Over the past few weeks, we’ve been hard at work tackling Arena’s performance challenges. Thanks to your participation and feedback, we implemented critical back-end changes that greatly improved our core “tick” system. While the improvements were substantial and effective in resolving some long-standing issues, a separate problem emerged once we saw these fixes in action.
A Quick Recap from Luke
You may recall our last deep-dive with Luke, one of our Principal Engineers, about the game’s “tick” system and how it manages real-time updates. Now that those optimizations are in place, we asked Luke to follow up on what we’ve learned from the most recent Arena runs.
Q: Luke, can you describe what went right—and what went wrong—during the latest Arena test?
Luke:
We were thrilled to see our new tick system changes working under live conditions! Many of the server-side slowdowns we tracked before have improved significantly; there’s less strain on the system when large numbers of players jump into the same Arena.
However, for a lot of you, performance still felt frustratingly bad. Once we ruled out those tick-system bottlenecks, we discovered speed crews—ships moving so fast that other players weren’t receiving position updates in time—were causing desyncs, rubber-banding, and delayed battle triggers. Essentially, they were racing ahead of the server’s ability to update everyone else in real time.
Q: Why is extreme ship speed such a problem, especially in PvP?
Luke:
Speed crews have existed for a while, but they really started dominating in December. When a ship’s impulse speed is ultra-fast, the server sends out so many position updates that weaker connections or mobile devices can’t keep up. Meanwhile, other players get partial or late messages that battles have started before they even see the attacker on-screen.
As Scotty likes to say: “We can’t break the laws of physics, Captain!” If the game’s core systems aren’t designed for extreme speeds, players end up with weird glitches—from invisible ships to attacks happening off-screen. It’s like that TNG episode where they have to limit their warp because it’s causing a tear in subspace… at least it’s somewhat lore-accurate.
The Good News: Tick System Is Performing Better
The server-side “tick” improvements we introduced are working well:
- Fewer slowdowns under high load
- Cleaner resource usage, reducing lag triggers
- Clearer data so we can pinpoint other performance bottlenecks
This wouldn’t be possible without your help. Your reports, logs, and participation in live Arena environments gave us the data we needed to isolate and fix these deep-rooted issues.
The Not-So-Good News: Impulse Speed and Crew Builds
Despite the tick-system success, many of you still experienced major performance issues. The culprit? Ships moving at extremely high impulse speeds.
- Desynced battles: Some players attack targets that appear across the system.
- Rubber-banding: Ships “snap” from one spot to another instantly.
- Delayed notifications: Targets don’t get the “under attack” message fast enough.
Luke explains it best:
“If one or two players zip around a system in a second or two, the server’s bombarded with position and battle messages at a rate that other clients can’t process. You end up with people effectively fighting ghosts or finding themselves destroyed before they even see the enemy on-screen. It’s worse in PvP because we send more updates for player-vs-player battles than for, say, hitting hostiles.”
*Image from UltimatDJz stream testing the speed crew issue.
Being able to isolate this issue in Arena was made possible by community feedback, videos, and in-depth comments.
What We’re Testing Next
We recognize many players have officers and crews that boost impulse speed. However, until we fully refine how the server and client handle extreme speeds, we’ll be testing an Impulse Speed Cap within Arena to maintain stability.
- Arena-Only Cap
We’re limiting this change to Arena battles, where high-speed PvP has the most disruptive effect. - Preventing Server Overload
We want to reduce the barrage of position/battle updates that create confusion and lag for everyone else. - Preserving Future Gameplay
We’ll continue discussing whether speed caps might be necessary elsewhere or if we can refine them further. Expect transparent updates if broader changes become necessary.
Next Steps: Adjusting Our Schedule & Future Fixes
- Arena Delay
- We’ve canceled the Arena run scheduled for January 27 to incorporate these fixes. We’re targeting February 3 for the next Arena if tests confirm the new impulse-speed cap alleviates the major issues we have identified.
- APAC Arena Run
- We are doing a separate run of Arena with some of these improvements present on January 28, 2025. We are looking forward to hearing your feedback.
- Real-Time Communication (RTC) Enhancements
- We’re also revisiting how the server sends and receives real-time data. This won’t be an overnight fix, but any improvements here will benefit the entire game—Arena included.
- Iterative Updates
- As Luke mentioned in our last blog, we’ll keep iterating. Each fix reveals new insights, and we value your participation in shaping the final, stable product.
Special Note: Limited Arena Test for APAC
Our team has been working diligently on game performance and stability in Arenas. As part of these efforts, we’re running a small-scale Arena event for our APAC region on January 28, 2025. During this test, we will:
- Restrict Impulse Speed to 275 (in Arenas only) to assess its impact on performance and address lag-related issues.
- Monitor Stability closely to see how these changes hold up under live conditions. While this is a big step toward a better experience, you may still encounter some instability during the test.
Please note that this run is entirely voluntary. Any feedback or observations you share will be invaluable in shaping a better overall experience for Arena. To show our appreciation, we’ll be sending an additional gift chest to all eligible players who participate. We sincerely thank you for your support and patience as we continue to improve Star Trek Fleet Command.
Our Commitment
While there isn’t a single fix that magically solves all Arena lag or game stability issues, we’re confident that iterating openly will get us there. The tick system is in better shape than ever, and your help made that possible. Now, we’ll focus on speed, real-time communication, and any other puzzle pieces we discover along the way.
Thank you again for your feedback, patience, and willingness to ride out the bumps with us as we refine Star Trek Fleet Command. We’ll keep you updated on our progress and look forward to making Arena stable—and fun—for all Commanders.
Live Long and Prosper,
The Star Trek Fleet Command Team
