Darkfield VR Spring Update

We know that this newsletter is long overdue and we are sorry for the very few updates the past months! We've had some personal issues and development got delayed for a bit. Read the last part of the email for more info.
However, we do have a lot of news and other information to share in this massive update :)
 

New Darkfield Version (but not the final one)

A new version of Darkfield will be available to all backers End of March / Beginning of April. This will not be the final version, but the next alpha release. It would have been great to release the final version of Darkfield for the consumer hardware launch, but we just couldn't finish in time (more on that in the last part of the newsletter).

This new version is a complete rework of Darkfield.
 

What's new in Darkfield

Over the past months we have been redesigning Darkfield from scratch.

New Cockpits and Ships
We made entirely new cockpits and ships. If you played the last alpha, you probably noticed that the cockpits weren't that great and we totally agree. This is why we spent a large chunk on making new ones.

Full 6 Minute Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT80uB9U4_4

We also got more images in our Imgur Gallery:

Direct Link: http://imgur.com/a/H8CIm

They not only look badass, but also serve an important role in VR: stable reference points (as in: you won't get motion sick even when doing barrel rolls).

New Network Solution
We also completely replaced our networking solution. Alpha4 was using the built in networking solution of Unity4, but since our switch to Unity5, we have been looking for new solutions to our biggest requirement: flexibility. We don't want users to have to rely on servers in some countries, but want them to be able to host their own games where and whenever they want. After some experimentation with Photon and Bolt we settled on uNet and have been working with Unity since the early alphas to implement it in Darkfield. This will allow every player to host a server, even without internet connection - perfect for LAN parties.

Floating Origin
Also, if you have played the previous alphas you probably noticed a strong jitter the further you flew away from the center of the map. The problem is floating point accuracy, and in short means that we were so far away from the center, that the values didn't fit into the value range of our datatypes. This is usually not a problem in normal games, but once you deal with large maps it becomes an issue. We are now using a method called "floating origin", which effectively moves the whole universe back into the center of the map once a player passes a certain threshold. We have invested quite a bit of time to make this synchronize properly over the network and players shouldn't even notice that anything happened. What this means for Darkfield: much, much larger maps :)


4 Player Ships
One of the main reasons we rewrote Darkfield, is to support multiple people per ship. Our 4 player ship, tentatively named "Fat Lady", has two pilot seats, one rear facing gunner and one gunner sitting underneath the ship facing forward. Check the screenshots for the ship layout (http://imgur.com/a/H8CIm).

This ship will be used in an "us against them" game mode, with the goal to escape a military complex. We do have this working in a current test build and hope to add the game mode into the next version (but it might need a bit more polish).
 

Oculus Rift CV1 and HTC Vive Support

(Image credit: http://www.techradar.com/news/wearables/htc-vive-vs-oculus-rift-1301375)

When we first launched Darkfield, the Rift was the only game in town, but we understand that people have now a choice and might not be getting a Rift anymore. We are happy to announce that Darkfield will support the Rift and Vive (and a 3rd platform we are not quite ready to announce right now, keep an eye out during the GDC announcements for our name ;) ).

We have all the devkits here, and are literally fighting time to have versions for all of them ready.
We will release the Rift build first, and then quickly port over to the Vive.

When we redesigned Darkfield, we made sure to be as independent from the device as possible, which makes porting a lot easier. Also, by using our own networking solution and not falling back onto the matchmaking services provided by any VR platform, we will support crossplay between Rift and Vive (and maybe the 3rd, unannounced platform).

No matter which VR headset you will get, you will be able to play with your friends :).

Now on the Vive, we won't be making much use of roomscale (yet), but we are planning on supporting hand tracked controllers (including Oculus Touch) as an additional input for the gunners:
 

(This gif is from our early prototype and does not include the new art)

Steam Keys and Oculus Keys

We will add Steam keys to your Sendowl downloads (please make sure you have access to them or send us an email if you have problems) once the new version is available. This will allow you to play on the Rift and Vive (as soon as we release the Vive build). However, we understand that it makes sense to have all Oculus games in one place and we will give you an additional Oculus key as soon as possible. This means you can own up to two copies of Darkfield. But if you want to share one of the keys with your friend, that is fine by us as well.

Changes to Backer Submitted Content

We have thought long and hard about how we should integrate the backer content (i.e. Enemy Contact Tier and higher) and we think we have found a great solution. Holograms! (note: when in doubt, rely on holograms!)

Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dt8boWmkQE

"BE A LEGEND" tier backers will be able to submit a holographic head. The head will be displayed if you target a ship that belongs to another backer, i.e. someone that also has a hologram. Backers also get to submit a bio for the pilot (200 characters max). The bios are then saved in a database of "encounters" and can be read in your station's main computer.


Recording a Pointcloud Head

We will be utilizing a program called Brekel PointCloud Pro for this. Brekel's website offers a trial version of this program, which allows you to record 4s worth of pointcloud data - which is ideal for our use case!

Download Link for the Trial version: http://brekel.com/brekel-pro-pointcloud-v2/

The program is quite easy to use. Just line up your head and press record. You can use the crop tools to cut off areas you don't want to record. Then hit record, and upload the .bpc file onto Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or similar.


If you don't have access to a Kinect

If you don't have a Kinect[2], then your head still gets to be part of the game! Just submit a picture (ideally 256x256px jpeg) instead.


"ENEMY CONTACT" tier backers and higher will now have a chance to appear as a picture in the game. This also means there is a change to your perk. Instead of a 2s voice clip, you will now submit a picture of yourself and also a bio of your pilot. We hope you find this change acceptable :).

"MISSION BRIEFING" tier backers still get to record their mission briefing. You can either choose to record video and audio, or send us a 3d headscan and we dub it with the audio. We will contact you in a separate message to talk with you about the script and missions.

"HOLOGRAM" backers will be contacted directly for details on the full body recording and performance capture in our motion capture stage in Dresden, Germany.

Content Submission Guidelines

We recommend to read the part of the email titled "The Universe of Darkfield" to get a sense for what kind of backstory you could have. We would love to read about some miners or OctalEnergy security fleet pilots gone rogue :). Or you could still be on the side of the military ;).
And if you choose to record a pointcloud or take a picture of yourself in costume, even better!

The picture or scan should only contain your head. Think of it like a digital bust (or the heads in jars of Futurama). The 3dscan should be perfectly loop-able, meaning: don't move your head. A blink in the middle makes the head look lifelike.

Please make sure all submitted content is "within good taste". We won't be displaying anything remotely offensive or that could be seen has any form of advertisement for a specific company or brand.

 

Content Submission

We will send out another update with the link to the form in a couple of days, because we are worried it might get buried in this email. But you can start preparing your content now if you want.

Images and 3d pointclouds should be stored on an external server like Dropbox or Google Drive and should remain accessible until we have finished adding the backer content. We don't have a fixed timeline for that, but please try to submit as early as possible.
We will also require your Steam and Oculus nickname, to make sure we can display the data whenever your ship is targeted. If you don't have an Oculus or Steam account, we would suggest you create one now :).

When will my content be added?
We will be adding the backer content at the very end (to make sure people had enough time to submit their content).


 

The universe of Darkfield

It is the year 2159. The discovery of Octanium on asteroids passing Earth was one of the major breakthroughs in space travel in the late 21st century. Octanium was a super heavy element with a neutron mass of 888, far beyond what scientists thought was theoretically possible. It was in a constant state of quantum flux, which scientists used to displace space time in a localized field. In short: yes, we were able to jump to distant parts of our galaxy.

OctalEnergy was the leading mining company for Octanium. The unique properties of Octanium made mining on asteroids dangerous and costly. Safety regulations were strict, but space was large and many mining stations were built in secret locations in uncharted space. The radiation emitted during the mining process was hard to measure, but its impact wasn't. Stations were soon abandoned and mining with robots was deemed much safer, even by OctalEnergy. The locations of the stations were erased from most star maps, replaced by empty, dark space.These early stations came later to be known as Darkfield stations.

OctalEnergy - Clean, Sustainable Fuel for a Brighter Future

Soon OctalEnergy, one of the few mega-corporations left on Earth, powered not only space ships, but also whole planets. Humans colonized Mars and every other habitable rock in a distance of a thousand light years. Each powered by Octanium, each solely dependent on it. Societies built on a sparkling, black rock.

We assumed our reserves of it were limitless, but finding new minable asteroids was getting harder and harder. Soon most resources were so far away from the central star systems that it would take more fuel to bring them back as they were worth.

This is when we started rationing fuel. Entire planets, dependent on resources and trade with others, were cut off the fuel supply and interplanetary travel was restricted. We turned from a multi planetary civilization capable of space travel into dozens of savage planets, starving for resources.

The military took over the galactic government, corporations and the mining stations stations, but by that time the stations already ran out of fuel. Maybe enough for transport shuttles, but not nearly sufficient to fuel a fleet.
Seeing this weakness, resistance groups started attack and raid runs on the military, the stations and even other, weaker planets and their resistance groups.

Now, after 30 years of civil war, only a few resistance groups remain. Some of them used to be part of the military, some of them formed a new self-proclaimed official space fleet. The lines are blurred. Most planets have been made inhabitable by nuclear weapons and the few space ships around are re-purposed transport vehicles or are welded together from scrap metal.

You are part of Defense Force Delta, a decentralized resistance group. You have no headquarter, no home planet. Your only communication with resistance members is via encrypted channels in order to setup attack runs.

Yesterday, you retrieved information from one of the old OctalEnergy mainframes. It contained the location of one of the early mining stations. Abandoned long time ago, filled with radiation leaks and rust, but maybe with enough fuel to power your space ship.

Welcome to Darkfield Alpha.

 

And in other News

We will be launching 2 other games as well. These games will hopefully pay for future bills and give us a bit breathing room to work on Darkfield :). One of them will be Nighttime Terror: Dessert Defender, an expanded version of our award winning previous game. The other one is GravLab, our physics puzzle game for the HTC Vive. We will include small parts of these games in the final version of Darkfield as "Holodeck Minigames", because even mining stations need some way to entertain their workers ;).

 

To summarize this long update, we created a little FAQ:

Q: When will I see a new version?
A: End of March / Beginning of April if nothing goes wrong

Q: What platforms will Darkfield support?
A: Rift and Vive (soon after Rift), full crossplay between platforms

Q: Where will I get my key?
A: via SendOwl (check your emails). Keys will be Steam keys and we will send out Oculus Keys when we are on the Oculus store

Q: What if I don't have access to a Kinect to record a pointcloud head?
A: Send us a picture instead.

Q: OMG, Darkfield is doomed!!!
A: No.

Q: So what should I do next?
A: - check if you can access your SendOwl downloads or request a link to them bu clicking here: https://transactions.sendowl.com/order_recoveries/new?merchant_id=4018
- wait for our next update with the link to the submission form for backer content

A personal message from Mark:

Hey folks, I hope you are not too upset or disappointed that we didn't make it in time for CV1 launch. I know it sucks and believe me, I am bummed out as well. Without wanting to go much into detail, life didn't exactly go as planned for me in the last year. I was quite ill for a large part and because of that and some other reasons I couldn't spend as much time on Darkfield as I wanted to.
I would like to thank everyone for their patience - you guys are just awesome! I'd also like to thank Daniel, who has soldiered on and rewrote most of what Darkfield was when I wasn't able to work.
The situation is much better now and am working on VR again as much as time allows. I hope you are looking forward to the things we teased in this newsletter as much as I do!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly via email (mark@vr-bits.com) or Twitter (@skyworxx)!
-- Mark