Moondust 3.0: what's new?

Discussion of what's been added in the substantial 3.0 update to Moondust.

Introduction

It's been exactly six months and one day since the last Moondust update; that's quite a while. As Knuckles has continued to be developed, we've kept exploring and thinking about how to create effective content for this new generation of VR input.

The SteamVR Unity plugin recently had a major update to version 2.2,[assetstore.unity.com] and we thought it would be worthwhile to reflect those changes in Moondust as a resource to developers. One of the flashier additions is the SteamVR Skeleton Poser system, intended to be a quick and simple way to let developers create fully animated, permanently visible hands that realistically grab onto any object in a game. Along with this feature, many bugs were fixed and documentation was created and organized for the entire plugin.

Moondust has been updated to this version of the Unity plugin, and now serves as an example of some of the more complex possibilities of the Input and Interaction systems. Along with this, tons of new features and content have been produced to round out Moondust into something even more fun to explore.

JoeJeffs

What is a JoeJeff?



JoeJeff was originally a character created as an example for third person control in the SteamVR Unity Plugin. He is included in the plugin, and can be controlled via the joystick or (on Vive wands) the trackpad.
We decided to add him, a lot of him, to Moondust.
He can now be found in every scene, adding some extra spice and interactivity in most.

In the Throwing scene you can play turret fetch with a crowd of them, or hurl grenades and watch them flee for their lives. In the Buggy Buddy scene they provide either an obstacle or a target, depending on your moral fortitude. There's also a minigame where you can try to run over as many as possible in 60 seconds, if you're a monster (can you beat my record of 27?).

In the Rock Crush scene a collection of JoeJeffs spectate eagerly as you crush rocks, and more are hiding in the white domes of the lunar habitats.

Up in orbit, the space station is now inhabited by many JoeJeffs, enjoying zero-g as you build them a home.

Buggy Buddy Plus

We've added a few racetracks to test out your buggy driving skills. These can be played by teleporting to any of the green markers in the Buggy scene and selecting a controller. The races have global leaderboards connected to Steamworks, so you can see how you stack up against the most elite moon buggy racers on Earth. Or, the moon, I suppose?
There's also, as mentioned previously, a 60 second challenge to mow down as many JoeJeffs as possible.

6DOF Space Station and More

A limitation of the old space station building code was that you couldn't rotate the assembled space station. This silly limitation has been solved, and you can now freely rotate your creation as you build it!

There is also a new main menu and scene selection mechanic that uses a more user friendly interface than the previous universe bubbles. The scene selector can be summoned at any time with the B button.

Of course, there are dozens of bug fixes and small additions that it doesn't make sense to list here. The best thing to do is try it yourself! And don't forget, Moondust is fully open source, and almost entirely free to recycle and adapt.[github.com]

Enjoy the update!

[merc3690]

Glad the Unity plugin is getting some love. Any news on the official UE4 plugin?

[Karman]

cool

[Dragonisser]

Nice

[Taras]

cool beans