Toward big fleet battles: 50 v 50 squadrons from 3 to 18 frames a second
Published
In short: this space RTS is heading for big fleet battles, so we pitted 50 squadrons against 50. At first it ran at about 3 frames a second; by the end of the day, about 18. A new simulation preset lets you watch it.
The test
Fifty squadrons a side is 1,200 jets. The new 50 v 50 squadrons preset in the simulation copies your squadron up to 50 and sets it against 50 raider squadrons. The first run managed about 3 frames a second.
What changed
- The squadron fights, the jets act. A squadron’s jets are now looks only. Range is measured from the squadron, and each hit lands on a random jet, a hurt one a little more likely. Each jet still keeps its own share of ammunition and its own burst rhythm, so fights play out about as before. More: dogfights.
- Jets only where you look. Jets fly and show only within 8 km of the camera; farther out a squadron is its map symbol.
- One batch of jets. All jets are drawn together in one batch per faction, not one by one.
- Pilots think 5 times a second. The game still runs at 30 ticks a second, but pilots make their big decisions 5 times a second, spread out so they don’t all think at once. This isn’t a game of clicks per minute.
- Missiles like rounds. A missile’s hit or miss is rolled at launch, and in flight it is drawn as a bright streak, with no object of its own.
- Keeping apart on a grid. Fighters only check the fighters in the cells next to them to avoid each other.
- No spiral. When a tick runs long, the game now slows down instead of trying to catch up and falling further behind.
Evasive and Retreat
The same day, evasive got simpler: guns off, +30 defence, and it flies your orders as given. A new Retreat order (Alt+4) sends a squadron home to dock and refit, and your squadrons that break off retreat on their own. More: pilot stances.
There’s more to do before 100 a side, but battles of this size are now playable.