Build 4: smoother big battles, faster zoomed-out views, Ranked Oct 23

Performance: Build 3.5 -> Build 4

Measured on our RTX 3080 test PC at 1080p with Ultra settings, comparing both builds on the same PC. This PC is now the final check before every update. Your results will depend on your PC, settings and battle.

• 100 vs 100, start, close-up camera: 90 -> 108 FPS
• 100 vs 100, start, zoomed out: 41 -> 47 FPS
• 100 vs 100, as the battle grows, zoomed out: 32 -> 40 FPS
• 100 vs 100, late in the battle, zoomed out: 21 -> 33 FPS
• 100 vs 100, end of the match, zoomed out: 19 -> 31 FPS
• Worst stutters in that battle (slowest frames): 183-225 -> 93-101 ms
• First zoom-out in that battle (slowest single frame): about 90-100 -> about 40 ms
• 1 vs 1, average: maximum zoom about 13 -> 17 FPS; zoomed out to about 2 km about 17 -> 17 FPS, not improved yet. See Known issues.

Storage and loading

• Build 4 is about 149 MB installed.
• Playing adds very little. On our test PC, a full 10-minute 100 vs 100 battle wrote about 10 MB, almost all of it one-time files created the first time you play, plus a few small save files. Only the newest 40 replays are kept, so this does not keep growing.
• Every RTX 3080 result in these notes was measured with the game installed on a regular 7200 rpm hard drive (about 187 MB/s).
• We recommend an SSD, ideally an NVMe SSD, for the fastest loading. The game is small, so it fits easily on one.

Smoother play

At the same settings, the game looks the same as before. There are no new gameplay features in this update.

• Big battles run faster and hold up better as they grow, especially late in a 100 vs 100 battle.
• Zoomed-out views are faster, including shadows, which look the same as before.
• Fewer stutters in big battles when zooming out or seeing a big fight for the first time. A short hitch can still happen the first time.
• Less stutter when a nuke hits, and from fire, smoke and burning objects.
• Winter maps and large armies moving through forests should run a little better too. We have not measured those separately yet.
• Saving career and achievement progress during a battle no longer causes a stall.
• Auto graphics quality now aims for your monitor's refresh rate instead of a flat 60 FPS, and checks that the zoomed-out view can keep up before choosing a setting.

Crash fix

Fixed a crash to desktop in larger battles when a burning building collapsed. This bug was in every earlier version.

Ranked Season 0

Ranked Season 0 now opens on October 23, 2026 at 21:00 UTC (17:00 Ottawa time) instead of October 9, and ends on December 18, 2026 at 21:00 UTC.

After updating, the main menu counts down to opening using Steam's clock. Steam must be running and connected; otherwise the menu asks you to connect to Steam. We want more players in the game and multiplayer better proven before Ranked Season 0 opens for everyone.

If Ranked opened for you on October 9 in Build 3.5, it closes again after this update until October 23. Your earned ratings and results are kept, and Season 0 is not reset again. About / Updates shows the new date.

Other fixes

• Ground vehicles with no ammunition keep to their ordered route instead of turning toward enemies they cannot shoot. Pursuit orders and air or sea missions are unchanged.
• The battlefield hint and F1 help explain right-clicking the ground (attack-move) and right-clicking an enemy (attack or pursue).
• Local battle results saved in Build 3 and Build 3.5 can still be read. Old records are kept, and results already counted are not counted twice.
• Updated the open-source license notices.

Updating and compatibility

Steam updates ORDNIX automatically. Everyone in a multiplayer battle, players and host, needs Build 4. Restart ORDNIX after updating. Build 3.5 and Build 4 players cannot join the same lobby.

Finish any battle in progress before updating: battles started on an older version cannot be resumed. Replays recorded before this update stay in the list but cannot be played back.

What we checked

We measured the performance comparisons and storage use above on our RTX 3080 test PC. We also checked Auto graphics quality on a 60 Hz monitor. Winter maps and armies moving through forests have not been measured separately. Full online matches, saving and loading, and the Steam overlay have not been fully tested live on this update.

Known issues

• Zoomed far out in smaller battles, such as 1 vs 1, frame rates are still low on mid-range graphics cards: about 15-17 FPS at Ultra on our RTX 3080 test PC. Build 4 makes maximum zoom faster, but this zoomed-out view is not fixed yet. It is the first thing we are fixing in Build 4.1, already in progress. Until then, a lower graphics preset shows fewer trees and should help. A few frames can also take noticeably longer when zoomed far out in small battles, causing a brief hitch; fixing this is part of Build 4.1.
• Large battles and dense forests can still slow down, especially on lower-end PCs.
• Some shoreline flicker remains, far-away clouds and cloud shadows can show a repeating pattern, and water can look flat at a distance. Fixes are planned for Build 4.1.
• Where unit icons overlap at far zoom, which one shows on top can change between battles. Minimap markers can stack the same way.
• Some transport animations still clip, including weapons poking through the truck when infantry board.
• Full online matches, saving and loading, and the Steam overlay have not been fully tested live on this update.
• Rejoin Battle can stay visible after the last human commander leaves a private battle, even though that battle cannot be resumed.
• Carrier launches work, but a full return, refuel and rearm cycle has not been seen live yet. Arrested landings are not included.
• Steam accounts sharing one Windows user also share local career and achievement data. Some special characters in names and chat do not show in the game font.
• Some replay problems, aircraft-to-tank identification, hold/defend behaviour, delayed staff commands and some AI behaviour are still being looked into.
• At large interface scales, the menu's career and version details may need scrolling, and some combat notifications can overlap other banners.
• NVIDIA DLSS and AMD upscaling support are not finished and are not part of this update.

What's next

Build 4.1 is coming as soon as possible with more optimizations. Faster zoomed-out views come first, especially in smaller battles like 1 vs 1, plus fixes for shoreline flicker, far-away clouds and cloud shadows, and distant water.

After that, Linux and Mac versions are planned. More optimizations will keep coming after that.