to 400k!).
All scrollable selectors improved interface, included a "drag" ability.
Starting credits now at 30k to get you into the mid-tiers quicker.
Quality Settings now change terrain detail and cloud shadow coverage.
Cockpit models slightly optimized.
Racer Position list removed from view when in VR ( replacement coming in next build).
So far the feedback has been really positive from Vive users. I am really glad that you are experiencing the game as it was meant to be. Please keep in mind that these are the early stages of Vive integration and the experience will only improve as the software develops.
Give the game a good review if you are enjoying it, or if you are having issues, feel free to post a note on the forums. As a solo developer, I am doing everything I can to make it the best experience I can for you, so thanks for your patience.
-Ryan
Vive Support is Now Available.
The wait is over: Vector 36 Beta now supports Vive in Steam VR! Try out the latest build of one of the best VR experiences on Steam today. If you like what you see, don't forget to leave a good review on the store page.
-Ryan
Linux/SteamOS Build now available.
At the request of the community, Vector 36 has been ported to Linux! If you are a Linux or SteamOS user, give the game a try. Please keep in mind that this is the first build and if there are any bugs or major issues, please let me know on the forums.
Also included in this build is a revised Leaderboard which now shows your personal position on the boards, and the position amongst your frenemies.
Thanks and enjoy.
-Ryan
VR Release Sale is on!
You get 20% off for picking up a copy of Vector 36 this week to celebrate the introduction of VR to the gaming public. If you have an Oculus Rift CV1 or DK2, put it on your head and zip across Mars. Check out the leaderboards to compare your time to the rest of the world. HTC Vive support coming soon.
Oculus VR 1.3 Release
Hi Everybody!
Build .902 gives us our first taste of real VR with the introduction of Oculus 1.3! I have spent a lot of time trying to optimize the game to work with the OVRs beautiful high res screen, but there is still work to be done. So far, integrating Oculus into the game has been an absolute breeze and I am really proud of the outcome.
Vive should be coming shortly after as it is not fully supported in Unity. We can expect it to be available within the next couple months as the support is more developed.
If you do have an Oculus CV1, feel free to pop on the forums and let me know about the experience.
Build Notes
Heavy terrain optimizations. Should give an extra ~10fps in 2D mode.
Refined UI
Menu navigation no longer supports controller input. I have a completely rebuilt system I am adding that will solve so many issues. For now, please use the mouse to navigate the system, even in VR mode.
Also I want to mention that the leaderboard stats have been awesome to watch. I have to resist the temptation to compete, but have been really impressed with some of your times. Except for Cynide.. Hes got to be cheating.
-Ryan
Leaderboards are up!
Team,
I am doing a mini build to add something I think is too much fun to not share.
Leader Boards
The game now has preliminary leader boards so you can compare your score to the top players. Currently the scores are created based on your best single lap time per track per league, IE: Best Lead League lap on Lanas Run, or Best Nanite League lap on Aganippe Fossa. Your score will automatically be uploaded and compared every lap. To find them, simply go to Race, then click the double helmet Icon to populate the boards. Click on a particular board to see top 15 times.
Obviously these will be expanding in the future to include more options, filters, etc, but they work for now. One issue I have found: Sometimes the boards crash randomly when populating. I haven't found the source yet, but it should be fixed soon.
Trophy System
Also included in this build is a small taste of the new trophy system. It only appears in the quick race winnings, and nowhere else, but the next build should have a bunch of shiny awards for intrepid pilots.
VR
Not included in this build, but important to know: Vive will be coming with the next update! Unity has recently announced that they are supporting the Vive as a native VR set. Thank Phobos!
Now get out there and claim those lap records.
-Ryan
New Feature: Repair Stations!
In this update you will be seeing a series of enhancements, but the most exciting of all are the new auto-repair stations.
These platforms are pretty easy to use. When you see the flashing yellow lights, you are cleared to land on top of the platform. Land within the yellow circle and watch your Skimmer's frown turn upside down. :D
It will put out any fires, repair all chassis damage, refuel your tank, repower your Diverter, remove any lingering damage from your components, then send you on your way. It will not however, replace any missing components you have lost along the way, so its recommended to get your renobots to put you back together before you use it. This will probably be remedied in the future, but I can't figure out what to do with your missing parts. Do I warp them to you? Do I charge you for a new part?
On top of this I have:
Updated the engine
Enhanced the UI slightly.
Improved race bay models
Reworked the sales system in the Store to include partial Skimmer Sales.
Optimized some assets
From here, the next update will focus on:
New Steam Leaderboards (finally!)
Trophy and Achievement System
HTC Vive integration
MFD component
Rework the tutorial levels.
As always, give Vector 36 a good review if you like what you see, send me some feedback if you don't. Thanks for being awesome.
