Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Loafmeister
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Loafmeister » 2020-Dec-31 09:46

note to self: do not pause facing pilots! Thanks for the tip Urbinoo! LOL

Luke:
- Quest build: You can count on me to test it if you need assistance!

- End sequence: This is excellent, looking forward to failing miserably! LOL

- Endurance game mode: thank you for considering it! High score fans will love it!

Loafmeister
Posts: 33
Joined: 2016-Jan-11 15:54

Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Loafmeister » 2020-Dec-31 10:05

Hi again.

I forgot to say your HUD contains level and time info but that is also displayed in your cockpit. Perhaps if possible if using the cockpit camera to remove these from the HUD? Superfluous info I guess

Also what is the point of time? It seems to reset every time we pick up a pilot, I thought at first it was to give total game time. I'm obviously having a brain cramp here.

Just wanted to add I tried with the quest 2 on my other desktop PC (nvidia 980). I didn't have a problem at all with the recentering but I think the reason why I'm having issues with the Valve Index is because when I am seated it's because I'm outside the defined play area. I will try again tomorrow on that pc and see if the recentering works anywhere within the existing play area. At least might narrow it down a bit. This isn't an issue though with Visual Pinball VR version, I can recenter at that same location and it works but maybe it's a unity thing.

Finally it is bizarre but playing in VR brings out a totally different play style then when playing flatscreen. Within VR, I seem to play much slower, crawling along the canyons at a much slower speed.

Also even though the VR version is installed in a different folder, I noticed it shares the saves. I like that personally! Some may want a different save possible so you might want to consider adding multiple save slots for those who prefer to separate the two. No biggy here, I don't mind it as is.

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Luke
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Luke » 2020-Dec-31 16:45

Hello Luke,

I just registered to be able to warmly thank you and congratulate you for your work, this is an awesome remake !

Maybe a suggestion : when the game is paused and I want to resume, I press the A button, but the game remembered that button press and is immediately firing ! Too bad for that poor pilot in sight... :D
Welcome to the forum Urbinoo, and thanks!

Haha, that poor pilot! Thanks for letting me know, I've added that to my list to fix for the next build :)
Luke's Software and Design
http://www.lsdwa.com

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Luke
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Luke » 2020-Dec-31 16:46

Quest build: You can count on me to test it if you need assistance!
I'll keep you posted :)
End sequence: This is excellent, looking forward to failing miserably! LOL
Good luck! While testing on level 99 I generally only survive about 15-20 seconds before being shot down - both in my remake and the original. The turrets just lock on too fast :)
I forgot to say your HUD contains level and time info but that is also displayed in your cockpit. Perhaps if possible if using the cockpit camera to remove these from the HUD? Superfluous info I guess

Also what is the point of time? It seems to reset every time we pick up a pilot, I thought at first it was to give total game time. I'm obviously having a brain cramp here.
I can add a separate option to hide/show the time and level info at the top left in the HUD. In the original game the top left was used for status text, but I've placed that just above the center of the view.

The time is just the current time of day, in MM:SS format cycling through 00:00 to 08:59 for the 9 minute day/night cycle on Fractalus. It shouldn't reset with each pilot as it's tied to the sun's position.
Just wanted to add I tried with the quest 2 on my other desktop PC (nvidia 980). I didn't have a problem at all with the recentering but I think the reason why I'm having issues with the Valve Index is because when I am seated it's because I'm outside the defined play area. I will try again tomorrow on that pc and see if the recentering works anywhere within the existing play area. At least might narrow it down a bit. This isn't an issue though with Visual Pinball VR version, I can recenter at that same location and it works but maybe it's a unity thing.
It could be the way that I'm doing the calibration, as I'm not using any VR APIs to calibrate, rather when you calibrate in Fractalus I'm taking your current headset offset from your play area's center, and then applying the inverse of that offset to the game's camera to force the camera to the correct position in the cockpit. If you're outside of your defined play area, I'm not sure what position the Valve Index would be reporting - it may be reporting the center of your play area. I know with the Quest 2 if you move outside the play area it will cut over to the passthrough view, which I expect stops reporting the headset position to the game.
Finally it is bizarre but playing in VR brings out a totally different play style then when playing flatscreen. Within VR, I seem to play much slower, crawling along the canyons at a much slower speed.
Probably a good idea to take a bit slower in VR. I've made myself dizzy a fair few times while playing it in VR as I tend to fly around at top speed while testing :)
Luke's Software and Design
http://www.lsdwa.com

Loafmeister
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Loafmeister » 2021-Jan-01 03:29

Clock: ok I’ll have to revisit this. I could have sworn it reset whenever I picked up a pilot. Maybe I just happened to hit midnight lol

VR slower play-style: my VR legs are pretty good, the only sensation of “weird” is the opening cinematic when the ship appears and the camera moves to track the ship. But even that wasn’t bad at all. I can even play doom for a while without ill effects too!

I just find in VR, especially at night the realism of navigating those peaks and valleys feel so good, I just seem to take a cautious approach. Ie this isn’t dizziness related it’s more a realistic effect of what VR brings to the gameplay. I tend to move my head and body to pear around the cockpit window, like I’m sitting in a real cockpit. It’s quite fascinating

Btw really impressed with the quest 2’s screens in this game. I was expecting more video compression but it translates very well. And this is on my pc which I don’t believe I’ve set any adjustments for clarity beyond the oculus home video settings . That is an amazing headset for its price range

Question: for ideas for update beyond version 1.0: are you ok if I create a standalone thread just to focus on that? This is just for ideas for everyone to contribute , there’s no pressure just might be easier for a specific thread for people to pop in with ideas. I realize that with 1.0 aside from bug fixes, you have achieved your target

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Luke
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Luke » 2021-Jan-05 16:52

VR slower play-style: my VR legs are pretty good, the only sensation of “weird” is the opening cinematic when the ship appears and the camera moves to track the ship. But even that wasn’t bad at all. I can even play doom for a while without ill effects too!

I just find in VR, especially at night the realism of navigating those peaks and valleys feel so good, I just seem to take a cautious approach. Ie this isn’t dizziness related it’s more a realistic effect of what VR brings to the gameplay. I tend to move my head and body to pear around the cockpit window, like I’m sitting in a real cockpit. It’s quite fascinating
I couldn't think of a better way to do the intro cinematic in VR, and after testing it myself and finding it didn't feel that bad I left it as is, which was also easier for me as I didn't have to add a variation of the cinematic :)

I found the same thing playing in VR, moving my head and peering around separate to the ship's motion, but also finding that when I'm trying to aim at a turret I have my head locked on to the turret while rotating the ship around to aim at it. It's a strange feeling and hard to describe :)
Btw really impressed with the quest 2’s screens in this game. I was expecting more video compression but it translates very well. And this is on my pc which I don’t believe I’ve set any adjustments for clarity beyond the oculus home video settings . That is an amazing headset for its price range
The Quest 2 was quite an improvement over the Rift, I noticed the dark areas are actually dark in the Quest 2, making night flying in Fractalus more like the desktop experience. I haven't noticed any graphics quality issues using the Oculus Link cable which I'm really impressed with. The only issue I've had with the Quest 2 is that sometimes the Link connection doesn't work when I first start it up, but unplugging/replugging the cable fixes it.
Question: for ideas for update beyond version 1.0: are you ok if I create a standalone thread just to focus on that? This is just for ideas for everyone to contribute , there’s no pressure just might be easier for a specific thread for people to pop in with ideas. I realize that with 1.0 aside from bug fixes, you have achieved your target
Go for it! I'm not sure what I'll be doing for 1.1, if anything, but it would be good to collect some ideas.
Luke's Software and Design
http://www.lsdwa.com

Loafmeister
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Loafmeister » 2021-Jan-06 03:21

Groovy Luke, I've created that "future update" thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=412

This is SUCH a fun game man, I really hope you feel great pride in this because it is earned. I hope your Quest 2 efforts pan out, I suspect this is the type of game in VR that will really please the sidequest fans and bring more positive attention and energy to your project

Kuresha
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Kuresha » 2021-Jan-16 02:56

Ten years of awaiting and total disappointment.
Alien is not scary at all!!! This alien doesn't even have a rating PG-13 :(
When a Alien enters into ship, the ship explodes quickly. It was much longer in the original.

Loafmeister
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by Loafmeister » 2021-Jan-16 14:08

Everyone is allowed their opinion but if you look at how the alien is animated, it seems to me it is the same loop as in the original game. Personally for version 1.0, it is fine (maybe though adding a musical queue as mentioned by others would be good to add the jump scare) but the animation reflects the goal, to recreate the original game using modern technology. Luke has also already stated this may be revisited a bit, especially the audio.

Now for a version 1.1 or "redux" mode, I don't disagree there could be an adjustment done to improve things. What I would do is look at having the timing adjusted in the animation, and maybe add cracks in the windshield on subsequent punches. I think just adding a pause right after the punch adds "weight" to the punch, then have the alien rear back a bit on the next punch and again once it makes contact with the window, have a quick moment with nothing happening, then repeat.

A good example of this "weight" can be seen on the last episode of season two in the Mandalorian, in how the Dark Troopers keep hitting the door. The Punch - pause - punch really bring home the strength of each punch. I wouldn't recommend as long a pause since this is an organic creature but breaking the canned looped animation could be a good path to explore. Changing the timing of this pause and the effect of each punch (larger cracks) between different creature attacks could also lead to some nice variation and level of panic.

Though really at the end of the day, once we know how to defeat them it takes 1/2 second to dispose of them so fair play to say "is it worth it?"

NamedUser
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Re: Fractalus 1.0.0 released!

Post by NamedUser » 2021-Jan-22 16:49

I tried to download both 32 and 64-bit versions but I can't install them because apparently Windows 10 Smart screen thinks that they are harmful and stops executing them.

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