ASTRAL CHAIN

ASTRAL CHAIN targets 60 fps in gameplay with update 1.0.1, up from the 30 fps it has on the Switch. So far it has been tested on the Mac: an iPhone build packs fine, but the project developers have not yet tested it on a phone. When the developers last published sizes, the Packed app came to about 9.7 GB.

How it runs

Raising the frame rate in this game is not just a matter of drawing more often. Many of its timers count whole ticks, and a naive 60 fps patch made those timers stop. nxnative's profile gives the game a clock that carries fractional ticks between frames, so action windows, hit-stop, button repeat and rumble keep their original timing at 60 fps as at 30. Camera smoothing is adjusted to match. The timer and camera work is adapted from an MIT-licensed community 60 fps mod, credited in the project notes.

Cinematics that the engine runs at a fixed step stay at 30 fps, as intended. On an M4 Pro Mac, testing went through character creation, saving and reloading, the motorcycle tutorial and its combat, up to the first checkpoint on foot.

DM_FPS_TARGET=30 in the app's env.txt file caps the game at 30 fps with the same corrected timing.

Bring update 1.0.1

The 60 fps profile works only with update 1.0.1. Put the update in the same folder as the base game before you Pack.

Controls

The Packed app starts in the 3D touch layout, with the camera on an undrawn right stick. Touch controls on iPhone are still on nxnative's list to check.

Good to know

• Later levels have not been tested yet, nor have combat timing and the camera beyond the opening.
• The tendrils of the death effect were reported to draw as solid black. nxnative has since gained a general fix for this kind of problem, but it has not yet been checked on this Game.