Higher resolution slows down performance/fix?

[kako05]

Hey.
I'm having this issue with RPGM resolution. The higher resolution, the worse performance.
I don't use sprites/mapping/tiles. It's a kind of visual interactive RPG/novel type game (I have my own reasons to use RPGM for that). Just pictures/busts/message box/clickable stuff etc. But no mapping, tiles, walking, etc.
Maps are usually 1x1 up to max 15x15 size (still need to add some events for stuff).
I was wondering if something can be done to improve performance on the 1600x900/1920x1080 game resolution. Change how tiles calculated maybe remove some function entirely, or something to improve it.
Or at least could someone inform me what's causing performance drop just because you increase resolution? Where to look at?
720p (60fps) vs 1080p (45fps) performance difference is significant.
I'd really want to figure this out so the game would perform better for non-RPGM standard games.

 

[Andar]

The effect has to be due to some indirect changes as the increase in screen size alone cannot cause such a problem. To give you a comparison: most computers can handle 50x50 tile parallax maps reasonable good, and that would be the equivalent of a 2400x2400 screen.

On the other hand even a single badly designed parallel process can lag a state-of-the-art computer to hell.

so most likely it's a combination - something else uses up the computers resources a lot and the additive effect of lag makes that visible as soon as you require more resources to the screen size.

but what causes this lag is something we can't even guess without more info about what you do in your game and how your events are structured and so on - because if you don't use maps, that points to some complex events...

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

You could try to decrease parallel events. If you must have a lot of them, try putting a wait of 5-10 frames at the end. This tiny wait can improve performance by a lot.
Since you don't actually need maps for walking around, you can try to decrease number of events per map and just use a lot of maps. You could try preloader plugins so that images and audio are loaded beforehand.

 

[kako05]

The effect has to be due to some indirect changes as the increase in screen size alone cannot cause such a problem. To give you a comparison: most computers can handle 50x50 tile parallax maps reasonable good, and that would be the equivalent of a 2400x2400 screen.

On the other hand even a single badly designed parallel process can lag a state-of-the-art computer to hell.

so most likely it's a combination - something else uses up the computers resources a lot and the additive effect of lag makes that visible as soon as you require more resources to the screen size.

but what causes this lag is something we can't even guess without more info about what you do in your game and how your events are structured and so on - because if you don't use maps, that points to some complex events...

Higher resolution does cause slower performance.
I tested on several games by editing resolution in yanfly core parameters from the usual 720p to 1080p.
Loading them shows a lower FPS just because the resolution was changed from 720p to 1080p.
I'm testing on a lower-end laptop i5 5200U/4gb ram so the change is noticeable. I want optimal performance for my game.
IT'S NOT the mapping problem. Even the title screen have different FPS/performance with different resolution. The higher res, the worse performance.

 

[caethyril]

Other than parallel events...remember that MV (and MZ) essentially produce web-games: they run in a browser via JavaScript (compiled at run-time) rather than through a native app with pre-compiled code. This introduces a certain amount of overhead (CPU & RAM)...the main reason they can outperform previous engines is because they can offload rendering to the GPU, where available.

720p -> 1080p is a 2.5x increase in area, which means 2.5x as many pixels to render each frame. Remember that the default resolution is 816x624 px. Depending on your hardware, your system may be struggling to render the screen fast enough.

You can press F2 during play to show the framerate widget. This will be labelled either Canvas or WebGL. WebGL is optimal: it means that a GPU, which is optimised for parallel stuff like rendering, is being used for the heavy graphical stuff. Canvas is a legacy render mode that is entirely CPU-based and is generally much slower.

Note that a dedicated GPU tends to outperform integrated graphics of a similar calibre, since integrated graphics use the CPU, which is usually needed for other things.

 

[Mifey]

RPGMV seems optimal at 720p, but anything higher and it doesn't matter, games won't be totally stable, it seems like I agree. Wish something would have been figured out, wish they didn't use JS again for MZ...

 

[kako05]

Other than parallel events...remember that MV (and MZ) essentially produce web-games: they run in a browser via JavaScript (compiled at run-time) rather than through a native app with pre-compiled code. This introduces a certain amount of overhead (CPU & RAM)...the main reason they can outperform previous engines is because they can offload rendering to the GPU, where available.

720p -> 1080p is a 2.5x increase in area, which means 2.5x as many pixels to render each frame. Remember that the default resolution is 816x624 px. Depending on your hardware, your system may be struggling to render the screen fast enough.

You can press F2 during play to show the framerate widget. This will be labelled either Canvas or WebGL. WebGL is optimal: it means that a GPU, which is optimised for parallel stuff like rendering, is being used for the heavy graphical stuff. Canvas is a legacy render mode that is entirely CPU-based and is generally much slower.

Note that a dedicated GPU tends to outperform integrated graphics of a similar calibre, since integrated graphics use the CPU, which is usually needed for other things.

So RPGM MV suffers extremely slower performance just because the screen is bigger and there are more "textures"/pixels do draw upon it? Nothing else can't be done? That would explain why even the same 1080p title screens have fewer FPS than 720p.

 

[Soulrender]

You could try to add KODERA_Optimalization plugin to your project.

Core Engine optimizations for Mobile Deployment

KODERA optimization 1.0.4 by Mariusz 'koder' Chwalba Introduction This plugin exchanges various elements of core RPG Maker engine with faster counterparts. No functionality is lost or gained. Function most noticeable on low-end phones / tablets / netbooks. Features Improves...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

 

[caethyril]

So RPGM MV suffers extremely slower performance just because the screen is bigger and there are more "textures"/pixels do draw upon it? Nothing else can't be done? That would explain why even the same 1080p title screens have fewer FPS than 720p.

Yes, larger resolutions will always take longer to render. However, you can still look to optimise other aspects of your game. The more your game tries to do every frame, the slower it will run.

• Like others have suggested, it can be a good idea to look over your events and make sure they're not running unnecessarily often etc.
  
  
• If you're using a lot of images, try increasing the image cache size, e.g. with the Community_Basic plugin (default in new projects): that can help reduce the number of times images get re-loaded from file during a playthrough. Might be worth looking for a preloader plugin, too, just to see if it helps.
  
  
• If you're using "special effects" type plugins (lighting, particles, whatever), consider limiting their use or looking for alternatives, see if that helps the framerate.

Stuff like that. The plugin Soulrender linked also looks good, haven't tested it though.

 

[kako05]

You could try to add KODERA_Optimalization plugin to your project.

Core Engine optimizations for Mobile Deployment

KODERA optimization 1.0.4 by Mariusz 'koder' Chwalba Introduction This plugin exchanges various elements of core RPG Maker engine with faster counterparts. No functionality is lost or gained. Function most noticeable on low-end phones / tablets / netbooks. Features Improves...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Has no effect.
1920x1080 title screen 51fps/map 38fps.
1600x600 title screen 60fps/map 50fps.
1280x720 title screen 60fps/map 60fps.
Both with and without this plugin.

Yes, larger resolutions will always take longer to render.

I guess I have to accept MV's poor performance on higher resolution.
720p vs 1080p from my testing is a very significant difference in the same conditions.
IT is just weird. Wouldn't think that res is such an issue for a simple static screen (not 3D game).

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

You can also try SRD_GameUpgrade.

Game Upgrade – MV Plugin – RPG Maker MZ Plugins

sumrndm.site

There's a plugin parameter named garbage collection mode. Set it to on scene change and see if it helps. There are some other params too that might help.

 

[Soulrender]

You forgot to tell us what is your hardware currently in your PC (RAM, CPU Graphic Card)

 

[kako05]

You forgot to tell us what is your hardware currently in your PC (RAM, CPU Graphic Card)

Higher resolution slows down performance/fix?

Hey. I'm having this issue with RPGM resolution. The higher resolution, the worse performance. I don't use sprites/mapping/tiles. It's a kind of visual interactive RPG/novel type game (I have my own reasons to use RPGM for that). Just pictures/busts/message box/clickable stuff etc. But no...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

 

[Soulrender]

Ok, now I'm out of options, because I have similar laptop and MV keeps stable 60fps on 1080p resolution, @caethyril and @Hyouryuu-Na are more quialified in technical issues than me, especialy @caethyril so follow their advices.

 

[bgillisp]

@Andar : Actually the devs did confirm that higher res caused slowdowns, and there is an unofficial patch for it on itch.io. It is here: https://atelieririna.itch.io/performance-upgrade

The main issue is the snapshots the engine takes, and those take longer the higher the resolution. This is supposed to fix that.

 

[kako05]

Ok, now I'm out of options, because I have similar laptop and MV keeps stable 60fps on 1080p resolution, @caethyril and @Hyouryuu-Na are more quialified in technical issues than me, especialy @caethyril so follow their advices.

My game probably uses more resources as it's a bit complex. But the fundamental issue is that resolution alone slows down the game/games under the same conditions. It's not about my project, but how MV performs and possible solutions.
It's probably because MV doesn't have a native engine. More pixels == more stuff to draw and it takes significantly more time to process the information compared to game engines that have better performing native engines. That's my no-professional non-codder hunch.

That just how javascript/MV works and nothing can be done about it.
But I'd like to keep the discussion open. Maybe someone's with experience can come up with the solution or point out what's can improve by changing the code (If it's even possible).

@Andar : Actually the devs did confirm that higher res caused slowdowns, and there is an unofficial patch for it on itch.io. It is here: https://atelieririna.itch.io/performance-upgrade

The main issue is the snapshots the engine takes, and those take longer the higher the resolution. This is supposed to fix that.

Actually, I just tried this. No difference. It may fix the issues of stuttering while opening menus or during battle animations etc. though.

 

[bgillisp]

Sadly that's all I got then. MV doesn't use the graphics card the way it is coded so it is more dependent on the CPU and how it can do, and sadly my work comp can't even run MV games due to that. You may need to use MZ instead. Maybe try the trial of MZ and see if it goes away there?

 

[Andar]

@kako05
what you're missing here is that lag is additive - it NEVER has a single cause.

And while the increase in resolution will take some resources away from the engine, it cannot be the only cause of lag - there has to be a different cause that has nothing to do with screen size.

That is what I was pointing out - you need to find that other cause for lag in your game and solve that one.
Because all computers have some reserves that they can use up before lag becomes detectable. And there is absolutely no way that all of those resources are used up by only the increase of screen size.
So as I said above you need to find those other causes and remove them, and then the game will run better even in larger screens.

 

[Soulrender]

Or - but I doubt it will help - you can try update PIXI library

Guide to Upgrade MV to PIXI v5

I created a small guide for those who want to tackle upgrading their projects to PIXI v5. This guide includes the js files from a working upgraded version of MV. What changes does PIXI v5 bring? WebGL 2 Performance improvements Batch rendering Graphics now as fast as Sprites and more...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

 

[kako05]

@kako05
And there is absolutely no way that all of those resources are used up by only the increase of screen size.

It can and it does.
As I mentioned. Same conditions, just different resolution.

1920x1080 title screen 51fps/map 38fps.
1600x600 title screen 60fps/map 50fps.
1280x720 title screen 60fps/map 60fps.

Also affects other games.

Or - but I doubt it will help - you can try update PIXI library

Guide to Upgrade MV to PIXI v5

I created a small guide for those who want to tackle upgrading their projects to PIXI v5. This guide includes the js files from a working upgraded version of MV. What changes does PIXI v5 bring? WebGL 2 Performance improvements Batch rendering Graphics now as fast as Sprites and more...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

I'm using v4.8.9 PIXI. It does improve performance a little. Something like if a scene previously was 44fps, with newer PIXI it's 48fps.
But the issue is still the same.
The resolution has too big of an effect on the performance.