Preview build for 2020-04-09

This post details a new release from the unstable "preview" branch of Panoptic, which contains work-in-progress features. If you wish to experience these builds, see the instructions at the end of this post.

Hey all!

While the world is in a very peculiar time, and as everyone else we have been forced to adapt to a new way of working (and we are lucky to still get to do that!). But that does not mean we have stopped improving the game or adding new content to it.

We hope everyone is keeping safe, and that you can find some solace in playing video games to take your mind off of the situation and share moments with friends and family, even through Remote Play Together!

Headlining this preview release is your first look at yet another level! While it does not yet have original music, it is fully playable, and as always we are looking for feedback on what worked or did not for you! As with every level, it has its own particularities, but we will let you discover them by yourselves!

As an additional note : we know some of the new UI elements are not yet localized, but we will update that before fully releasing the update, of course.

But here is the list of what you can expect in this preview release:

New features

• Gameplay: A new level! Do you know how to call a prison where all cells face a central guard post?
• Graphics: We exposed some more settings for you to tweak the game graphics in a more granular fashion.
• Graphics: The "contextual action" beam effect has been overhauled.
• UI: We have added a Credits section in the game's title screen! A way to see who contributed to the game so far!
• Input: You can now disable the VR movement/rotation mechanics in the options of the main menu. While they will be still turned on in scenes that require them (like the tutorial), it can help simplify the game's controls if you do not need to rotate or move the VR player. These settings are only visible to the VR player.
• Input: You can now set where Panoptic will place levels. On the title screen, you will find a "Calibrate play area" (only visible in VR), which will let you position the effective play area where you want by centering it on your current position.
• Input: You can decide to either show the VR controllers instead of the usual effect if you prefer.

Bugs Fixed

• Gameplay : Some NPCs got stuck in clumps in the Sanctum level, this is no longer the case.
• UI : When selecting "Restart level", you could move directly, this has been fixed.
• UI : Fixed a few controller navigation bugs in the in-game menu.
• Misc : We fixed a few bugs that were throwing errors in the log, taking some time.

Until next time, have fun playing!

-Team Panoptes

HOW TO GET THE PREVIEW BUILDS:

Warning : the preview builds contain some features that are deemed not ready for wider release yet, and are intended to gather feedback on new additions and validate bugfixes. Some things may not work as intended, so try at your own risk.

• In your steam library, right-click on the entry for Panoptic.
• Select "Properties".
• In the window that opens, open the "BETAS" tab.
• In the dropdown, select "preview".
• Let the game update, and that's it!

Follow the same steps, but select "default - Opt out of all betas" at the end if you want to revert to the stable builds.