[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/cc18f2d59193d063e8780fc3951e9bd8bec6b58c.png[/img] [h1]Hi everyone,[/h1] Hope you are all doing fine! After a strange chaotic year with hard lockdowns and working from home, things are slowly returning (a bit) to normal in our country. We are still hard at work on the new Security update 0.1.2. Last time we shared some information about the new lockpicking system. The largest changes we are making for this new update are on the detection system and the Guards/SWAT AI. We can’t wait to share more about these game-changing reworks, but I'm afraid it still needs some time in the oven. It is going to be worth it tho! So we have some other cool stuff to share in the meantime. Once again it is time to tell you about a rework we did on an existing system. It is one of my personal favorites so far and it will have a big impact on how the game plays out: the new Health system! [b][i]PLEASE NOTE: The content in this blog is a preview of what is to come, and can not be found in the live version of the game just yet. It will be added when the next update (0.1.2) is released.[/i][/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [previewyoutube=lqz0MVr4oDU;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]Health System[/h1] Before we begin, let's bring up how the current/old system works. There was always a health present system in the game, but it was not so obviously present. The player had a set amount of health (which was not visible to the player) and could receive damage from guards and SWAT. The old system worked with regeneration. If you did not receive any damage for a set amount of time, your health would regenerate to full. While it worked in the beginning, it felt very easy to get into a fight. It made it more appealing to start a fight than to sneak past a guard. You would only die if you would get hit in quick succession, and even after you won the firefight, it had not any big impact on the rest of your game, since you automatically heal up to full. This method basically gave you unlimited health. The new system fully changes how your health works.[b] The player still has a set amount of health, but it will not automatically regenerate over time.[/b] Every time the player takes damage, it will stay until the player heals themselves at a certain point. This also means that we will be adding different methods for the player to heal. This new health system will greatly change the way you need to play the game. Your health is now limited for each heist, so every time you get hit will have consequences for the rest of your mission. Every time you get into a combat situation, you now need to keep an eye on both your health and ammo. We will share more about the upcoming Guards and SWAT rework in the following dev posts,[b] but we can already share that, in the 0.1.2 update, it will be possible to lose sight during a fight.[/b] This means that you will be able to rehide again from guards and Swat once the alarm has been raised. This will give the player a big window of opportunity to restock on ammo and health and to get ready for the next possible flight. Panther VR is at its core a stealth-focused game, and we think that giving the player a more limited amount of health, with a combination of healing, increases the motivation to focus more on a stealthy approach. The amount of health and healing the player receives will be more than enough to support the firefights after getting spotted, and it will always give the option to use a more violent approach, but hiding becomes way more powerful. With the new health system comes also a better visualization of your health. The player will have their watch back which includes information about their health. You can find this information located on the wrist. It currently shows 2 bars. The top one is your current health, and the second one is your available healing. Your health bar will be green if you are at and near full health. It will turn orange if you are wounded, and red if you are critical/near death. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [previewyoutube=MDaMBbYUZ34;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]Syringe[/h1] One of the different ways you can heal yourself is with the use of a syringe. The syringe is always part of your basic kit and has its own new slot located on your arm with the watch. You can grab the syringe with an empty hand. Once held you can stab the syringe in your other hand or straight up in your body/chest to heal yourself. So how does healing work with the syringe? The syringe holds charges that the player can use to heal themselves. Each charge contains enough to heal the player to full. And the amount of charge that is not used, will remain there for later use. In the example video, the syringe only contains one charge. In this case, if the player has only 60% health, and 100% charge, you will only use up 40% charge to heal you up to full. Once the syringe is used you can release it to return it to your arm. Keep in mind that once the syringe has been used, it will need to recharge for several seconds before it can be used again. So you have to pick the right moment to choose [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [previewyoutube=2YyPLRs_HP8;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]Healing Station[/h1] Besides using the syringe, there are also other ways to heal yourself. One of these methods is to look for a Healing Station. These stations will randomly spawn across the heist locations. They are fully unlocked and accessible to the player and will open automatically once in range. The Station contains one full healing charge. You can start the healing process by grabbing the lever inside of the machine. The machine will start healing you over time until it's empty. You can stop the process at any time, and you will be even able to use your other hand to shoot guards while healing up. The station will display your personal stats in combination with its own charge level. Once the healing station is empty it will automatically close and can not be used again. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [previewyoutube=M7YL4hK12dE;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]Healing Items[/h1] We are also adding a new loot item. The First aid can be found around the level, and will instantly heal the player for 25%. So search around in drawers and lockers for a nice health bonus. For now, we start with only the first aid kit. But more items can/will be added in future updates. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [previewyoutube=7AhF06HFJ2c;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]Over Heal[/h1] If you take some damage and use up your syringe, there comes a point that you might be running out of healing. This is where overheal comes into play. When your syringe is not fully stocked you can refill its charges with the healing station and first aid kits. For now, this will only happen if you are fully healed. All excess healing will fill up your syringe for later use. With this feature, you can restock at the healing station or save the first aid kits for later use. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [h1]CONCLUSION[/h1] We are really looking forward to your reactions to this new health System. Our goal is to make stealth more valuable while also making the combat more tactical. We've already played heist with the new system, and it already feels like you are going to need a whole new approach to the game. We can't wait to test it out! - Jesse [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/a768e497bd3296cc3cbe90256ab695f4e51f3427.png[/img] [h1]Roadmap[/h1] For more information about upcoming content, updates, and latest fixes and features, you can check out our roadmap. [url=http://www.wolfdoginteractive.com/panther-vr-roadmap/][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/f48a4a570dd8dba402bfe5fa6185e464c411efe9.png[/img][/url] [h1]Discord[/h1] If you haven't already, don't forget to join the [url=discord.gg/PantherVR]Panther VR Discord! [/url]Share your comments and suggestion with us and the community! [url=http://www.wolfdoginteractive.com/panther-vr-roadmap/][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/acb31bccc222a55b5a14d3c79c67181384e25441.png[/img][/url] [h1]Socials[/h1] For more information about current and future updates, from Panther VR and other Wolfdog Interactive games, follow our Socials! [list] [*] [url=https://twitter.com/Wolfdog_Int]Wolfdog Twitter[/url] [*] [url=https://www.facebook.com/WolfdogInt]Wolfdog Facebook[/url] [*] [url=https://www.instagram.com/wolfdoginteractive]Wolfdog Instagram[/url] [/list] [h1]Developer page[/h1] Check out and follow our Steam Developer page for more news on our VR Titles. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Wolfdog]Wolfdog Interactive Developer Page.[/url] [h1]Thanks[/h1] Thanks for all the support and feedback from our amazing community. This update is made possible by you guys! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35886416/78b1c11e2afa645785072d0f7b0a3015aec1e8a5.png[/img]