Hello gamestudio community.

I've got some questions about the power of a7 engine.


Right now i've got a project going which is progressing really good, but what I do wonder is how do you gain the best performance with a7 engine?

Is it with .dds files or .tga files? I know .dds files compresses the textures alot better but I still wanted to ask the community. Cause I added 8 models with spec/normal/color mapping shader on them and the models were 2k polys each (a holy hammer)and the fps dropped to 5fps in a empty room with those 8 hammers, and that was with 1024*1024 textures for each in the .tga format (3mb texture).
I got 8800gt OC/4gb ram, dual core etc so my hardware is up to date.

and also what poly limit should I aim for to atleast maintain 30+fps with shaders? and what texture size/format?

But I would appreciate if someone more experienced than me with the engines power could say what the limit is.


Here is a example of "the lightsworn" i'm working on and he is allready 8000 polys. Since he will be one of the main characters on the project i'm planning to have him high poly.

Gamestudio manual:

Some tips for increasing the frame rate in your games:
Don't import a level as a whole model from external editors like MAX or MAYA. When the engine renders the level as a single model, it can't use it's scene management, and renders even the parts of the level that are not visible. So, rather than importing a whole level, import separate models in MED, and place them in the level with WED.
Use mesh mode for compiling your level. If you want to create a BSP tree, use blocks only for the rough geometry of the level, and use models for details.
Deactivate the mouse if you don't need it . Mouse detection in a 3D view can reduce the frame rate remarkably.
Reduce the number of sounds audible at the same time. Some sound cards without hardware mixer reduce the frame rate remarkably when many sounds play simultaneously.
2D instructions, like draw_textmode, reduce the frame rate remarkably. Avoid instructions marked with 'slow' in the manual.
The smaller the clipping range (camera.clip_far), the faster the rendering especially in outdoor levels.
Cheap 3D cards work best with 256x256 texture sizes. The bigger the texture, the slower the rendering.
Terrain renders faster than models - especially when it's chunked. Do not use models for terrain.
With today's 3D hardware, the best model or block size is in the range of 500..5000 polygons. If possible, split bigger models in several parts.
When constructing a model, have it's origin as close to it's center as possible. Models with bad placed origins consume more space in the scene management tree, and cause slower rendering.
Nonanimated models render faster than animated models. For a forest, use several tree models rather than several frames of one single tree model. Vertex animation is faster than bones animation.
Setting an object's x/y/z coordinates directly is faster than using c_move. c_move without glide is faster than c_move with gliding. The AABB collision detection is faster than the OBB detection.
Use WED for setting up entity properties, rather than an entity action. If an action is required for setting up an entity, reset its dynamic flag at the end of the action.
Bitmap fonts are faster than Truetype fonts. Truetype fonts are reported to render very slow in some PC configurations.
Sky cubes render faster than sky models and sky domes.
Use LOD models whenever possible, especially in outdoor levels.
Mipmapping increases the frame rate. Always create mipmaps for model and terrain skins - it's just a mouse click in MED.
Newer engine versions are faster than older engine versions. The A7 engine is faster than the A6 engine.

use dds instead of tga, it'll boost up your scene and reduce the size of completed game

I don't think it's too high poly for A7 to handle, but you might want to look into making it low poly and use a shader with normal mapping. You can easily use only half those polygons and get the same effect.

Other than that I'd suggest to go by the trial and error method of just testing out how far you can go.



2000 polygons for just a hammer seems like way too much to me if it's just an object in a room. Also, 1024 x 1024 texture is definitely too much also.

Bear in mind though that it's mainly the shader that crushed your fps here, as there are only a few shaders really optimized enough to be applied to a lot of objects at the same time,

Cheers