This is the last big update for the free version of Whirligig before it makes its way onto Steam for sale. I also want to have it on the Oculus Store but the player is still "Under Review". Also as Valve were kind enough to send me a Vive for development and assist greatly in getting my player ready for Steam it seems only fitting it appears on there first.
Don't worry that Whirligig is going to become overly prices, I intend to sell it at a low cost of around 4 Eurosish. I would also like to have a free version available still with less features. If the player/publisher has any success then I will be able to continue to develop it adding new features and make it both a great place to watch films and also develop your own films. I've always wanted Whirligig to be more than just a player and many of the hidden features are used by artists to assist with their own film making. Being able to add more of these features is my long term goal.
So, what's actually new in this version? I hear you mutter impatiently under your breath. Well here we go.
3.2 This is going to be a difficult one to list as a lot has happened. I've basically going to do it from memory and will most likely miss stuff out. Active in this build --------------------- Oculus Runtime 1.3 support added. SteamVR and Oculus now in the same build. Unity 5.4.0b10 updated. Menu redesign. Dome changed to Fisheye Fisheye OU added. Rooms SBS added. OU, SBS removed from menu. Stereo options added so you can select the ou and sbs options. Fixes to the Custom format. Explorer now transparent. Xbox incorrectly detecting controller fixed. Hopefully. Moved the menu slightly back to improve VR viewing. Moved it forward in desktop mode for the same reason.
Menu Changes in Detail
A couple of explanations about changes to the menu. The menu has been slightly redesigned. The design is mostly the same as before (Original design by Aaron Bradbury, check out his website. He's a very good artist http://www.luniere.com/ ). Firstly I've removed the 'Quit' option. It seems a bit pointless as you can just close it with the x and also in the SteamVR and I guess Oculus Home you can close it though the VR setup. Removed 'Play' option. This isn't strictly true. What I've actually done is move it to show it as if it's selecting the progress bar. In truth to play the film you only have to press fire/spacebar etc. What the play menu allowed though was an ability to skip forward and backward in the film. It made sense to just have it represent that. For this reason I've also increased the Progress bar height so it's easier to read.
WHATS HAPPENED TO THE STEREO OPTIONS!!!!!!!
Nothing. They are still there. I've just removed them from the format menu. As every format option had all three 3D options Mono, Over Under and Side by Side, it made sense to remove them from the format options and have a simple one key press on each option to go through the selection. This key press is both on the xbox controller and also the key 'y'.
So Whats going to be different in the Steam version
There are lots of additions to the player I haven't listed here. The reason being is that they currently disabled. This is due to the fact they aren't finished and also that they are going to be in the Steam version.
Things I will have (hopefully) in the Steam version. The list
Full Vive controller support.
I've worked hard on getting full Vive controller support so that you can use the controller like a laser pen and change the options simply by pointing at them. Also on one of the controller you will get a full selection of options you can point and choose from.
Oculus head mounted Control?
If you don't have a Vive controller the laser pen will be mounted to your head so you can simple point it and what you want and change it that way. The extra controls on the other Vive controller won't be present but they will be all acessable using the xbox controller anyway.
Improved documentation.
I'll be making a proper help file listing all the key presses, hidden options troubleshooting guide and anything else I can think off.
Better Rooms.
The two rooms in the current build. The drive in cinema and Living room will be a bit more that just a proof of concept. I also hope too but might not be able to depending on time, get an extra room in the in the form of a planetarium. If this isn't available on the 5th of April (intended early access release) it soon will be and will appear with standard updates.
Automatic updates
Releasing on Steam means that I can also provide automatic updates for the player. This is really useful as with new hardware there are constant updates coming out for Unity3D, SteamVR, Oculus runtime, the list goes on.
You get to support Whirligig
When you buy Whirligig you will be supporting me and giving me time to work and money to add additional options continue to improve the player. optionals I want to add and by buying this would directly support are.
Steaming Videos from URLs.
Many more Rooms.
Changing the Video plugin to improve performance.
Mac support.
IOS,Android support.
GearVR support.
Being able to sync with another person to watch a film together.
Bluray playback (God knows how I would do this but I'm sure theres a way).
Spout support.
Webcam support.
And loads more that I can't think off right now. I also intend to continue my drive to make Whirligig a proper Adventure game creator and release my game with it,.
Final Thoughts
With the addition of SteamVR support and Unity allowing Oculus and OVR to be in the same build this release is quite a big change to the way the program works. For this reason please let me know if you have problems with this version. I've tried my hardest it make this a stable release and I'm hoping that with the two VR headsets finally getting to or close to their Release dates that version incompatibility will become a thing of the past. I don't think we're there yet. So, as always, let me know what you think, suggestions from you are always good. If I can't add them now then I'll have my eye on them for the future.
So happy watching and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Phil