Dixotomia News

[h3]🎨 3D Art and Visuals Update from 3D-Den:[/h3]
• Our 3D artist "Den" reimagined a game location from scratch after initial trials.
• The new location boasts superior optimization, achieved through the extensive use of tyl textures and trips.

• Props have also been redesigned, using a single texture set for enhanced visual coherence.


[h3]🌟 Level Design Improvements:[/h3]
• We've dedicated considerable effort to refining lighting and spatial arrangements in the Laborotoria location.
• These enhancements mark a significant step forward in our level design, paving the way for the next stages of development.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to bring the dark and thrilling world of Dixotomia to life!


[h3]🎮 Indie Festival Visit in August:[/h3]
• Our team had an exciting visit to a local indie festival celebrating anime, games, and subculture.
• We introduced VR to many enthusiasts, and even one of our developers experienced Dixotomia in VR for the first time!
• The response was overwhelming with numerous attendees eager to engage in VR shooting.
🔧 Future Plans:
• We aim to expand our VR setup, currently equipped with two Oculus Quest 2 headsets, for larger exhibitions.

Hello, on October 27 at 21:00 we will show you the gameplay of our games, updated models, weapons and interface.

See you on the stream!

"The most important change - the Demo version has become completely standalone! Previously, a PC was required to play it. But now you can simply download it to your headset. You can play it on Oculus Quest 2/3/Pro and Piko 4. The game weighs only 400 MB - because optimization is one of the key elements of the project.

[h3]FPS[/h3]
Developing applications for Oculus Quest, and for VR in general, requires maintaining a stable high FPS. To determine the exact figures, we used Unreal Insights in conjunction with RenderDoc - and achieved excellent results. We also increased FPS in the most complex location by about 100% thanks to occlusion optimization.


[h3]3D[/h3]
The optimization process wouldn't be complete if there were still high-polygon 3D models in the project. That's why we completely redesigned the locations: Lobby, Hall, Training room. We built all the walls-floors-ceilings from scratch. We created more than 100 new props. We optimized the existing ones and placed them differently in levels to ensure stable FPS.


[h3]Code[/h3]
Inside UE, the following were reworked:

Movement system.
Now the character can walk not only on flat horizontal surfaces but also on inclined surfaces, including stairs. Additionally, the character can now fall from great heights. The standard movement system does not provide such functionality in VR, and we added it.
Teleportation.
In addition, we added the ability to change the teleportation direction, and now the character assumes the correct position after teleportation.
Collision system.
Now the character smoothly moves away from walls when colliding with them with the head.
Inventory and quick slots.
We reworked the character's inventory, removed unnecessary items from the item grab component, and changed the appearance.
Weapon reloading.
A damage system and reaction to taking damage were added.


[h3]Game design[/h3]
In the final part of the demo, RB was replaced by Duncan - the main antagonist of the game. In addition, Duncan himself was remodeled, given new animations, skills, and a behavior tree.


As well as a thousand other minor edits and changes that would take longer to describe than to implement.
We look forward to seeing you on the steam stream on October 26!

"The third intense month of development is coming to an end! Let's share our impressions and thoughts.

The main focus of our work remains on optimization, location assembly, lighting setup, modeling-remodeling, and other small tasks. It's a daily effort that involves all project participants 😅 Nobody is left without work!

[h3]"LOBBY"[/h3]
Last month, we transferred elements of previously completed locations to a new repository. We also created many things from scratch. In addition to new architectural objects such as walls, ceilings, floors, and columns, we expanded the variety of props, so the locations now feature updated furniture and environment items.



We worked on the Training Room and the Lobby. And now, we can proudly say, "mission completed"! In August, we will start something new))

Besides props, lighting plays an important role. The lighting in the "Lobby" underwent a complete overhaul, making it a delight to observe all these highlights and shadows now))

ps. It really looks amazing!



[h3]CODE[/h3]
In addition to the visual aspects, significant work was done in the code. This month, we completed quite a few important tasks, mainly related to improving the current functionality, identifying and fixing bugs.

-Collision System
We improved the collision system with obstacles. Now the character smoothly moves away from walls upon collision with them.



The system also works well with flat surfaces like tables, where the character could dive into the surface and cause the collision system to behave incorrectly. After all, how do you move the character away correctly when the system is set to move LEFT-RIGHT, but the character moves TOP-DOWN? Well, now it should work correctly.)

We also encountered some difficulties with how the new collision system interacts with the system of movement on inclined surfaces. But it seems we managed to make them work together.

[h3]3D[/h3]
Today, we'll throw a pebble through your window))

A beautiful stone in the middle of the lobby. Take a look, the logo is bright too. We also redesigned it several times))

Ahead of us is the work on creating a new location! It won't be included in the demo =P
But we won't stop sharing news! So, expect a new update in September! Have a successful last month of summer! See you!"

Dichotomy. Bullet 2/18

First things first!

The month of June marked the beginning of migrating old locations to a new repository. The first one to undergo the transition was the starting location codenamed "Training Room." We worked hard and voila! Now it can be experienced on the Oculus Quest 2 without being connected to a computer!

We put a lot of effort into maintaining a stable frame rate, which is crucial for a smooth immersion into the world of virtual reality, and it seems like we succeeded!

[h3]"Training Room"[/h3]
During the transfer process, the entire location was completely reworked. We used new textures, created new environmental elements, and improved the lighting sources. The core concept of the map remained mostly unchanged, but the visual aspect came alive with more vibrant and saturated colors.

To start, our 3D artist extracted all the unique objects from the location to understand its composition.


All the unique objects. There are already 35k polygons in the scene, and each object is a unique instance. And almost every one of them was reused multiple times in the location.
They carefully studied the structure of the location and gradually remodeled it while optimizing it simultaneously. We decided to model modules (representing cubes with objects) from which the location could be easily assembled. As a result, the location was optimized tenfold, making it easier to read and understand the placement of objects.


[h3]CODE[/h3]
Apart from the graphical achievements, we also made logical improvements. A lot of work was done to create a mission manager. This manager tracks the progress of the current task. This approach adds complexity to the production process, but in the long run, it provides advantages. Now we can assemble new missions like building blocks, where each new component is added to the previous one, forming a chain.

It used to be like this)
Now the task is a separate entity that tracks progress, manages the process of setting up the route points, and provides results. Whether the task was successfully completed or not))

During the transfer process, we experimented a lot with the number of rendered elements, polygons, and materials to reduce the number of milliseconds spent on rendering. Now we have thoroughly studied the device's features and limitations, and we are ready to start creating the next locations!

[h3]"LOBBY"[/h3]
In addition to the transfer of the "Training Room," we also worked on another location called "Lobby." We completely remodeled and optimized the environmental models. As a result, we managed to remove thousands of polygons and numerous unnecessary texture sets and materials.