250 actors on one scene too much.

Elfizm

Hello

So estimating that I can fit my whole game on one scene to avoid any loading times. All my levels (600) are divided up into three single areas of 320x480. In total there are 170 actors.

Then it's just a menu, settings, store ect with make it add up to 250 actors in total in my game.

Before I go a head and do this but can it go into one scene and not crash. Can GS handle so many in one scene. Will Players spend longer time at splash screen.

Looking for opinions of what you found useful or what won't work or experience.

Thanks
Elfizm

beefy_clyro

All depends on what the actors are doing? Do they have images assigned to them? How big are the images?


Gut feel, yeh too much

Elfizm

@Beefy_clyro

So 170 of them are 62x62 on average and each have seven rules each. They change images based on certain variables.

The rest are buttons or for looks. Except for 10 which slowly.

All images are retina display if that helps.

Still too much?

RP

Sounds like you'll have some load time. It may run fine, but don't be surprised if your load durations are lengthy.

Elfizm

@RP

Well if it's all in the one and only scene the only loading that will occur is at the splash screen, which is fine bevause it won't display a loading wheel and it means the player can access anything fairly quickly which is what I am aiming for. So you think it should be fine, just will be a longer waiting time at the splash screen?

Chakku

@Elfizm

Maybe have an initial scene that automatically switches to your full game's scene, and have a single actor in the initial scene that says "Loading may take xxx seconds, but the game will only load once each time you play" or something along those lines.

When the player is waiting for the game to load, he/she will red that and understand that it is initial loading, and there will be no more loading in the game.

Hope this helps
Chakku

Elfizm

@Chakku that's what I was aiming to do but then I thought I could just put it as my splash screen, it will work better if that's possible and I won't need that extra bit of loading, but thank you for idea

PBEmpire

Depends. If your actors are running heavy code, the game may crash. If not it will run fine, prob take a while to load.

lycettebros

The initial splash screens (even with a load graphic) seems to not really load the first scene I find - if that makes sense....actually maybe it doesn't.

Elfizm

Many thanks @beefy_clyro @RP @Chakku @gsrockz123 and @lycettebros

Sounds like the only way I will see is if I go a head and do and see what results I get.

@lycettebros can you explain more on the subject matter you mentioned. Because it's not making sense to me ?

lycettebros

"on the subject matter you mentioned. Because it's not making sense to me ?

Not really I was speaking from a weird feeling I get when I run GS apps. I find the splash screen always has a spinning load wheel and then when it goes to the scene after that it still often loads...so to me the splash screen is not necessarily loading the next scene or whole game as it were).
But I am not really sure about this.

Elfizm

@lycettebros

That got me thinking so I Had a look on other GS games,

Spin the nut , has a splash screen then goes to main menu without any other scenes or loading wheels,

Cart cow by games mold doesn't have a loading scene when going to it's first scene where they have an animation but then a loading wheel when going to another scene.

Blood flow, same as above, they have a splash screen which then goes to first scene with out wheel.

But spin the nut (if you have it) is a good example from going to from a splash screen to main menu without the wheel.

Which games did you feel did this so I can check them out, otherwise I might have to rethink how I do the layout.

Many thanks

lycettebros

it seems to happen to mine

beefy_clyro

The size of the actor i.e. 64x64 doesn't make too many odds, its the actual size of the image it has against it which mainly effects the ram. i.e. although in GS the actor is 64x64, you could be stretcthing a 1x1 image to it or a 256x256 ... It depends on how optimised you are, I would hope the image(s) are 128x128.

But yeh, each project will vary with code etc, theres no definitive answer here, just have to go ahead and try ... Just try and do it in a way where if it doesnt work, its not too much work to split onto different scenes.

ozboybrian

Guess this is what testing is all about.

Really can't wait for Lua Free to get here and save us from these issues.

beefy_clyro

@ozboybrian You'll still have issues with hundreds of actors if they are rule heavy, graphic, sound or physics intensive ... LUA free is not the save all some build it out to be