A new update has been released for BlastZone 2! (v1.25.1.0) The focus of this update is to take advantage of the new model loading system that was introduced in the v1.25.0.0 update, but went unused. One of the main advantages of this new system is the ability to load external model files. Previously, all models had to be compiled into the executable, so any new update required redownloading all the model data with it. This will reduce the download size of future updates, as only the updated parts will need to be downloaded again. Another big advantage of this update is that it greatly increases the triangle ceiling per model. Previously, individual models were limited to 65k triangles, but now that limit has been raised to over 2 million triangles. All models being used still adhere to the 65k triangle limit though to maintain consistent performance, but I am exploring the possibility of taking advantage of higher polygon rates in the future. Internal tests have shown that ~2 million triangle models are working quite well in game and there is a future possibility of releasing a “high polygon pack”, but I can’t guarantee anything at this point.
The new model loading system has been heavily optimized to make it ready for public use as well. The game launch loading process has been reworked to take full advantage of up to 5 CPU cores to speed up load times. Also, loading metadata is now saved out after the first startup to improve load times even more for subsequent launches of the game.
Another big portion of this update is the Alien Homeworld background terrain has been revamped to vastly increase detail. This was done by more intelligently using the 65k triangle budget for terrain blocks, so performance will be identical to other terrain backgrounds. The visual difference is quite striking though, and I encourage everyone to take a look for yourself. The sacrifice taken to achieve this comes from removing the cave entrance seen in the intermission screen before entering Area 7 of Mission mode. I think this was worth it for the amount of detail gained in the rest of the terrain. There is also a newly improved Charge item model as well. Let me know what you think in the forums!
Take a look at the newly improved terrain below:
Here are the full release notes:
- Moved much of the game model data to external files -This greatly reduces the executable file size (14mb -> 4mb) -Reduces the size of future updates by not having to redownload all the model data each time -Raises the 65k triangle limit per model of older versions to over 2 million, allowing for higher detailed assets in the future -The first game startup after updating will take longer to load from caching loading data, but subsequent startups will be significantly quicker
- Greatly improved detail in the background mountains terrain in the Alien World environment (Mission Area 6) -Has a higher triangle count per block of terrain (42k -> 65k) -More intelligently uses triangles to increase perceived detail at equivalent triangle counts
- Improved the Charge item model
- Increased the color palette of all background terrain textures (Home world, Alien World, and Caves)
- Improved multithreading for game startup loading -Takes full advantage of up to 5 CPU cores to reduce loading time -Improved parallelism to more consistently use all cpu cores
- The startup loading screen now appears earlier in the startup process
As usual, to make sure you have this update, launch the game and check the lower left corner of the title screen for “v1.25.1.0” or higher. Enjoy!