Lovely #SelfieTennis players!
We wanted to push an update live a few weeks ago, but Horatiu had to find a new place to live and I (Julie) have been hit by some autoimmune arthritis and have been in-and-out of hospitals the past three weeks. Steroids have brought be back to functionality and I’ve finally been able to playtest Horatiu and Simon's work on this update to the max. And it's awesome IMO. First, the new stuff:
- #FriendsMode! Play with your friends, and track scores with the local highscores. Enter this mode by pressing F on the keyboard (see part 1 below for more info).
- #MixedReality! An experimental tool for recording with a static Mixed Reality camera. Enter this mode by pressing XXX on the keyboard. Remember to adjust FOV and the clipping planes yourself. You can turn the playspace 90 degrees in VR on grips after pressing T on keyboard. Rotating playspace can be useful when recording action shots (see part 2 below for more info).
- Other fixes and tweaks (see part 3 below for more info).
1. FRIENDS MODE: LOCAL MULTIPLAYER!
Our friends love it when we have Vive parties, where we pass the headset along and let each other take turns playing. We started making our crazy sports games by making prototypes in the middle of the night and having friends over to playtest them, and that's exactly the spirit we want to bring to you with the #FriendsMode. In this update, you will get:
On-screen local multiplayer scoreboard
Features for adding players, renaming, removing and clearing their scores
3 game modes with more on the way in future updates!
#VanillaTennis game mode, where you play the good old who-can-keep-the-ball-going-over-the-net-the-longest #SelfieTennis original rules
#ThrowUp game mode, formerly known as #HighBalls, but this time with Rackets, because bouncy rackets are funnier than bouncy balls. The rules are simple: throw your racket the highest to win!
#HorseRace. NEED WE SAY MORE??? Use the #Ponycorn to go from one end of the court to another in the shortest time. You can add your own rules to this: finish the race only after #spanking all the ball people in the court, or you're only allowed to jump backwards, or you have to use #GiantMode or do laps... Your imagination is the limit!
Known issues: If you get the magic mushroom upgrade and try #HorseRace in the #FriendsMode your start & goal will spawn outside the court. WOOOPS. Lesson learned: don’t do magic mushrooms. Also, in this mode ball people sometimes fly in outer space...just don’t do drugs. Seriously.
Remember to lock the interface with the little lock button if you want it always on-screen! This works great for parties and showcase events!
The scores are saved between sessions, so you can pick up the game where you left off, or start a new session with your friends the next weekend when you get together again!
Pimp yourself up by changing colors using the selfie stick! Hit yourself in the head to change colors.
ACTIVATE #FriendsMode WITH THE CHEAT KEY F
2. MIXED REALITY STATIC CAMERA TOOLS
We thought it would be cool to make mixed reality videos, but we wanted to make it without the need for a 3rd controller, so Horatiu made a tool to make our lives easier. And we hope all you streamers and film makers will have an easier time with our tool than without it.
Use the complicated cheat "XXX" to turn on the mixed reality interface. Follow the instructions in the game to make your life easier calibrating the real-life camera with the in-game camera, and do it with better precision and less time-waste too!
How to use the tool?
Activate the Mixed Reality mode by pressing XXX (three times X). We have added a file called externalcamera.cfg next to the #SelfieTennis .exe in your game folder for this to work!
Check out the (?) button in the interface, for a nicer, colorful version of these instructions, with a #sexy picture of Horatiu to boot!
Use the first button to choose which controller to use for calibrating camera position.
Press the second button to hook up camera position to the controller position, in a way that makes it a breeze to align it with your real life camera.
Align the controller to the real-life camera, and touch the touchpad (which should be easily accessible at your index finger) to lock the virtual camera in place. Press the touchpad to start this step over until you get a good position.
Fine-tune the position and rotation of the camera, as well as field of view (FOV), near and far clipping planes, and the middle clipping plane (or near offset, as SteamVR calls it internally)
Save the settings when you are satisfied, and you're ready to record!
Next time you start up the game, just press Load instead of setting up the whole thing again (provided that your setup has remained identical).
3. OTHER FIXES AND TWEAKS
Space To Reset is back! It's especially useful when playing with your friends, or when trying to get rid of all the ball people lying in the way.
Fixed left handers fairness: when you switch controllers using the Application Menu button (the little round button above the touchpad), you're doing it right and you are officially left-handed, so you will get the correct amount of forehand and backhand shots, and their correct placement. If, on the other hand (heh), you switch by physically switching controllers, you will continue to get slightly more forehands.
#SelfieStick + #PonyCorn bug turned feature! We know you love riding the pony and taking selfies at the same time, and that you took advantage of one of our quick'n'dirty scripts that didn't make it in the refactor in order to CHEAT your way into it, but we've decided to LET YOU! So you can now safely (fingers crossed) always use the selfie stick and ponycorn (and spawn balls when switching tool), no need to hack around ;) it’s sometimes wobbly as riding an actual pony is.
Fixed an achievement (the "Byeeeeee… eee… ee…") that was too hard to get (it was actually impossible to get, because it was broken) and some other achievements
Fixed Snowball that sometimes leaked from a parallel #SkiJump Universe and got stuck in the #SelfieStick (now it doesn't get stuck)
TIME FOR EXCUSES:
No ball cannon??? I know - Horatiu, Simon and I are still discussing how we wanna do this and he’s currently on a road trip with his family towards his motherland, Transylvania. He is literally becoming Dracula as I type. I hope we get that ball cannon/gun in someday within near future, cause I REALLY REALLY want it. His Twitter handle is @horatiu665 in case you wanna put some hardcore pressure on him and help me get the ball cannon in.
As always: let us know what you think!
Julie @VRUnicorns
PS. remember that we have a lot of cheat keys...and other instructions:
Instructions: You use the triggers to spawn the ball(s) and racket. Double-click on racket trigger to lock it. You can change controller hands on the small button above the touchpad. Knock #BallPeople off the court and take their hearts to enter #HeartAttack mode (time-limited upgrades).
#SelfieStick is on ball controller's grips and you can record a GIF and tweet it out via the touchpad - log on to your Twitter profile via the computer screen when you start the game. Double-click grips to lock it in your hand. SAFETY IS KING: Controllers can fly, SO WEAR WRIST STRAPS!
Cheats (on keyboard):
- F: For #FriendsMode (local leaderboards)
- I: spawn peeps outside court
- O: delete peeps outside court
- P: spawn peeps inside court
- L: delete peeps inside court
- B: for high Balls serve mode
- E: for Enio ball (experimental - for higher visibility)
- K: for Kids mode (don't cheat, if you're an adult...by age)
- S: deactivate the #SelfieStick
- M: turn of Music
- Arrow keys: rotate play space
- HAHAHA: Laugh at your friends for extra hearts!
- XXX: for #MixedRealityMode
- T: rotate playspace on racket controller grips while in #MixedRealityMode