States of Power Optimization Guide

Settings That Matter Most

Three settings determine 80 percent of your frame rate in States of Power: render distance, shadow quality, and unit density cap. Adjusting these three alone can double frame rates on modest hardware. Reducing all three simultaneously can sometimes triple performance on lower-end systems without meaningfully degrading the gameplay experience.

Render Distance

Reduce the map render distance from Ultra to High or Medium. This limits how far the camera draws terrain and provinces. For strategy games viewed from above, a medium render distance is rarely noticeable during normal play and can provide a 20 to 30 percent performance improvement.

Shadow Quality

Disable shadows entirely or set them to Low. Shadows in a top-down strategy game contribute minimally to visual clarity but consume significant GPU resources. This is the single highest-impact setting for frame rate on most hardware configurations.

Unit Density Cap

The game settings include a unit density slider that limits the maximum individual unit models rendered during battles. Lowering this from Unlimited to Medium reduces GPU draw calls dramatically during large engagements. The gameplay impact is minimal — you still see the tactical outcome of battles clearly.

Terrain Quality

Reducing terrain texture quality from Ultra to Medium removes high-resolution ground textures and detail maps. The performance gain is meaningful on integrated graphics chips. The visual degradation is only noticeable at very close zoom levels that are rarely used in normal gameplay.

Post-Processing

Effects like ambient occlusion, anti-aliasing, and volumetric lighting have moderate GPU costs for relatively small visual benefits in a strategy game. Reducing or disabling post-processing provides a consistent frame rate boost across all hardware.

Hardware-Specific Tips

For integrated graphics (Intel UHD), start with all settings at Low or Off. Focus budget on maintaining a stable 30 fps rather than visual quality.

For dedicated GPUs (GTX 1060 or equivalent), Medium settings across the board with shadows disabled should maintain 60 fps during most gameplay scenarios.

For high-end hardware, the primary bottleneck is often the CPU rather than the GPU, especially during late-game scenarios with many simultaneous divisions.

CPU Optimisation

States of Power is primarily single-threaded, so a higher single-core clock speed matters more than additional cores. Close background applications to free up CPU resources. Running other browser tabs, streaming software, or Discord during gameplay can cause frame drops even on capable hardware.

Stable Frame Rate Tips

If you experience frame rate instability — sudden drops during specific events — the cause is usually either excessive unit density in the current view or the game processing AI decisions during large battles. Reducing game speed (keybind W) during intense moments can help maintain smooth performance.

Late-Game Performance

The most demanding phase of any campaign is the late game, when dozens of divisions are active across multiple fronts and the AI is managing complex strategic decisions simultaneously. If you experience performance degradation as sessions progress, consider reducing the simulation speed during non-critical periods. Disabling the unit health bars overlay (keybind H) also reduces rendering overhead during large battles.