To kick February off we'd like to talk about the upcoming SimAirport update - along the lines of a dev-log, so you know what we're currently working on & what you can expect from SimAirport in the near future!
Steam Deck
Valve will soon be launching the 'Steam Deck' and as the release of the hardware nears we've been working on making SimAirport compatible with the new handheld! Luckily SimAirport already runs on Linux, and we have confirmed that both native and Proton options are already able to run on the Steam Deck!
Our initial testing on Steam Deck did reveal several issues and some quirks - from screen resolution to controller bindings & even some audio issues. Several UIs required a bit of reworking while others may just need a small nudge in the right direction. For example, the top UI generally fits, unless the fuel HUD is enabled; to solve this the entire top UI now is able to move to the left and "attach" to the Menu button. This is a general change so you'll benefit even if you're not using the Steam Deck but happen to be playing on a smaller resolution desktop monitor or on a laptop!
Lastly, we're currently working on making sure the Steam Deck controls can be fully utilized in the most optimal way possible. For this we're reworking a good chunk of our input-handling code which will result in a good default experience on the Steam Deck, and it will also enable the use of controllers on other platforms, too! :)
On the whole, we're thrilled to say that SimAirport runs well on the Steam Deck after some tweaks it's fully playable -- including all Workshop content & mods being available on the platform!
Performance Upgrades
We generally strive to find performance improvements whenever possible -- though we're also somewhat limited by a number of factors: architecture & age of the code-base, size/scope of refactoring, compatibility/legacy concerns, engine issues, GPU support, etc. Despite that, we're constantly looking for ways to improve performance -- incremental steps & big leaps alike, and we get especially excited when we're able to find improvements that can positively impact "late-game" & large airport performance.
We're thrilled to say we've found a relatively substantial performance improvement related to the agent (passenger) AI -- specifically in how the AI determines whether or not an object can be reached. Previously this reachability check was unintentionally being run on an overly low-level & granular layer of abstraction; as airports grew in size this became an increasingly costly operation and the result was that performance deteriorated faster than expected or intended as agent (passenger) counts increased. While we've faced these same types of issues in the past, and dealt with them, this one was substantially more hidden due to the 'smaller' role it plays in AI decision-making process -- specifically, the issue was with checking distance to "lifecycle" goal. After the fix, reachability is now checked at a higher level of hierarchical abstraction, and overall performance for larger airports is substantially improved.
TLDR: Bigger airports run better & more performantly, by a pretty good margin. :)
Feedback from players testing out the latest edge versions has been quite positive -- we're hearing frame-rate improvements & decreased CPU load across the board & drastically reduced instances of "overrun"/the game is able to update agent AI without 'falling behind' (i.e. none stopping for calculations) much more consistently, and even at relatively high agent/passenger counts.
Queue Overruns
Queue overruns happen whenever the game is running faster than it is able to handle agent 'AI' jobs/calculations. At some point, these 'jobs' (or sets of calculations) can 'stack up' on the job queue and the queues run "full". When this occurs agents may not correctly update or may stand still waiting for their AI to update, causing them to not be making timely decisions & missing their flight, etc...
This update also includes a change in how the game handles these types of 'overrun' scenarios. While the first part of the update is intended to improve the performance of the AI job itself, reducing the time each job takes (and therefore reducing the potential for overruns), our handling for scenarios where 'overrun' state did happen was not optimal. Previously, SimAirport would rarely slow down because it missed jobs on the job queue -- which was the intended outcome but was not working quite right -- this is now fixed, so now all AI jobs are counted correctly and the game will "slow down" if it detects an overrun condition (allowing game-time to run 'slower' so that agents are acting/reacting at the correct pace based on the CPU resources/load available).
We've also improved the visual of this slowdown - the game will now show the actual slowdown in the clock as the speed number will be capped; we hope you'll rarely, if ever, actually see this occur -- but the mechanism is there so that the algorithmic complexity is able to scale with the available CPU resources & to do so in such a way that the gameplay itself (ie passenger 'outcomes') is wholly unaffected.
Final Words
If you'd like to help us with this update be sure to check out the edge branch (Instructions on how to switch) - we're always happy to talk on the forums and on Discord about the current cycle, and we're excited to be bringing this update to you in the near future!
Be sure to let us know how you like these more "in-depth" dev-log style of posts between updates -- we love to share what we're doing, and so it's helpful to know if you find the content & details interesting (or would like more/less details, etc).
We'll continue to do our best to listen to your feedback and utilize it to continually improve -- on every front, from gameplay to the content & format of our updates -- we appreciate any/all feedback, and we thank you for joining us on the journey! =)
As always, thank you -- the community -- for all of your help with providing valuable feedback & bug reports, testing on edge, suggestions & ideas, and even just sharing photos/videos/builds. And a special thank you, to those who make mods, too!
Thank you!!