v031b - Touch Me, Baby!

Update:  v031b Hotfix for User Settings not applying properly

This week, we didn't accomplish as much as we wanted to. That's because it was the NHL playoffs. Playoffs are over, now... and the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup! I grew up just outside of Washington D.C. The Capitals have been my favorite hockey team since I was a little kid. I went to my first game at the old Capital Centre in Landover, MD. The Caps are why I'm making SHB. If you follow NHL hockey (and I'm sure you do if you're reading a dev-blog about a VR hockey game), then you know how big of a deal this is. In case I wasn't clear enough the first time, THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!

Wow. That feels really good to type.

Really, really good. Ahh!

Ok, down to business.

The biggest improvement this time is native support for Oculus Rift! Buttons have been remapped to suit the Touch controllers. Haptic feedback has been completely overhauled. Default options properly update depending on your sensor configuration! And a slew of other minor improvements as well. This is huge news, guys. It means that those of you with an Oculus Rift should no longer feel left out. Super Hockey Ball now supports both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift with perfect parity. Be excited.

Next up, we have a few more minor features that really make things operate more smoothly. We added Roomscale Player Blocking! So, now when you walk through your real play area, you won't be able to walk through walls or obstacles. It's a subtle improvement, but it's a big deal. We also simplified the controls. A few of our testers have seemed a little lost at first. So, for now, the Targetting system defaults to the new Ball Oriented Targeting. In other words, the Ball will always be targeted from the first drop. You don't have to learn any buttons anymore. Just get straight to the hockey!

To go along with improvements inspired by the Rift, we made some changes to the rotation and turning. Still not perfect, but it's a lot better. We added a Hand Influenced Grip style. If you squeeze both controllers at once, the forehand will have more dominance over the stick rotation. But it won't have total control. The backhand will still have some influence. This really helps make the stick feel more natural when it comes time to snipe those wristers!

We developed a few more cool new things but they aren't quite done cooking yet. Hopefully they'll be ready to come out and play next time around. Speaking of next time... We may take a little break from our bi-weekly schedule. If we push out enough new content to warrant the update next time, then it'll happen. There's some other work that needs to be done, though, and it's just as important as in-game updates.

Most importantly, I need to go to the beach with a pretty girl. 

After that, it's time to put together a Kickstarter campaign so we can take this thing to PAX West and show it off a bit. That's pretty terrifying, honestly. And, as always, let us know if you're having any problems, have comments or suggestions, or if you're just a Penguins fan and want to talk some smack. See you at the parade, kids!

v031 - DevLog
+ Official Oculus Rift support
+ Rift: Improved Haptic feedback
+ Rift: Native Touch button mappings
+ Rift: Fixed "Secret Code"
+ Implemented Oculus Entitlement Check (for Oculus Store version)
+ Default options now based on HMD type (and, if Oculus, number of sensors)
+ Roomscale Player Blocking (prevents movement in actual space from allowing the player to move through walls)
+ Improved Targeting (can now target objects above/below the player)
+ Reset to Defaults now functions properly
+ Jump/Menu buttons are now swappable
+ Add "Ball" Movement Type (always Target Ball / disable Targeting buttons)
+ Set Ball Movement Type as default
+ Reorganized and simplified Movement code
+ Fixed Snap Rotation high-velocity glitch
+ Snap Rotation set to even 45° increments
+ Smooth Rotation made... smoother (but still has inaccurate pivot. Work in progress)
+ Limited Ball vertical velocity to half of horizontal velocity limit (better accuracy, but more prone to physics glitches)
+ Added Hand Influenced Grip (squeezing with both grips puts slightly more dominance on the forehand than the backhand rotation)
+ Adjusted Landscape Material for better Asphalt texturing and controlled specularity (particularly on grass)
+ Updated Arena textures to match other levels
+ Set Screen Mirror to Logo by default (may improve performance)
+ Added option to change Screen Mirror mode between Game View and Logo
+ Fixed glitch where Game Over menu would not display if Options Menu was up when game completed
+ Minor bug fixes and improvements