Beneath the Dying Sun Dev Swaps Water Reflections for Frame Rate
The developer's shift from planar to screen space reflections, forced by frame rate drops and weather system instability, is the technical decision behind the water and lighting that drew 9,500 upvotes on Reddit.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
Raihan Erviansyah, the developer of the cozy horror delivery game Beneath the Dying Sun, reported progress on Reddit. The game casts the player as a tugboat captain hauling cargo across an underground sea, balancing weight, protecting fragile goods, and managing fuel while loneliness and ship damage wear on the senses. Erviansyah said planar water reflections looked beautiful but wrecked the frame rate, so he switched to screen space reflections. The post drew over 9,500 upvotes.
Beneath the Dying Sun is a cozy horror delivery simulation set on an underground sea. The player pilots an aging tugboat through storms, balancing cargo weight, protecting fragile goods, and managing fuel and repairs. The cabin offers warmth and a radio, and rewards fund upgrades for deeper, more dangerous expeditions. The teaser shows parameter monitoring, cargo thrown loose by the rocking hull, and a chase by mysterious black arms. The Reddit video shows the boat passing a sea structure with light leaking from its windows, and commenters praised the water and the lighting-driven atmosphere.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.