https://preview.redd.it/o64w0vg4hmuh1.png?width=5118&format=png&auto=webp&s=c96f15350c22e86b774ff9f23d91036916701402

Only just realised that the table is offset from the light above :(

There’s a trailer and shit

## Audience: Evocati (Standard Evo NDA)

## About This Test
This build is a tech preview of Planet Tech V5, also known as Genesis, our new planetary generation and rendering system. The goal of this test is to gather feedback and performance data on the new terrain, biome, and scattering technology.

This preview is limited to Nyx 1 only. No other planets or moons in the build have been converted to V5.

### Important: Vulkan Required
Planet Tech V5 on Nyx 1 only has full functionality under Vulkan. DX11 is not currently supported and will not render the new terrain correctly so dx11 is removed from this test.

## Feature Updates
Today we're handing you the first build of Nyx I on Genesis (Planet Tech V5).

This is a first-contact test. You're the first players to fly Genesis, and your first impressions matter to us. We want to see how it behaves with a real crowd.

### What's in this build
Genesis is a new planet pipeline. It changes how we build, stream, and shade a planet surface and content. In this build, that means:
- Physically based Object Placement. Species of plants and geology types are placed on the planet in ways that follow real world patterns and rules.
- GPU scattering. Trees, rocks, other assets are placed on the GPU, from whole-planet scale down to ground level. On the server, the CPU runs the same placement logic so objects can get physics, using dual compilation logic to compile for both C++ and Shader Language.
- Terrain shading. Terrain is now considered as layers of materials, including substrate, soil, scree, bedrock, sand and debris. Layers are blended against one another in physical quantities and shader using PBR techniques.
- Distant representation. From a distance, the terrain absorbs the shading properties of the assets placed upon it, blending between real assets and our distant representation continuously.
- Virtual Terrain. Terrain is cached into a constantly updating atlas of tiles, allowing for more efficient rendering of complex surfaces.

We have two objectives for this preview.

- Server: stress tile activation. Put the V5 WorldBuilder under real load.
- Client: first impressions of performance and visuals. Tell us how the planet looks and runs on your machine, in four specific areas.

### Objective 1: stress tile activation on the server
The V5 WorldBuilder activates and deactivates planet tiles as players move. We want to see how that holds up with many
players on the planet at once, in different places and at different altitudes. The more of you that spread out, the better
the data.

We monitor server activity throughout the preview. You don't need to report on the server side. Your job is to load it:
spread out, keep moving, and change altitude often.

### Objective 2: report client performance and visuals
We want to know how performance and visual fidelity hold up on first contact. Look at these four areas:
- Distance and density. Watch how vegetation and terrain detail hold up as you move from orbit down to ground level.
Report pop-in, visible level of detail (LOD) transitions, and density that looks wrong.
- Physics collisions with terrain. Land, drive, walk, and crash. Report where the ground doesn't behave like ground.
- Performance. Watch client frame rate, frame times, and stutter. Fast, low flight puts the most pressure on streaming, so
watch that closely.

Report client-side findings in [Spectrum thread or Issue Council project].

### Details about this test
Scope. This test covers Nyx I only. The planet is empty. It has no locations, missions, NPCs, or other content. This is on
purpose. This preview is about the planet tech, not gameplay. Don't report missing content.

Rendering. The test runs on Vulkan only. We found issues with DirectX that aren't fixed yet. Please start with a clean user.cfg to avoid any conflicts in setup.

Getting there. [Where you spawn, or the route to Nyx I.] [Which ships and ground vehicles are available.] You need a
ground vehicle for the terrain collision tests.

There is ongoing performance and visual polish work, as well as changes to reduce the VRAM usage of V5 coming soon. Even still, this testing is massively valuable to us!

Low flight at high speed from many players is a good way to activate more planet tiles. Get close to the ground and stay there a while.
Then fly around and take it in.

* It looks like Nyx 1 is missing a lot of rock placables and trees right now. It looks very bare bones.
* There is a new weather system in where you can see rain columns from clouds, and it's actually raining under them! No lightning.
* Some geological locations, like eroded cliffs and beaches got a bunch of love.
* This build is missing anything required for 'cool' screenshots. It's 90% just the topography.