Fellow swashbucklers,
We’ve made great progress on Buccaneers! since we announced the delay over a month ago, so we thought we’d give you a glimpse of how this extra time has allowed us to improve the game so far.
Improved VR Support with OpenXR
When we started developing the game with VR support back in 2018, the headsets and development tools available were very different to those on the market today. As such, our VR integration was based on code that has long since been deprecated, which has made supporting newer devices like the Valve Index very difficult. Although the controllers technically “worked”, we couldn’t properly support their button layout or full feature set.
Our solution was to migrate our code to OpenXR - the new cross-platform standard for targeting all VR devices, backed by all the major manufacturers. This required a substantial rework that simply wouldn’t have been possible with our previous October release plans, but the work has finally paid off. With OpenXR, we can now expand our list of supported VR devices as follows:
Officially supported (tested in-house):
- Oculus Rift
- HTC Vive/Vive Pro
- HTC Vive Cosmos
Theoretically supported (needs community testing):
- Valve Index
- Oculus Quest via Link
- Oculus Rift S
- Windows Mixed Reality
- HP Reverb G2
Our plan is to promote the “theoretically supported” headsets to “official” status on a case-by-case basis once we have done extensive public testing and ironed out any issues.
Rebindable Keys and Improved Controller Support
As part of the major overhaul outlined above, we also had to upgrade our input code for non-VR mode, which allowed us to implement an important accessibility feature: fully-rebindable mouse and keyboard controls! Almost every action in the game can now be rebound, and you can even add secondary bindings for more flexibility.
For players who prefer using a controller, we now have the ability to offer different control layouts, such as left-handed mode. We’re looking at other games for inspiration, but we’d also love to hear from you: which controller layouts would you like to see?
We’ve also improved the way controllers are detected by the game, which has several benefits:
- Controllers that are connected but not in use should no longer interfere with the input you’re currently using (whether it’s another controller or mouse and keyboard).
- The game will now automatically detect the type of controller in use (i.e. Xbox, DualShock or Switch Pro controller) and display the appropriate button glyphs for it.
- Mouse movement can now be used in tandem with controller input, allowing players with a Steam Controller (and upcoming Steam Deck) to use the touchpad for camera control.
These improvements are just a couple of examples of how this extra development time has benefitted the game. Keep an eye out for a follow-up post detailing even more changes, including some new locations which add greater variety to the game’s towns!
Public Demo On the Way!
All of these changes are no good unless they work in the real world, and that means we need your help to put them through their paces! We will be running another playable demo very soon to give you a chance to try these features and give us some feedback, so stay tuned for more details in the coming days!
As always, we welcome your thoughts and ideas in the comments and on our Discord server.
Happy pirating! 🏴☠️