Jason's devlog - cockpit controls, procedural animation, UI/UX

I set out with the main goal of designing virtual cockpit controls with the functionality of a HOTAS but using 6dof motion controls, similar to games like Ultrawings and VTOL. Started out by implementing the Oculus Integration with VRTK v3. Turned out to be a day one success! Special thanks to @Why485  for the awesome space flight framework.

Flight sticks are tricky. In a sense, the one you see in-game is fake and has no interactivity. The "real" stick doesn't rotate at all. This way I didn't have to worry about using weird grab mechanics or glitchy physics.

At this point @_tlr_ had completed our space goddess with @tiltbrush and @clayxels, soon to be named Ultimatra. Super fun getting up close and personal. I added guns, accidentally made this weird web effect, and used the Hypercolor Tilt Brush shader as the skybox.

@_tlr_ also cranked out this sweet space worm in Tilt Brush as our first enemy. I used a series of configurable joints and random noise to animate them procedurally with physics. The spinny part responds directly to their velocity.

@whydoisay brought up the cool idea of using time as a health mechanic. The game runs on a timer, and inflicting damage gives you more time.

Another skybox effect, with @_tlr_ 's new ship design in view. I hooked up a gradient to act as a low end amplitude visualizer for the music by @whydoisay.

Here we have some pesky lil buggers from @_tlr_. I applied a "boids" implementation for some sweet flocking behavior, and added some satisfying trails to top them off. From here we decided it'd be cool for them to be part of the same life cycle.

After a few more bug monsters were made, I put together the full evolution. Here's a sped up look at the whole thing: the lil guys evolve into the worm, then the worm cocoons, and out bursts SPACE MOTH! With pollen attacks! Super fun programming all of this.

Making a proper VR reticle was another interesting challenge. This one exists in world space with multiple layers on the Z axis. The entire thing scales based on distance so it can accurately account for depth while appearing seamless and smooth to the player.

@whydoisay wrote an epic script, mixed our own voice recordings, and implemented them dynamically within combat while I put together a free-for-fall battle scene and a nicer looking crosshair. Finally, used a special smoothed out cam with wider FOV and took this gameplay video to show it all off!