Hi everyone! Today we return with our second dev diary! And in this one, we want to talk about two things:
First, give you a concrete update on the development of the game - something that was sorely missing last time. It's more of a technical update, but we want to demonstrate that behind the scenes we are working hard to make the best game possible for you guys to enjoy
And second, to just to show off our work on the various types of vehicles we've made for the game. A lot of cool concept art and screenshots there!
Technical Update
We’ve recently migrated New Arc Line to Unreal Engine 5.6. This was an important technical milestone for the project and a necessary step for future development, especially as we push bigger scenes, denser environments, and more demanding visuals.
The engine update required a significant amount of work. Over the past several months, the team has been focused on:
updating and adapting core systems to the new engine version
restoring functionality that temporarily stopped working after the migration
stabilizing performance, builds, and content loading after the upgrade
Why UE 5.5 and 5.6 matter for us
UE 5.5 baseline: better rendering performance and higher fidelity
By moving through 5.5 on the way to 5.6, we’re also inheriting a set of major upgrades:
Lumen performance leap, improving real-time lighting while helping maintain smooth frame rates in complex scenes.
Major improvements to runtime streaming of static content, plus the Fast Geometry Streaming to load more immutable world geometry faster while keeping frame rates steadier.
Additional streaming-related engine work like asynchronous physics state creation/destruction, reducing hitching when content streams in/out.
Updated 60 FPS–oriented device profiles, reducing setup friction and giving a stronger performance baseline on current-gen targets.
Wider performance work with new GPU profiling tools, including renderer parallelization improvements.
Mass upgrade perspective (better crowds over time)
With the 5.6 baseline stabilized, we’re also better positioned to lean into UE’s Mass framework for scalable simulation:
MassEntity provides a gameplay-focused, data-oriented framework that’s a good fit for high-volume agent logic.
The MassCrowd toolset includes dedicated systems for crowd spawning and representation—e.g., a crowd spawner subsystem and a representation subsystem responsible for visuals (including handling actor spawning / static mesh instances).
That combination gives us a clearer path to denser, more believable background crowds while keeping performance and streaming constraints in mind as we expand the game.
What this means for New Arc Line
A lot of this won’t show up as a single “feature” in a screenshot—but it translates into more consistent lighting results, smoother streaming in larger spaces, and better overall performance headroom for upcoming content. And while this transition is not fully finished yet, we are yeager to show you more in the future.
And while this transition is not fully finished yet, we are eager to show you more in the future. Especially because of how good the subject of our next topic looks in the new version of the engine. Speaking of which, let us talk about…
Transport of the New Continent
When the sun rises over New Arc City, the world awakens not to birdsong, but to the roar of engines. Locomotives cry out at the station, trucks rattle down the cobblestone streets, and the air trembles with heat and the breath of machines.
In New Arc Line, movement is the very essence of life. Here, transport sets the rhythm of civilization itself. Every vehicle, ship, or locomotive is a reflection of an age where fuel replaced faith, and engines became the heart of the world.
On the streets of New Arc City and beyond, you can find everything - from patrolling squad cars to overloaded merchant wagons. The hum of motors, the hiss of steam, and the scent of oil blend seamlessly into daily life, as natural as the chime of clocks or the rumble of trams.
Let’s take a closer look at a few examples of transport across New Arc Line:
Ambulance - a steam-powered medical carriage built for speed and endurance. Its frame is reinforced with brass edges, and beneath the hood hums a compressor that pumps steam under pressure, allowing it to climb the steep streets of the industrial district with ease.
Police Van - a prison on wheels. Its siren isn’t just a call for attention, it’s a reminder that in this city, law is as heavy as the metal that built it. Thick panels, grills, and lamps give the vehicle the character of an armored train. Restrained, yet menacing.
Roadster - a symbol of personal freedom and ambition. Chrome pipes glint in the light of the streetlamps, and the engine’s growl is heard long before it comes around the corner. For the wealthy, it’s a toy. A machine built to be admired and envied.
Beyond the city, transport grows tougher. It has to survive where humans cannot.
Walker 18 - a moving mechanism on four hydraulic legs, half motorcycle, half living creature made of metal and pistons. A beast of engineering, part madness and part grace. Designed by field engineers to traverse uneven terrain and collapsed platforms, its joints move like muscles, and its dusty, welded shell resembles the armor of a creature long extinct. When it walks, it’s as if steel itself comes to life.
Where wheels slip, the Walker marches, cautious but relentless, keeping its balance even on molten metal or the steep dunes of the desert.
Iron Roads and Locomotives. Railways in New Arc Line are the threads of progress, and locomotives are the force that pulls the world forward. They link cities, factions, and destinies, cutting through dust, smoke, and wind. These mechanical titans don’t just carry cargo, they drive the very idea of progress.
Ports and Sea Routes. The ports of New Arc City stand as living proof that progress isn’t confined to land. The docks are filled with life - from rust-covered cargo barges to polished passenger vessels, all cloaked in a patina of salt and soot.
S.S. Simon, the workhorse of the coastal routes. Built at the crossroads of old craftsmanship and modern engineering, it runs on a hybrid system of steam and diesel. Its boilers heat not only the water but also the air within the cabins, creating that familiar comfort scented with salt, wood, and hot metal.
Maritime transport in New Arc Line is a meeting of craft and engineering.
Each vessel is built like a musical instrument: bronze rivets, wooden hulls, gears, and steam valves working in harmony with the rhythm of the waves.
Transport in New Arc Line is more than background scenery, it reflects a world where humanity built machines to control chaos, only to become dependent on them and their philosophy of motion.
Every vehicle in the game is crafted with respect for its era and a deep appreciation for dieselpunk engineering.
Everything here is thought through to the last bolt. And there’s poetry in that.
In every sound of an engine, you can hear determination, pride, and faith that forward motion is what carries this world toward a new dawn.
It’s this devotion to detail: to every screw, every weld, every glimmer of oil, that makes the world of New Arc Line feel alive, cohesive, and built with love.
If you’re reading that, you’ve made it to the end of our second diary. And we can’t thank you enough for your time and patience. If you want to keep a closer look at our Early Access journey - wishlist our game and join our Discord! And we will be seeing you in the next diary.