Introduction
ASoD 0.75 adds new solar systems and ships, but also adds multiple optimizations that make ASoD 0.75 run smoother than any other version. All in all it is a brilliant release adding some very interesting systems and finishing Myceria and the Mycerian Wolf systems.
Passages
An interesting move I made in ASoD 0.75 was to drop the other 2 Mycerian Wolf systems and opt for a passage from Pak to Pioni, which serves as a shortcut into Core space. In addition, the system Noni which has been added is a shortcut.
These shortcuts serve the purpose of creating piracy. Since convoys move through both shortcuts, Wolf pirates are ready to mop them up.
Mining!
This release adds the awaited 2nd best mining ship in the game, which is superior to the 3rd best available from the Slashers. This Edge Worlds Supply ship has a significantly larger cargo hold in order to take mining to the next level. The price tag on it is higher of course.
This ship doesn't look like much but it can really pull in ore. It also has a bit more firepower than a typical mining ship since it is Mycerian. It uses missiles as its primary weapon, but it still has weak hull and shields. It also matches the styles that EWS use for their bases.
Optimization
ASoD went through another round of optimization. It focused on getting rid of rectangles that were being created many times per second then disposed, such as in getBounds() . It worked brilliantly. Here is the graph of before optimization:
Notice that the Rectangle came in 2nd place to the integer as the leading memory operations hog. I couldn't do too much about the integers, but I did manage to reduce the rectangles. I made them global variables that were reassigned when the method was called instead of created then destroyed. Here is ASoD after the optimization.
Although the integers creation rate is a constant, the rectangle has dropped to 3rd place with a mere 5.9% consumption. This consumption of course varies from system to system but these tests were in crowded systems. As a result of these changes, the little skips objects do have been nearly eliminated and the game play is smooth.
Sneak Peak: 15 More systems
After this release, the Dracos/Wolf systems will be created which will complete the game. The Dracos will be a very interesting area filled with very fast action. Draco ships will be smaller, faster, and deadly.
In addition the Wolf-Slasher conflict centers in the Wolf systems north of the Dracos and that will become a dangerous place for nearly anyone. The Draco systems themselves will contain a fair density of anomalies, each with a unique effect.
Feedback
Your feedback is very valuable, please comment either here or send me an email at masternerdguy@yahoo.com .
Looks good, and the optimization really does make a difference (especially for a sucky computer like mine). Yet, sooner or later somebodies going to have to do something with the graphics, but that can be in time. Overall, this is one fine project.