Hello everyone!

I’m excited to introduce one of the biggest updates for Rapid Impact, focusing on atmosphere, visuals, and performance:

• Upgraded to Unreal Engine 5.5

• New and more efficient real-time day/night and weather system. Time of day and weather are now randomized for each match.

• Flashlight added (default key: L)

• Ultra-wide scalability settings – the game now offers a massive range of performance and quality options. Low-end GPUs can enjoy solid image quality and high FPS on the Low preset, while high-end cards will be pushed to their limits on Ultra, delivering stunning visuals for graphics enthusiasts.

  This scalability system took a lot of time to build. Epic Games has been slowly removing or breaking support for low-end optimization features in recent engine updates in favor of their “super mega ultra” tech. But as long as I can, I will continue to support a wide range of hardware so more players can enjoy the game – even if it gets harder with each Unreal version.

• Map changes – denser vegetation and more trees in the central zone make the environment feel more abandoned and atmospheric. Trees also now act as natural cover, preventing long-range line-of-sight across the entire map.

• Vulkan support added for SteamOS and Steam Deck. Windows users can also try Vulkan by adding launch options in the game’s properties. I’ll later add a proper in-game toggle for switching rendering modes.

Helpful Tips for Low-End GPUs (4GB VRAM or similar):

• If you enable FSR, it’s highly recommended to fully restart the game afterwards. For unknown reasons, some GPUs experience a significant FPS drop right after enabling FSR, but a restart fixes it and restores expected performance gains.

• If you get a FATAL ERROR on first launch after the update, delete the RapidImpact folder located at C:\\Users\\YourName\\AppData\\Local.

• Don’t chase the ULTRA preset unless you have a high-end GPU. It’s meant for future-proofing and is only recommended for cards like the RTX 2080 SUPER or better. If there’s demand, I can add full ray tracing support to the Ultra preset (expect an additional 15% performance hit, but with uncompromised lighting and reflections).

• For cards like the GTX 1650, I recommend lowering your resolution to 1600x900, even with FSR enabled, to maintain a stable 60 FPS. Depending on your full system specs, you may still get playable 1080p on Low with or without FSR. According to Epic, UE5 games aren’t even supposed to run on these cards – but I’ve put a lot of effort into making it possible to enjoy the game with decent visuals on low-end hardware. Unlike Fortnite’s Low preset (where shadows are completely disabled), Rapid Impact tries to retain visual quality even on Low.

P.S.
Yes, I remember my promise to add weapon attachments, upgrades, and character progression. I was waiting for a major update to the core framework my project is based on – and that update is finally here. Now I can start implementing these systems. Big gameplay and content-focused updates are coming next. I believe the core of the project is now solid in terms of visuals and performance, and it's time to shift focus to gameplay features and new content.

Stay tuned for more updates!