OVRLRD News

Greetings, operators. It's been a little while since I posted any updates - that's because I wasn't 100% sure if the current big gamble would pay off, and I didn't want to post excitedly about it then have to chuck the whole thing out.

Today I confirmed that, actually, it is going to pay off, so here's what's coming!

[h2]OVRLRD IS UGLY[/h2]

"No!" I hear you cry, "the low-res aesthetic was redolent of yore! The vibes were impeccable! You can't do this!" I agree, dear operator, the vibes were impeccable. Unfortunately lots of people who should be playing and enjoying OVRLRD right now have been turned off by the dated aesthetic, and it doesn't do one of the main jobs a game's artstyle should do: create and reinforce expectations of gameplay.

OVRLRD is a mech simulator, and part of a simulator's job is to represent the world and the simulated vehicle at a convincing level of fidelity. If the fidelity of the machine does not match the fidelity of the environment it lives in, that's a sticking point for most people. I want as many people to have a cool mech simulator experience as possible, and if that means the game needs to look nicer then that's that.

I'm not a good artist, and I can't afford to pay for one, but I can do the next best thing, which is rip out the terrain engine and replace it with something better.

This is also the reason I haven't pushed any bugfixes in a little while - apologies, I know there's an issue with Q3s controllers in the demo, I'll get on it as soon as I can!

[h2]OVRLRD IS NOT AS UGLY[/h2]

OVRLRD's old terrain engine was specialised for performance, making use of low-resolution meshes, reduced texture samples and weird hacks to make visual tricks work within the confines of VR. Since I started work on that, the state of the art has advanced and some of the old limitations no longer apply. It got to the point where the work required to maintain and expand this terrain system wasn't worth it, so I made the risky decision to throw it out and license a much better terrain system built by a much smarter programmer than me.

Ripping out a substantial chunk of the game's infrastructure is a big task, and it's kept me very busy the last few weeks. Loads of systems have had to be adapted, redesigned or rebuilt from scratch, and I was worried for a while that I wasn't going to be able to hit my performance targets once the whole thing was done. Luckily, today I managed to hit a stable 72fps in the redesigned basic training mission, which means I should be able to overhaul the whole game without sacrificing performance.

Here's some before-and-after shots to give you an idea of the change:

BEFORE:


AFTER:


BEFORE:


AFTER:


BEFORE:


AFTER:


As you can see, flat textures have been replaced with proper grass and foliage; all textures are improved and higher-resolution; terrain blending is much better; the ugly low-poly clipping roads have been removed entirely; all trees have been replaced with much better trees; weirdly low-res buildings have been replaced with aesthetically coherent versions; and the terrain shape itself is far more naturalistic.

Under the hood I've got access to much better tools that give me greater control over the design of maps, and putting environments together is now about five times faster and has better end results. OVRLRD still isn't winning any beauty contests, but it's much lower down the ranks for the ugly awards.

The new systems also offer greater flexibility in some areas, allowing for nice little interactions and animations like this:

[video]https://i.imgur.com/adaA4EP.mp4[/video]

[video]https://i.imgur.com/DHnDni6.mp4[/video]

There are other, much bigger gameplay-relevant things that these systems might allow me to do, but I'm not ready to talk about those just yet (in case they blow up in my face).

There's still a lot of work to do before this update arrives. I still need to refactor a few systems and redesign all the existing campaign missions. Then on top of that I need to rebuild the skirmish map generation and figure out how much rebuilding the scenario editor will need. I'm not sure how long this will take, but I'm hoping for a span of only a few more weeks.

I'm still committed to making OVRLRD run on older machines. Some of the visual upgrades will have a performance cost associated with them, but I'm going to try to include robust graphics options that will still allow people to get a decent framerate on mid- or low-end rigs.

That's all I have to share at the moment. There's more that'll be coming when this update drops, but for now I need to get back to work!

Don't forget to head over to the discord to discuss the game or get any specific questions answered.

Thanks again for your patience and support. I hope you like what's coming!

-nige

Hi! I'm putting myself in timeout because in my rush to fix Quest 3S controller tracking, I broke controller tracking for everyone else. This hotfix resolves that, so if you tried to play the game in the last 8 hours and it didn't work at all, that's why.

I've been working on a very secret feature that won't be ready for a while, and it involves helicopters. I didn't run my normal suite of tests in the rush and failed to notice that a glitched helicopter in the main menu scene was causing the core initialization code to abort early. This meant that instead of failing to detect Quest 3S controllers, it failed to detect any controllers at all.

For those keeping track, this is I think the fourth time I've broken the game like this, and I would rank it as the third most embarrassing. Thank you again for your understanding, and for supporting solo developers!

Hi all. Just a quick note that when a new headset or set of controllers is released, I have to manually add their string identifiers to OVRLRD to properly support them on as many platforms as possible. They will often work fine anyway, but in the case of the Quest 3S this did not happen.

Thankfully someone experienced this, then opened the game again in non-VR mode and submitted a bug report, while their headset was still connected. This sent an error log which included the controller strings, so I was able to add them in this patch. Q3S controllers should now track correctly. (Big thanks to that person, whoever you are!)

In future, if you experience this, that is a great way to let me know so it gets fixed ASAP. Thanks, all.

CHANGES
-Added support for Meta Quest 3S controllers.
-Replaced tank muzzle flash effect with bigger beefier one, plus recoil animation.

FIXES
-Fixed a visual error where underwater terrain seams were too visible.

CHANGES
-Temporarily disabled random skirmish for bugfixing work. (Use career mode for a similar experience.)
-Increased sturdiness of most buildings.
-Upgraded engine version, improving performance generally.
-First-pass work on [REDACTED], [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] units.
-Experimental work on [REDACTED].

FIXES
-Fixed an issue where custom and workshop scenarios would not load in the scenarios menu, only endlessly spinning.
-Fixed music volume not responding to settings.
-Fixed lots of volume inconsistencies throughout the game.
-Fixed a potential softlock in the hangar when selecting operator.
-Fixed radar module not being available in anti-air mission.
-Fixed a case where the ejector seat could leave the pilot behind in the doomed cockpit.

KNOWN ISSUES (Working on it!)
- Mechs may sometimes blast off into the air for no reason, and may break their legs on landing. Sorry.
- Some explosion, smoke and dust effects may flicker when overlapping each other.
- Some controllers may not track. If your controllers are not supported, notify me and send an error log and I will add them!
- Having a gamepad plugged in may suppress VR controller input. Unplug your gamepad if you get stuck in the menus!
- In some cases, allies in Liberation will spot the enemy and begin the assault before you arrive.
- If you die, the post-death spectator mode places your hands slightly too far away from your IRL wrists.
- Sometimes, very rarely, the shaders will be completely broken on startup, with invisible terrain.
-Restarting the game fixes this.

Greetings, operators.

This update, as with every update, will probably have some major bug that I've missed. If you're lucky enough to be the first to spot it, please let me know so I can race to push the inevitable hotfix before anyone else notices. This is kind of a tradition now. Thank you.

I'm pleased to announce that OVRLRD's development is proceeding more or less on-schedule! Thanks to this being a solo project, I don't have to announce that our board of directors is brutally slashing the dev team to buy yachts for shareholders. To celebrate, OVRLRD is 20% off for the next seven days. Tell your friends! I mean it. Tell them. Now.

The current flow (in which I release an update on the public_testing branch to find and fix the worst bugs, then push it to everyone for wider gameplay feedback, then iterate further) seems to be working well. In that spirit:

Your copy of OVRLRD has just been upgraded with the new Career Mode. Since the campaign is taking a while, I wanted to beef up the skirmish experience so there's something a bit more meaningful to do in the meantime. Play procedurally-generated missions to earn cash, use the cash to buy modules and mechs, and hire operators, as well as repair or replace damaged equipment between missions.

This represents a massive overhaul of the underlying metagame systems: your mechs, modules and NPC allies now exist as individuals, with persistent stats and damage. The gamemode itself can (and will) be improved, but it's got to the point where it needs broader testing and feedback to develop further.

The update also includes a bunch of other stuff. Here's the lowdown:

[h2]CAREER MODE[/h2]



You may already know the details of Career Mode from this previous news post so I won't go on ad nauseam about it - but it's crucial that you let me know what you think of it! I've played a fair bit of it myself, but to improve and refine it further I need feedback. Luckily, I've made it easier to give feedback, with the new:

[h2]INGAME BUG REPORTER[/h2]



You can now open this handy form to type out a bug report and send it straight to me, with an automatically-attached log file. It's available from the main menu and from the ingame wrist menu. You can also use it to send general feedback if you like, but that's probably better sent using the 'feedback form' button in the main menu, which directs you to this google form.

Alternatively, you can chat about OVRLRD with me and other operators in the increasingly nice official Discord server. Everyone's friendly! No unfriendliness tolerated.

[h2]CUSTOM LIVERIES WITH WORKSHOP SUPPORT[/h2]



Take off your VR headset (or just don't put it on) and try out the new ingame Livery Designer! You can easily use this to create custom paintjobs for all four OVRLRD chassis'ses's. You can also just click a button to open the texture folder and manually edit the textures in your program of choice.

Best of all, the OVRLRD Steam Workshop lets you upload and download liveries freely! Just click 'upload' in the editor and your livery will be sent directly to the workshop, which will open in a browser window so you can fine-tune the online listing. Subscribed liveries will appear alongside all the custom and standard ones when you're outfitting a platform.

You may have to restart the game for newly-subscribed liveries to download (working on that, sorry). I also believe I've fixed a bug that was causing custom scenarios not to upload or download properly, so if you were waiting for that, it's a good time to try it out!

[h2]OVERHAULED HANGAR[/h2]





No longer will we outfit our mechs in a mysterious void! The new hangar is built around having a collection of OVRLRD platforms, modules and operators (for career mode) and should provide a much less weird and much more crunchy experience.

It's a bit more pared-back for the campaign and scenario modes, since there isn't a persistence element to these, but it should still be an improvement. In career mode, you can use this to buy and sell platforms, hire and fire operators, browse modules and carry out repairs.

Again, this will need feedback to get the user experience into a nice place, so let me know your thoughts!

[h2]IMPROVED POST-MISSION TACTICAL RECONSTRUCTION[/h2]



This was rubbish so I've made it good. You can now watch your match play out on an accurate terrain map, so if you were sniped from 2km away by someone sneaky you can watch and better understand how you came to such a miserable end.

[h2]AIRBORNE DEPLOYMENT[/h2]



This is a BIG work-in-progress, but I put in an early version of it to fix the issue of players getting walloped to death before they could even boot up. In career mode, you can now select your drop-off point and you'll be flown to the target in style.



This is kind of a proof of concept. I like the idea of OVRLRDs being transported by larger vehicles as a way of expanding the theatre of operations and getting around the tricky problem of OVRLRDs not being particularly fast movers. No promises, but I'm thinking about other forms these combat deployments could take.

[h2]COCKPIT CALIBRATOR[/h2]

I recently gave myself carpal tunnel syndrome, and in doing so realised that the default joystick positions are actually very uncomfortable. I've dismounted the joysticks and placed them on vertical rods, and moved them closer to where the operators' knees would normally be. I'm aware this won't be ideal for everyone, though, so I've also added a 'calibrator' button to the main menu.





This allows you to sit in a mock cockpit and adjust the default positions of both joysticks, as well as the operator's chair. I'm hoping this will make things a bit more comfortable for everyone, and prevent people having to wrestle too much with the cockpit controls while they're trying to listen to the tutorial. This replaces the janky adjustment-handle situation we had before.

[h2]MANY MANY MANY MANY BUGFIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS[/h2]

This update involved a lot of infrastructure work on the codebase and renderer, which is why it's light on new content. I chucked in a missile dazzler module for fun (equip it to automatically disrupt incoming homing missiles) but the bulk of the work has been on career mode, with the following big-ticket changes:

• Fixed a couple of critical bugs to do with switches and buttons, where you may have struggled to actuate them while the mech was in motion.
  
• Fixed serious issues with custom scenario loading and workshop integration. This should work reasonably well now - please inform me if you have any problems!
  
• Fixed loads of small strange errors with AI behaviour, particularly edge cases that caused NPCs not to attack you.
  
• Finally fixed 'groundhug' missile guidance mode. This rules now.
  
• Major changes to terrain generation to make it less lumpy, more interesting and more realistic.
  
• Significantly reduced CPU and GPU overhead in many situations - this should improve performance particularly on laptops and older machines.
  
• Reduced jank and unpleasant stuttering when switching between scenes, added QOL things like loading spinners.
  
• Added music volume slider, as well as new music tracks from composer Samuel Lilly. (Listen here!)

Yet again, I must thank you for all your support. OVRLRD can't quite pay for its own development yet, but it's getting easier every day. I'm hopeful for the future. Full changelog follows:



ADDITIONS

• New 'Career' mode. Play through generated missions of varying difficulty to earn cash.
  
• Use that cash to pay off your debts, expand your inventory and hire operators for your mercenary company.
  
• Platforms and modules are now persistent and must be purchased, and replaced or repaired if damaged.
  
• Maulkin will loan you money automatically if you overspend, but their interest rates are brutal.
  
• Career missions allow you to pick your deployment position by using the 'deploy' button and clicking on the map.
  
• New music tracks from composer Samuel Lilly.
  
• Dynamic damage texturing on individual components to make damage visually clear.
  
• Added Steam Workshop support for custom liveries.
  
• Added experimental 'dazzler' module for automatically disrupting homing missiles.
  
• New cockpit calibration tool in main menu, allowing you to adjust default seat and joystick positions.
  
• Added many missing sprites for platform and module icons.
  
• Added an experimental cargo plane for airborne deployments, so you don't get spawnkilled.
  
• Added ingame livery designer with support for custom brush PNGs. (No workshop support just yet.)
  
• Added destroyed versions of trucks and artillery units so they no longer disappear on kill.
  
• Added gib particles for exploding vehicles.
  
• Added support for custom operators. Place PNGs in OVRLRD_Data\StreamingAssets\operators.
  
• Added music volume slider.
  

CHANGES

• Completely overhauled the hangar.
  
• Improved tree knock-over physics.
  
• Debriefing room now has a proper map display and the post-game visualisation is much clearer.
  
• Removed some superfluous render calls, improving rendering performance across the game.
  
• Many changes to terrain generation to improve the shape of terrain and performance of generator.
  
• Reduced visual clipping at waterlines.
  
• Projected weapon nightvision camera has been replaced with NVG goggle effect. Experimental.
  
• Reduced performance impact of tree rendering by about 50%.
  
• Reduced cockpit draw calls by 60%, significantly improving rendering performance.
  
• Added tank wheels to GPU instancing stack, reducing rendering overhead in busy scenes.
  
• Added tonnage and invalid squad setup warnings to hangar.
  

FIXES

• Fixed an issue where switch bases, key bases and key buttons were not being GPU instanced.
  
• Fixed being able to grab objects with invalid grips (e.g. grabbing instead of pinching) which broke hand poses.
  
• Fixed an issue where workshop items would fail to load when returning to the main menu from another scene.
  
• Fixed an issue where workshop scenarios would not be marked as such in lists.
  
• Fixed an issue with pressing buttons in squeeze-triggers-to-actuate-buttons mode.
  
• Fixed an issue where NPC helicopters wouldn't react to missiles being fired at them.
  
• Fixed groundhug missiles not tilting up to strike airborne units.
  
• Fixed an issue where various Steam-related functions would fail on subsequent missions.
  
• Fixed an issue where some explosions related to NPC deaths would not render.
  
• Fixed an issue where toggling the spectator camera in the options menu would have no effect until the next mission.
  
• Fixed an issue where trees would very rarely spawn in generated maps.
  
• Fixed a number of issues with quick-restarting missions from the hand menu.
  
• Fixed some position and scaling issues with post-mission tactical simulation map.
  
• Fixed poor behaviour of 'groundhug' missile homing style. Now hugs ground.
  
• Fixed a serious AI issue where NPCs struggled to pick a random point on the terrain and would behave strangely.
  
• Fixed an issue where skirmish missions could win and lose simultaneously.
  
• Fixed an issue with mouse & keyboard input making it hard to interact with cockpit controls when moving at speed.
  
• Fixed an issue where some UI would draw on top of everything, including hands and laser pointers.
  
• Attempted a fix for Odyssey+ controllers failing to track.
  
• Fixed an issue where the leg bearing readout could get tilted oddly.
  
• Fixed an issue where units could fall through the ground at chunk seams.
  

Don't forget to join the discord! OVRLRD OFFICIAL DISCORD!

That's all for now, operators. Enjoy the update, and tell your friends and favourite streamers about OVRLRD!