Starlight: Eye of the Storm News

As promised, v1.05 brings about a new play mode which is free for all existing customers as well as many improvements made to the game's performance.



[h2]Survival Mode[/h2]

This is a brand new mode that combines waves from different stages and segments in the Campaign and Arcade modes to form a unique challenge and experience. Even so, there're modifications made to increase the level of challenge.



There're 4 different Survival stages, and you'll start with a certain amount of crystals and capsules at the weapon shop to spec your fighter. At the end of each survival stage, you'll be brought back to the weapon shop to utilize your earnings.

There'll at most be sub-bosses in this mode. Any bosses that might appear will not stand as a defining objective to be destroyed in order to pass.

We hope you'll have fun with this new game mode.

P.S. You don't have to complete any modes to unlock Survival. New players may try it out to get a taste of things in the Campaign and Arcade modes. Also, the Survival weapon shops are in full tech level; meaning you'll have access to ALL weapons and upgrades right from start.

1. EMP Cannon Level 3 is now permanently dicing; it'll almost never expire.
   
2. Increased use of threads across several components. This means the game is less likely to lag due to external influence.
   
3. Controls are now real-time sensitive. That means its sensitivity is at its highest and the fighter will react accordingly. Do not be alarmed if your fighter seems to be moving slowly; just hold on to the D-pad and it should pick up speed quickly. The feeling should still be the same as before the patch though the visuals are far more interpolated.
   
4. Added a short input blockage between menu transitions. This is to reduce the risk of an accidental button hold, causing the menu navigation to by default go to Start Game > Campaign > Normal - and the game begins in an unwarranted fashion. The blockage doesn't resolve the issue but it does give the player some time to react.
   

1. Stream Laser Level 1 now has an upgrade cost. Previously it was free and that wasn't meant to be the case.
   
2. Fixed a bug where a fresh install using FSWM V-sync will cause the game to run at 1/3 of the speed. This is now fixed to handle both 60Hz FSWM and > 60Hz FSWM
   
3. Fixed a bug where mines blowing up within proximity wasn't working. Now if you go near a mine, it will blow up.
   
4. Fixed a bug where if you're invulnerable, your bullets will ignore hitting enemy shields.
   

Survival mode will be much more intensive than the Arcade or Campaign mode. As a result, the game WILL slow down but will not skip that many frames. But do expect the game to slow down when playing Survival mode.



These are some issues that are known but couldn't be fixed in time or there isn't consistency with it.

1. Weapon shop UI may sometimes disappear upon 2nd visit onwards. The weapon shop still works but the lack of a background UI is mystifying. Only occurs in the Steam version with overlay so far.
   
2. The new build v1.05 uses the new engine's features; as such there might be a chance where the game might still be unstable though so far our tests have come up empty even when it's pushed to its limits.
   
3. 3D ships in the new build may suddenly get destroyed. This may be fixed over the next 1-2 quick patches if it causes a stability issue.
   

We still have Boss Rush and Uber Boss Rush to be released. However, the team will be taking a month's break from creating any new DLCs unless it's an emergency bug fixing patch.

We might still introduce new weapons though.

Thanks for your support as always! Hope you'll have fun with the new mode!

Regards,
Strides Team

This patch is a maintenance patch with a new weapon being added. The biggest change is underneath where the game's rendering is properly redesigned at the engine level. The amount of stuttering will be reduced.

[h2]New Contents[/h2]

- Added new weapon: Disruptor
- The disruptor is an offensive weapon that has 3 levels. It's a low level weapon open to players right from start (after arcade stage 1) to provide more options. Its unique ability is the chance to inflict double damage. When in effect, it'll further by doubled if there's a double damage bonus.

[h2]Changes[/h2]

- Improvements were made to the engine which indirectly improved the overall performance of Starlight. The key improvement is that stuttering occurs almost every other second.
- Improved Mission 5/Stage 6 boss where the need to take down the shield generators is prompted and counted. While it's not a primary objective, it's there to help players identify what to shoot before taking on the platforms.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

- Fixed a bug where players without targeting computer will not be able to preview Micron Laser in the weapon shop.
- Fixed a specific bug where if V-sync is ON and refresh rate is higher than 60Hz, and the game is run in Windowed mode, the game will suddenly go into permanent bullet-time mode. It runs slow, but not laggy. This is now fixed.

[h2]Performance Issues[/h2]

There might have been some misconception with recommended and minimum hardware.

1) All recommendations are based on well-maintained, well-powered VRMs and isn't thermally compromised hardware.
2) A GTX 1080 TI on a laptop may be more than enough to run this game. This is correct but if the laptop's thermals had been compromised, it'll throttle so much that it'll slow down the game.
3) Starlight uses ~40% of GPU in a GTX 1650 SUPER and is still pretty much CPU bound ~70% of 1 core.
4) Starlight isn't an emulated modification; this is a full-fledged game using 3D hardware acceleration and rendering pipelines. It's not a sprite-only game!
5) Do not run Starlight under power-saver option. You'll most likely get a much below par performance.
6) Do not run Starlight when you've opened a lot of applications in the background.
7) Do not run Starlight in windowed mode under 144Hz where you've set the resolution to 60Hz. 144Hz meant that the game has to render 144 frames per second interpolated across 1 second. This means the game has to work more than twice as hard to deliver.
8) All recommendations are based on 60Hz performance in FHD (1920x1080). Not 144Hz!!
9) Always go full-screen mode, ie, Windowed Mode: OFF to enjoy full acceleration.

[h2]Conclusion[/h2]

We'll be implementing the Survival Mode soon which will roughly contain about 50 waves with just 1 weapon shop visit at the beginning. No bosses.

After that, Boss Rush Mode will be implemented. All the bosses will be presented 1 by 1.

Meanwhile, we might still implement 1-2 more weapons.

Have fun!!!

Regards,
Jeremy

We've received word that the game has minor patches of fps dropping during gameplay. This is concerning because we've graded the game to run on the following hardware:

CPU: i5-6500
HDD: Normal magnetic 1TB HDD
RAM: 16GB
GPU: GTX 1650 SUPER with 4GB VRAM
OS: Windows 7

This is the recommended specs for an optimal performance.

[h2]Optimal Performance[/h2]

Optimal performance is defined as follows:

Display: FHD 1920x1080x60Hz
Frame Rate: 60fps with V-sync
Settings: LOD High, Textures High, all effects turned on.

Expected degradation in performance:

1) High concentration of bullets ~500 on screen at once.
2) High concentration of 2D and 3D action; ie, 3D ships firing at each other while 2D ships coming on to shoot at you. (ie, Arcade Stage 6 beginning)

In those cases, a drop of 10-12 fps was observed for a very brief period of time.

NO LOCKUPS expected by definition.

[h2]Possible Causes for lag[/h2]

1) Anti-virus - why? Because Starlight does produce logs in case the game crashes or encounters a bug far beyond our reach to test for it. The write cycles may cause the anti-virus software or even Windows defender to act upon it.
-- Solution: Add an exception to the Starlight folder not to be scanned.

2) Language Keyboard clashes - why? If you have more than 1 language installed, sometimes you might have inadvertently changed the language and causing the IME to pop up. When that happens and if you're shooting halfway, the game WILL suddenly jerk-lag.
-- Solution: Rebind the keys to avoid Alt and Shift keys. Or use a joystick instead.

3) Windows Update - this is not a fault of ours but sometimes Windows can be doing an update on your machine, causing a massive lag due to its CPU and HDD usage.
--- Solution: Wait out the update before playing. Starlight is just like any other games, AAA or not, indie games will still suffer from external interference.

4) Outdated drivers - this may actually cause a more serious problem over time other than lagging. Ie, the game might suddenly crash or even cause a BSOD.
--- Solution: Keep your GPU drivers updated.

5) Windows 10 on older hardware - It has been observed that Win10 running on 2016 and earlier hardware tend to slow down over time. It's happening to our development machine too.
--- Solution: Quick way is to restart your machine. A more permanent way is to shut down Explorer.exe from your task manager. But take note - without the main explorer running, you'll need to ensure at least a command prompt or task manager is open. Otherwise you'll have no means to shut down your machine!

6) Incorrect expectations of frame rate - While it's cool to run the game under a 144hz monitor, a mode we support technically, but by design, we did not promise that the game will perform swimmingly under 144hz V-sync. There's a misconception that refresh rate has nothing to do with performance; that's completely wrong. If V-sync is turned on, the game is forced to render 144 frames per second, finely spliced into 1/144 factors to give you that smooth looking graphics. At this rate, the game might perform well in the main menu, but will also tend to drop fps far more easily due to its need to work MUCH harder even when you're using a RTX3080.
--- Solution: Try selecting a 60Hz or 90Hz resolution. I know some folks have an issue seeing anything below 120Hz, therefore, if there's such a condition, please keep it at 120Hz.

7) Incorrect expectation of resolution - We've spoken about frame rates, but not resolutions. The game runs well on a 2560x1440 resolution in 60 fps. But to drag the game up to 4k, you'll have to make sure you have enough VRAM for all the frame buffers we have in the game. The higher you go, the more sensitive the game is towards dropping frame rate.
--- Solution: Our optimal resolution is still FHD 1920x1080x60hz. You may try to go 2560x1440x60hz to see if it's good enough for you.

* Please note that Starlight: Eye of the Storm isn't an emulator-type game. No doubt it's a 2D shooter in 3D space, it's still based on our engine that is made to maximize the use of your hardware to present the game as crisp and high-res as possible.

8) Using FRAPS or GeForce Experience to record, Twitch Steaming or Discord Streaming while playing - While streaming the game is highly encouraged, you might want to take into account the amount of CPU/GPU these activities will tax on your hardware as well.
--- Solution: If you're streaming, you may want to keep it at 720p unless your hardware is really top-notch. If you're recording, you can try using lossy RGB instead or record it on a SSD (modern SSDs have a much higher write cycle limitation).

[h2]Unlikely causes for lag[/h2]

1) Firewall - Unlikely since Starlight doesn't even have a network module initialized
2) Steam Overlay - Unlikely since we've graded the game under the Steam Overlay as well. There might be some frame rate drops but not significant.

[h2]Conclusion[/h2]

This announcement is made in view of some who have complained about the drop in frame rate despite having far superior hardware than our grading machine.

We've made every effort to make this game enjoyable for most people and those who might still be having average hardware for today's standards. Let's work together to keep the game fun for everyone! Feel free to drop a post, a comment or even just reply to this announcement and we'll definitely reply!

Have a nice day!!

Jeremy

This patch was delayed by 1 week due to additional bugs found during streaming. These bugs were found only because they manifest beyond what a solo dev can afford to find out. Ie, completion with 2 or more players in the Campaign mode.

[h2]New Features[/h2]

New Weapons!

1. Liquidator Bomb - A proximity-like bomb that explodes with a temporary AoA splash on the spot. Highly toxic and definitely helps in stacking any poison damage.
   
2. Napalm Flamethrower - A close-range burst of napalm liquid burning itself with a bubble of oxygen, this weapon deals substantial damage by stacking fire damage over time.
   

New Features:

1. NEW: End Shopping for All - in the weapon shop to quickly end shopping for all players.
   
2. NEW: Retire Players - Feature that exists in both Campaign Map and Weapon Shop - serves to properly retire a player from the game. For Arcade mode, the retirement is permanent. A new player that joins can inherit the old fighter's weapons but not the scores, crystals or capsules. For Campaign mode, all the crystals and capsules are preserved under the player's local account.
   

These features are meant to help players hosting Steam Remote Play to get on with the game even when the remote players no longer wants to be a part of it. (ie, disconnected)

[h2]Optimizations[/h2]

Made huge optimizations in regards to heavy firing sequences. You might have noticed in the past where bosses tend to slow the game down when firing, even when the bullets have left the screen. This is now optimized.

Although, in cases of large number of particles, the game will still slow down (rightfully so).

[h2]Changes[/h2]

There're a few changes made to the game:

1. Buffed EMP Cannon 2 and 3 to have more resilience towards enemy firepower.
   
2. Buffed EMP Cannon 3 to have more dicing hits. That means more overall damage and defensive cover.
   
3. Buffed Bonus Magnet Level 1 to have a radius similar to Level 2 but retain the slower speed of bonus attraction.
   
4. Re-arranged some items in the Weapon Shop so that only the most powerful weapons appear at the bottom of the list.
   
5. Made the prompt message box in the game slightly larger to accommodate the new commands in the navigation menu. This might appear a little jarring initially.
   

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

1. Fixed a bug in the Campaign Map where the loading screen rubberbands back and forth. This is because the wrong set of textures (compressed ones) were provided for med and low texture details.
   
2. Fixed a bug in the Campaign Map where certain missions might go missing for some reasons unknown. All missions that were BEFORE the current discovered mission will now be discovered regardless of their completion status.
   
3. Fixed a bug where Campaign mode scores weren't combined as one upon completion.
   
4. Fixed a bug where if Player 2 or Player 3 completes Campaign mode, the game simply hangs in a limbo, doesn't crash but doesn't allow Options to be opened either.
   
5. Fixed a bug where upon Campaign completion, Player 2 or Player 3 cannot enter hi-score on behalf of Player 1 who might have been killed in action.
   
6. Fixed an invulnerability bug exploit where players might enjoy an instance of invulnerability through the entire mission if it was mixed with warheads and special powers towards the end of an AREA.
   
7. Fixed the lighting doodad placement in the side mission "Foresight"
   
8. Fixed a bug where the last weapon in the weapon shop is sometimes not detected even when you own it and the weapon is there legitimately. This means it doesn't center upon the shop item even when it's there.
   

It has been a great week sorting out the bugs and implementing the new weapons. There should be more weapons coming in 2 weeks' time before we embark on our next part of the roadmap - the Boss Rush modes. (Yes, modes.)

Next week, we'll take a short break from Starlight and any patches will solely be on bug fixes. We'll have to get on with our Game Engine upgrade in preparation for the future.

Have a nice weekend!!

Regards,
Jeremy

This patch deals mostly with bugs encountered/reported. No additional features added this week.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a bug where the HP indicator will overlap with the message to skip tutorial
  
• Fixed a bug where the HP Hull Indicator only, will not update the hit points even after getting repair bonuses.
  
• Fixed a bug in multi-hit projectiles where the delay of each hit was cooled off incorrectly. This causes the projectile to hit as slow as 500ms per hit.
  

[h2]Adjustments[/h2]

• Due to the fix for multi-hits, the respective weapon's damage has been adjusted lower because now it hits more.
  
• Side Effect: Multi-hit weapons will now yield more hits combo, therefore more crystals earned.
  
• Increased damage for MOST of the multi-hit weapons, ie, Light Particle Cannon 3 and others. All weapons have maintained their overall DPS and most weapons has a slight increase instead.
  

[h2]Conclusion[/h2]

More contents will be coming soon. In v1.03, there'll be at least 1 weapon added.

Thanks for your support! See you next week!

Regards,
Jeremy