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Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Mar-25 22:33
by Loafmeister
Good morning Luke,

Yep, tried it in Vive last night, it works but with some limitations:

- the game itself works the same
- the motion controllers (used in gamepad mode) does not work well however due to the use of a "disc" and a lack of buttons. The disc on the controller is fine for many games but simply does not work well here at all. For this type of game, I wasn't really expecting it to
- the game does work fine using a Microsoft xbox gamepad so no big issue on the point above.

Really outside of the controllers, no issues at all with running the game on the vive. Actually there was one visual difference: on the vive nighttime was REALLY dark, while on the rift i was still able to see a bit more of the landscape (like it's illuminated a bit by the stars it wasn't pitch black). I'll have to try both to confirm, most of my testing is always after midnight, once we get a bit more punchy. LOL

For the cockpit, it could be me too because there's not a lot of space to back up. Like any cockpit, people adjust their seats accordingly. Yes, I too have often peered over the dashboard, it's pretty incredible so thumbs up to both you for experimenting with this and Unity for their support of VR built into their SDK.

After playing it for another hour last night, I think the biggest compliment I can give you is towards your implementation of the fractal landscape. It really feels like a new version of the old game's tech as it somehow still feels like the old game.

I don't know how far you are willing to take this experience. Is the jump from 0.9 to 1.0 just to add the alien pilot, add more missions (is there an end level?) and tweak a few things? Or are you looking at adding new features and making this a pseudo non-official sequel? As weird as it sounds, I sometimes like playing level 1 continuously as it just allows me to fly all over the place and just admire the graphics.

In an alternate reality, some guy named Luke was hired to do a sequel to the classic lucasfilm game. In that game, Luke recreated the classic but then added dogfighting, a basic mission structure such as: support other rescue pilots while you clear the path of turrets and aliens, some to capture downed ALIEN pilots by first shooting them out of the sky, etc. In that alternate reality, Lucasfilm games was brought back from the dead facilitating this.

Hey wait a second... https://movieweb.com/star-wars-lucasfilm-games-disney/

Lol. All kidding aside, I believe your goal was to recreate the original classic. Talk about being on the right path to success, this last jump to 0.9 really pushed this way past what I expected from a homebrew single person team. Once more, well done Luke!

I'll share the new link you provided, let's see if this gets you more visibility. I'd also love to see more people comment. Your game can only improve by having more people test

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Mar-25 23:57
by Loafmeister
Now posted on the Oculus and Vive subreddit. Hopefully it generates interest that can lead to good testing and feedback to your gem of a remake

Oculus: https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comment ... ssic_8bit/

Vive: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/ ... ssic_8bit/

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Mar-27 21:35
by Luke
Thanks for testing it on the Vive and great to hear it works, even though the controls don't really work with it. At night the mountains are supposed to be barely visible, so it sounds like the Vive's display is better or more accurate than the Rift's, at least for displaying dark areas :)

The cockpit seating calibration also adjusts forward and backward, so wherever you're sitting no matter how close or far from your sensors (or the Vive equivalent), you'll be "calibrated" to the position I set for the seat, which I think is probably a bit too close.

The plan for 1.0 includes the addition of the alien, but also rounding out the gameplay, improving the graphics and sounds, and an assortment of other updates to bring it closer to the feel of the original. The alien and graphics updates will probably be the bulk of the work for me as I'm still fairly new to 3D modelling.

My aim for 1.0 will be a close replica of the original game. Beyond that, I'm not sure at this stage. In my discussions with David Fox he put forward some interesting ideas for new features that the original didn't have, and I've certainly had some ideas of my own, and several others have sent in their ideas as well.

Interesting coincidence that Disney have decided to revive Lucasfilm Games :) - though I suspect that's probably more to do with developing new Star Wars games than anything else.

Thanks again for testing it out on the Vive, and thanks for the kind words :)

Cheers,
Luke

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Jun-02 03:49
by Loafmeister
Hi Luke,

So I bought the Oculus Rift S and wanted to report on the experience which so far, is pretty outstanding. The increase in resolution and added sub-pixels really removes most of the SDE issues I had before. On the flip side, it made my existing Vive persona non grata so I'll be selling it sometime in the future (well, once I can get my hands on The Valve Index, not available in Canada dammit LOL)

Playing it today reminded me of how much fun it is. I was reading one of your messages in this thread that stated you were looking down the side valleys to see if you could spot any pilots. This would be something to consider if you end adding to the original experience: Finding ships that don't have a working visual beacon, therefore can't be spotted on radar, thus providing you with bigger points (highscore chasing would make finding these ships a worthwhile strategy).

Rob

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Sep-22 03:33
by DavidBFox
Loafmeister wrote:
2019-Mar-24 04:20
bug report:

- first off, the pilot / shield issue: I was wrong. I guess I was so far from the pilot that it took a long time for him to get to me, so I thought he wasn't coming and... when I pressed the hatch he was finally nearby?

- in saying that, once you turn your shields off and the pilot is on his way to you, if you turn the shields back on even if the pilot is far away it will state the pilot is killed. I would think the pilot would need to be near your ship for this to kill him. I don't recall how it worked back in the original game but something to keep in mind from a logic perspective, maybe it should only kill him/her once he's within a few seconds from your ship.
In the original version, I had it set that the pilot would not leave his/her ship if you landed too far away -- I think the message "PILOT TOO FAR" would appear. So my assumption was that the shields were powerful enough that they overlapped the pilot-run-safe-distance -- any pilot that was close enough to make it to your ship without their suit melting would also be in range to have your shields fry them.

So, if it feels like it's taking too long for them to arrive, maybe that should be outside the safe range. It's also boring to have to wait too long, especially if you can't see them. Maybe time some typical pilot approaches from the original game. Guessing it's in the 5-10 second range?

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Sep-29 03:52
by Loafmeister
David: That's a good point, never thought of it that way (distance of shield strength/effect)

Incidentally, as sappy as this may sound, I feel kind of giddy seeing you respond to my post. the game you and your team created was IMHO an amazing achievement, especially when considering the hardware of the time. Also, I think it should have been the first game ever to merit the sacred "dirty trousers" award (if such an award existed LOL). Seriously, that was a brilliant idea and I'm looking forward to seeing what Luke comes up with as far as interpreting your creature.

Sequels are not always a good idea. But I so would have loved to have seen this series continue. Hopefully Luke is satisfied when he concludes this project and maybe takes it a bit further with some of the ideas thrown about it. There is a way to extend the legacy of this game.

All that to say: Thank you David for expanding our imagination with your gem of a game. In my neck of the woods in Ottawa, Canada, I had quite a few friends who loved your game on the Apple II and C64. It was a joy to read all about it in the "Retrogamer" magazine and it's been a fantastic fun time experiencing this redo, especially in VR.

Luke: I got an oculus Quest as well. If unity has an option to port it to Unity/Android, something for you to consider.

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Sep-30 15:18
by Luke
Welcome to the forum David!
In the original version, I had it set that the pilot would not leave his/her ship if you landed too far away -- I think the message "PILOT TOO FAR" would appear. So my assumption was that the shields were powerful enough that they overlapped the pilot-run-safe-distance -- any pilot that was close enough to make it to your ship without their suit melting would also be in range to have your shields fry them.

So, if it feels like it's taking too long for them to arrive, maybe that should be outside the safe range. It's also boring to have to wait too long, especially if you can't see them. Maybe time some typical pilot approaches from the original game. Guessing it's in the 5-10 second range?
I've just checked the original for the time the pilot takes to get to your ship, and 5-10 seconds is correct, varying by the distance you are from the pilot. You can see my test at https://youtu.be/wDNUwyGjrOo where I first land as far as possible (takes ~10s), and then land very close to the pilot (takes ~5s).

In my remake, if you land the furthest distance possible it takes 50 seconds (!) for the pilot to reach you, so I definitely need to change something there. I think reducing the range at which the pilot will approach, or increasing the pilot's movement speed, or a combination of the two should do it. The pilot can also be easily obscured by the terrain, so it's not always clear that the pilot is actually approaching. Perhaps I need to add something in the HUD to indicate this.
Luke: I got an oculus Quest as well. If unity has an option to port it to Unity/Android, something for you to consider.
Unity does support building for Android, so I've previously tested an Android build on my phone and while it works, it needs some optimisation and touch screen control support. Not sure how that would work with the Oculus Quest, but it looks like there's some info online about using Unity to develop for Quest, so it might be something I can look into - I'll probably need to get a Quest myself to test with :) - Do you know if the Oculus Quest can sideload APKs?

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Oct-03 11:42
by Loafmeister
Hi Luke

It certainly does, there’s even a pc open source (I think?) front end called “Side quest” to facilitate the sideloading, complete with its own store front. There are a few games that were not approved by oculus that have shown up on SideQuest. Oculus is allowing support for sideloading through its “unknown source” developer portal

https://github.com/the-expanse/SideQuest

Btw If you ever get a quest, get “tea for gods”. Its barely a demo of a game but It’s an eye opener for what can be done when using the quest biggest advantage (wireless).

Not meant as a sales pitch, but the freedom of wireless combined with a decent headset/features really shows why the quest is a bit hit sales wise and why it’s currently my favorite VR headset even though I have a kick butt pc and rift s / Vive hmd’s

Anyway would certainly be cool to visit your game on the quest, I think others would be keen to check it out too

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Oct-11 05:23
by trekkie22
Do you have a list of missing things? If it helps, I can try to find differences and make a list of them.

I really love Rescue on Fractalus since the first time I played it about 30 years ago. Would love to help you with the remake. :)

Re: Fractalus 0.9.0 alpha released!

Posted: 2019-Oct-15 20:01
by Luke
Do you have a list of missing things? If it helps, I can try to find differences and make a list of them.

I really love Rescue on Fractalus since the first time I played it about 30 years ago. Would love to help you with the remake. :)
I do have a list of things to implement in the remake, but there may be things I have missed - certainly the closer I get to 1.0 the more things I'm noticing in the original game that aren't quite the same in the remake or are missing. If you notice anything let me know :)