Build 26519962

A New Engine, A New Chapter in Our Voyage

Greetings, Captains!With this update, Ship of the Line is transitioning to a new game engine.As the game has continued to grow in scale and content, the performance limitations of the previous engine have become increasingly apparent. To address these limitations and establish a more stable foundation for future development, we have rebuilt the game's rendering and runtime environment.This update focuses on improving performance, rendering quality, and the user interface while preserving the existing gameplay systems and content.

1. New Engine and Performance Improvements

• Migrated the game's rendering and runtime environment to a new engine.

• Implemented DirectX 12 rendering on Windows.

• Improved average frame rates and frame stability in large-scale naval battles.

• Improved rendering performance in the open-world campaign.

• Significantly reduced frame stuttering and delays during screen transitions.

In particular, we have improved the rendering and processing architecture to provide a more stable experience during large-scale naval engagements.

2. Graphics and Visual Effects Improvements

• Improved the rendering quality of existing lighting and visual effects.

• Enhanced lighting based on time of day and weather conditions.

• Improved nighttime lighting effects in the captain's cabin and stern windows.

• Enhanced lighting effects for street lamps, lighthouses, and buildings in harbors.

• Added low-altitude cumulus clouds and expanded weather-dependent cloud effects.

• Corrected the upper edge of gaff sails (spankers) to align properly with their spars.

Existing graphical elements have been refined to take advantage of the new engine's rendering capabilities.

3. Complete User Interface Overhaul

• Completely redesigned the combat HUD layout and appearance.

• Expanded the visible battlefield area.

• Streamlined ship status displays and tactical command controls.

• Unified the visual design of buttons and menus.

• Removed unnecessary decorative backgrounds to improve text readability.

• Improved how 3D ship previews are displayed on the tactical map.

• Refined the default layout of the national overview panel.

While preserving some of the classic design elements, the new interface has been reorganized to allow players to focus more on the ships and the battlefield itself.

4. Existing Game Data and Systems Remain Intact

Although the engine has changed, the game's core systems and content remain intact.

• Save Compatibility: Existing Campaign, Career, Open World, and in-battle save files remain compatible.

• Automatic Save Migration: Existing save files are automatically imported on the first launch, while the original files are preserved.

• Gameplay Systems: Sailing, gunnery, damage calculations, boarding, captain AI, and core gameplay rules remain unchanged.

• Multiplayer: Existing multiplayer servers remain in use.

• Steam Integration: Steam authentication and offline play functionality remain unchanged.

• Language Support: All eight existing languages remain supported.

5. Important Notes After Updating

As this update involves a complete engine transition, please keep the following in mind:

• First Launch: The game may take longer than usual to start while graphics resources are being prepared.

• Graphics Settings: Some graphics settings may be reset to their defaults. Please adjust them again if necessary.

• Bug Reports: If you encounter any issues, please use the in-game "Send Error Report" feature to help us investigate.

Looking Ahead

This engine transition represents an important step toward establishing a stronger technical foundation for the long-term development of Ship of the Line.We will continue prioritizing performance and stability while working to deliver an increasingly polished naval warfare experience.As this is a major engine transition, some unexpected issues may arise. We will continue identifying and resolving problems based on your valuable feedback.Thank you to all the captains who have supported us throughout this journey.Our voyage continues with a new engine!— From the Developer of Ship of the Line