I went through and tested every major object so see if there was noticeable screen lag on the objects. I will put the list below along with about how noticeable it is with either minor, medium, or bad screen lag being produced by the object. Also, certain objects only screen lag on one side. Please note that this list isn't perfect since it is mostly subjective. I have the film saved. If anybody wants to cap it (phuria said he would do it eventually so this isn't a big deal) then I can post it and people can judge themselves how much or little it lags. I tested each piece by looking at it and strafing back and forth at 300% speed. I figure the extra speed is more likely to cause the screen lag. I also saw if there was screen lag when someone was shooting it with an AR, and when I zoomed in with the sniper rifle. The zooming was almost never different than un-zoomed, so I believe that zooming in only causes screen lag if there are a lot of objects on screen. I also tried to have as many people in the party at a time as possible in the hopes that it would help reveal screen lag. However, I want to point out that I did not have as many people at the beginning, so the data may be a little off, and I may have missed some of the objects under building blocks if they cause "minor" screen lag. From what I saw, you should never use something that has "medium" or higher screen lag. If you are using an object with "minor" or "minor/medium" make sure it isn't extensively interlocked or near a lot of other objects. In another test, I took all of the objects that were listed as "Bad" and tested them in an enclosed area closed off my wall, Colosseums. This seemed to decrease the amount of lag on an object by object basis by a noticeable margin (thanks Zanno). Also, contrary to popular belief, glass rarely causes screen lag it's self. In fact, the bridge/ramp large is the worst object other than the one-way shield doors and it has no glass on it at all. Also, size only somewhat matters. One interesting find that I got was that the smallest railing lagged the most and the longest railing lagged the least. Anyway, without further ado, this is the list. It is basically in order for the structures. After I finished structures, I kind of skipped around. If the object is not listed, I did not notice any lag. However, there may still be lag if I forgot to check one side of an object, or I simply got zero lag from the object. This list is not perfect. LIST [?] means I am not sure if it actually lagged or if my eyes played tricks on me. 1x4: Minor 2x3: Minor 3x1 Flat: Minor from the top, Medium from the sides 3x3 Short: Minor from the side 4x4 Flat: Minor [?] 5x1 Flat: Minor from the sides [?] Bridge Medium: Medium (no lag when viewed from the bottom) Bridge Large: Minor-Medium (less lag when viewed from the bottom) Bridge XLarge: NONE (this is one of those odd ones) Bridge Diagonal: Minor Bridge Diagonal, Small: Medium Dish: Minor (from bottom) Medium-Bad (from top curved part) Dish Open: Same as "Dish" Corner 2x2: Medium Platform Ramped: Minor [?] Platform Large: Minor [?] Platform XLarge: Medium-Bad Platform XXLarge: Medium (Only from the sides) None (from the top or bottom) Plat Y Large: Minor (upside down) Bad (right-side up) Sniper Nest: Bad Staircase: Bad (from sides) Medium (from top or bottom) Walkway Large: Medium Bunker Small Covered: Minor [?] (If you zoom through the glass at other objects only) Bunker Box: Minor-Medium Bunker Round: Minor Bunker Ramp: Minor (only from top) Tower 2 Story: Minor Br Tower: Minor-Medium (In most places) Medium-Bad (from bottom) Tower Tall: Really Bad Room Double: Medium-Bad Room Triple (Library): Almost None (this is surprising IMO which is why I included it) [?] Antenna Satellite: Minor [?] Brace: Minor Brace Large: Minor (from sides/bottom) Almost none (flat part only facing up) Brace Tunnel: Medium Column: Medium (If it has two or more together. If there are any less then it isn't noticeable) Cover Cancellation: Medium (regular Cover has none) Cover Glass: Minor [?] Glass Sail: Minor Small Rail: Bad (all other rails have no real lag, only the small one) Strut: Minor-Medium (this is unfortunate '~') Large Walkway Cover: Minor (from outside) Medium (from inside parts) Door: Minor-Medium Window Double: Minor (only zoomed through with other objects nearby) [?] Window Colosseum: Minor-Medium (Medium if zoomed through with other objects nearby) Tunnel Long: Minor [?] (in most places) Bad (on top. Don't let them see the top) Bank 1x2: Minor (I think one of the other banks has some but I couldn't really tell) Ramp Circular: Medium Ramp/Bridge Large: Really Bad (This object should never be used IMO) Ramp/Bridge: Minor-Medium Ramp XL: Minor-Medium (in most places) None (steep face only) Rock Small: Minor Rock Medium 2: Medium (other rock medium is fine just use that instead) Rock Sea-stack: Minor-Medium [?] (this one can have no lag or a medium amount randomly Rock Arch: Medium-Bad Grid: None-Minor (especially considering how massive it is. I does increase blur though) Cannon, Vehicle: Medium (all other lifts are fine) Red side of shield doors for all sizes: Bad (IF STRIPES ARE VERTICAL) Minor-Medium (IF STRIPES ARE HORIZONTAL) Yes, it makes that big of a difference. Blue side of shield doors: None for small, Medium for Medium sizes, and Bad for large sizes (it depends on how much the player can actually see) Kill Ball: Minor-Medium (It causes actual lag though) Tin Cups: Bad (unfortunately) Sand Bag Cap: Medium (only sandbag object that is noticeable for screen lag) I Hope this helped everybody! Added after 1: *Reserved*
Great post! More people need to do thorough testing for framerate issues on their maps. It really ruins gameplay at times.
Exactly... Unfourtunately, just using certain objects doesn't guarantee less screen lag. It just makes screen lag less prevalent. Most screen lag comes from Z-fighting (fine edit FTW), and too many objects on screen at once. If you have a bunch of brige/ramp larges and sniper nests interlocked then you aren't going to be able to do anything except lag around the map hoping to be able to actually aim correctly.
Well, at least we've getting more knowledge to further prevent all of this stuff, which is good. Kind of glad I'm not a map designer or forger
This is a wonderful article, and very useful. I suspect that you can use the objects listed as medium, as long as they're used in the correct environment. I will keep an eye on the large bridge ramp in my map now though. It's in a large open area, so I may have to replace it. I'm a bit surprised the platform xl causes so many problems, as I use them for tower caps to keep my budget/item use down. I'll have to run some tests on it myself and see if it causes any performance issues in my map. Hopefully not, but you never know. Thanks for the write-up, I found it quite useful.
There is a link on MLGpro.com where the forge forum has a thread about screenlag. I feel it is better than this thread and that people should use that thread instead of this one (even though that thread links to my list) A Guide to Minimize Screenlag - MLG Forums
Wow, this is very halpful. I worry about screen lag alot and seeing this list makes me feel better about my maps.
The number one problem is object density. The more objects the game has to deal with at the same time the slower things will get. The number two problem is lighting effects. In addition to the "light" objects, which should only rarely be used and when used should be treated with extreme caution, lots of objects such as railings, 5x1 blocks, and ramp 2x2 steeps have mini lights on them. All of these objects are heavy contributers to screen lag and should be used sparingly. The number three problem is Z fighting, but everyone has known about Z fighting since Foundry so I won't explain.
For the top of the control tower on my Twin Fields map, I use a lot of small railings to form the parapet wall. There is also a light inside the center of the tower itself. The reason this works well is if you near them you are far from most other objects, and if you are near the ground you are far from the top of the tower.
This is a useful post, lighting from the objects cause the most problems. Especially curved walls. On the post you state no frame rate issue with xl bridge...the underside can cause major problems. In improving frame rate I would suggest pointing lights on objects to less used areas or outwards from map. Use the pieces correctly and as intended. Avoid overlapping objects , fx , lighting. Too many objects with lighting. A good example on fixing FR is my most recent map. I had severe frame rate issues, and from making smooth lines and snapping objects straight or perfectly aligned will improve frame rate considerably. Also when z fighting is fixed, make sure this is fixed from all angles , even ones that aren't visible as hiding z fighting by covering up with block will not work. As many of my maps have had FR problems I have a lot of experience in the subject.