The Ahra Prime Times 7: Light Is Memory, Not Optimization

☵ Gratitude

[p]Thank you to everyone who responded to the recent call and left a review for HIRAETH on Steam! A few new comments helped shift the overall rating to MIXED — a small success, but the road ahead is still long. I’m doing what I can, but the future of the game depends on you — and even minimal activity makes a difference.[/p][p][/p][h2]☵ HIRAETH is a niche game[/h2][p]By design, that’s exactly what it’s meant to be. For those who value a specific atmosphere, an unusual kind of survival, and certain visual effects — even at the cost of hardware demands. As many of you know, I’m in direct contact with players, and I can confidently say this direction is the right one. What remains is the ongoing development and refinement of the game — and as you’ve seen, it’s happening step by step.[/p][p]But for HIRAETH to live and grow, it needs new players. If you believe in this world — share it, recommend it, leave a review. Even a few words on Steam can shift the tide.
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☵ HIRAETH vs Super Duper ARC Riders: Performance

[h3]
🛠️ Technical Differences: HIRAETH vs Typical AAA Games[/h3]

[p]Aspect[/p]

[p]HIRAETH[/p]

[p]Typical AAA Games (e.g. ARC Raiders)[/p]

[p]Lighting System[/p]

[p]🌕 Fully dynamic — lighting changes in real time, reacts to environment and gameplay[/p]

[p]🌓 Mixed/static — lighting is often baked or fixed per map; changes require reloading or switching modes[/p]

[p]Lumen (Global Illumination)[/p]

[p]✅ Enabled — dynamic lighting, real-time reflections, symbolic atmosphere[/p]

[p]❌ Disabled — traditional lighting for performance[/p]

[p]Nanite (Geometry Rendering)[/p]

[p]✅ Enabled — ultra-detailed meshes, no LODs, high fidelity visuals[/p]

[p]❌ Disabled — classic mesh system with LODs for optimization[/p]

[p]Visual Quality[/p]

[p]🌌 EPIC — light and matter carry symbolic and narrative weight[/p]

[p]🎮 Good — optimized for fast-paced PvPvE gameplay[/p]

[p]Performance[/p]

[p]⚠️ Demanding — higher hardware cost, varies by configuration[/p]

[p]✅ Stable — tuned for broad accessibility[/p]

[p]Design Philosophy[/p]

[p]🔮 World as protagonist — light, structure, and ritual are part of the story[/p]

[p]⚔️ World as backdrop — focused on action, tempo, and accessibility[/p]

[p]Team Scale[/p]

[p]🧑‍💻 Solo dev — independent, evolving step by step[/p]

[p]🏢 Large team — backed by technical infrastructure and budget[/p]

[p]These are major differences, but the dry facts above don’t tell the whole story. I created a test build of HIRAETH without Lumen lighting — here are the conclusions:[/p]

[p]lighting and rendering quality comparable to current LOW, at best MIDDLE[/p]
[p]no advanced light effects, no colored lights, reflections, or detail[/p]
[p]object shadows and overall depth — tragic compared to the current solution[/p]
[p]no way to improve quality beyond that baseline[/p]

[p]Below are screenshots from the current Steam version and the test “optimized” build (click to enlarge). In many other scenes — especially where light from windows mixes with interior lighting — the differences are even more dramatic, and always to the disadvantage of the “optimized” version. Depth, color, and atmosphere suffer visibly. The world loses its ritual weight, and Ahra Prime feels hollow.[/p]

[p]☵ HIRAETH Steam version now[/p]

[p]Traditional lighting for performance[/p]

[p][/p]

[h3]On LOW settings, HIRAETH looks almost like the “traditional” version — yet performance is still lower![/h3][p]That’s true. But settings only limit visual quality — the Lumen system remains active underneath. Disabling it requires a separate build, a distinct compilation with no toggle option. Such a version might appear someday (as option), but that’s a distant possibility. And with GPU prices dropping and hardware maturing, it may soon be unnecessary altogether.[/p][h3]But there are older games with beautiful lighting and great visuals![/h3][p]Absolutely — but those are titles without dynamic lighting (day/night cycles), without open worlds, or without background world streaming. In those games, entering a building doesn’t require the sun outside to influence the interior lighting in real time. Compare HIRAETH’s lighting to many well-known and beloved open-world titles — and you’ll see the difference.[/p][h3]Something feels off — maybe that Training Center example just needs better setup to look good![/h3][p]Of course, the scene can be improved! I’ve created beautiful lighting even in older versions of the Steam engine. But that requires extra setup: reflection captures, manual tweaks, and many elements that HIRAETH’s current system simply doesn’t need — yet still delivers visual quality. It’s so labor-intensive, costly, and time-consuming that even AAA studios skip it in open-world environments. And with the planned scale of HIRAETH’s world, such manual lighting work is simply not feasible.
[/p][h2]☵ Summary[/h2][p]HIRAETH will never match the performance of ARC Riders — and that’s a conscious choice. But ARC Riders, and many other titles, will never reach the lighting quality HIRAETH offers.[/p][p]Think about it. This isn’t meant to shock or provoke — just to clarify the difference. [/p][p]Light in HIRAETH is not decoration — it’s memory [/p][p]Moreover, HIRAETH’s visual side will continue to improve — but no longer at the cost of performance or hardware demands. It simply takes time. I’m also still working on overall stability and optimization.[/p][p]Ahra Prime evolves in silence, but never stands still...
[/p][h2]☵ Yesterday’s Update[/h2][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]I won’t repeat what many of you already know — judging by the likes, you’ve seen it. This is probably the most WIP-style update so far, as I’m working on many changes in parallel and wanted to share what’s ready. There will definitely be a fix or another update next week — a few things came up during testing:[/p]

[p]I’ll refine slope walking and enable sliding, along with the effect of crampons[/p]
[p]Overall movement speed will be slightly increased — not much, but enough to feel[/p]
[p]Mushrooms and meat now decay realistically, but hey — it’s still a game. I’ll extend their lifespan significantly, maybe a few days, maybe a week[/p]
[p]Beyond the planned changes, I found a few bugs — like overfilled crates and backpacks, or missing ones entirely[/p]

[p]This update also includes very early, minimal controller support. However, I won’t enable the official controller support option on Steam just yet — not until it’s more refined and at least partially stable in-game.[/p][h2]

☵ Steam Page Changes[/h2][p]Today I made a few small updates to HIRAETH’s Steam page:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]I updated the short description and added a note encouraging players to try the DEMO before purchasing the Early Access version. I’m planning bigger, necessary changes to the Steam page soon — including a new description, and of course, an updated trailer.
The official website https://hiraethgame.com also urgently needs attention.[/p][p]Unfortunately, being a solo dev makes this part especially difficult. I always prioritize direct work on the game itself — but I know marketing is crucial too.[/p][p]By the way, if anyone’s interested in helping with the HIRAETH Wiki, you’re warmly invited! It’s been planned for a long time, but postponed due to lack of time. The Steam guide by Eagle is helpful, but I believe a proper game wiki — even now, and especially soon — is absolutely essential. I can’t imagine completing many games without the help of a good wiki.

Thank you for reading — I know it’s a TL;DR for some, but like HIRAETH itself, it has its fans. See you soon.[/p][p]— The Author[/p][p]
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