Optimizing X10's Performance

Post tips on how to optimize X10's framerate, look, feel, and gameplay!
On a side note, I could really use some help making my game run faster. So if anyone would like to give me tips, too, that would be great!

Don't make insane amounts of enemies in one room space them out. Also be careful on how many entity's are in a room with a lot of lights the rendering takes longer and lastly limit the amount of entitys in a room.

This is about the most helpful tip there is, and not a lot of people realize this I think. Keep the polygon count of your models as low as you can...and then go all out with the textures, show no restraint. With the right normal maps you can make a plain flat model look incredibly amazing. So yeah, low poly + high rez textures = amazing looking game + no lag

For example, let's say you're making a simple outdoor terrain segment. You could make the floor segment have little ridges and bumps in the model to make it look bumpy. Or you could just make a normal map that has those bumps and get the exact same look. The difference is that the one with the bumpy model will make you pc lag more because it has to load a more complex model, whereas it doesn't with the texture because it's a whole lot more simple.

Jingle Fett wrote:This is about the most helpful tip there is, and not a lot of people realize this I think. Keep the polygon count of your models as low as you can...and then go all out with the textures, show no restraint. With the right normal maps you can make a plain flat model look incredibly amazing. So yeah, low poly + high rez textures = amazing looking game + no lag

For example, let's say you're making a simple outdoor terrain segment. You could make the floor segment have little ridges and bumps in the model to make it look bumpy. Or you could just make a normal map that has those bumps and get the exact same look. The difference is that the one with the bumpy model will make you pc lag more because it has to load a more complex model, whereas it doesn't with the texture because it's a whole lot more simple.

Great idea! How do I keep the polygon count low, though? Mine is always maxed out

Well just when you make the model, make sure that it isn't too detailed; remove any surfaces you don't need. There's not much you can do about the stock media short of taking them and modifying them manually, but be sure to do that any time you make your own model. If you're using the stock media, then try to avoid large open rooms where there's a lot of entities on screen cos that definitely improves performance; corridors are better. Plus you can make more detailed rooms if they're smaller...

Example of what Jingle Fett Said:

If you have a barrel model and you want it to have bolts coming out the side of it to make it more realistic then dont model them on meaning you would have anything from 15 to 150 polies added to the model depending on detail instead draw the bolt on the texture and then make the bump map show the bolt as 3d it will save you so much time and the performance will increase allot.


Good luck with this.

Another tip:

Don' t create outside enviroments!

A new tip:

Make a segment behind fake doors no open space!

here's another tip:
Make extensive use of decals in the form of Point sprites (decals with no animations). You all know which they are--a picture that rotates to always face the camera. Just make a decal that is 1x1 and you can have a high amount of detail for no dent in performance (or make it with an animation, it should work just the same). Decals are very good for performance...