Stellaris Tests Hearts of Iron-Style Mechanics to Improve Late-Game Performance

Efforts to find further optimizations are ongoing.

The creators of the space grand strategy Stellaris recently published a new development diary. Once again, they focused on performance optimization.

During testing, the Stellaris team discovered that the late game can spawn an enormous number of ships (in some cases exceeding 24,000). They are looking to reduce that count — a change that should improve overall performance.

Stellaris is currently experimenting with a Hearts of Iron–style mechanic. The tests used upgraded variants of the basic hull types that consume more fleet capacity than standard versions (while not imposing a command cap) and demand higher construction and maintenance costs. These hulls are significantly stronger and come with built-in enhanced shields and armor. In the current experiment, Mk.3 hulls were given an additional auxiliary slot.

The team notes that “this change reduced the number of ships in mid and late game by roughly 25%.” According to the developer, the next iteration “will be more drastic and widen the gap between tiers — I really like how it increases the significance of individual ships and fleets.”

The Stellaris team is also reviewing economic metrics — in some cases the feedback becomes excessively positive:

“While we want planetary design and the decisions you make to remain impactful, some elements currently create excessive positive feedback loops or otherwise stray from the intended curve. As with the open beta testing of technologies, we need to restore certain aspects to a proper baseline.”

Source: iXBT.games