Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to let you all know where I'm at with this game and future plans.

Early this year I will be releasing a photography game that is a compilation of 10 environments, including this one. (Wishlist on steam)

Because I've learned a lot about environment design in the time since I had made this game, I thought I would apply all my latest techiques to remaster the enviroment, switch to unreal engine 5, and add a wealth of new options and features to improve the overall user experience. (all in preparation for the compilation)

New features:
- New alternate "Snow" version
- "totem" collectibles scattered around the map
- Usable Film Camera
- Usable Paper Plane
- Usable Drone Camera
- New Photo Objectives
- New "point and click" movement option
- Completley Replaced Textures
- More extensive graphics options
- Volume options
- Reworked Lighting
- New Selection of Music
(and hundreds of smaller things)

The build is mostly stable but there will definitley still be issues! it's mostly still a work in progress.
Please let me know about problems on discord: https://discord.gg/Kv2NEynADy

This update will be available to all those who have added the game to their steam library, before the steam store page gets taken down in a week. If you have a friend who might like to try this build, let them know!

Hope to keep you all updated soon with the release of the final game. I'll be remastering my other environments as well as adding (6?) new ones, I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

Enjoy the update!

-Matt

* NOTE these changes only apply to the Desktop Version, the VR version is currently the same but I'm hoping to inlcude VR support in the final compilation.

Hey all!

Just wanted to give you all an update and to let you know about the new Italian Alps environment I've made, now available FREE this week for beta testing.

Download link is in the 'news' section on discord: https://discord.gg/Kv2NEynADy

The environment is a recreation of Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee in german) in the South Tyrol region of the Italian Alps. I've been able to implement a lot of new features since the iceland scene, such as more interactible items, collectables and game modes. If you enjoyed Mýrdalssandur, Iceland you'll be sure to like this one too!

I'll be making more environments over the next year or so as I work towards the release of the entire compilation, called "Lushfoil Photography Sim". you can wishlist it on steam here:

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1749860/Lushfoil_Photography_Sim/

if you'd like to recieve updates on the game you can follow me on twitter, youtube, or instagram[instagram.com].

Hope you enjoy this one! be sure to let me know what you think on discord

- Matt

Added DLSS comptatibilty for those with nvidia cards and the latest drivers. Offers an effective but slightly blurry anti-aliasing solution that increases performance 30-40%, which can make room for increased view distance and higher quality lighting.

Also made a few more suble changes to controls and optimisation to make the experience a little bit better.

Also - This will be the last VR update for the time being, I've found that making VR games is too tiresome and the final product always seems inferior to the respective desktop version. I've had fun experimenting with VR but it almost never feels rewarding, so I'll be focusing on newer, high fidelity desktop experiences for the near future. Follow me on twitter or instagram for regular updates on what I'm working on:

https://twitter.com/cavesrd
https://www.instagram.com/cavesrd/
https://www.youtube.com/cavesrd

Cheers!
-Matt

Desktop
- DSLR camera with zoom, auto focus, image adjustment, portrait mode and filters
- New "Blue Hour" secret unlockable setting
- Performance improvements, view distance improvements
- Removed all loading during level transitions, added loading screen for the start of the game
- Full controller menu support
- Added custom capture resolution option to menu, as well as some other settings
- Added quit game cutscene if you haven't found the camera
- Added stuttering fix for AMD cards
- Lots of other less noticable problems are now also fixed

VR Changes
- DSLR shooting mode is now out of beta and runs without hitches, compatible with all headsets
- Added access to 'sunset' variant without finishing the game
- Fixed some navigation issues (you won't get stuck under the map)
- Output photo colour overhaul (.png's will look less washed out)
- Added headset-based joystick movement option
- Extended max view distance setting to 2.0
- Visual Improvements; view distance extension
- Added a more comprehensive hand-frame photo tutorial

Sorry this update was long overdue, I'm very appreciative for the support this game has recieved from the beginning. I'm going to start working on a larger project after this so I might not be able to push any updates for a while, if you're using VR and run into any issues please report them here: https://forms.gle/7a96dTJckNTMiPpu9 , it makes it so much easier to keep track of them.

Cheers!
- Matt

Desktop Version
- Added "invert vertical look" option to the preferences menu
- (Finally) fixed mouse focus issues in the menu
- New song added

VR Version
- The "First Time Setup" menu will now appear in the correct position, this should solve the grey screen launch issue for some people.
- Added a new handheld camera shooting mode for non-oculus headsets
- Improved collision around the entire map, it's now much harder to get stuck

Thanks for highlighting these problems in the community hub! With most of the important issues ironed out I can now start working on the next game.
- Matt