Hello everyone,
Hope you are all safe and well. Normally we release a new dev update on Kickstarter, but this time we wanted to share some news on our Steam page as well. It has been a weird time for the whole world. It shows us even more that we all need to work together and stay positive for the future. While we are staying safe and following the instructions from our government, we are still fully continuing our work on Panther VR. In this update, we will tell you more about the already released Alpha Version of Panther VR and we will share some light on the current process of the game and future release dates of the Beta and Early Access versions of Panther VR.
For the last Dev updates, Please check out our Kickstarter page.
In March we released the Alpha version of Panther VR for our Kickstarter Backers with the Operative Perk or higher. We have worked a long time for this first official public version, and we were looking forward to the launch of the Alpha. It was a great opportunity to playtest the core mechanics and to collect a lot of precious feedback from the backers.
Luckily a large majority of the Alpha backers had the opportunity to explore and test out the Alpha version of the Game. We received a lot of amazing and positive feedback and suggestions on the official Panther VR discord. We also have sent out a survey to all Alpha players to collect even more details on their experiences. They did a great job of locating remaining bugs and glitches or test out the game on different HMD, controllers and computer setups. We are listening to every suggestion to make the game even better for the Beta and Early Access version.
For more information about the Alpha content, please check out this last Dev update.
We also want to talk a bit more about the current COVID situation and how it has affected us and the development of Panther VR. First of all, we all hope that you are safe. The well being of our team and players is our first priority. That is why we are following the guidelines set by our government. For those who might not know, our office is located in the Netherlands, which has issued, in what they call; intelligent lockdown. This means that our office is closed down since March and that everyone is working safely from home. As of this time of writing all team members and their relatives are still healthy.
While we are still working hard from our own homes, it is far from ideal. We truly love to work on Panther VR, it is truly a passion project and after seeing the positive reaction from the Alpha, it made us even more excited for what is to come. Everyone's well being is the most important, but having such a huge passion for the game, It also pains us that the current situation has slowed down the development process.
This means that we need to delay the Beta to end of April/start of May and the Early Access version will follow shortly after that at the end of May. We really want to make something we are all proud of, and we are still doing the best we can with the limited resources we currently have. We truly hope you will understand, and we wish everyone the best in these strange times. We will get through this, and we can't wait for the game to officially go live. If you have any more questions regarding this, or if you just want to share your thoughts with us, please check out the Panther VR discord!
There might be some small delays, but we are still making a good process on the Beta. While the main purpose of the Alpha was to test out the core mechanics, the beta is the moment to expand on those ideas. Besides fixing bugs and glitches, we want to flesh out some core mechanics and test out the hideout. Our main job is to get the core of the game ready for Early Access. Once that goes live, we can start adding new content, levels, missions, weapons, gadgets etc.
For more information about the Alpha content, please check out this last Dev update.
This is what you can expect from the Beta:
Fix Alpha Bugs: The Beta will improve on the Alpha. We will try to fix a lot of Bugs/ feedback and suggestions from the Alpha.
Changes to the First Level: Based on feedback, playtesting and new content, we will update the current and first level of Panther VR.
More Level/mission randomization: We want to add more randomization to the level. New objective locations, guard routes, and new escape locations, in order to make the game feel even more different every time you play the game.
Physical interaction player: We reworked the player interaction system, to let the player physically interact with the world. This means that your hand, arms, and weapons will interact with the environment and won't clip through walls anymore. [Side Note: Some of you might have noticed it in the Alpha, but due to performance calibrations, we turned off a lot of interactable items in the level (besides the wrench, screwdrivers, and loot). In future updates, we want to add a lot of interactable items in the level to play around with. Such as drawers, mugs, bottles, fire axes, office supplies etc.]
Improvement of Laser security systems: Security routers will be added in the game that will control the laser fences. Giving you the opportunity to turn them off.
Ingame Menu: We are working on an ingame "pause" menu with a reset button and some settings to tinker with.
Adding the Hideout: The main purpose of the Beta is to test out the hideout. This hideout will serve as the main hub of the game, just like the Main Chamber does in VR Dungeon Knight. From this location, you will be able to choose your missions. More functionalities will be added in later updates, like Leveling systems, data drives, mission/contract systems, weapon load-outs, and weapon customization. Backer credits and Golden Plaque with Founders can also be found in this hideout.
We cannot say this enough, but please consider joining our community on Discord! We see our community as one of the most important things in our production process. We want to hear your feedback, support, suggestions, and questions regarding Panther VR. Make the game even better and make it truly yours. We take great pride in our community and we added a lot of community requested stuff in our other game; So please join us, Agents!
Links:
We hope you liked this dev update, and that it gave you some more insight into what you can expect from the upcoming Beta. If you liked this update, let us know in the comments or on discord.
As always: if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. Please don't forget to join the Panther VR Discord, and get involved with your feedback and suggestion. Thanks again!
- Wolfdog Team
