Major Gameplay Update – Full 3D Fleet Control

Major Gameplay Update – Full 3D Fleet Control

A Major Milestone for Stellar Warfare

This update represents one of the largest gameplay overhauls so far for Stellar Warfare.

Over the past months we have rebuilt the camera and navigation systems to properly support commanding fleets in true three-dimensional space.

Previously the control model behaved closer to a traditional ground RTS projected into space. With this update, fleets can now be commanded naturally across vertical space, allowing battles to unfold across multiple altitude layers with much clearer control and visibility.

Several parts of this overhaul directly address feedback we received from players about:

• Camera behaviour during large battles

• Difficulties controlling fleets at high altitude

• Spatial orientation in complex engagements

• Navigation clarity when commanding multiple units

Many players also asked for a camera system closer to the classic Homeworld-style orbit camera, which is now fully supported.

The result is a much smoother and more readable experience when commanding fleets during large-scale space battles.

Alongside this overhaul, many surrounding systems were updated or rewritten including:

• Camera focus behaviour

• Movement indicators

• Unit placement tools

• UI feedback

• Mission scripting safeguards

• Spatial reference elements in the environment

These improvements form an important foundation for future gameplay systems that will further expand fleet combat and large-scale battles.

Key Improvements

True 3D Fleet Navigation

• Fleet control has been redesigned to work more naturally in vertical space.

• Players can now more easily command units at different altitude levels while maintaining clear visual awareness of the battlefield.

• Several improvements were made to how units move, respond to commands, and interact with camera depth during combat.

Rebuilt Camera System

• The camera system has been significantly expanded and improved.

• Players can now use both the original camera mode and a Homeworld-style orbit camera, allowing more flexible control over how battles are viewed and commanded.

• Focus behaviour, zoom logic, and camera transitions were also redesigned to reduce unexpected jumps and improve overall control.

Better Spatial Awareness

• Large space battles can now be read more easily thanks to additional environmental reference points and improved visual indicators.

• New debris fields and spatial elements help provide orientation within the battlefield while updated movement indicators make unit commands clearer.

Improved Unit Placement and Height Control

• Building and unit placement tools have been improved to make managing structures and fleets at different altitude levels more consistent.

• New height indicators and improved placement stability help reduce confusion when operating above or below the primary battle plane.

Mission and Camera Stability Improvements

• Several campaign missions and scripted sequences were updated to ensure camera behaviour remains consistent during cinematic moments and gameplay transitions.

• Safeguards were also added to prevent missions from getting stuck in unintended camera states.

Full Patch Notes

Camera System Overhaul

• Implemented a redesigned strategic camera with both Homeworld-style orbit camera and original camera fully supported

• Major fixes to ensure core camera functions now behave correctly in both camera modes

• Reworked focus system so the camera can reliably focus on any object without unintended zoom jumps

• Improved orbit focus behaviour so camera jumps to targets without spawning inside objects

• Added multi-stage focus zoom behaviour for orbit camera

• Added logic to correctly return to the player’s preferred camera after temporary scripted camera changes

• Added safeguards to ensure missions restore the correct camera after forced follow sequences

• Camera now initializes correctly on game start with the intended camera mode

• Improved camera switching behaviour and removed several edge cases where the wrong camera could remain active

• Refactored camera input handling to use the input system rather than hardcoded keys

• Improved zoom behaviour and camera snap logic to prevent incorrect intermediate zoom levels

• Increased maximum tracker camera distance from targets

• Improved smoothness of camera transitions and zoom behaviour

• Added reset camera functionality

Full 3D Navigation Improvements

• Reworked navigation behaviour to better support commanding units across vertical space

• Improved camera depth handling and object focus behaviour

• Units can now be positioned and commanded more easily at different altitude levels

• Improved camera control while operating at high altitude

• Added additional environmental reference points such as space debris to make spatial orientation clearer

• Improved movement handling so units respond more predictably when navigating in three-dimensional space

• Added improved behaviour when focusing new targets without needing to switch camera modes

Tracker Camera and Targeting

• Implemented tracker camera functionality that allows following selected objects

• Tracker camera can now track both units and asteroids

• Added support for switching to tracker mode via input commands

• Improved focus targeting logic for enemy units and objects

• Added support for focusing new targets directly while already using the orbit camera

• Improved target distance calculations when focusing different unit types

Unit Movement and Command Improvements

• Improved movement responsiveness for units

• Adjusted formation behaviour and movement transitions

• Improved focus transitions when switching targets during combat

• Units now zoom to preset distances depending on the type of object selected

• Improved movement circle indicators and path visualization

• Added new line renderer for selected unit movement paths

• Updated movement indicator visuals for better readability

Unit Placement and Height System

• Improved building and unit placement behaviour when operating at different altitudes

• Reduced cases where building placement could fail due to camera height or depth ambiguity

• Fixed cases where buildings could be placed outside valid bounds

• Added clearer behaviour when placing units or structures higher in the sky

• Implemented height indicators that track selected units vertically

• Improved placement stability when adjusting altitude

• Increased tolerance for height indicators so objects slightly outside the camera view still generate indicators

• Limited height indicators to buildings to reduce visual clutter

• Added limits to asteroid and Zabu spawn heights

• Added limits to AI building and unit heights

• Clamped ground height values to valid ranges

• Prevented placement outside vertical map bounds

User Interface and HUD

• Improved bottom-left selection indicators so they correctly show selected unit names and camera focus targets

• Added asteroid resource value display to selection indicators

• Polished multiple GUI elements for clarity and consistency

• Updated instruction texts and UI field descriptions

• Hid focus-target GUI elements when the main GUI is disabled

• Added translation labels for new objectives

• Updated localization entries for camera options and related UI elements

Mission and Scripting Stability

• Fixed camera issues in several campaign missions

• Added safeguards for missions to restore the correct camera after scripted events

• Fixed cases where missions could remain stuck in cinematic camera mode

• Fixed issues related to forced follow sequences

• Improved mission camera transitions during scripted events

Environment and Visual Elements

• Added additional space debris and environmental objects

• Adjusted skybox settings and rotation values

• Converted dust mote effects into prefabs

• Added dust particle visual effects

Gameplay Balance

• Adjusted Offender metal cost and power cost

• Adjusted Starspear Torpedoes cooldown and damage values

• Reduced alpha damage while increasing fire rate

• Reduced cost of Eradicator and Eradicator V2 units

Performance and Code Improvements

• Optimized height indicator scripts

• Moved rendering logic out of OnGUI for improved performance

• Refactored several camera and control scripts

• Improved structure of camera manager systems

• Renamed variables and methods for clarity

• Removed unused variables and legacy code

• Cleaned up several camera helper functions

• Optimized resource loading behaviour for certain gameplay systems

• Improved script organization and separation of responsibilities

Additional Fixes

• Fixed bug where selecting a single unit would not play its selection voice line

• Fixed minimap behaviour that could cause unintended zooming

• Improved behaviour when switching focus targets quickly

• Fixed edge cases related to camera snapping and target distances

• Numerous smaller stability fixes across camera, UI, and mission scripts

Looking Ahead

Development of Stellar Warfare is continuing actively, with several additional gameplay improvements and content updates currently in progress.

If you haven’t played the game in a while, this update significantly improves how commanding fleets in true 3D space feels during large battles.