v0.1.0-alpha.4 — equipped objects (experimental) and graphics presets

Graphics presets and the first pass of equipped objects visible in the hands.

The held-object system is experimental and in a very green state. Items render attached to the visible hand rigs and melee combat works, but grip poses, finger wrap, and per-item placement are approximate and will keep changing. Expect visible imperfections.

New since v0.1.0-alpha.3

Graphics:

• New [VR] RenderScale\ setting (0.5-2.0, default 1.0) that multiplies the SteamVR recommended eye buffer size at startup; the main performance lever on modern headsets (restart required after changing it).
• One-click graphics presets in Options - VR Settings: Performance, Balanced, and Quality bundles of render scale, shadows, shader quality, texture quality, and anisotropic filtering.
• Texture anisotropic filtering now defaults to 16x instead of Off.
• Fixed [Screen] Vsync\ never being loaded and [Graphics] Refractions\ never being saved.

Hands and equipped objects (experimental):

• The flashlight, glowstick, flare, melee weapons (hammer, pickaxe, broom), and thrown items render as attachments on top of the visible hand rig instead of replacing it, so the hand is seen holding the object.
• Items anchor to a palm socket in the controller frame (between palm and finger knuckles, shifted toward the thumb) with per-item rotation and scale; the placement is rigid relative to the hand while moving.
• Melee weapons and thrown items keep their full gameplay logic: damage sweeps, charging, and throw release from the rendered item pose.
• Fixed a crash when opening the notebook while a flare was equipped (use-after-free on the flare light pointer).
• The notebook draws without a depth test, so world geometry can no longer clip it or hide its text.
• The thrown item honours the VrScale of its hud file again; ships a held-dynamite override at 6.0.

Known limitations (held objects)

• The forced grip does not close the fist completely yet; the finger wrap is still shallow and the thumb stays static (known model limitation).
• Per-item placement is a first pass: some items still intersect the hand or sit slightly off the palm line.
• The system may change without notice between builds.

What to test

• Graphics presets and the render scale lever (compare frame timing at 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25).
• Equipped items: flashlight, glowstick, flare, hammer, pickaxe, dynamite — visibility, placement, and melee damage.
• The notebook with items equipped (earlier builds crashed here).