Zeboyd Games is hoping to have its 16-bit sci-fi RPG Cosmic Star Heroine available on PlayStation Vita at the same time the game launches on other platforms – PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
In a Kickstarter update, the studio said that its original plan was to get the entire game finished and then get to sorting out the PS Vita version during the beta phase. However, due to recent reports from other indie studios about struggling to optimize their games on Vita – such as the now cancelled PS Vita version of Galak-Z and the PS Vita version of Not A Hero which is “proving to be an issue”– Zeboyd decided to test out the PS Vita version earlier than it planned.
“Initial performance was pretty much unplayable (single digit frame rate at times), but after spending a little less than a week on optimization, we’ve got it running over 30 fps most of the time (dropping briefly with certain actions),” Zeboyd writes. “It still has a ways to go (want to make that 30 fps or higher ALL THE TIME), but we still have more things left to optimize and don’t predict any major issues.”
The studio also made note that these improvements to the PS Vita version should benefit all versions of the game, especially the PlayStation 4 version, which it reckons will run at a steady 60fps.
