New Stars DevLog #8 - Optimization, OSX/Linux Support, and more...
There have been a lot of optimizations, and bug fixes, along with the addition of MacOS and Linux support. Here is what has changed in New Stars recently.
[h2]New Stars Supports Lower-End Systems[/h2]
Playtesting on my dual-core laptop, I managed to get 20-30 FPS on the galaxy map, and 25-30 FPS in the star system simulation. This was not possible before. If you have a mid-end to high-end PC, you should not have a problem with performance.
[h3]MacOS + Linux support has been added.[/h3]
You will also be able to play New Stars on MacOS or Linux.
[h2]What is to come...[/h2]
The idea of New Stars is that each game is unique, re-playable, and each game takes no more than a few hours to complete. The pacing will be different to a lot of other sophisticated strategy games. Here are some changes that are currently being worked on.
1) Some techs will be removed, and the tech system will be simplified.
- 40 techs may not be necessary for games that only last a few hours.
2) Map sizes will be reduced in size, which will further increase performance and speed up games.
3) The ship builder will be simplified for a faster-paced gameplay.
- The ship builder offers a different layer of strategy in resource management and combat.
4) Tutorial tooltips will be added for new-time players.
- There have been complaints among some playtesters that there was no explicit tutorial system.
5) Combat will incorporate engagement range.
- Currently, ships of any type can shoot from the same distance in a battle.
- Each military ship type will have a different engagement range.
- Smaller ships will have to physically move towards larger ships to be effective in combat.
6) Hostile space entities?
- Space enemies that spawn in unclaimed regions of the map keep the player busy.
- A strong military is needed at all times to defend new territories.
The future gameplay will likely be inspired by fast-paced games such as Northgard, as opposed to Stellaris. Ideally these changes will help differentiate the game mechanics to 'similar games', provide a replayable experience, while offering a somewhat similar feel to galactic strategy.
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Stay tuned for more updates, or join the community Discord (linked below).
Join the Closed-Playtesting: discord.io/adamjr
Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/adamjr
Feel free to comment your suggestions below, or at discord.io/adamjr.
Wishlist New Stars to support development.
This page is subject to change in the future and is intended to be a development preview, which may not reflect the final state of the game.
Credits:
- Star satellites icon by Lorc under CC BY 3.0
▙ ▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▟
[h2]New Stars Supports Lower-End Systems[/h2]
Playtesting on my dual-core laptop, I managed to get 20-30 FPS on the galaxy map, and 25-30 FPS in the star system simulation. This was not possible before. If you have a mid-end to high-end PC, you should not have a problem with performance.
[h3]MacOS + Linux support has been added.[/h3]
You will also be able to play New Stars on MacOS or Linux.
[h2]What is to come...[/h2]
The idea of New Stars is that each game is unique, re-playable, and each game takes no more than a few hours to complete. The pacing will be different to a lot of other sophisticated strategy games. Here are some changes that are currently being worked on.
1) Some techs will be removed, and the tech system will be simplified.
- 40 techs may not be necessary for games that only last a few hours.
2) Map sizes will be reduced in size, which will further increase performance and speed up games.
3) The ship builder will be simplified for a faster-paced gameplay.
- The ship builder offers a different layer of strategy in resource management and combat.
4) Tutorial tooltips will be added for new-time players.
- There have been complaints among some playtesters that there was no explicit tutorial system.
5) Combat will incorporate engagement range.
- Currently, ships of any type can shoot from the same distance in a battle.
- Each military ship type will have a different engagement range.
- Smaller ships will have to physically move towards larger ships to be effective in combat.
6) Hostile space entities?
- Space enemies that spawn in unclaimed regions of the map keep the player busy.
- A strong military is needed at all times to defend new territories.
The future gameplay will likely be inspired by fast-paced games such as Northgard, as opposed to Stellaris. Ideally these changes will help differentiate the game mechanics to 'similar games', provide a replayable experience, while offering a somewhat similar feel to galactic strategy.
▛▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝▝ ▜
Stay tuned for more updates, or join the community Discord (linked below).
Join the Closed-Playtesting: discord.io/adamjr
Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/adamjr
Feel free to comment your suggestions below, or at discord.io/adamjr.
Wishlist New Stars to support development.
This page is subject to change in the future and is intended to be a development preview, which may not reflect the final state of the game.
Credits:
- Star satellites icon by Lorc under CC BY 3.0
▙ ▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▖▟