iPhone 4 Performance Issues
CriticalGames
Member Posts: 45
Hi,
I did a search about this, but couldn't find a similar problem mentioned on the forum. I'm currently doing testing on a new app. It's a fireworks game - very simple, all done on one scene, but also heavily utilising particle effects. Now on the iPhone 5, the game runs perfectly (as you'd expect), but on the iPhone 4 it's unplayable-y laggy. Half the time, most of the particles don't even generate!
Even when I tried running a very early version of the game on the iPhone 4 (probably about twelve actors on the scene at max with a total of 3 simultaneous particle effects), it lagged just the same. I'm positive my 'code' isn't perfectly optimised, but I don't think it's that bad. Whenever something is used up or no longer necessary, I make sure to destroy it, and I spawn in actors with a lot of code only when they're needed.
I actually had some iPhone 4 lag problems on a previous, currently unreleased project. That didn't use particles at all, but it would get random, severe lag spikes that had the potential to mess up the game. I figured it was just because it used a lot of actors simultaneously, although the lag was admittedly pretty randomised. Sometimes I could play the game to completion without any major incidents, whereas other times I would have to restart multiple levels because the game lagged out and I died. Full battery life *seemed* to help with this one, but it hasn't made a difference to my new game. That said, my new fireworks game is at least pretty consistent with it's lag.
I should also mention that while my iPhone 4 definitely seems to be ageing, it can still play most games just fine. Although it is still running iOS 5.1; could that be a problem? I kept it on that so that I could test the lowest possible version that people might be playing my games on.
So has anyone else had a similar problem, and/or does anyone have any tips for fixing it? I would sincerely appreciate any help on this.
Thanks in advance!
I did a search about this, but couldn't find a similar problem mentioned on the forum. I'm currently doing testing on a new app. It's a fireworks game - very simple, all done on one scene, but also heavily utilising particle effects. Now on the iPhone 5, the game runs perfectly (as you'd expect), but on the iPhone 4 it's unplayable-y laggy. Half the time, most of the particles don't even generate!
Even when I tried running a very early version of the game on the iPhone 4 (probably about twelve actors on the scene at max with a total of 3 simultaneous particle effects), it lagged just the same. I'm positive my 'code' isn't perfectly optimised, but I don't think it's that bad. Whenever something is used up or no longer necessary, I make sure to destroy it, and I spawn in actors with a lot of code only when they're needed.
I actually had some iPhone 4 lag problems on a previous, currently unreleased project. That didn't use particles at all, but it would get random, severe lag spikes that had the potential to mess up the game. I figured it was just because it used a lot of actors simultaneously, although the lag was admittedly pretty randomised. Sometimes I could play the game to completion without any major incidents, whereas other times I would have to restart multiple levels because the game lagged out and I died. Full battery life *seemed* to help with this one, but it hasn't made a difference to my new game. That said, my new fireworks game is at least pretty consistent with it's lag.
I should also mention that while my iPhone 4 definitely seems to be ageing, it can still play most games just fine. Although it is still running iOS 5.1; could that be a problem? I kept it on that so that I could test the lowest possible version that people might be playing my games on.
So has anyone else had a similar problem, and/or does anyone have any tips for fixing it? I would sincerely appreciate any help on this.
Thanks in advance!
Comments
I've stopped testing on iPhone 4 ever since I realized that not only do my newer games seem to lag a lot on it, but also because I am seeing less and less iPhone 4 users (I commute, and taking note of the phone models strangers are using is a habit of mine).
In that case, though, I have another question. I was under the impression that every iPhone game had to be available for iPhone 4 and 5. So what do you do to stop iPhone 4 users from downloading the game? Just a simple message in the description? I imagine that if some iPhone 4 users downloaded it and it lagged terribly, you might end up with a few bad reviews. And I presume that you still have to make it so that the game displays correctly on an iPhone 4 screen?
Thanks again for the help!
Drop the particles and spawn actors in lue of your particles. After weeks of trying different setups with particles and always dragging my frames down to like....1....I tried using actors with similar attributes and BAM.....worked fantastically. Now you cant just spawn a bagillion actors at once but find the balance And I assure you, you will say "FINALLY"....and be sure to give ol Thunder an awesome i it works. B-)
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And even then, I couldn't get the particle actors quite right. Despite using the same image and behaviours, I can't get the size, shape, or glow looking right no matter what I do.
Thanks again for the suggestion though - it was worth a shot!
I normally test with the 4S after I finish developing the game for the iPhone 5+ screen resolution. The performance of the 4S always suffices for me (i.e. very minimal performance loss at times, if at all -- good enough).
I have one game in particular that deals with a lot of particles. On the 5S it's perfectly smooth, while on the 4S it has a chance of getting a 5-7 fps hit at times. What I did was to include a 'Speed Hack' option in the Settings page, that simply decreases the amount of particles in the game. I just leave it "Off" by default.
Like I mentioned in my previous message, though, how do you stop people with a normal iPhone 4 from purchasing the game, as I'm sure they wouldn't be too happy if the game lagged out on their device. Just a message in the app description, or is there something that you can set up in iTunes Connect, etc.?
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I got no problems with supporting 4 but it will lag very hard even by removing particles completely.
Maybe by then the most people also just realized that it's their crappy old phones.
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