Hi Everyone,
It is time to talk more about the changes coming to the weapons interaction. As you may have noticed in our previous Dev Blogs, we are working a huge overhaul of the core mechanics. We have a full rework of the interaction system and added a physical inventory system in the form of a backpack. With big changes like that, weapon interaction and handling cannot stay behind. Combat is an important part of Panther VR and it deserved some extra attention as well.*
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Let's start with the way you grab your weapons. In the current version of Panther VR, you needed to open a quick-select menu with a top button. This quick select menu showed you 2 weapon choices, and with the press of another button, you could switch to the gadgets. With a quick swipe to the weapon you wanted you were able to wield it in your hand. We choose this system at an early stage of development to complement the fast-paced combat of Panther VR. We thought it would be a fast way to switch weapons during combat, however, it also gives the game an arcade game feel.
OLD WEAPONS INVENTORY
Based on our own experience in the game and on a lot of feedback from the community we decided to give this system a full overhaul. While the old system was more fast-faced, we are moving to a more “realistic approach”. That is why we are introducing a physical weapons system. All your weapons will be stored on your body/belt and the quick select system will be removed from the game. We have added 2 belt slots (left/right) for small firearms and gadgets. Those who played VRDK should be familiar with this system, except we build this one specifically for Panther VR. You can quickly draw and store your pistol from your hip. It is even possible to change slots.
NEW PISTOL SLOTS
The rifle and large weapons work a little bit differently from the small ones. They need a large weapon slot to store them. You can find the large weapon slot on your lower back (lower front also works) just below your backpack. With a quick motion, you can swipe the rifle from your back, ready to use it! The rifle won’t fit in your belt slots. This new physical inventory system was a big community request and we can’t wait to bring it to you in the next update. It feels so much better to store them on your belt than to grab them from a quick-select menu.
NEW RIFLE SLOTS
The physical inventory is not the only big change to weapons, next up is physical reloading and handling. In the old system, reloading was very simple. When the gun was empty you just needed to press the button to release the mag, and then you needed to bring your gun to your belt to reload. This old system is also in for a big change. Besides the fact that the weapons are now properly in your hands, you can also interact with them.
OLD WEAPONS RELOAD
To reload your weapons in the new system, you still only need one button to eject the mag. Then you need to grab a new clip from your ammo belt (instead of moving the weapon to your belt) and physically put the new mag in your weapon. Once inserted, you need to pull back the slide of your weapons to put a bullet in the chamber. You can eject a mag or cock your gun whenever you want. The physical system makes it even possible to choose your own reload method: Put your mag on a table, slam your gun on the mag, hit out the old mag with a new one, or throw your mag into the air and catch it with your gun. There is also a chance for weapon handling. Shooting your rifle from the hip now adds more recoil, so it is more beneficial to use them with 2 hands.
NEW PISTOL RELOAD
NEW RIFLE RELOAD
RELOAD TRICK
With this new physical reloading system, we also want to introduce a new system as well. In the old version, you had unlimited bullets, but we are also including ammunition with the new update. You can no longer indefinitely grab mags from your belt. Each mag takes a certain amount from your total munition count. So your bullet may run out if you are not careful. We are also adding bullet types, starting with a pistol and rifle ammo, meaning all weapons of the same type share the same ammo. For example, If we add more pistols to the game, they would all share the same bullet type. Now you may think: what will happen when I run out of ammo? Well, you can also find ammo boxes around the level to refill your ammo belt! Hopefully one day, you might even be able to “borrow” some ammo from a guard.
AMMO SYSTEM
This concluded the Dev blog about the weapons. We would love to hear your thoughts on these new features! We are making good progress and we can't wait to get you hands on the new update!
- Jesse
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Thanks
Thanks for all the support and feedback from our amazing community. This update is made possible by you guys!
