OVRLRD is a mech combat simulator built from the ground up for Virtual Reality. Take the real, physical controls of a 50-foot bipedal weapons platform as you carry out complex operations across a challenging single-player campaign.
Greetings operators! I've been very busy behind the scenes preparing for launch, and it's involved a lot of very boring infrastructure work to address OVRLRD's biggest pain points. After reading through reams and reams of bug reports, user experience suggestions and (justifiably) irritated posts on various Discord servers, I compiled a massive list of things that have been annoying people.
There's still a lot of work to do (there will always be a lot of work to do) but here's a very brief rundown of the changes that just went into OVRLRD and the OVRLRD demo:
[list]
[*] Loads of bugfixes, particularly with the mission editor.
[*] Increased performance on low and mid-spec machines.
[*] Tweaked cockpit layout for comfort and convenience.
[*] Helpful hint labels over hovered controls so you can easily see what you're about to do.
[*] Miscellaneous QOL changes to do with saving preferences and reducing UX friction.
[/list]
There's also a massive number of changes that have been quietly going into the demo for months, so if you haven't tried it in a while, now's a great time to hop in! Have you seen the new building destruction system? How about the Twitch, web browser and VLC integration?
[img]https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/43035846/1e9bf563d8cf56301c61e0b70f859f4f1f882ab7.png[/img]
How about the new dust storm climate modifier?
[previewyoutube=nDG5c8uNO18;full][/previewyoutube]
Scroll down for the full changelog!
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If you run into bugs, or you have an idea for how OVRLRD could be better, join the [url=https://discord.gg/invite/geTFDs4wYD]discord[/url]! We have forums for reporting bugs and making suggestions, as well as discussion areas where operator can share piloting tips, squad strategies and just hang out talking about big robots.
Thanks again for all your support, and for giving OVRLRD a go! Full changelog follows:
[h1]CHANGELOG 30 AUGUST 2024[/h1]
[h2]ADDITIONS[/h2]
[list]
[*] Finally added canopy functionality to Starling.
[*] Added ALVR support for Quest 2.
[*] Gave NPCs access to the Albatross OVRLRD platform. Watch out.
[*] MISSION EDITOR: added basic undo/redo functionality using CTRL+Z and CTRL+Y or CTRL+SHIFT+Z.
[*] Added text hints to grippable VR controls to indicate their function if hand is in grab range.
[*] These can be toggled on and off in settings.
[*] Added localization framework for future additional language support.
[*] Added new 'dust storm' climate modifier. Dust storms limit visibility and force you to rely on your instruments.
[/list]
[h2]CHANGES[/h2]
[list]
[*] Adjusted cockpit layouts to reduce overlap between throttles and joysticks.
[*] Tweaked many particle effects and explosions to blend smoothly into terrain.
[*] Joysticks now use a 'smart-grab' interaction style. If you grab it briefly, your hand will lock to the stick.
[*] Increased NPC OVRLRD basic sight range from 600m to 900m.
[*] Significantly improved cockpit rendering performance (more buttons and switches are now GPU instanced, saving approx. 100-150 draw calls)
[*] When your hand is in range of an interactable control, the controller will very briefly vibrate.
[*] Adjustments to the pilot seat position will now be saved between sessions.
[*] Individual MFD buttons now light up when powered and linked to a data feed which uses them.
[*] Seat can no longer be moved more than 80cm from the origin.
[*] Forced terrain textures to sample at lower LOD at great distances, improving performance and reducing appearance of texture repetition.
[*] Tweaked lighting in Starling cockpit so you can see control labels better.
[*] Adjusted position of cockpit glass so it no longer clips into cockpit geometry.
[*] Shifted hit, lock and destroy indicators out of the way of the TGP crosshair.
[*] Reduced interaction radius for switches in 'hand motion' mode to mitigate issues of flipping two switches at once.
[*] MISSION EDITOR: infantry will now respond to AlertToPlayer effectors.
[*] MISSION EDITOR: disabled Conversations button while I work on implementation of this system.
[*] MISSION EDITOR: added confirmation and information prompts to Exit and Test buttons.
[/list]
[h2]FIXES[/h2]
[list]
[*] MISSION EDITOR: fixed several errors to do with loading and testing created missions.
[*] MISSION EDITOR: fixed a number of issues that caused logic objects to disappear or fail.
[*] MISSION EDITOR: fixed a bug that was causing terrain chunks to detach from each other when editing.
[*] Fixed an issue where switches in 'hand motion' mode would respond to flips in the wrong direction.
[*] Fixed the holohud weapon feed projection not correctly toggling between thermal and night vision.
[*] Fixed an issue with scripted events in Point Defense, causing tutorial sequence to skip ahead quickly.
[*] Fixed cloud shadows on terrain jumping position occasionally.
[*] Fixed an issue where the hangar hardpoint menu did not close when selecting a new mech.
[*] Fixed a similar issue which caused the tutorial to stall out early and cancel all dialogue.
[*] Fixed an issue where joystick adjust handles would reset to a previous custom position, not their default position.
[*] Fixed an issue causing infantry to sometimes ascend to heaven at 36km/s (500m per frame at 72 fps).
[*] Fixed an issue where player profile custom colors would not save. (More profile improvements to come.)
[*] Fixed an issue where the mesh for Structure_Tower_Aerial would render with strange dark faces.
[*] Fixed an issue where several gameplay settings were getting overridden in pre-build tests.
[*] Fixed an issue where unlicensed mechs would not be marked as such in the hangar.
[*] Fixed an issue where sometimes navmesh data would go missing from the build before deployment.
[*] Fixed some issues with switches when using hand motion mode rather than trigger or default mode.
[*] Fixed unavailable OVRLRD platforms not being marked as such in the hangar.
[*] Fixed sprite-based NPCs (infantry, civilian engineers) rolling with the camera view.
[/list]
[h2]KNOWN ISSUES (Working on it!)[/h2]
[list]
[*] Sometimes, very rarely, the shaders will be completely broken on startup, with invisible terrain.
[*] Restarting the game fixes this.
[*] Some LEDs will flicker during skirmish and only during skirmish. I know, I don't get it either.
[*] Having a gamepad plugged in may suppress VR controller input. Unplug your gamepad if you get stuck in the menus!
[*] Knuckles controllers can only pinch-grip controls when the hand is otherwise fully open.
[*] Grouped weapons must all be aimed independently before activating group-fire.
[*] If you die, the post-death spectator mode places your hands slightly too far away from your IRL wrists.
[/list]
That's all for now, operators. Enjoy the update, and tell your friends and favourite streamers about OVRLRD!