Nations Beyond Earth Playtest · published · build 26348485
First off, thank you to everyone who has joined the Nations Beyond Earth Playtest so far!
With the first round of testing underway, I have been able to identify several areas that needed attention, particularly performance during the way the game handles increasingly complex simulations.
We know the initial Playtest experience hasn't been quite as smooth as we'd hoped, and we appreciate everyone's patience while we work through these early issues.
Update 0.7.7B is our first major round of improvements based on these early testing observations and feedback.
One of the biggest areas of focus has been reducing the amount of unnecessary processing as matches progress.
Improved planetary map rendering to reduce unnecessary redraws.
Optimized simulation calculations to reduce repeated processing.
Improved economic and infrastructure processing as nations expand.
Reduced unnecessary power-grid calculations.
Improved the handling of larger, more developed planetary maps.
Additional optimizations aimed at maintaining more consistent performance during longer sessions.
Autosaving was another area that needed attention, particularly the interruptions it could cause during gameplay.
We've reworked the save process to handle more of its workload outside the main game thread, significantly reducing interruptions while saving.
We've also continued reviewing how AI-controlled nations develop and manage their civilizations.
The AI is now more capable of developing economies, constructing military infrastructure, producing armies and fleets, and engaging in a wider range of strategic activities.
There's still work ahead, particularly with coordinated ground offensives, military pathfinding, and long-term expansion decisions.
While this update should provide a better overall experience, we're continuing to monitor several areas:
Performance spikes during longer matches.
Transitions between planetary surfaces and the Solar System map.
AI military coordination and ground warfare.
Army pathfinding and movement through contested territory.
Colonization and territorial expansion behavior.
These are ongoing priorities as we continue refining the game.
This Playtest is an important part of preparing Nations Beyond Earth for release, and these early sessions are already helping us identify problems that aren't always obvious during development.
If you encounter unexpected behavior, performance problems, or something that simply doesn't feel right, please let us know through the Steam discussions.
We're especially interested in how the game performs after 15, 30, or 60 minutes of play, as well as your experiences with AI opponents and military conflicts.
Thank you again for joining us this early and helping make Nations Beyond Earth better.
We'll continue working through the feedback and improving the experience as the Playtest progresses.
Venom Pandemic Studios