Our primary focus these last few weeks has been bug fixes and performance optimizations. We're getting ready for the Quest Alpha, and we're fixing as many of the remaining UE5 bugs as we can in preparation for that.
Unreal Engine 5.2 was recently released with many bug fixes, feature improvements, and increased stability. There are also a lot of specific benefits that UE5.2 has for VR, so we promptly updated our engine and set off fixing even more bugs introduced with that update.
Overall it is a net positive for the game, and you'll start seeing many of the benefits of Unreal Engine 5 shortly!
Controller Fixes
One of the biggest bugs associated with porting to Unreal Engine 5, and specifically OpenXR, is related to controller bindings.
If you've recently opened VAIL and noticed you can't grab anything, you know exactly what we're talking about.
Fortunately, this is an easy fix and for most of you, the problem should be solved with this update. Just make sure you're using the default openXR bindings for VAIL in your SteamVR settings. If you're using Virtual Desktop to play, you'll still need to use one of the community-made bindings.
If you are using the default OpenXR bindings and you're still experiencing issues, this is because your default runtime isn't set to OpenXR. In this case, the easiest fix is to simply set your default runtime to OpenXR in your Steam or Oculus settings; or you can use one of the community-made bindings that also fixes the issue (though this isn't recommended as a long-term solution).
Improved Bindings
In addition to fixing the grip issues, we've again updated our controller bindings based on the amazing feedback we received since our last update.
- Fire Rate Selector now requires a quarter-second hold to activate. This is to prevent players from accidentally changing to semi-auto when tensing up for a gunfight. Let us know how this feels!
- When not holding a gun, your main hand thumbstick press is used for sprays while your off-hand is used for Push-to-Talk if it is activated in the settings.
- B and Y (on Quest controllers) can be used to ping locations when not holding the primary grip of a gun in that hand.
Many of you have asked for binding options in-game, which is something we'll explore in the future when we have more bandwidth to develop that kind of feature. But for now, these bindings should fix the major complaints and bugs.
Grenade Toss
In addition to many bug fixes, we've completely remade the grenade toss mini-game! It's now much more similar to something like Top Golf. You'll earn a higher score the farther away the target is and the closer to the center you are. Some of the art is still a prototype and subject to improvements, but let us know what you think!
Other Changes
A new popup will greet you the next time you open the game to inform you of the controller bindings fixes. But you won't need that since you read these update notes, right? Right?? Well just in case, it's still there anyways. Just hold the trigger to dismiss it forever.
If you're having issues with controller positions (Quest Pro is known to have issues) then please select the correct controller profile in the VAIL in-game settings.
Bug fixes
- We're pushing an attempted fix for the frozen controller bug. This bug is difficult to replicate and test, so please reach out to us if you have this bug again so that we can resolve it!
- Infinite firing upon mag release is fixed.
- No spawn jail on Este Artifact is fixed.
- Various menu/tablet bugs were solved. If you were using compatibility mode, try using the default OpenXR launch option now.
- Many more minor bugs and performance improvements!
We look forward to seeing all of your feedback and bug reports in Discord.
See you all in-game!
Love you all, AEXLAB