I thought this port from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 was going to take 3 months, maybe 6 tops. It's been exactly a year since I started on this version I'm releasing today.
Why switch from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5?
There is of course the obvious, better graphics.
But the biggest reason I decided to make the move is because all future updates to the PCVR platform are going to be happening in Unreal 5, and the further I developed down the road of Unreal 4 the more I would have had to backtrack to eventually stay up to date with the latest PCVR features and hardware.
What to expect from this new version?
My original goal was to make a 1:1 port of the latest Unreal 4 version of Alien Dawn (v1.9) to Unreal 5 and then upgrade the game in subsequent updates from there. Because of many of my original design decisions much of the game needed to be revisited to even get working properly, which made upgrading multiple parts of the game a necessity. So, in addition to improved graphics there are a few subtle improvements to the gameplay, specifically in VR.
Aside from the port itself as described above, the secondary goal was to give first time players a better experience through more indicators of what each button and interaction does.
As another part of that choice, I made the opening first Escape Mode mission the same every time to ensure they get a solid experience on their first run. With the game's primary locations being procedurally generated, it was certainly possible that someone's first experience might not have been an optimal one for a new player.
What is next?
I want to keep this simple. My plan is to continue getting feedback from the community to prioritize certain features and make this original Escape Mode as mistake free and exciting as possible before moving onto what is next. Maybe that's 1 or 2 more updates before adding a new mode and major features, or maybe it's more.
Where are we meeting up?
I'm going to do my best to keep the official server online and streaming on my Discord while I'm at my computer.
How to support this project?
If you want to help and support this PCVR project, feel free to reach out to me personally on Discord.
On that note, there's been a lot of people both new and old to this project that have been a huge help already with their support in many ways, so thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.
Xtian