Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Tactical
Nebulous: Fleet Command
Devlog #37: On Campaign
Hello Spacers!
The first devlog in the Campaign Update series is now available! In this video I discuss the basics of the upcoming singleplayer campaign, it's objectives and storyline, new mechanics, and the tools we're using to build it. Check it out below:
See you in the battlespace, The NEBULOUS Team
Patch Notes - 0.5.2.8:250408-1848
Hello Spacers,
I apologize for the delay in getting this patch onto main, but given how it is going to upend a few things with respect to carriers I wanted to get through a few weekends of public testing before sending it to Live. This update is focused on balance and performance, but we'll be back to feature minor updates soon.
Craft Performance
The network sync system for craft has been updated again to greatly reduce framerate drops on clients. The previous update duplicated a lot of work across clients, resulting in players with lower end PCs struggling to simulate all of the craft and causing low framerates, as well as a lot of divergent behavior causing dogfights to be completely unreadable. With this update, craft are no longer simulated on clients and their motion is now interpolated in a way that keeps it smooth and consistent with the server's while also reducing network traffic to improve server performance. There is still a little bit of ugly snapping when taking off and landing, but everywhere else things should look great.
Fighter Light Strike
During carrier beta testing we found that fighters were a gamble to bring because if the enemy didn't bring a carrier there wasn't much for them to do. To help make them less of a gamble we added a number of light strike weapons to enable fighters to interact with ships if no other fighters were present. Unfortunately, a number of factors have contributed to carrier builds coalescing around nothing but fighters on both factions. Hopefully that has been addressed in this patch with a few changes:
Fighter Durability & Flak
Skin thickness for the Tanto and Barracuda has been reduced and flak armor penetration has been increased. This means that fighters flying close to or attacking ships with active PD nets will now take full damage (instead of 50%) from most dedicated PD weapons, including single S1 missiles with enough warhead capacity. Bombers retain their previous durability, giving them better survivability against warships. Some other missiles, like the R-2 Rocket, had their skin thickness increased to prevent unintended changes in the rocket/flak matchup.
R-1 Perch Rocket & Fragmentation Bombs
Another frustrating issue with fighter light strike, particularly for capping fleet players, was their ability to easily prey on small ships. In this patch, fighter weapons like the R-1 have had their per-ray damage reduced to retain their same total damage amount while not being able to fully destroy most components. This turns them into "stun" weapons, allowing fighters to contribute to the warship battle but requiring a warship or bombers to confirm the kill. Without a followup strike these ships can eventually repair.
The RBU has been removed from the munitions list (though it is still carried on the CBU-40, pending a development pass on that weapon) and replaced with the Fragmentation Bomb which is now the Alliance version of the R-1.
Hellbombing Fratricide
And finally, "hellbombing" has been the bane of my existence since starting the Carriers update. Bombs have always been intended as finisher weapons against ships which have already been heavily damaged, but a large enough group of fighters swarming a target will get through any amount of PD. To put the final (hopefully) nail in the coffin of this tactic I have slowed bombs down to the speed of the craft that dropped them, instead of gaining a minor boost, and added fratricide damage. This means that when a single bomb is destroyed by PD it will do damage to nearby bombs and craft, including the one that dropped it. Dropping kinetic bombs against healthy ships with active PD nets can no longer delete them in one attack.
Again, I apologize for the delay in these critical balance changes and I hope you enjoy the patch. As always, full patch notes follow.
See you in the Battlespace, - The NEBULOUS Team
Changes/Features: - Updated network sync system for craft. - No longer requires duplicate work on all clients, clients with weaker computers no longer have to simulate craft behavior in parallel to the server result in low client framerates because tidi is server-based. - Still some ugliness on takeoff and landing, will be improved. - Decreased inherited velocity multiplier for KBU-15 and KBU-22 bombs to 0.99 (was 1.33). - Added AOE damage to destruction effect of KBU-15 and KBU-22 bombs. - Decreased per-ray damage of R-1 Perch Rocket to 15 (was 33.3), total damage unchanged. - Removed RBU-15 Boosted Bomb from munitions list, still carried in CBU-40. - Added FBU-15 Fragmentation Bomb, proximity burst warhead similar to RPF rounds. - Increased Tanto illuminator pods FOV to 10 degrees (was 5). - Increased positional error for Halberd Advanced Radar mission module to 40m (was 20). - Increased R-2 Piranha Rocket wall thickness to 0.18cm (was 0.15). - Decreased Tanto Interceptor skin thickness to 0.175cm (was 0.3). - Decreased Barracuda Strike Fighter skin thickness to 0.175cm (was 0.3). - Increased 50mm Flak round armor penetration to 0.176cm (was 0.1). - Decreased Mk25 Rebound PDT recycle time to 0.2s (was 0.3) and reload time to 2.5s (was 3). - Changed Mk25 Rebound PDT recycle stat type to "belt", no longer buffed by Rapid Cycle Cradle. - Increased point cost of KBU-22 Bomb to 2 (was 1). - Removed munition tag "Glide Bomb/S2" from Tanto S2 Bay and Barracuda S2 Pylons. - Updated starter fleets.
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Command your fleet in NEBULOUS: Fleet Command, now 50% off as part of the Hooded Horse Spring Publisher Sale.
NEBULOUS: Fleet Command offers intense, realistic space combat where you control every aspect of your fleet’s tactics, from positioning to weapon systems. Plan carefully, outmaneuver your enemies, and engage in tactical battles with unparalleled depth.
I'm back from a short break visiting family and have a quick bugfix patch before we get to our next balance PTB cycle. Some of these notes may be a little cryptic so let me mention a few of the more important ones and what they mean.
For one, beams will no longer completely miss their first shot against a new target by holding steady on a point in the void. Additionally, a slight offset of the aimpoint selection volumes on some Marauder LN configurations has been fixed, so aimpoints will always be inside the hull. This happened for other weapons as well but was a lot less noticeable. The issue is fixed for all weapons.
Ships will also no longer get stuck in space when trying to maneuver in tight quarters, such as when changing direction while trying to back out of D point on Pillars or when trying to navigate canyons on some modded maps. This was most noticeable with small, fast ships. The changes made to fix this also made it so ships no long get dragged down to a tiny fraction of their top speed when maneuvering close to obstacles.
Missiles will no longer be missing visual tracks on their first use, and some exploits in the behavior of submunition containers with End-of-Path staging have also been fixed. There are also a few other minor issues fixed, which you can find below.
Bug Fixes: - Fixed some cases where failed pathfinding requests would be repeatedly re-run after a game had ended. - Fixed ships being significantly slowed down when moving close to rocks. - Fixed fast ships attempting to change direction to a distant waypoint in a constricted area being stalled by the collision avoider. - Fixed ship deployment positions being able to overlap other ships or terrain if the mouse did not intersect the map's bounding sphere before another ship was selected. - Fixed visual tracks not appearing for missiles the first time they are spawned. - Fixed ships without radars still having an interactable EMCON button if they had weapons with integrated FCRs (which ignore EMCON). - Fixed movement widget time estimate tooltip not accounting for HBRN state when issuing craft move orders. - Fixed NullReferenceException when the first selected ship has defensive missiles and the HUD disabled. - Fixed announcer declaring the enemy is capturing a point when the enemy stops contesting a point. - Fixed weapons retaining the aim point offset from their previous target for the first period, resulting in misses when switching from a larger target to a smaller one. - Fixed random modular hull aim point volume segments not being offset correctly. - Fixed missile status bar not having an icon for a failed launch state. - Fixed submunition missiles with no seeker indefinitely retaining the initially-fired-on track from the ship. - Fixed cruise missiles without seekers not being able to use TRPs.
See you in the Battlespace, - The NEBULOUS Team
NEBULOUS: Fleet Command at the Hooded Horse Spring Publisher Sale
The Hooded Horse Spring Sale is live, with NEBULOUS: Fleet Command at 50% off, alongside discounts on other games. Check it out on Steam.
New Update Brings Optimization, Balance Changes, and Fleet Editor Overhaul
They have been working hard, following up on the Carriers Update with a new update focused on optimizations, balance adjustments, and fleet-building improvements.
Strike warfare balance has been adjusted, with nerfs to OSP weaponry—rockets are now heavier, slower, and costlier, while the R-1 Rocket’s damage distribution has changed to prevent unintended armor penetration. Dogfighting mechanics have also been tweaked, with improved AI for Tanto pilots and changes to gun ranges, giving defenders a better chance to counterattack. The “Guy35” Barracuda loadout has been removed to prevent a single build from dominating multiple roles.
The Fleet Editor now features a revamped warning system, grouping advisories into categories for clarity. New Player Tips have also been added, offering guidance on fleet design based on ship configurations.
On the technical side, network optimizations now allow dynamic objects like missiles and craft to operate more efficiently, reducing bandwidth consumption and improving performance.
Read more here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/887570/view/751641087504810559
In Case You Missed It – The Carriers Update Is Live!
The Carriers Update has brought fighters, bombers, and utility craft to NEBULOUS: Fleet Command, changing fleet dynamics with recon, torpedo strikes, and dogfights. This is the biggest update yet, going far beyond adding small spacecraft—it includes new carrier hulls, modular loadouts, expanded missile systems, and a total AI rewrite for smarter opponents and deeper tactical play.
New tutorials introduce carrier operations, and an additional skirmish mission lets players test their skills against the overhauled AI, which now employs advanced tactics and map awareness. The update also adds customizable spaceframe loadouts, enabling mid-battle role adjustments.
Check out the trailer and read more about it here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/887570/view/536587777549011152?l=english
It turns out the power of friendship teamwork swung the dogfight pendulum a bit further than I would have liked with the last update. This patch has a small balance change to improve the Barracuda's gun evasion maneuvering and behavior to help counter that, as well as a few bugfixes.
I'm also aware there are some desync artifacts from the new system used for craft and missiles. These are not induced by high latency, I tested the system with 1000ms ping and 25% packet loss. They are caused by divergent behavior on the client and server (e.g. craft decides to turn left instead of right), and I am working to identify and fix the causes. Please know that these are only visual issues on the client, and while they can make it more difficult to tell exactly what is going on they do not affect the outcomes of any games.
Changes/Features: - Modified Barracuda gun evasion behavior to be more aggressive. - Increased 35mm flechette collision detection radius to 2.5m (was 1m).
Bug Fixes: - Fixed ELINT crossfix accuracy varying incorrectly based on distance to the scene origin. - Fixed games ending prematurely if all magazines on a ship were disabled but DC teams were available. - Fixed turreted missile launchers not updating their unmask roll vector as the target moves. - Fixed SALS/TALS launchers spamming the log with failure sentinel warnings when target is outside arc. - Fixed turreted launchers continuing to train on their last target until a new attack order was issued. - Fixed ATGT SENSORS giving incorrect subsystem positions for sensors on lineships.
See you in the Battlespace, - The NEBULOUS Team
Update 0.5.2.5 - Optimization, Tips, and Balance
Hello Spacers,
The Carriers Update has been out for about five weeks now and it's time to get back to minor updates. This first one has been on PTB (public test branch) for a few weeks now while I've been building it, so I hope you had a chance to check it out. This update focuses on more optimization, an overhaul of the fleet editor warning system and the addition of new player tips, and a set of balance changes which have been broadly discussed among the playerbase.
Major updates change a lot about the game and take time to get used to, but I've been reading discussions on balance across the playerbase and discussing it actively in our discord. Based on all the feedback we've received and the discussions I've had a few critical issues have been identified, which you can find more info about below.
Strike Warfare Balance
Strike warfare, referring to the use of spacecraft to strike warships, has been heavily adjusted on the OSP side with a few targeted nerfs to the most over-performing weapons. The R-3 Rocket has been slowed down and made more expensive, as well had its mass increased so it affects bomber maneuverability more when trying to get in close. The R-1 Rocket had it's damage-per-ray reduced to a value which prevents it from "drilling" through small areas on heavy warships and structure breaking them, as well as an increase to its hitbox size making it easier for kinetic PD to hit. It still does the same amount of total damage, but in smaller increments which don't break Damage Threshold. Additionally, the Sturgeon's 100m Gunpods had their accuracy reduced substantially.
Dogfighting Balance
The outcome of dogfights relies on many factors, but the bottom line is they can feel very frustrating when you're on the AN side due to numbers disadvantages. Without precise micro for standoff strikes and support from ship-launched SDMs, it's easy to get chewed up by OSP craft and have nothing to show for it. In order to alleviate this, I've upgraded the AI for the Tanto specifically, giving them the ability to work in wingman pairs and improve their effectiveness without any direct stat changes. Wingmen will now cover their partner from other craft that are attacking them, greatly improving their performance. I thought this would be a neat way to give the Tanto a unique advantage based on the years of training one would expect of military pilots.
I also noticed while testing the wingman behavior that the short minimum range of craft guns would result in craft flying to within a few dozen meters of their target. At that range no amount of evasive maneuver could save the defender, and this was partially responsible for how dogfights quickly snowballed in favor of the superior numbers. The minimum range of craft guns has been increased to keep gunfights more spaced out, giving more chances for the defender to counterattack.
These two changes combined should make dogfighting feel much better for both sides. Even when outnumbered you'll now be able to at least extract your pound of flesh.
Additonally, the "Guy35" build has been eliminated because it allowed Barracudas to perform all roles with a single loadout. The 35mm Underwing Gunpods now take up both slots, preventing them from being paired with jammers or additional missiles.
Fleet Editor Warnings
The warning system in the fleet editor has been overhauled to be more usable and less intrusive. Warnings have been collapsed into a pulldown menu where the wall of text used to be, and have been split into Critical, Warnings, and Advisories. A slew of new warnings and advisories have been added, including advisories for missile misconfigurations.
Building fleets is one of the most arcane arts in Nebulous, despite the fact that it's core to the game. To help pull back the veil of mystery I've added a New Player Tips section to the overhauled warnings list. They offer both general pieces of advice for specific hulls and contextual tips based on the ship's configuration. These can be disabled for experienced players.
Network Optimization
As I mentioned in the last patch, network optimization has been at the front of my mind lately. With all the dynamic objects running around now, network bandwidth consumption and processing time has taken a huge jump. With lots of players and spectators network processing time can be almost half of the frame time on a dedicated server. I have written a new network sync system for dynamic objects like missiles and craft which allows them to operate autonomously on clients and only receive updates from the server every few seconds.
This new system dramatically reduces bandwidth consumption and improves performance. It's not perfect yet and you may notice some odd movements especially with craft in cases where they decided to do something on the client that is different from the server (e.g. turning left instead of right). These are visual sync issues only, and rest assured that the server's picture is correct and authoritative and this won't affect how the game plays out.
See you in the battlespace, - The NEBULOUS Team
Changes/Features: - Reworked fleet editor warning system to have multiple tiers. - Condensed fleet editor warnings into a pulldown list. - Added new player fleet design tips to the editor warnings list. - Fleet editor power display will now show components that draw power only when operating as yellow. - Added new network free movement position sync system to all craft for increased bandwidth-efficiency. - Converted lifeboats, unguided rockets, and glide bombs to free movement sync. - Converted all modular missile bodies to free movement sync. - Increased point cost of R-3 rocket to 4 (was 2). - Decreased speed of R-3 rocket to 275m/s (was 350) and increased mass to 6 (was 0.3). - Increased R-2 rocket mass to 3 (was 0.3). - Increased motor power of R-2 and R-3 rockets to keep acceleration unchanged with new mass. - Decreased damage per ray of R-1 rocket to 33.3 (was 50). - Increased hitbox size of R-1 rocket. - Increased shot spread of Sturgeon 100mm gun pods to 0.25 (was 0.05). - Decreased damage radius of 100mm Flak burst to 50 meters (was 100) and decreased fuze time error margin to 0.11s (was 0.5). - Decreased point cost of Claymore bomber to 12 points (was 15). - Increased 15mm sandshot hit detection radius to 7.5m (was 5). - Improved Tanto dogfighting AI with wingman logic. - Increased Tanto 15mm Coilgun nose gun target in-range distance to 1,500m (was 1,200). - Increased Tanto nose cone radar locking range to 1,750m (was 1,000). - Decreased Tanto illuminator pod cone FOV to 5 degrees (was 10). - Barracuda 35mm gun pods now take up all underwing slots instead of just inner ones. - Decreased hit detection radius of 35mm Flechette to 1m (was 3.3). - Changed ammo type tag for 100mm Grape to Ballistic/Cannister. - Added Ballistic/Cannister compatible ammo tag to all existing 100mm weapons except Sturgeon gun pods. - Decreased CBU-40 point cost to 5 (was 10). - Improved error logging for AI captains which fail at instantiation due to an unexpected condition. - Decreased 600mm Bomb Shell AoE damage chance against missiles and craft to 5% (was 50%). - Craft will now properly engage threats to other craft they are guarding. - Adjusted all craft gun range envelopes to keep gunfights more spaced out. - Adjusted evasion behaviours in gunfights. - Increased C65 Cannon point cost to 45 (was 30). - Increased fragment cone angle of 120mm RPF to 10 degrees (was 7.5). - Increased fragment cone angle of 250mm RPF to 13.25 degrees (was 10). - Updated starter fleets for point changes.
Bug Fixes: - Fixed Vauxhall mounts 7-10 not being able to turn inwards to fire over the center of the ship. - Fixed blast frag warhead partial damage not being applied correctly against larger targets. - Fixed skiff being able to lock targets at long range. - Fixed craft retaining their lock target when their order changes. - Fixed missile seeker cone renderer on sphere widget casting shadows. - Fixed craft missile counts not being updated when fired following an earlier optimization. - Fixed bomb shell fragments rolling damage against craft in addition to the AoE explosion. - Fixed "no ammo" warning appearing for SALS/TALS launchers even when valid missiles were in a magazine. - Fixed icons of eliminated friendly ships not updating to gray until hovered of selected. - Fixed AI breaking when given a ship carrying craft which it can't launch. - Fixed "Add Missile Type" button in craft loadout matrix not showing any templates in some cases. - Fixed some filtered ammo selection lists having an initial selection even if it was filtered. - Fixed exploit allowing deployed ships to be pushed into the map.
Save 50% on NEBULOUS: Fleet Command
Command your fleet in NEBULOUS: Fleet Command, now 50% off as part of the Hooded Horse January Publisher Sale.
NEBULOUS: Fleet Command offers intense, realistic space combat where you control every aspect of your fleet’s tactics, from positioning to weapon systems. Plan carefully, outmaneuver your enemies, and engage in tactical battles with unparalleled depth.
We've got another round of bugfixes and optimizations, as well as our first balance tweaks. On the balance front we've cut down the number of missiles the Pike can carry, which had previously escaped being cut in half in testing like all the other craft, and decreased the damage of 100mm Flak. These are pretty minor but should address some issues we've been seeing in multiplayer games.
Aside from a few bug and exploit fixes, optimization is at the center of this patch. With the number of signatures and sensors/seekers now active at any given time with the addition of spacecraft, I've overhauled the way signatures are managed and partitioned in the map so that sensors only have to evaluate the signatures that are nearby to them. Passive missile seekers in particular were also optimized substantially. In my benchmarks with 45 dual-seeker missiles searching for targets I saw an over 85% performance increase.
Right now I am splitting my time between Live branch work and developing the tools required for our next major update. Network optimization and further AI improvements (including making the Easy AI a little easier...) are the next things on my list for a near-term minor patch. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy!
Changes/Features: - Decreased missile capacity of Pike S1 missile pylons to 2 (was 4). - Updated bomb trail colors so they don't look like hybrids. - Added a dedicated server admin !skipmap command. - SALS and TALS launchers will now do a cold launch if firing from the neutral position because the target is out of arc. - Made many optimizations to reduce per-frame memory allocation substantially. - Improved performance of all passive missile seekers. - Improved performance of sensor acquisition cycles with spatial partitioning. - Decreased 100mm Flak damage to 20 (was 30). - DC teams will now prioritize consuming restores from non-reinforced and low-DT lockers first. - Weapons drawing ammo from magazines will now prioritize non-reinforced magazines followed by those with the highest starting quantity of the desired ammo. - Increased max depression limit for Solomon BB MT1 to -2 degrees (was 0). - Reduced dust particle density on Canyon. - Modular missiles now take into account acceleration time when calculating the max range they display in the UI.
Bug Fixes: - Fixed craft not checking for correct aspect on missile targets. - Fixed being able to vote-kick server administrators. - Fixed being able to submit conduct reports for CPU players. - Fixed players being able to cancel dedicated server debrief end by changing their ready state when the !enddebrief command had been used. - Fixed Vauxhall MT5 being too high. - Fixed bomb trail VFX being culled when still inside camera frustum. - Fixed BSHRT last damage second not being reset. - Fixed being able to "bank" work in restoring a component for later use. - Fixed AI ships not approaching a target they were ordered to scout if there was an unobstructed view but it was out of range. - Fixed white highlight circles remaining in space if a track was lost was hovered with the mouse. - Fixed craft cruise distance remaining display not accounting for if HBRN was on. - Fixed missile seekers being pulled off targets by signatures which have had their radius increased by a modifier. - Fixed exploit allowing hotkeys to be assigned to allied and enemy ships. - Fixed some Moorline DC board segments having their components misaligned when scaled. - Fixed ships continuing to maintain heading to a track lost via comms jamming.
See you in the battlespace, - The NEBULOUS Team
NEBULOUS: Fleet Command at the Hooded Horse January Publisher Sale
We’re excited to share that NEBULOUS: Fleet Command is participating in the January Sale at 50% off. Check it and other games out at the Hooded Horse January Sale.
The latest NEBULOUS: Fleet Command Carriers update brings a wealth of new content, gameplay mechanics, and much more. Keep sharing your thoughts and feedback. It helps shape the game's development!
Here are some highlights:
Fighters, Bombers, and Utility Craft
Each faction now has three new spaceframes: fighters, bombers, and scouts, with an additional shared utility skiff design for specialized operations.
Alliance Craft: Built for speed and stealth, they excel in precision strikes and covert maneuvers.
Protectorate Craft: Versatile and adaptive, these ships feature modular loadouts that can be reconfigured mid-battle to meet changing demands.
Every craft boasts unique weapons, capabilities, and maneuvering styles. The new fleet editor module allows players to customize each ship’s configuration for a tactical edge in different situations.
Customizable Loadouts
For the first time, spacecraft can change their mission profiles mid-battle. Using the fleet editor’s loadout matrix, players can preconfigure weapons and modules for each craft and select specific setups during combat. This adaptability opens new tactical possibilities, making you react to evolving scenarios precisely.
Carrier Hulls & Modules
Alliance Levy-class and Protectorate Journeyman-class bring specialized carrier capabilities to their factions.
Moorline Container Liner functions as a fleet carrier with expansive hangars.
Additionally, new mounted hangars for ships with C4 and C5 mounts allow larger vessels to carry a few spacecraft of their own, extending deployment options for strategic dominance.
Bombs, Missiles, and Submunitions
This update expands the arsenal with:
Unguided bombs, offering devastating precision in combat.
Two new anti-spacecraft modular missile systems (SDM-1 and SDM-2) designed for rapid response defense.
A new Submunition Dispenser warhead, enabling players to build sophisticated custom weapons for more nuanced attacks.
AI Overhaul
The AI opponent has been completely rewritten, delivering advanced tactics like:
Bow tanking, cruise missile strikes, and map-driven maneuvering.
Scenario-specific strategies for dynamic, challenging battles.
The AI is now fully moddable. While some areas, like jammer use, are still in development.
New Tutorials
With the introduction of carrier mechanics, the update includes:
Two new tutorials to guide players through carrier operations.
A new mission, Final Battle Problem, as part of the tutorial series. This scenario walks players through a full skirmish battle using the updated AI, preparing them for the challenges ahead.
Check out the full patches notes here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/887570/view/536587777549011152?l=english
This update expands the arsenal with:
The AI opponent has been completely rewritten, delivering advanced tactics like: