Kickstarter Update

Can’t Believe it’s 2017!

Hello Backers,

Hope you had a good Holiday season. We’ve continued to work on all things Obduction, and here’s the current state of affairs…

Mac Version: Well, this has certainly been a rollercoaster. As many of you have experienced, our Mac version has been in good shape for a month or so. But as other Mac players know, we had a few remaining issues, mainly relating to Metal and graphics card drivers. We have been working closely with Apple and Epic to try to resolve these issues. With every new MacOS update more of the driver issues have been fixed. But a crash bug with AMD graphics cards seems to have snuck in after all the other bugs were cleaned up. Again we want to let you know that this bug isn’t something we can address, it’s at a much lower level, and mostly out of our hands. It will be addressed when our partners create a solution that will be a part of a future MacOS update.

With all that said, we’re still incredibly excited to get Obduction in the hands of our Mac users. We’re trying to balance our desire for the best possible experience with the excitement and impatience. We’ll keep you updated with how things are going, but in the meantime, we will be releasing our latest version of Obduction to Backers as a public preview. This allows us to sync up the Mac and PC versions (1.4.2) and get additional feedback. Feel free to try this latest version of Obduction, but be aware that it is the most stable with the latest MacOS update which is currently in Public Beta.

Touch Controls: We’ve got hands! We can walk around in very rough form using touch controllers and even wave at CW. Now it’s just a matter of tuning the navigation, and allowing the hands to manipulate things in Obduction. Stay tuned.

Physical Items: We continue to finalize physical items, and since we’ve done everything we can for the Mac version, we’re preparing to press it. We’ve got final designs on posters, books, post cards, discs, and more. It won’t be long now.

And for those of you who are interested, Rand sat down with Adam Conover (of Adam ruins everything fame) for a long, deep, spoiler-laden, explicit discussion of all things Obduction. Here’s the interview…

And one more thing… our Art Director Eric Anderson and former Cyan employee Manny Trembley are wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign. Check it out here!

Obduction Holiday Update

Dear Patient Obduction Backers,

Wow, we’re well into the Holiday Season and still working hard to finish a few tasks!

Mac Version: Finally! We’ve got a Mac version. Now that Apple has released their 10.12.2 Sierra update we can pass the latest Mac update your way. We’ve released an update for our Mac Kickstarter backers on Steam. If you have the Mac version from Steam or GoG, you have an update waiting for you. (You’ll also need that 10.12.2 update we mentioned from Apple.) Go try it out. Hopefully all goes well, and we can quickly get the Mac version out for sale to the general public via Steam, GoG, the Mac App Store, and Humble. (Please be aware that we’re seeing intermittent crashes on some Macs with AMD graphics cards. We’ll continue to track this issue down and get it fixed ASAP.)

Physical Goods: We appreciate your patience as we finalize all of the physical rewards, box them, and get them shipped to you. Physical goods always seem to take longer to wrap up, and since we’re actually including a final version of both the PC and Mac on a disc, we had to wait until we had a final version of the game to press. We’ve made lots of progress, but unfortunately we won’t be able to get them to you for the holidays. We’re hoping for an early 2017 fulfillment. Here’s a photo of a few of the items that have come in so far.

   
   

Vive & Touch: Full Vive support is underway! That means that hand control support for the Vive, Touch control for the Rift, and Move controls for PSVR are in the works. It should be fun to be able to switch those huge levers with your hands.

PS4/PSVR: We’ve announced that we’re working on Obduction for the PS4/PSVR, and we were at PSX a couple of weeks ago to prove it. We showed a demo running on the PS4! (FYI – the PS4 version is a new addition to our platform and is not part of the Kickstarter campaign.)

And just barely in time for the Holidays, we’ve made an “accolades” trailer that has a few snippets of some of the wonderful reviews that Obduction has received. This trailer was designed to have some energy to it. We hope you like it! Please share it with anyone who might be interested in Obduction!

And as always, thanks for your continued patience and support!

YAU! (Yet Another Update)

Wow! We’re getting all kinds of love from people experiencing Obduction in VR on the Rift. So glad you’re enjoying it! Those accolades really boost our morale! Thanks for the support.

We’ve got a few more items…

First – Oculus Store codes: All of the stores (Oculus, Steam, GoG, Humble) have been updated with the latest version of Obduction which adds support for the Oculus Rift. Yay! That means that Obduction at ALL stores is now playable in VR. We provided the Oculus Store codes as an early-release treat – a nice bonus for Backers. Now that the VR enabled version is everywhere, the codes are no longer necessary, and they will be expiring on Friday, Nov 4th.

Second – Smooth Turning in VR: We made the choice to only include “snap” turning when we launched Obduction for VR, because we wanted to err on the “comfortable” side. We always planned to listen for feedback from VR players. Now that we’ve heard you loud and clear, we’re happy to announce that we have a hot-fix going through final testing now that will allow smooth turns.

Third – Help Spread the Word: We have continued to update Obduction with new features, better performance, bug fixes, etc. We’ve managed to get a whole lot of glowing reviews, but we could use your help getting the word out. If you are enjoying the Obduction journey and excited about the VR release (or the upcoming Mac release) please Tweet, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc with #obduction and share your excitement! Thanks!

Fourth – The Mac Version: Just a reminder that the Mac version continues to be a PRE-RELEASE version with known issues. We are totally committed to providing a beautiful Mac experience, and we are working on an update that will improve a few things… but a final release version is dependent on a Metal API update from Apple.

Fifth – Physical Rewards: We’re getting physical rewards proofed, printed, and pressed, BUT everything hinges on a final version of game itself that will be on the DVD. Fulfillment of physical rewards looks like a December timeframe.

Obduction for VR (and more) Update

  
  

Obduction is now available for VR on Oculus Rift. We hope you were able to take advantage of your early access from the Oculus Store on Friday, but if not, today’s update on all stores (Oculus, Steam, GoG, Humble) now supports VR on the Oculus Rift! A copy of today’s press release is here.

Here are a few things you should know about Obduction for VR…

  • Obduction is easily explorable with the Oculus Remote – it works very naturally, and if you haven’t tried it you really should! Of course you can also play with a wide range of gamepads.
  • The default method for exploration in VR is “Blink” mode, and it’s reminiscent of the original Myst. This method of navigation (like teleporting) is widely used in VR for the most comfortable experience.
  • For “hard core” VR players who can handle a more intense experience, we’ve also included “Free” navigation mode that is similar to standard FPS controls. It’s accessible in the Controls menu.
  • You can play Obduction in VR either seated or standing. Feel free to try both to see which one suits you.
  • We have optimized Obduction while trying not to compromise its sweeping vistas and meticulous detail. This high level of immersive integrity may require a bit more performance than other VR titles.

And here is even more about our latest update…

  • We’ve added NVIDIA Ansel support which lets you take panoramic, high-resolution, and even 3D spherical images that are viewable with almost any VR hardware.
  • Obduction is now playable in gorgeous HDR with newer NVIDIA graphics cards and an HDR display.
  • If you have certain Razer Chroma-enabled devices then you’re in for a treat. The colors will match some of the locations and events that you experience while exploring.
  • Oh, and we’ve made a plethora of art, UI, and tech fixes!

Obduction – The Updates Keep Coming!

Obduction VR Version
Obduction VR Version

Obduction VR

For those of you anxiously awaiting the VR version of Obduction, we have some exciting news! The Oculus Rift VR update of Obduction will be widely available on October 31st – the 19th anniversary of Riven’s release!

But wait… there’s more!

We’ll be making Obduction for the Rift available on the Oculus Store for all Backers a few days before the official release date – on Friday, October 28th. If you helped back Obduction you’ll get a notification on the 28th from Humble for an Oculus Store key. (Here is how to redeem the key.)

Obduction will be one of the most extensive VR games available! Obduction in VR is not just a demo or small slice – it’s the entire experience. This updated Obduction will allow you to choose how you want to explore – Rift or monitor. It’s so exciting to be able to offer our newest worlds in such an immersive format! We hope you enjoy the experience.

Mac Update

We continue to make good progress on the Mac version. As Epic and Apple have helped out with our Mac endeavor it has become evident that Obduction works best with the latest versions of everyone’s software. There are numerous enhancements in MacOS Sierra and the latest Unreal Engine 4 update that clean up many bugs and improve performance, and more are coming. With that in mind it looks like a December time frame will allow us to include updates that Obduction will need for a good Mac version.

We also want you to be aware that we’ll be moving our QA focus to MacOS Sierra. What that means is that when the Mac version of Obduction is released it may work for you on previous versions of MacOS, BUT we’ll be limiting our support to Sierra.

We don’t want to minimize the cost involved in keeping your computers updated, but those of you who have been fans of Cyan for many years realize that our ability to provide evocative worlds has always been tied closely to current hardware, and the latest OS. Our very first game The Manhole required a hard drive when Macs mostly had floppy drives. It was updated to require a CD-ROM drive – one of the first games to require one. Myst required a newer Mac with color monitor, a CD-ROM drive, hard drive, and the latest OS to run QuickTime. And then Riven required a more powerful Mac and a newer OS than even Myst did.

With all that said, Rand plays Obduction on a late 2013 MacBook Pro – not exactly brand new, AND not exactly a gaming machine. We’ve done our best (with Apple and Epic’s help) to optimize and make Obduction work on older hardware, and we hope your older system will work as well.

Thanks for your support!

Obduction – Patches, VR, Mac, and More

Hey Backers,

Wow, what a crazy few weeks it’s been. Sorry (as usual) for the lack of updates, but as we’ve mentioned before, we’re very small, working hard, and wearing lots of hats.

Obduction has launched to rave reviews, and most of you are up and running. The comments we’ve heard from Backers have been almost unanimously positive – thanks for that! We’re especially proud of building Obduction as a large, satisfying experience on a very small budget. (If you haven’t read the reviews you should at obduction.com/news )

Even with our good reviews, we still need your help to get the word out. Having spent the Kickstarter funds to make Obduction as good as we could, we don’t have much left for marketing. That means Obduction sales are dependent on word of mouth until we can  afford to advertise. Thanks for your help in spreading the word!

We still have a small number of emails and requests from Backers who are waiting for a download key. We’re churning through the requests as quickly as possible, and we’re very sorry for the delay if you’re still waiting.

Patches and Updates

We have also been working on several patches and updates. Our second patch went live this week. This is a huge patch, and for almost everyone it provides an improved Obduction experience.

* Mac Kickstarter Backers will see some changes to their pre-release version – mostly good, some bad. Generally, the Mac performance has improved dramatically. Almost everyone should notice that. The bad news is that you may crash, or only see a black screen at startup. There are two steps to fix this. The first is to upgrade to MacOS Sierra which has fixes that Obduction requires. The second is to remove old shader cache files which we explain how to do at the end of this update. One more Mac issue is a new anomaly with Intel graphics that might make a lot of textures very dark.

Schedule

Our main patches are mostly complete, so let’s talk a bit about our schedule for updates.

Tuning the VR version of Obduction
Tuning the VR version of Obduction

* Our much-anticipated VR Update, enabling full support for playing Obduction in VR (with an Oculus Rift, initially) continues to improve. Obduction VR amplifies the experience to a new level of immersion. We’re focusing a large portion of our resources now on releasing this as soon as possible. The VR release will also include some other features and fixes. Stay tuned for specific release dates.

* The Mac version is also getting a major focus and improving dramatically. There are still some low level issues that require fixes that are beyond our control, and those are being addressed by Epic and Apple. Because of that, timing is looking like sometime in the fourth quarter.

Physical Backer Rewards

Bits are definitely faster than atoms, but we’re making lots of progress on the physical rewards. The boxed version of Obduction is trickier than the other items. Obduction’s physical disc will be installable and playable without an internet connection. That means it will not be easily upgradable, so we have to make sure we have final stable versions to burn on the disc. Because of that, timing is looking like the fourth quarter.

As always, thanks for your support!

The Cyan Obduction Team

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Mac Users – to remove old shader caches…

* Go to the Finder (usually the first thing in your dock)

* Hold down shift + command + g  (to open “Go to the folder:” option)

* Type (or copy and paste) this…   ~/Library/Application Support/Epic/Obduction/Saved 

  
  

* Click Go or push return

* Delete two files…  ByteCodeCache.ushadercode and DrawCache.ushadercache

(If you don’t see those files, then you may have done something wrong, or you don’t have Obduction installed.)

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