Planetside 2 updates will bring “a serious, noticeable increase in frame rate”
Planetside 2’s been plagued with criticisms of its frame rate since launch. It’s to be expected that a game which sees hundreds of units blowing each other to smithereens on the same screen may be a little computer intensive but SOE are now making it their business to optimise the game wherever they can.
It’s all part of Operation: Make Faster Game. OMFG for short.
“Given that we were a live game since the opening of the PS2 Tech Test, we kept our optimizations as “safe” as possible,” writes Planetside’s tech director Ryan Elam. “Optimizing often involves reorganizing code that has already been through rigorous testing, and that means as we move it around we can….Bust something…No matter how hard we try not to. Many optimizations that we found just required far too much “soak time” to be feasible at that stage of the project.
"What you're going to get at the end of this is a serious, noticeable increase in frame rate, plus some ancillary benefits that are capable as a result of some of these architectural advances. Every single member of the team, no joke, is actively looking for and implementing ways to make the game faster so we can deliver a better gameplay experience to you."
Elam goes on to break down each area of the game they think can be optimised and goes into how much more efficient they can make it.
Some of it sounds a little worrying, simplification of the game’s physics system for one, but Elam reassures that the changes won’t be noticeable to player in any way other than a bump in your FPS.
Paypal “overhauling” crowdfunding polices
Paypal are “in the midst of overhauling” their policies regarding crowdfunding. They’ve received complaints from backers who didn’t understand what their money was going to and, also, the project creators who aren’t able to access the money raised quickly.
While the policies are still being written up, Paypal have already begun to make changes.
“We are now in the midst of overhauling our policies in this space,” writes VP of risk management, Tomer Barel in an open letter on Paypal’s blog. “We're talking to the major crowdfunding players that we work with to put in place a permanent solution that avoids unnecessary account limitations. But making this work for all stakeholders – contributors, entrepreneurs, crowdfunding sites and us -- is pretty complicated. As soon as I have more to share, I promise to update everyone.
“In the meantime, we will ensure that each crowdfunding campaign is reviewed by a senior member of my team before any action is taken. It’s a small, but important step.
“PayPal's very essence is connecting buyers and sellers. The last thing we want to do is get in the way of the innovative new products coming from entrepreneurs raising money via crowdfunding.”
Lots of Kickstarter campaigns have struggled to bring Paypal donations online till midway through their campaign, limiting the number of pledges they can receive. The news that change is coming will no doubt be a relief to developers. That Paypal are looking to build protections in for backers, too, is good news.
http://www.pcgamesn.com/indie/paypal-overhauling-crowdfunding-polices
Firefall PvP to be taken offline while Red 5 “regroup, rethink, and deliver the best PvP system we can”
Red 5 think Firefall’s PvP is a little naff. Thankfully, as the game’s developer, they’re in a position to do something about it. The studio has decided to take Firefall’s PvP offline while they redesign it from the ground up to be fun.
Universum: War Front Is A Sci-Fi ARTS/MOBA Game Created By A Single Person
Cyril Megem has informed us about his upcoming sci-fi ARTS/MOBA game called Universum: War Front. Cyril has been working one and a half year on this project, and has released a WIP trailer for it that can be viewed below. Universum: War Front will feature a first person perspective and some features that we’ve never seen in this genre.
Cyril aims to launch a Kickstarter campaign for it, and we’ll be sure to let you know when it goes live.
Universum: War Front is powered by the Unity Engine and will support DX11, as well as Nvidia’s PhysX.
According to the game’s official website, Universum: War Front is described as a Dota/Starcraft/Warhammer/Battlefield/StarWars hybrid. It’s a DOTA game due to its MOBA gameplay elements, it’s similar to Starcraft/Warhammer due to its atmosphere and RTS elements, it’s Battlefield due to its gameplay dynamics, FPS elements, and it aims to reach the high adventure storyline of StarWars.
Here are the key features of Universum: War Front:
- Command your troops on high or come down and keep the enemy at gunpoint in dynamic battles.
- Fight in 5 dimensions: ground, air, underground, open space, underwater.
- Play infantry, vehicles, mechs or alien creatures.
- Customize your character and researching new technologies.
- High detailed 3D models and high resolution textures
- Shaders model 5.0 for skin subsurface scattering, tessellation, volume textures, etc.
- High Quality Rendering with DirectX 11, lot of impressive visual effects and post processing
- Realistic physics simulation with Nvidia PhysiX for high dynamics battles
- Advanced artificial intelligence for computer controlled units
Enjoy, and stay tuned for more!
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