AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
Problem: iPads and other mobile devices with limited memory are unable to draw all the parts in a heavily-detailed environment. This is problematic when considering the difference between aesthetics and function. Parts that enhance the look of a place are not distinguishable from parts that are necessary for game-play. In other words, I as a game creator have no way to prioritize the appearance of parts in my game. A part that is purely aesthetic might take priority over a part that is essential to game-play resulting in an unplayable game. The player may see all the pretty decorations, and not see the parts that are essential to the game.
Proposed resolution: Add a property to BasePart (perhaps called Priority, VisibilityPriority, or DrawingPriority) which assigns a drawing priority to a part. Parts would be drawn according to the value of this property. For instance, parts with priority of 4 would only be drawn after all parts with priority 5 are drawn and visible to the player.
This would allow me as a creator to set a low priority on parts that are unnecessary but which provide enhanced ambiance and atmosphere to players that use better computing devices.
As an example, I develop a place where a player jumps on blocks to solve puzzles. The blocks that constitute the puzzle are created and placed at the beginning of a player's turn. The player is then teleported to the puzzle. If the player's computing device is incapable of drawing the parts of the puzzle (which are created dynamically and added after the ornamentation is already drawn and therefore, presumably, have lower drawing priority), he will be unable to complete the puzzle. This actually occurs to iPad users in the place I develop. The blocks of the puzzle are often invisible to iPad players resulting in confusion and frustration.
I am aware of the new streaming system described in this blog post:
http://blog.roblox.com/2013/09/with-streaming-join-levels-load-as-you-play/.
This solution, while important, does not address the situation I describe. The distinction is that the importance of a part may not coincide directly with the player's proximity to that part. Additionally, the streamed parts may not all fit into the device's memory and in that case still require further prioritization.
This improvement to ROBLOX would provide enhanced control to creators to allow fine-tuning a place to be responsive and enjoyable on multiple platforms.
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ExciliumJoin Date: 2011-06-01
Post Count: 5967 |
Support |
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MobardJoin Date: 2011-01-15
Post Count: 1541 |
Support! |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
I am preparing a special event for a place I work on. During the event, numerous decorations are created. Unfortunately, a lot of the players of this place use iPad. In order to accommodate them I have to decrease the number of decorations so that the iPad is able to draw the parts. Even after removing a significant amount of decoration in an attempt to appease the iPad, it still does not display the parts of the game that are vital. This is frustrating.
Please permit designers control of the drawing priority of parts to address this significant problem. |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
Bump |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
Bump |
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EspithelJoin Date: 2009-10-09
Post Count: 20917 |
Sure,
But it'd be more sensical for priorities to ascend (priority 1 bricks first, then 2, then 3, etc.) Then for them to desend, which is what you suggested. |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
@frozengaia, I agree with you. I would prefer the priority be the opposite of what I described. If the priority 1 parts were drawn first, there could be (essentially) no limit as to how low (meaning higher number value) the priority could go which would be beneficial to designers. Parts that are vital to the game would be given priority 1 with less vital parts being given higher values. |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
Bump |
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Cav33Join Date: 2012-09-04
Post Count: 1375 |
Support! Super Mario 64 done that. |
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Nice idea; however, if you want a fix for this that really doesn't have any drawbacks(aside from you needing to know a bit of scripting) you can check if the user is on a computer or mobile device with UserInputService:
http://wiki.roblox.com/index.php/RBX.lua.UserInputService_%28Service%29
Put all of your decoration parts in the lighting, and if the user is on a computer, clone all of those parts to their camera(this makes the parts local and only on that player's computer) Now that those parts are local, you don't have to worry about people on mobile devices lagging :) |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
@EchoReaper Thanks for the idea. That may ameliorate some of the problem.
One shortcoming of that recommendation is that it excludes mobile/touch users from any decorations. Adding a DrawPriority property would allow mobile users to see as much of the decoration as their device can handle.
Another shortcoming of this recommendation is that it makes a distinction between mobile users and users of other devices with low-end capabilities. A user on a low-end PC with a bare-bones graphics card would still experience the original problem. Since that user is not on a mobile device, he would be shown all the extra parts and vital parts may be lost in the process.
I appreciate your input. |
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You can also check a player's FPS(take a look at one of those anti-throttling scripts or Shedletsky's lag meter(I think that has the FPS on it))
If they have a low FPS, remove a certain amount of decorations? |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
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anything that'll help users playing on an idevice for some reason
i mean, really, just play on pc |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
@ZangooseSlash, I agree with you. I don't want the hassle of making sure my place accommodates idevices. It is a pain, but this is the situation we are in. We need tools to cope with it. |
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This is a great idea!
ROBLOX sadly is too busy making hats and and inappropriate animations while raising price floors to care |
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AxeOfMenJoin Date: 2011-12-14
Post Count: 196 |
Bump |
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Then you don't belong in the forums. |
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^^^ That was directed to who precisely? |
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At you. If you're too lazy to read, then don't bother using the forums. Good ideas have to be explained in great detail, and in fact, any suggestion that isn't lengthy is usually a pile of crap. |
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Putting 'tl;dr' proves that you don't have the maturity to navigate away from a forum without posting a comment in rage that the OP typed too much. Unless like you want to look like an idiot, then it's probably a good idea to stop using 'tl;dr'. If the forum is really long and you don't want to read it, then don't read it and carry on with your day. How will posting 'tl;dr' benefit anyone? All 'tl;dr' seems to be is a form of raging when a reader is frustrated with the OP for typing too much. |
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