Friday 19 August 2016

Typo's...

Wow, due to a typo in VR Beta 1 the IPD (InterPupillary Distance or gap between the eyes) was set to 6.5mm instead of 6.5cm. Fixing this simple error has transformed a pretty good VR experience into a phenomenal one!

Previously the cockpit looked 'large' (due to the lack of stereo separation) now the cockpit feels like it wraps around you and the sense of depth to the controls, displays and HUD is great. I'm a VR convert!

I've also added an IPD setting so you can adjust it to your particular eye distance.

Happy Flying!

Thursday 18 August 2016

VR Beta1

Hi All,

VR Beta 1 is available now in the Steam client's 'BETAS' tab.

I've got to admit VR in CAP2 is now pretty damn cool! With the first implementation I was slightly skeptical of the experience, feeling nauseous etc but with 'Cinema Mode' implemented for non pilot views there's no longer a bucket by my desk :-)

There's a lot of minor updates/fixes to come for VR, including:
  • allow MSAA rendering
  • UI currently not shown in pilot view (after pressing 'ESC')
  • mission planner not shown in VR (enable 2D Mirror to view it if required)
  • radio commands input method
  • update VR during loading screens
  • add an Oculus API option
Also, in VR obviously can't see your keyboard for input so I'll add a method for highlighting cockpit controls by looking at them then selecting via a new control input. This will let you manage MFD's, flaps, water injection, counter measures, canopy latch, eject handle, upfront controls etc using the headset and one button. This method will also be implemented in non VR mode to work with gamepad right stick cockpit view.

Right, back to finishing v808 with a new carrier and in-flight refueling!



Monday 8 August 2016

v807 - beta

CAP2's v807 is now live on Steam under the 'BETAS' tab. Access this by opening your Steam library, right click CAP2 in your games list then choose 'Properties' then 'BETAS' and opt into 'beta - Faster Release Branch'.

Going forward we'll be using the beta branch for first release of updates followed by posting to the main branch a couple of days later after taking into account any issues and feedback.

v807 Features

  • Mission Planner Update
    • Improved UI allowing modification of mission assets, routing, armament.


  • Modding
    • You can now mod the Harrier fuselage texture enabling custom tail art etc. Look in the 'Mods' directory (from the Steam client look at CAP2 properties as above then click on 'LOCAL FILES' then 'BROWSE LOCAL FILES'), there's a readme explaining texture formats etc.


Coming Updates...

VR
The basic VR renderer is complete though not enabled in v807 as any camera other than pilot view is guaranteed to induce nausea! I found this out the hard way after thinking 'how bad can it be?'. Well, it can be pretty bad if you're spinning cameras around planes etc. Rather than remove the offending camera modes etc I've decided to render any non VR compatible camera (basically everything apart from pilot view) in a 'cinema mode'. This is simply a virtual 2D screen rather like being sat in a cinema. This means we keep all cameras, intro sequences and UI unchanged. There's a couple of things to finalise regarding cinema mode scaling options then we'll enable VR.

FYI we currently use the OpenVR api to support Vive and Rift and plan to add Oculus API support soon for native Rift support.

In-flight Refueling
As part of overhauling/updating missions we're adding an air tanker. Initial version has a rigid drogue, we'll switch to a physically animated version later.

New/Updated Models
In addition to the air tanker we're adding a much improved carrier model with deck objects such as tugs and cranes.