TECH UPDATE FROM STAR STABLE

Hey everybody! A range of issues have been impacting certain groups of players in the last few days, and we’re here to update you on what’s going on and what we’re doing to get everything fixed!

Keep reading for more information and to see if you're affected.

How Star Stable runs its graphics: the switch to OpenGL
On October 5, Star Stable stopped supporting DirectX and made the switch to OpenGL to render the graphics of our game on your computer.

DirectX was causing lots of issues for many players, and the oldest version of it that our game supported was DirectX 9, which was released in 2002. Microsoft – who make DirectX – no longer support this version, which means it would be impossible for us to continue coding the game in this way.

Those players who can’t play the game now using OpenGL would also have not been able to play if we stuck to DirectX and upgraded to a more recent version. The technology used with these old versions is almost fifteen years old, and we simply cannot continue to support them.

Most games and technology companies stop supporting this kind of very old technology sooner or later, and we support OpenGL from version 2.1 and onwards, meaning our game supports tech introduced in 2006. This is enough to cover the vast majority of home computers, and it’s just not possible for us to make sure we support enough old technology to work on 100% of computers.

Why does this change mean that the game won’t work for some players?
Only the oldest and most basic home systems will be unable to support Star Stable from now on. In recent years, graphics for home computers have updated to the point where older computers aren’t able to handle the newer technology.

In order to make the Star Stable experience as amazing, immersive and entertaining as possible, we try to keep up with these advances in graphics capabilities and it’s simply not possible to offer a quality game in 2016 with such old technology.

All of this means that if your computer does not have the ability to handle OpenGL 2.1 (which is ten years old) or higher, then Star Stable will no longer work on your machine.

It could be the case that all you need to do is add a newer graphics card to your computer. Of course, Star Stable can’t advise or instruct you to get new computer hardware, but even budget, entry-level graphics cards support the very latest version of OpenGL.

I’m getting an error message telling me my OpenGL version is under 3.0, what do I do?
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t play the game anymore! We’ve been telling all of our players lately that it’s absolutely crucial that you check the drivers of your graphics card to see if they’re fully updated.

Star Stable is now designed to work in the very best way possible using OpenGL version 3.0 or higher, but you’ll still be able to play from version 2.1, just without all the fanciest graphics.

Make sure your computer’s graphics card has the latest update to its drivers to give yourself the best possible chance of getting the game to work properly.

If you’re unsure of how to do this, there are heaps of easy step-by-step guides online that will tell you exactly how to get it done!

Check Star Stable’s updated minimum requirements if you’re unsure
Here is a list of the technical specifications your computer needs to match up to in order to be able to run Star Stable. The first list tells you the absolute minimum, basic requirements, and the second list tells you what you ideally need to get the best shot at a smooth-running game. These are minimum requirements, and it’s of course even better if you have later, more recently released technology than what we list here for you.

Basic System Requirements for PC
OS: Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit), with the latest Service Packs
CPU: Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz
RAM: 2 GB
Free Disk Space: 5 GB
Video Card: Intel HD Graphics or AMD/ATI Radeon HD Graphics with OpenGL 2.1
Sound Card: Yes
Internet Connection: Yes

Ideal PC Specifications (minimums)
OS: Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit), with the latest Service Packs
CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon II (K10) 2.8 GHz
RAM: 4 GB RAM
Free Disk Space: 5 GB
Video Card: GeForce 2xx Series or AMD Radeon HD 5xxx Series (Excluding Integrated Chipsets) with OpenGL 3.3
Sound Card: Yes
Internet Connection: Yes

Our Tech Team is still working on improvements to in-game performance and removing excessive lag A number of things are giving our tech ninjas plenty to think about right now! One of these is how some players are struggling with lag in their game.

We’re working hard to bring you options and solutions to help fix this, and will continually update you with more information as we have it.

A reminder about how you can adjust your graphics settings
There is a tool in the game’s Graphics Settings that allows you to make adjustments to the quality and intensity of the graphics you can see when you play Star Stable. This might help your game when it comes to performance and lag issues. The lower quality graphics you use, the more chance you have of reducing lag.

Here’s how to adjust your graphics:

1. Click on the cellphone in the lower right corner of your screen;
2. Click 'Options’;
3. Click 'Graphics';
4. Use the slider bar to adjust your graphics.

If your game is lagging…
You need to try changing a couple of the graphics settings in the game. Switch off the two functions called ‘Vertical Sync’ and ‘Post Effects’ by following these steps:

1. Click on the cellphone in the lower right corner of your screen;
2. Click 'Options’;
3. Click 'Graphics';
4. Make sure that 'Vertical Sync' and ’Post Effects' are NOT checked.

All about ‘Verification’
This week, we updated our launcher software to improve stability and reduce crashes for everyone. The new version checks for missing files to reduce the chance that any downloaded content is missed, because missing files can cause the game to crash.

This means that there’s a tiny extra step for the launcher to complete after update days, and this process is called ‘verification’. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to complete, but if you find that it’s taking longer, please get in touch with our Customer Support team who’ll be able to help you look into what’s going on.

We really hope that you’ve found some answers to your questions in this post, and don’t forget our Customer Support and Social Media teams are around to help you as much as they can.

We hope you have a great weekend!
Hugs from your Star Stable team x