Matrix Games Forums

Hi everyone,

This is a new beta update, mostly focused on crash fixes and significant additional performance improvements, resolving some occasional hangs in the game logic and some data fixes (the data fixes will only be avaliable in a new game).

If you are having any issues, please try this new beta and let us know if it helps you.

To facilitate frequent beta iterations as needed, this beta is only available for now on Steam and GOG. All Matrix customers also have a free Steam key available (through your My Page) which can be activated if desired to install DW2 via Steam and test this Beta there.

On Steam, you can switch to it by going to Distant Worlds 2 in your Steam Library, right-clicking on it, choosing Properties -> Betas -> then choosing "beta2 - v.1.0.3.7" from the drop-down list and allowing Steam to update your game. If it updates correctly, you should see 1.0.3.7 listed as your version in-game on the bottom right.

On GOG, you can switch to it by going to Distant Worlds 2 in your GOG Library, selecting Distant Worlds 2, then clicking on the button next to "Play" that looks like two horizontal lines with small offset circles, choosing Manage Installation -> Configure then picking "Beta - v1.0.3.7" from the Beta channels drop-down list and allowing GOG to update.

Changes in 1.0.3.7:

- improved general performance, especially in very large games
- reduced likelihood of hangs before autosaving
- added fix for rare memory corruption when animating space creatures
- further adjustments to some map overlays to improve performance (long range scanners, exploration, diplomacy)

Changes in 1.0.3.6:

CRASH FIXES
- fixed crash when adding diplomatic incident
- fixed crash when updating ship engine exhaust
- fixed crash when calculating ship collision avoidance
- fixed crash when resolving character mission location description
- fixed crash when drawing troop summary
- fixed crash when determining resource prices
- fixed crash when determining fleet systems within engagement range
- fixed crash when evaluating threats to ship or base
- fixed crash when fixing ships in a location
- fixed crash when updating location for fighters onboard a carrier
- fixed crash when rendering message
- fixed crash when firing weapons
- fixed crash when rendering character traits
- fixed crash when determining retrofit resources for a ship or base
- fixed crash when finding nearest refuelling point
- fixed crash when drawing empire relation in diplomacy screen
- fixed crash when determining empire mining targets
- fixed rare crash when loading some older savegames
- fixed crash when switching camera modes

SYSTEM BADGES AND MAP OVERLAYS
- fixed clickable regions for new basic system badges
- ensure map buttons retain highlight state when apply changes to graphics settings
- altered map overlay buffer format (long range scanners, exploration, diplomacy) to improve overlay opacity and visibility

SAVEGAMES
- updated autosave timer logic to ensure save at specified intervals. Reminder that paused time does not count towards autosave interval
- now check for low disk space when saving game and send warning message if needed
- more graceful handling of savegame failures for whatever reason

OTHER
- fixed slow initial zoom-in when start new game
- now purge old low-priority empire messages
- altered texture streaming memory budget to be more generous when no shared system memory allocated
- waypointing ships now properly slow to a stop while waiting for other fleet ships to arrive
- fixed bug when performing jump pathfinding
- fixed colony bombardment ship range when colony has long range defensive weapons (previously ships were too cautious to approach colony when tactics were Evade)
- updated values for planetary shield facilities
- data fixes to allow planetary destroyer to be built again

Changes in 1.0.3.5:

CRASH FIXES

- reworked some rendering to further minimize DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED crashes
- fixed crash when evaluating threats
- fixed crash when calculating location visibility level
- fixed crash when rendering research screen
- fixed crash when examining recent trade deals
- fixed crash when extracting resources
- fixed crash when identifying independent repair bases
- fixed crash when fulfilling resource orders
- fixed crash when sorting items while determining mining targets
- fixed crash when executing action
- fixed crash when calculating construction yard wait time
- fixed crash when identifying refuelling points
- fixed crash when rendering ship or base summary
- fixed crash when drawing construction yard summary
- fixed crash when updating ship engine exhaust
- fixed crash when preparing ship for retrofit
- fixed crash when changing ship empire
- fixed crash when obtaining fleet template designs per role
- fixed crash when auto-assigning scout mission to exploration ship
- fixed crash when launching assault pod
- fixed crash when updating user interface controls
- fixed crash when refreshing graphics setup
- fixed crash when checking whether ship is in battle
- fixed crash when checking for appearance of hive threat
- fixed crash when completing ship command
- fixed crash when planet removed in game editor
- fixed crash when calculating ship collision avoidance
- fixed crash when drawing system exploration data
- fixed crash when drawing system summary
- fixed crash when editing bonuses in game editor
- fixed crash when drawing research button
- fixed crash when updating tourism/migration/resource flow data
- fixed crash when adding diplomatic relation incident
- fixed crash when rendering creature effects
- fixed crash when rendering map overlay buttons
- fixed crash when reviewing army templates
- fixed crash when updating character bonuses
- fixed crash when processing ships and bases
- fixed crash when inflicting ion damage from nebula storms
- fixed crash when removing weapon blast from location
- fixed crash when ship unloads passengers
- fixed crash when generating new character

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS

- added new default system badge mode (Basic) with smaller, simplified badges when zoomed out to galaxy level. Extended mode is same as previous Basic mode

OTHER CHANGES

- fixed Load Fleet Template dialog to properly load from FleetTemplates sub-folder (same folder as Save Fleet Template)
- exploration and diplomacy map overlays now auto-enable when in relevant UI area
- long range scanner, exploration and diplomacy map overlays now more opaque
- The resource and credit discount on Planet Destroyer hulls has come to an end
- Ship hull fixes for certain freighters and transports
- Fixes to component data typos and some tweaks some of which affect the permissible slot sizes for certain late game weapons
- Additional story event fixes
- Fixes for some facility upgrade issues due to incorrect IDs in the facility data


Changes in 1.0.3.4:

CRASH FIXES

- fixed crash when building facility
- updated Harmony library to resolve some problems

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS

- improved general performance relating to fleet operations
- fixed occasional hang when fleets bombard colonies
- fixed occasional performance 'stuttering'
- fixed ship movement sometimes being jerky when zoom into same location
- improved rendering performance for map overlays: exploration, diplomacy long range scanners

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm - fixed ship movement sometimes being jerky when zoom into same location

Hi Erik,

I reported the jerky ship movement bug, and testing on the beta shows it's still happening. It occurs when locked on a ship that's moving, and it's most evident when zoomed in. The issue happens both at sub-light and at warp speeds. Let me know if you need any information from me to diagnose this further.

dostillevi wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 5:24 pm

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm - fixed ship movement sometimes being jerky when zoom into same location

Hi Erik,

I reported the jerky ship movement bug, and testing on the beta shows it's still happening. It occurs when locked on a ship that's moving, and it's most evident when zoomed in. The issue happens both at sub-light and at warp speeds. Let me know if you need any information from me to diagnose this further.

I noticed the issue (or something similar) too.

The issue does not exist on maximum zoom in level.
That one will follow the ship properly.

But any zoomlevel even slightly farther away will have jerky matching of the camera to the ships movement.

dostillevi wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 5:24 pm

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm - fixed ship movement sometimes being jerky when zoom into same location

I reported the jerky ship movement bug, and testing on the beta shows it's still happening. It occurs when locked on a ship that's moving, and it's most evident when zoomed in. The issue happens both at sub-light and at warp speeds. Let me know if you need any information from me to diagnose this further.

It's possible there was more than one cause for this, as the fix in 1.0.3.4 resolved it on the saves we had. If you have a save file which in 1.0.3.4 reproduces this issue, please share it with us and let us know how to reproduce it and we'll take another look.

I must have misunderstood. I thought Erik said that Matrix was going back to releasing the patches for the Matrix direct customers as well as Steam and GOG. Version 1.0.3.3 crashes regularly for me and I am unable to play or test the new patch as I refuse to play via Steam. So long as a game is available direct from the publisher I will buy and play that way. I have reported my crash problems and documented them as best I can. I have no idea if 1.0.3.4 addresses the crash I found.

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 7:58 pm

dostillevi wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 5:24 pm

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm - fixed ship movement sometimes being jerky when zoom into same location

I reported the jerky ship movement bug, and testing on the beta shows it's still happening. It occurs when locked on a ship that's moving, and it's most evident when zoomed in. The issue happens both at sub-light and at warp speeds. Let me know if you need any information from me to diagnose this further.

It's possible there was more than one cause for this, as the fix in 1.0.3.4 resolved it on the saves we had. If you have a save file which in 1.0.3.4 reproduces this issue, please share it with us and let us know how to reproduce it and we'll take another look.

This is what I'm seeing: https://imgur.com/a/9A6XqcJ

And here's the save. It's lightly modded, but hopefully you can load it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eY2YiY ... sp=sharing

If you can load the save, zoom in on any ship near the homeworld that is moving at sublight, use the focus key (default L) to lock onto the ship, and let the game progress. The ship will shake as long as it's moving at all.

Edit: I think it's the same issue when locked to a ship moving at warp speed, but the "shaking" is so great the ship isn't visible at all when zoomed in. I suspect the camera location isn't updating at the same time the ship location is updating, resulting in ship moves relative to camera -> camera tries to catch up to ship location -> ship moves again.

The jitter while locked on to a ship is not actually a bug or a performance problem, but more of a cosmetic issue which we'll improve in time but it's a relatively low priority.

solops wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 8:51 pm I must have misunderstood. I thought Erik said that Matrix was going back to releasing the patches for the Matrix direct customers as well as Steam and GOG. Version 1.0.3.3 crashes regularly for me and I am unable to play or test the new patch as I refuse to play via Steam. So long as a game is available direct from the publisher I will buy and play that way. I have reported my crash problems and documented them as best I can. I have no idea if 1.0.3.4 addresses the crash I found.

We will return to that, once the pace of updates slows down. For now, the betas will have to remain on Steam and GOG. I understand that you will not install Steam and that is your choice. We will have another official update out next week.

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:29 pm The jitter while locked on to a ship is not actually a bug or a performance problem, but more of a cosmetic issue which we'll improve in time but it's a relatively low priority.

Understood, thanks!

Updated the first post to reflect 1.0.3.5, a new beta update which is available today via Steam or GOG.

"- exploration and diplomacy map overlays now auto-enable when in relevant UI area"

I am confused abou that one. This was already the case. So much so, I reported it as a bug. And made a suggestion to at least allow us to turn it off.

zgrssd wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 6:18 pm "- exploration and diplomacy map overlays now auto-enable when in relevant UI area"
I am confused abou that one. This was already the case. So much so, I reported it as a bug. And made a suggestion to at least allow us to turn it off.

It's intended that they turn on when those menus are open. However, that was creating performance issues on some systems. We fixed the issue causing the performance issue, but in 1.0.3.4 they were not automatically turning on as they should. That was fixed for 1.0.3.5.

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm - long range scanner, exploration and diplomacy map overlays now more opaque

I updated from 1.0.3.3 to 1.0.3.5.

On my rig, the "Long Range Scanners" overlay is now a LOT LESS opaque instead. In fact, I though it was too transparent before, but now it's barely noticeable (and it looks like the dotted circles are not drawn at all). When activating, I see some very very transparent areas added (but really it's like white alpha 10/255). Something must be wrong.

EDIT: ok, someone made a thread about that.

Radamanthe wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2022 5:46 am

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm - long range scanner, exploration and diplomacy map overlays now more opaque

I updated from 1.0.3.3 to 1.0.3.5.

On my rig, the "Long Range Scanners" overlay is now a LOT LESS opaque instead. In fact, I though it was too transparent before, but now it's barely noticeable (and it looks like the dotted circles are not drawn at all). When activating, I see some very very transparent areas added (but really it's like white alpha 10/255). Something must be wrong.

EDIT: ok, someone made a thread about that.

Yup, I think that thread shows pretty conclusively that LRS visibility is not nearly opaque enough in 1.0.3.5. Please let me know if a bug report is needed for the issue.

Updated the first post to reflect the new 1.0.3.6 beta, available today.

Regarding the LRS overlay issue, we are aware if it, but Elliot's having some trouble fixing it. It will be fixed in time for the next official update.

Bugreport moved to:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 6&t=383049

Updated the first post to reflect the 1.0.3.7 beta update, available via Steam and GOG today.

We're hoping this will be the basis for a new official update early next week.

We plan to now spend a week or two focusing on reported gameplay and game logic issues, to improve the game experience for those players who have been able to play DW2 since release without critical crash or performance issues.

Which list(s) include the "data fixes?" I just want to see what I will be missing by staying with a lower version. (1.0.3.6) for example.

p.s. The game is awesome. I know nothing about software/game development, but if DW:U is any indicator, DW2 has insane potential on top of something that I already find hugely entertaining.

p.p.s If any old DWU commanders out there reading this, anyone have the link to the old website with a guide that was potentially affiliated with someone from the University of Memphis?

Gamecat wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 4:07 pm Which list(s) include the "data fixes?" I just want to see what I will be missing by staying with a lower version. (1.0.3.6) for example.

1.0.3.7 did not include any additional data fixes since 1.0.3.6. If you started a new game with 1.0.3.6 and update you 1.0.3.7 you will not be missing any improvements.

p.s. The game is awesome. I know nothing about software/game development, but if DW:U is any indicator, DW2 has insane potential on top of something that I already find hugely entertaining.

Thank you!

Erik Rutins wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 2:55 pm Changes in 1.0.3.7:

- further adjustments to some map overlays to improve performance (long range scanners, exploration, diplomacy)

Please don't say that this was intended... you can't play with Exploration ON (at least I can't)