What’s Up With Lost Loot

You can likely surmise from the absence of posts over the last two years that the update to Lost Loot stalled and lost momentum.  I ran into too many issues with performance around the terrain and the trees that made it just not workable and I couldn’t reliably meet frame rate on minimum spec machines.  Another big reason was that I felt the third person miniature approach I switched to was ultimately the wrong direction and dependent on a controller that wasn’t the future of VR where room scale and hand presence is the standard.  I may jump back into it once Unity revamps the whole terrain portion of the engine but that may be a while!

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LOST LOOT Alpha Progress – Little Red Raft

Time for another status update on the game with some cool screenshots of our beloved little red raft.  Everyone who has played the Lost Loot pre-alpha has tried to use it in that version.  Unfortunately it was never functional except as a travel system to much disappointment and continuous attempts to figure out how to “use” it.  I am happy to declare that the little red raft in the alpha version is now fully functional!… Continue reading

LOST LOOT Pre-Alpha Update #3 Released!

This latest update to Lost Loot brings CV1 support and a variety of other minor improvements!  It also works beautifully with the DK2 if you are still waiting for a CV1.  Anyone who purchased at any price can simply login to itch.io and download the new version.  If not, now is the time to get it on the itch.io page.     Things have been a little slow but there will be more updates soon.  I… Continue reading

LOST LOOT Alpha Progress – Riley Taylor

It has been a while since posting an update on the game.  I am making good progress and excited to see it really coming alive.  Working on it part time seems to make everything take longer than I would like though.  I hope to start showing more details soon.   With the switch to miniature scale and third person there is now a main character that the game is focused around.  This has both positive and negative… Continue reading

LOST LOOT Alpha Progress – Islands

Two years have passed since the original version of LOST LOOT was created for the 2013 VR Jam and I am now happy to report that we are officially entering Alpha territory!  I have made steady progress on a number of areas, but lets start with a few screenshots of the current build and the starting island…     These show the new island environment and our protagonist Riley Taylor, who you will learn more about… Continue reading

LOST LOOT Pre-Alpha Update #2 Released!

The next update to Lost Loot is now available.  This new version has taken the game in a completely different direction with a miniature world third person design that is extremely immersive and very comfortable.     A preview video…   Some screenshots… Check out the this new version and let me know how you like it.  There are many aspects that improve the overall experience that I covered in my blog post called The… Continue reading

Rift Ramblings (Part 7)

I am still working hard on the Lost Loot Pre-Alpha #2 release which will be landing very shortly.  This version switches the game to a miniature world third person design primarily for comfort.Check out my last blog entry on The quest for comfortable VR for more details about why I am making the change and what it looks like. I was lucky enough to get Cymatic Bruce from AltspaceVR to try out this new version at the Boston VR… Continue reading

The quest for comfortable VR

When I put on the Rift and play a game, I want it to feel good.  I want to be able to stay plugged in for hours and hours and become lost in another world – to explore, have adventures, do things not possible in the real world.  That is the general expectation of the average consumer and at the same time the ultimate dream of any VR enthusiast. So what happens when we have… Continue reading

LOST LOOT for the DK2!

The DK2 compatible version of Lost Loot is here!  The 0.4.3 runtime is required and it is built with the 0.4.3.1 version of the sdk.     The build is a DX11 build and should run fine using direct mode.  If you do run it in extended mode, I recommend forcing it to DX9.  I have still experienced problems using DX11 in extended mode.  There are details in the instructions on how to force it… Continue reading

The Lost Loot Road Map

The initial pre-release is still essentially the VR Jam game I created, although cleaned up and improved significantly.  The gameplay is also still simple with only a few basic exploration and treasure hunting mechanics.  My plan right now is to continue improving and enhancing the foundation of the game.  I also intend to rework the terrain with new shaders, revise the art pack used for the island, and put in a procedural sky system with… Continue reading

LOST LOOT Pre-Alpha Update #1 Released!

I have been busy fixing bugs the last few weeks and now have the first pre-alpha version of LOST LOOT ready to go.  This version is more or less the same as the VR Jam game however it has been cleaned up, enhanced, and optimized to provide a much nicer experience.  I hope you like it!     The trailer…   Some screenshots…     Please try it out and give me feedback.  It is… Continue reading

Underwater Effects

It has been a while since the last update on Lost Loot.  I have been hard at work on the game during the little spare time I have available lately and I wanted to show off some of the underwater effects that have been added and discuss some of the progress that has been made.  I made a video so you can see the current version in action. I started off with some changes to… Continue reading

Rift Ramblings (Part 4)

Well, it is that time again…  There has been much happening in the VR world.  I guess we are now calling it the second coming of VR with all the new technology showcased at CES and of course the huge Valve announcements at Steam Dev Days.  Now for a little recap… Oculus showed off the Crystal Cove Prototype at CES which has a camera based positional tracking system and a low persistence display.  I won’t… Continue reading

Wave Height for Unity’s Water 4

One of the major issues with Lost Loot was that when you are on the surface of the ocean your body did not rise and fall with the waves properly and as a result you could often see under the water without the underwater system turning on.  This regularly broke the immersion and additionally there was no way to have anything floating on the water either, such as barrels, crates, or even the little red… Continue reading

Oculus and IndieCade VR Jam 2013 – LOST LOOT

It is finally done!  The last week of the jam was torture and I spent many late nights and two days with no sleep up until the final submission late Sunday.  It has taken some time to recover and that is why this update is a week late.  Here is a video of some random gameplay from the final version of LOST LOOT.  It is rather long, but as a reward you get to find… Continue reading