The road to 64bit part I - Interstellar Rift development update 167
It’s been some time since the last Interstellar Rift update, and in the meantime we’ve been working on updating underlying systems to retool the game for 64bit.
Why is this important?
Interstellar Rift servers need to simulate the galaxy and solar systems need to be loaded into memory to do so. Being a 32bit application limits the amount of data we can load into memory, and puts a limit on how many things the game can handle at the same time. This means that we had to put a lot of effort into optimizing servers so they could efficiently swap resources around to make sure that we had plenty of memory available as players would venture all over the galaxy.
Why was Interstellar Rift built on a 32bit platform, as games have been targeting 64bit for years now?
Interstellar Rift has been locked to 32bit for over 8 years, as we used the Havok physics engine during early development while it was still available for small developers. And the version that was freely available to everyone was 32bit only, with the option to expand to a more professional license later on. Unfortunately over the long development cycle of Interstellar Rift the Havok brand was moved around between different companies, which would not license it to us anymore. Which left us with the 32bit version, and at the time we thought we could optimize well enough that it would not be an issue, but it has imposed some limits on the game.
What are we changing?
We have completed most of the work on swapping out Havok for a different physics engine. To go into a little more detail; Interstellar Rift has always used two physics engines. One for the client side interactions with ships, such as walking around and interacting with objects and devices, and one for the space ships, which has to be a deterministic physics engine. Deterministic meaning; every simulation the spaceships do has to be exactly the same when run on the pc’s of each player in the same solar system. This has to do with how we simulate the game for each player.
The physics engine that we use to simulate the space ships has not been changed, the physics engine that we use for player movement has been swapped out with a new one.
So the game is 64bit now?
Not yet. Our first step was swapping out the physics engine. Which is now almost done. Once we are happy with the performance and stability of this change we can then move on to opening the game up to use more memory. The move to 64bit will be fairly quick once the physics engine work has been completed.
What changes am I going to notice?
Hopefully not many. But you will find that your player character might control slightly differently, or that jumping/running is slightly different. We are trying to keep these differences to a minimum.
We are releasing this version on the experimental branch first. Where hopefully players can test it out and we can track down any remaining bugs.
A couple of things to take into account:
First person guns don’t work yet in this version.
Animations for other players are glitchy in this version.
Players can play on the normal servers and player with people not on the experimental version.
Animations can glitch even more when playing with people who are not on the experimental version
We will update the experimental version in the coming weeks to address these problems.
Hopefully some of you can find the time to play on the experimental version. Any crashes will be send to us automatically if you have this option enabled, for any other issues you encounter please list them on our bug tracker: Split Polygon Bug Tracker
As always, we’ll see you star-side!
- The Split Polygon team.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
Enabling the experimental branch
To enable the experimental branch, right click on Interstellar Rift in Steam, > properties > beta, and select the "experimental IR beta patches" option
Patch notes for Interstellar Rift 1.0.4.50
BUG FIXES
Fixed drones not auto docking if a ship was stored using the storeShip command
Fixed storing ships when removal was incorrect or unusual
Fixed mails to offline players not getting saved on the next auto-save
Fixed U-Nits lost when an offline player buys a ship not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed U-Nits gained when a ship from an offline player is sold not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed stored ship validation not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed personal vault changes after a crew disband not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed insurance removal and refund when an offline player's ship is upgraded not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed resources teleported to an offline player's vault not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed reputation changes for offline players not getting saved at the next autosave
Fixed crew disband destroying tools if the leader's personal vault was full
Fixed searching in the ACTR resource select popup causing scrolling to break
Fixed "Network connection established" notification not disappearing if the offending ship / alien / drone was destroyed
Fixed movement speed of other players when they tried to sprint backwards
Fixed heads up notification for hacking not showing up
Fixed missing newline in some messages in chat.log
Added time & date to command execution logs in chat.log
Removed space between username and user ID in command execution logs in chat.log
Removed buffering of chat messages before logging to chat.log
OPTIMIZATION
Reduced size of exteriors in ship files
Only load the loading screen texture once instead of every frame it is visible
NOTES
Servers need to be updated
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
Interstellar Rift 50% OFF During Iceberg Interactive Publisher Sale!
Hey everybody!
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Tell your friends/family/cat/lizard -- you can pick up Interstellar Rift at 50% OFF for a full week!
Fixed ACTR teleporting crates into the thermal extractor output (reported by mrpookz)
Allow using either the left or the right modifier key in most instances where a keybind contained a modifier key
Fixed reputation achievements when multiple tiers were triggered at the same time
Fixed various memory and resource leaks, including large hydrogen generators leaking their idle sounds, and bridges leaking their holotable sound
Fixed idle sounds for Tech 2 & Tech 3 ion engines
Optimized ACTR UI loading
Optimized ship loading
Avoid crash when shooting a debuf (f.e. an Eggnite) with a repair gun the mostest (possibly)
CHANGES
Added a /godMode command to disable player damage for the current login session
Disallowed shift & ctrl-clicking interior lights
NOTES
Servers need to be updated
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
Patch notes for Interstellar Rift 1.0.4.30
BUG FIXES
Fixed "Refinery employee needed" mission breaking when the initial target ship was destroyed (reported by Goshen)
Fixed being able to click through the mining resource selection window in the Drone Bay UI (reported by Krazzt)
Fixed the "9" key not switching to the corresponding weapon group (reported by BADBOB)
Integrated changes to ensure models were unloaded as soon as they were unneeded that were trialed on the experimental branch in the past two weeks This should reduce memory usage in the editor and when teleporting between ships
Fixed being able to create tiles without walls by trying to place doors or interior windows in a spot where there was no wall
Fixed being unable to move quarter deco floors
Fixed mistakenly translated implementation detail of Holotables Holotables placed on ship while any language other than English, French, or Simplified Chinese will have to be replaced
Fixed fallback drone name being a string that did not exist in the localization file
Removed untranslated strings from various tool descriptions
Fixed some older ships failing to load their device state
Avoid crash when shooting a debuf (f.e. an Eggnite) with a repair gun even harder
Fixed crash caused by trying to write the example syntax of /spawnCustomLarngeAsteroid to an incorrect path
Fixed crash when teleporting away from a ship while another player was firing a beam weapon
Fixed crash when a ship with a gimbal turret was firing while the ship was being unloaded
NOTES
Servers need to be updated
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
Patch notes for Interstellar Rift 1.0.4.20
Aside from the bugfixes below, the experimental branch will have some extra changes to reduce memory usage fluctuating (mainly in the power editor, but it also applies to the rest of the game). See the notes section for how to switch to the experimental branch and please report any crashes you encounter on this branch to us.
BUG FIXES
Fixed cargo container names not showing in the vault to ship transfer UI (reported by TheLion1675)
Fixed peak power drain shown in editor for the Cyber Warfare Suite (reported by Johnno)
Fixed player and tool store displaying the wrong icon for some tools (reported by TheLion1675)
Treat tiles with a Queen as more important than other tiles when considering tiles for removal (reported by TheLion1675 & Cracktafurryean)
Fixed some instances where the text "Search.." was unlocalized
Fixed incorrect scroll button arrow icon in vault to ship transfer UI
Fixed player store, tool store, and dropped inventory UI incorrectly grouping some tools
Show all in demand tools on the tool store, instead of only tools you have in your inventory
Fixed the possibility of multiple GT Traveling Trade Emporiums / HydroPEX Fuel Traders being in a system (requires rules rebuild)
Avoid crash when shooting a debuf (f.e. an Eggnite) with a repair gun
Fixed crashes in the GRIP mission UI, thermal extractor UI, Queen HP HUD, and power editor UI
Fixed crash when a ship with a pivot turret is removed while it is being rendered
NOTES
Servers need to be updated and should do a rule rebuild to fix the GT Traveling Trade Emporium & HydroPEX Fuel Trader spawn rules.
To enable the experimental branch, right click on Interstellar Rift in Steam, go to the beta tab, and select the "experimental IR beta patches" option
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
Good evening again everyone, and we do hope you're having a relaxed Sunday filled with adventures in the Interstellar Rift universe!
In this week's showcase, we're going to be diving into the Hurles Co. designs uploaded. After all, we do need to show some long overdue appreciation for the workhorses of the economy!
#5: Hurles Company Excavator by Nightraven
While this ship may not be entirely practical in Interstellar Rift, just how cool is this?! You can literally fly around in Interstellar Rift in an honest to god excavator! At least you'd be doing your colors some honor there, by making people not have to guess what you are, and what your focus is.
Money, of course!
Interested? Check the link here!: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1571484616
#4: HSC Avalon II F by isard999
Now this ship is designed very nicely, and not only that, it's reasonably affordable too! Great for the aspiring crew-captain, who wants to have his very own crew to command.
Interested? Check the link here!: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1513874694&searchtext=hurles
#3 HURLES CORP by DEFEARR LLTS
This ship is an older design, but just look at that sleek black-red design! This ship will get you from A to B, without having to worry about those damn Drifters ever again, boasting enough firepower to keep you and your pioneer crew safe! This is what we call a real danger in combat.
Interested? Check the link here!: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=662699992&searchtext=hurles
#2 Callisto Class Excavator by Nightraven & Johnno
Another design by Nightraven, and although older we do believe that the added circle on your ship makes it seem truly classy. Not only is it relatively cheap to produce, it offers the same amount of amenities as the MK.II Hurles Co. excavator you can find in the game!
Interested? Check the link here!: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1580517400&searchtext=hurles
#1 Hurles Co. Angler - I by Zetathix
Another older design, but this one will truly capture using less, to make more! This ship naturally looks like it's been cobbled together by many resources, and you'll surely be noticed, but just how cool is that? With this ship, any intrepid Captain will be able to make plenty money!
Interested? Check the link here!: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1194418374&searchtext=hurles ---
Caution: The Workshop for Interstellar Rift is bound to conditions and terms. Read them here.
We'll see you next week again, with more ships to show!
~Your IsR Community Team
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
Patch notes for Interstellar Rift 1.0.4.00
BUG FIXES
Fleets are now incrementally synchronized, which means large vaults should not impact server performance anymore and the initial state is only sent on login / fleet join
Fixed getting a negative amount of platinum turbines when adding a stack to large capacity vaults (~35 fleet members)
Fixed being able to overflow the amount of resources stored in a vault. The maximum amount for a single resource in a vault is 2,147,483,648, extra resources are not accepted
Fixed time it takes for achievement popup to show after reaching the conditions for an achievement being too long
Reduced memory usage caused by loading entities (f.e. when rifting)
Fixed objective summary in "Repair door" step of the repair tutorial
Fixed a case where a system would fail to save
Fixed save error when starting a new game ("Tried to save a galaxy with 0 systems")
Fixed DeviceStateLoader threads sometimes crashing
Fixed crash when attempting to mine certain asteroids
Fixed crash on startup if the game is unable to determine what the current display mode is
Removed unused models that were causing failed texture loads when they were cached
CHANGES
Extensive code changes to allow for cross-play between stores and easier porting to other stores
NOTES
Servers need to be updated
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our Discord channel for the latest updates, server notifications, support, and more!
