Update: We've moved this version into the beta-branch. So you'll have to activate "beta" for Holodance to get to play this. The reason is because this version has a sporadic issue that causes the music in the level selection scene to not start and the laser pointer to not work. So you basically get stuck in there and cannot do anything ... not something I want any new players to run into.
If you do run into this issue, please let us know through the forum. Apologies for the inconvenience - we had to move out of our office into another one, and Jashan's on vacation for two weeks starting tomorrow. So we can't fix this sooner than in two weeks, but Alpha 53 is just too awesome to keep it back (we originally had put the version on default and just changed that to beta, and edited the intro of this announcement to reflect that change).
We also have a new gameplay teaser: Holodance Alpha53 Gameplay Teaser
So here's a list of changes in Alpha 53:
- Added "Preview Spoiler” versions of Levels 6, 7, 10 and 11, some of these are already the environments that we’ll have in the final game but the music will still change, and also some of the game mechanics will change … this is really a preview, and yes, it is a spoiler, but we feel we should really show some of the later levels of the game already to set the right expectations … not all of Holodance is lighthearted and playful
- The Level 3 environment is now pretty much the final version, also 6 and 7
- Fixed a graphical glitch in Level 1 (the little cliff across the player was way too dark, now it’s more realistic)
- Switched from Gamma to Linear, we may still need to do some adjustments due to this but generally, the levels look just fine with this
- Updated Particle Playground from 3.0.2 to 3.0.3
- Each dragon now has their own channel in the mixer (so if one dragon is too loud, or too soft, we can change that in the mix)
- Integrating Apastarrr into the game
- Much improved handling of orb source locations; this is a first step towards the much improved handling of the orbs in general (next step: simpler target locations that are also easier to spot for the player :wink: )
- Audio-Sources for Voice-Acting now are always perfectly located in dragon's mouth (and wing-flap sounds are located at dragon's chest now) ... eventually we'll also have lipsync-animations but that's probably around 2 to 3 months away (this will be part of one of the last polishing iterations, this particular part being a bigger one of that)
- Intro with Vayusah now has some Wingflap-Sounds (you need to either "Start Game Fresh" and complete Level 1, then enter Level 2, or "Unlock Level 2" and enter Level 2 to see this)
- Restored old logic for "floating arcs" and added something new: "Gated audio" now makes these arcs flash in the rhythm of the gate-effect
- Much improved handling of the target area for orbs - this is now actually visible in the game, and much easier to reach: There's a curved plane which has a raster on it; this is where all the orbs should arrive now
- Major Refactoring: Each Level can now have multiple songs; this is a preparation for the Musical Theme Packages that will later be available as DLC; for now, you get one bonus track for Level 1 :simple_smile:
- Improved UI concerning loading levels aka Entering Worlds: Instead of pointing at a level and using the trigger button anywhere, you now explicitly point to "Enter World"; and you can now also select each instrument track to get some more information on this specific instrument track (including the highscores), and in Level 01, you can now also select another song; plus, you get some more statistical information (how often did you play that song / track, how much time did you spend in it)
- The Halls of Fame by default now only show your friends - but you can disable that and also make them show the global Hall of Fame easily
- Built a much improved "engine" for mapping out melodies into the game
- Added options to disable "Timing Lasers", the new "Target Grid" and "Impact Points" due to a request on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4iuo33/can_i_get_a_little_love_for_holodance_its_what_i/d31rlbq
- Reactivated Glow Quality option ... use this at your own risk, it may severely hurt performance, or your eyes ... but it may also bring you psychedelic ecstasy YMMV
- Added new Achievement: No Need No Guidance, which you receive when you have completed any level while Timing Lasers, Target Grid and Impact Points were disabled for at least three minutes
- Added more or less final version of the environments for Levels 3, 6 and 7
- Pretty much completed the choreography for Level 11. In the final game, Level 11 will still be quite different compared to now, but you can already practice the choreography ... just don't lose your innocence with it, because Level 11, in the final game, will need your thinking outside the box, and that's something that's not in there, yet
- Made alert popups much slower so that they are easier to read, due to feedback from player onecrayon (see also: http://steamcommunity.com/app/422860/discussions/0/357286119102197398/)
- Created a new score UI after you have completed a session that shows you caught notes, your score and your minimum, average and maximum hit time (how much too early / or late you caught the notes), due to feedback from player onecrayon (see also: http://steamcommunity.com/app/422860/discussions/0/357286119102197398/)
- Pretty much completed the choreography for Level 10.
- Improved "Streamer / YouTube Mode": You can now switch between several different cameras. If performance is an issue on your machine, disable all the cameras which will only keep the SteamVR standard companion view camera (which uses the image from the headset, so it's not impacting performance much)
- Updated to Unity 5.3.4p6 which seems to run fairly well (still waiting with 5.4 until it's more stable)