At Unity Unite 2019 in Copenhagen, a new technology was introduced that can enable games in new, massive dimensions without requiring immense computational power. Our author Benedict attended the fair and spoke with the Head of Engineering, Brett Bibby.
What is this technology? This new technology is called “Data-Oriented Technology Stack,” or DOTS for short. DOTS was already introduced at the Game Developers Conference 2019 in March and has even been in use since then.
DOTS promises that developers can program games to utilize computational power more efficiently. This roughly leads to two huge advantages that are interconnected:
- Either games running on Unity that require DOTS suddenly need much less power without looking worse
- Or they use the same computational power, but suddenly become faster, offer more objects, or look prettier.
How does DOTS work?
This is the technology behind it: Computers work with memory (RAM) and processor cores for data processing. Most devices now have processors with multiple cores. DOTS tries to work with all available processors simultaneously.
While the program is running and accessing data, we keep this data close to the CPU. So it doesn’t have to constantly go back to memory. […] If you have multiple cores, they are competing for who gets to access memory. Because only one can access it. If two try at the same time, bad things happen.
The idea behind multi-core is that several cores take their part and then work on it. But that hasn’t been realized yet. […] What Data-Oriented now means is that we get the data we want to work with packed closer together.
So when a core fetches its data package, it has more of the correct data it needs. Thus the package stays away from the flow longer. This allows other cores to access memory. As a result, you get 100 times more performance – not just 100%.
Brett Bibby
Do I need strong hardware? To take advantage of DOTS, you don’t necessarily need newer hardware. Most modern computers and consoles are equipped with processors with at least four, often already eight cores. Some Ryzen 3000 series processors even offer more.
So far, according to Bibby, the full potential of these many cores has barely been tapped. DOTS aims to change that.
DOTS only works for games running on Unity, such as the MMORPG Talion. However, it can even be easily applied to existing games and improve them.
What does DOTS mean for gaming?
Here’s how DOTS affects gaming in general: Principally, I took from our conversation and some presentations that DOTS helps to program games more efficiently. They therefore need less power or provide better graphics and more features.
However, the benefits differ for many genres. That’s why I also asked for specific answers regarding some games that could benefit from DOTS.
How DOTS affects MMOs and MMORPGs
In our interview, I also asked Brett Bibby about some practical applications for DOTS and how this technology would affect specific games.
MMOs and MMORPGs are among the games that are likely to benefit the most from the new technology:
The larger the scope [of a game], the more DOTS helps. This means richer worlds, MMOs that go into infinity. There are no more limits. […] You can have many more players and objects in the space, render more pixels.
Brett Bibby
Developers could use this potential to do what they want. For example, host thousands of players simultaneously, millions of objects in a field, or also detailed customization options and cosmetics for players.
How DOTS affects shooters
For shooters, it stood out from our interview that the efficiency of DOTS could have an advantage for them. Because here, DOTS helps by increasing the FPS (“Frames per Second”).
Many shooter players swear by 144 FPS to aim better with smoother gameplay and to play better in general. With DOTS, it should be easier to achieve these 144 FPS since the data transfer is faster, the games respond quicker, and thus there is more room for graphics, all of which can influence FPS performance.
How DOTS affects survival games
For fans of the survival genre, DOTS is more of a luxury enhancement. Here, particularly the fact that more objects can be displayed supports the player experience.
Even in the best survival games, on good devices, it often results in long loading times because too much stands in one place due to the number of player-built objects and houses.
These loading times are expected to be “significantly shortened” by DOTS. The hope even lies in that all objects can be loaded instantly without loading times.
How DOTS affects mobile games
In the mobile sector, DOTS has an interesting effect on the gaming experience. It not only makes games prettier for less power but also saves battery and thus electricity costs:
If you take an existing game and apply DOTS to it, it would require less energy and you would have a longer battery life because it is more efficient. Or you can pack in more stuff for the same power.
Brett Bibby
Are new games coming through DOTS?
The influence of DOTS on the game market: True to the motto “The world is a better place when it has more creators,” DOTS is also expected to affect the number and quality of upcoming games. These online games and MMOs are set to release in 2019.
Because DOTS is supposed to be easier to use due to its built-in tools and contain certain features for programming that make it easier for developers to create a game:
We can enable developers to create something they couldn’t do before for technical reasons. I think there will be even more games from even more creators because now it is possible.
Brett Bibby
What DOTS benefits the communities: It’s not just about new games, but also about the influence of the community and players on their games. Specifically, it’s about modding.
Games like Conan Exiles partially live from fans modifying the game and adding things they find cool. That should also be made easier with DOTS, as developers open the tools for the community and they can work directly on a mod for the game.
