Author: yumengwe

As we compiled a list of improvements and changes based on the feedback from the playtest day, we are using this as our goal for the soft opening. This week, our focus was on user experience, and we continued iterating to ensure that all aspects of the project were user-friendly.

Production

This week, we began preparing for the video trailer. We designed the video layout using Figma and will continue to optimize it during the editing process.

Design

We have made some terrain changes for easier traversal.

We also downscale the exploration zone for a better player experience.

We have adjusted the placement of checkpoints and drill sites for better player guyidance.

The lighting changed to emphasize the difference between shadowed area and area under sun light.

Instead of using the spectrometer for the drilling results, we changed to a more user-friendly format because some of the middle school students mentioned that they might not have the knowledge to interpret the spectrometer readings.

The Minimap now shows all the checkpoints and sites, and is updated with the new terrain.

We have also fixed the Fuel and Battery system. The player will be teleported to the end if they did not reach to the end before run out of the battery.

Programming

We changed the system of button clicking. The button is now easier for the player to click by hand.

Art

We also made changes to the control panel by removing the red button on the lever, as many playtesters complained that it caused confusion.

We have made multiple minor changes to the signs of the control panel. We added models and animations for indication usage including steering wheel and lever.

We have modified the Griffin model. Thanks to the support from Astrobotics Technology, it is now accomplished.

We added the animation of VIPPER came out of the Griffin Lander.

We have also add the Fireworks VFX in the ending scene.

This week, our playtest day took place on Saturday, April 6th. We had a total of 48 playtesters who played our game and provided valuable feedback for us to make adjustments and improvements.

We worked hard to try and put together a complete experience to help give the players a sense of what we are trying to accomplish with our game. We incorporated narration into the game, including voiceovers and captions, to guide players step-by-step through how to play our game.

As for preparing the playtest day, we have put all the assets into the game and make it complished. This is the final version of the control panel.

We have also added a cone on top of each controller for the purpose of highlighting during the tutorial.

We have also added the checkpoint flag to unsure that the player can move to the right place.

We also added the water-ice area into the game. The player now can see the location through the camera view.

After the playtest, we have identified several improvements and adjustments based on the feedback received. In addition to optimizing the VIPER control, we also plan to add animations to the transition scenes between the Landing and the Exploring, as well as the ending scene. We have made a checklist to make sure every will be done on time before the end of the semester.

We have also begun writing the technical documentation to hand over the work to our client, and we are planning to make a video trailer for the project next week.

This week we keep making progress on our project. We have made the recordings of our narrations, and playtested our game with the Astro Club of CMU.

Playtest With Astro Club Members

On Friday, we conducted a playtest with the Astro Club of CMU. We received valuable feedback regarding adjustments to the panel user experience, environment lighting issues, and gameplay balance problems.

Progress

We have smaller the terrain to make it more traversable for the player.

All checkpoints and explore points are placed in the scene, and need further testing to see how the experience felt.

We also finalized our control panel.

The Lever

The UI on the left and right displays different information that players can interact with. This appear/hide function was added based on feedback from our previous playtesting sessions, where playtesters mentioned that some UI panels were obstructing their view of VIPER and making it difficult to control.

And the other UI elements appeared at the top front of the panel.

The controls are in the middle of the panel.

We updated our animation section by adding voiceover narration so that players can clearly understand their missions.

Art Asset

We have made more art assets, shaders, and animations for the project.

Shader for Ice-water

Checkpoint target model, material, and interact animation.

This week we keep making progress on our project. We added some new features to the game, and made iterations to the features that we have done before.

Production

We received the email from the Astrobotics that the Griffin model is finalized. We will receive the Griffin model as long as the documentation work finished.

Design

We have finalized the narration script, and will do the recordings based on the narration.

Programming

This week, we changed the starting animation to a different angle. Besides, we replaced the caption UI with the interface designed by our artist.

We also implemented a fog system into the minimap. This allows players to see their location and the path they have taken on the minimap.

We have added the shadow area to the game.

Thanks to the efforts of the programmer and the artist, we have successfully implemented the finalized model of VIPER into our game. We added a falling system to the game, meaning that the VIPER will flip over when encountering slopes exceeding a certain angle.

Art

As we mentioned in the previous part, we finally finished modifying the VIPER model by our artist.

We also iterated on some holographic effects materials. The previous version of the holographic effects was not very clear and appeared dark.

So we made some changes to the holographic so that it is brighter and easier to see.

We also added the interface for the detector function.

If it is not close enough, the bar will be yellow rather than green.

And it will turn red if it is far away from the detection area.

Sound

We also incorporated background music into the animation part. We plan to do the recordings after our designer returns from the GDC.

This week, we are implementing new features into the game and iterating on our control panel for the Exploring Scenario. We playtested our progress and received feedback. We will continue to iterate on our work and conduct more playtests.

Production

This week, we invited two groups of playtesters to test our game. The first playtester was John Dessler, a faculty member of ETC, who served as a consultant for our project. He provided valuable feedback based on his professional experience, focusing on areas such as the transition between scenarios and the improvement of narration.

The second group of playtesters were middle school students. They also provided valuable feedback about the game and identified some bugs that we had not recognized during development.

We also received confirmation from Jordan Reynold that the 3D model of Griffin has been completed and sent for review.

Programming & Design

This week, we integrated the minimap into the game. Initially, we considered using a 2D minimap for navigation. However, after several playtests, we found that the 2D minimap confused most of the playtesters. We decided to use a 3D minimap for navigation.

We also made changes on the panel to a disk shape so that it will be easier for the player to rotate.

We add an adjustable subtitle system to the scenes with scripts.

We also made adjustments to the VIPER’s suspension system. Now, the wheels will adhere to the ground unless the vehicle surpasses a certain height threshold, and the VIPER will naturally tilt based on the slope. We are still in progress with this and are awaiting the adjusted model and detailed design to refine the VIPER’s rotational behavior.

Art

This week we added the game UI and its animation into the game.

We also created the Griffin Lander’s Engine fire effect.

We have added some of the environment signs and UIs into the game.

We also iterated on the VIPER’s model to better align it with our project.

This week, our focus was on preparing for our Half-Presentation. We also made iterations on the game functions and formulated plans for the Exploring part.

Production

We are pleased that our client, Mike Hennessey, also attended our half-presentation on Wednesday. Following our presentation, we had a quick discussion about our Exploring design and made some iterations based on the feedback.

We also reach out to Jordan Reynolds, the Graphic Designer of the Astrobotic, for the 3D model of the Griffin Lander. Thanks to Jordan, we will have an offical Griffin Lander Model in a few weeks.

Design

Due to some of our teammates attending the GDC, they worked throughout the spring break. We made iterations of the control panel, clarified some use of words, and add a new function to the exploring experience.

This is the old version of the control panel for the Exploring part. Besides the speed control and rotation, we also added the camera and spectrometer system button for camera movement and spectrometer detection.

However, after several playtests, we found that it was somewhat complicated for players to learn and use within a short amount of time. As a result, we iterated on our control panel, reducing the number of buttons while retaining the same functionality.

We also designed the Camera System, including the camera control and camera functionality.

Programming

We are mostly wrapped up in our project, fixing bugs and doing iterations.

Art

We continue doing the unfinished work, including the terrain, UI system, and panel layout. We will start working on reducing the polycount of the Griffin Lander Model as soon as we get it from the Astrobotic.

This week, we participated in two playtesting opportunities: CMU Playtest Night and a visit from a middle school.

We had a total of 9 playtesters, with 6 people testing our game during the Playtest Night and 3 from the middle school visit. We provided them with a post-game survey to fill out after playing the game, covering aspects such as game mechanisms, controls, and environment structure.

According to the survey, only one of the middle school students does not have an experience with VR.

Playtest Night Feedback

During the Playtest Night, we got feedback from our playtesters that the Griffin is very hard to find.

And comparing to the tilting system, they think the lever is harder to control, and the speed is so fast that they cannot tell if there is any changes happening when they are pushing the lever.

Iteration

We made adjustments to the Griffin, including the initiated position, the velocity, and the lever response.

We also added voice-over guidance and sound and visual effects for the Griffin, as well as control enhancements to improve the gaming experience and responsiveness.

Middle School Visit

We are happy to see that the results of the post-game survey of middle school students are better than the playtest night.

We will keep holding the playtest and make iterations to the game due to the feedbacks.

Future

In the future, we plan to reach out to the Physics department’s Middle School Outreach Programs to involve more middle school students in playtesting our game. Additionally, we intend to present our game to the Astroclub of CMU to gather feedback from professionals in the field.

The Exploring – Prototype

We also made the progress of having a prototype of the exploring.

The control of exploring is very similar to the Landing.

In addition to rover direction and speed control, we have incorporated move direction control and a spectrometer system. This allows players to change direction while moving and use the spectrometer to detect potential ice and water points.

Furthermore, we have implemented a monitor screen displaying the first-person view of the VIPER rover. This screen will highlight potential ice areas that the player cannot see from an AI perspective.

After clicking the Spectrometer button, a pop-up will display information indicating whether the area contains ice or water.

We will further develop and design the exploration.

Plans for Next Week

Next week, we are going to have the half presentation. We will prepare for it and update the new progress on the following blogs.

This week, we finalized a solid game flow for our game. Additionally, we created storyboards and concepts to illustrate the design. We also completed and packaged our first scenario, ‘The Landing,’ in preparation for next week’s playtest.

The Landing

We finalized the storyboard for the landing part.

We arranged components into reusable prefabs and show more customizable properties in inspector for adapting to different design decision

And optimized fist detection to make the work

We also added a ‘Screen in Screen’ feature, allowing the player to see the landing in a first-person view.

We finished the design of control panel for our Landing part. There will be a holographic projection effect of the rover controller.

The Exploring

We started our design and art of The Exploring, including the terrain and level design of this part.

This is what it looks like in the game developed by the artists:

We will jump more into this part while polished The Landing.

Start Menu

We add a start menu for player to start the game.

This scene contains background music, while the other scenes will only contain ambient sounds.

This week, we built our very first prototype for our first scenario: The Landing. Additionally, we watched the livestream from NASA’s Robot Build Watch Party, asked questions about VIPER, and found inspiration while observing the livestream.

Design

We leaned toward the player playing as the AI for a better explanation of the amount of controls the players has on VIPER and Griffin. We separated The Landing into two parts:

1. The player starts with a further away view of Griffin orbiting the moon and approaching the surface (Still deciding if the player should be able to control Griffin here).
2. When Griffin is close enough to the ground, the game switches to a closer side view of the lander with tilt controls and main jet thrust control to land Griffin safely.

The reason of the change is:

1. It is hard for the player to precisely control the lander with our previous view.
2. The first part can serve as an introduction to the experience with less to no controls so the player can focus on getting into the story.

We also created a white box for the second part of landing with basic movements and a sense of what the palyer will see.

We have also conducted research on the planned route for VIPER and prepared for the next stage of production.

Programming

We have created a working prototype of The Landing. We have created a trail prediction system that can predict the future route and potential landing position on the moon surfae based on the current trajectory of Griffin.

We also created a controllable input system to manage the speed, prediction duration, rotation angles, gravity, to match with the input system for Quest3.

We created delayed I/O for angle rotation of Griffin, there is now a maximum angle that the lander can rotate per second (so that it won’t look weird).

We achieved asynchronous scene change with fading out fading in effect for smooth transition. This is the transition between part one and part two as we mentioned before.

We have fixed gimbal lock issue of the rotation controller with quaternion and connect the output of controller to the white box landing prototype.

We have setup a lever to control the main ject engine of Griffin for controlling landing speed.

And also tested and setup hand gesture detection with OpenXR pre release package.

Art

We have conducted some research on the lunar surface appearance.

And finished the first version of the lunar surface.

We also began to build a cosmic environment for The Landing, featuring the Moon, Earth, and Sun.

We have made some research about how the control panel may looks like.

Last but not least, we have finalized our poster.

Sound

The Sound Manager script has been put into the project. We have created a list of needs based on the design doc.

This week our team was focused on preparing for our quarters presentation. Quarters is a great opportunity to present our game idea to the faculty and get valuable feedback and suggestions.

We had a description and high level goal of the project.

Then explained our ideas to the faculties.

Overall, the feedback we received was very positive, and many faculty members gave valuable suggestions about mixing reality and sci-fi control systems in a VR experience.

Design

We decided on the single-player game with the player playing as the control center on Earth controlling Griffin and VIPER to achieve the mission.

In terms of our goal, we decided to go with 75% inspirational and 25% educational, since our objective is to spark interest among middle school students in the space industries, which might benefit from a more inspirational experience.

We created a simple high-level core game loop that can be adjusted to fit the scope depending on future production.

We designed the basic controls and the placement of virtual elements in the space. Will need further exploration in a few parts.

Programming

We conducted several researches on the Griffin Lander. We referenced documentation for both Griffin and VIPER as we programmed the work.

We established the overall environment for the project. All the art assets currently used are placeholders and will be replaced by assets created by our artists.

Art

• Made initial assignments for the current stage of art-related tasks. ( including logo, poster and half sheet; artistic style research; assets creation for the prototype.)

• Started and finalized the project logo design.

• Started the tech research for creating the close-up view of the moon’s surface.
• Completed the draft of the poster

• Concept of the control penal in player’s perspective.

• Concept of the environment