[initplus]

"Unfortunately a lot of the graphics-related issues are indirectly caused by the game’s use of DOTS"

"The cause for unnecessary geometry is both the lack of simplified LOD variants for many of the game’s meshes, as well as the simplistic and seemingly untuned culling implementation. And the reason why the game has its own culling implementation instead of using Unity’s built in solution (which should at least in theory be much more advanced) is because Colossal Order had to implement quite a lot of the graphics side themselves because Unity’s integration between DOTS and HDRP is still very much a work in progress and arguably unsuitable for most actual games"

https://blog.paavo.me/cities-skylines-2-performance

[bob1029]

At some point, that in house engine is going to be cheaper and easier to work with.

Alternatively, a tough conversation needs to be had with the team about complying with unity's way.

Battlebit runs on the same engine, but I think they made exactly the right trade offs to achieve their experience.

I don't care if the game world looks realistic. I just want it to be fun. Simulations are a nuanced point of this, but even so if CS2 looked no better than the original, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

[danbolt]

I think if a game development team is going to try ECS for gameplay, they need to have the resources to go ensure it’s comprehensive enough for their needs. It can be challenging to “bolt on” a data-oriented design and have it interface with the rest of the code base. Conway’s Law will apply if not everyone’s on board with it.

[johnnyanmac]

I was wondering if and how they were using DOTS with HDRP since (from brief pokes, I of course can't speak for all of DOTS) to my knowledge, there was no major work done integrating HDRP/URP. Both were moving targets that were probably moving even faster than DOTS.

I guess the answer is an unfortunate "we did not" as of now. Real shame because the ideas of a proper DOTS renderer (not a literal renderer, moreso an ECS oriented way to deliver data to the GPU. Likely HDRP/URP) was one rumbling for years. And probably still is. And with all the industry layoffs/leavings I hope they don't drain too much of the brain to get that off the ground.