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| cw4:cpack:vpac_wiki_page [2023/03/01 13:48] – Performance mention changes Vertu | cw4:cpack:vpac_wiki_page [2024/02/05 11:25] (current) – [Road Map] Updated Vertu |
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| ===== VPAC CPACK pages ===== | ===== VPAC CPACK pages ===== |
| * [[cw4:cpack:docs:f3d1b56c-fb68-49a9-909e-54931da7635d|VPAC Main]] | * [[cw4:cpack:docs:f3d1b56c-fb68-49a9-909e-54931da7635d|VPAC Main]] :TODO: <color #FFFF00>UPDATE NEEDED!.. ok no, MAJOR RE-EVALUATION OF ALL VPAC DOCUMENTATION ACCURACY NEEDED! -Vertu</color> |
| * [[cw4:cpack:docs:0af46b44-90a2-404d-8909-749beb5df3e3|VPAC Creeper Expansion]] | * [[cw4:cpack:docs:0af46b44-90a2-404d-8909-749beb5df3e3|VPAC Creeper Expansion]] |
| * [[cw4:cpack:docs:4b916d16-43fa-486f-a1c0-aac0cbcc8cea|VPAC Vertu Expansion]] | * [[cw4:cpack:docs:4b916d16-43fa-486f-a1c0-aac0cbcc8cea|VPAC Vertu Expansion]] |
| ==== AIR ==== | ==== AIR ==== |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:5e8c91a3-057b-445a-af01-d1092f0e2411|Air Sac Fabricator (VPAC Creeper Expansion)]] | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:5e8c91a3-057b-445a-af01-d1092f0e2411|Air Sac Fabricator (VPAC Creeper Expansion)]] |
| | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:f82d5850-d76e-4151-9939-245c5dd0970d|Light SAM (VPAC Vertu Expansion)]] |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:6cae7a75-f751-40d9-9d48-403eeadf6080|TCML (Vertu's Creeper Buildings)]] | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:6cae7a75-f751-40d9-9d48-403eeadf6080|TCML (Vertu's Creeper Buildings)]] |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:f82d5850-d76e-4151-9939-245c5dd0970d|Light SAM (VPAC Vertu Expansion)]] | |
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| ==== SPECIAL ==== | ==== SPECIAL ==== |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:05b055d8-9cfd-4a14-8bcc-dffac30ce60d|LURE (VPAC Main)]] | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:05b055d8-9cfd-4a14-8bcc-dffac30ce60d|LURE (VPAC Main)]] |
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| ===== Enemies typically found in VPAC ===== | ===== Enemies typically found in VPAC ===== |
| :NOTE: This list is not a restrictive list. It's only a list of units that I (Vertu) typically use. There can be and are, other units found in VPAC maps which are not mentioned in this list. | :NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list. It's only a list of units that I (Vertu) typically use. There can be and are, other units found in VPAC maps which are not mentioned in this list. |
| ==== Standard ==== | ==== Standard ==== |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:95cfe956-9d7d-4c4e-a00a-81c8c8b764e6|Power Suppressor (VPAC Vertu Expansion)]] | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:95cfe956-9d7d-4c4e-a00a-81c8c8b764e6|Power Suppressor (VPAC Vertu Expansion)]] |
| === "Standard" === | === "Standard" === |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:ecd497fe-f8ad-4bdf-9027-9adbb4ff7190|Fighter Drone (V's Skirmish Units P)]] | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:ecd497fe-f8ad-4bdf-9027-9adbb4ff7190|Fighter Drone (V's Skirmish Units P)]] |
| | * [[NOT_DEFINED|Hover Tank (Corporate Pack Vertu)]] |
| | * [[NOT_DEFINED|Ceiling Cannon (Corporate Pack Vertu)]] |
| | * [[NOT_DEFINED|Ceiling Auto Cannon (Corporate Pack Vertu)]] |
| | * [[NOT_DEFINED|Ceiling Laser (Corporate Pack Vertu)]] |
| | * [[NOT_DEFINED|V-Nullifier (V-Blasters)]] |
| === Ultra Heavy === | === Ultra Heavy === |
| * [[cw4:cmod:docs:26de30e2-42ea-4d3b-bfdd-b0de80e589b0|SML - Strategic Missile Launcher]] | * [[cw4:cmod:docs:26de30e2-42ea-4d3b-bfdd-b0de80e589b0|SML - Strategic Missile Launcher]] |
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| ===== VPAC performance information ===== | ===== VPAC performance information ===== |
| Performance is a very high concern for this custom gamemode. Although it is somewhat renowned for being very laggy, it is actually more performance efficient than normal PAC and LPAC. I (Vertu) even helped optimize the more updated LPAC, (most directly, its rebuild script). VPAC however is still more performance efficient based on my very limited insight. | Performance is a very high concern for this custom gamemode. Although it is somewhat notorious for being very laggy, it is actually more performance efficient than normal PAC and LPAC. I (Vertu) even helped optimize the more updated LPAC, (most directly, its rebuild script). VPAC however is still more performance efficient based on my very limited insight. Creeper World 4 has quite a harsh performance limit for custom assets when they make the majority of a map. |
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| Forget the idea that VPAC is laggy. Forget that it is unoptimized. It is by far the most performance efficient custom gamemode out there with vailla CW4 being the only thing more efficient. By FAR the MAIN source of performance issue in VPAC maps was NOT the VPAC CPACKs! (At least now in present times). It was the custom enemy units added and only them. | Anyways, forget the idea that VPAC is laggy. Forget that it is unoptimized. It is very likely a scapegoat. It is by far the most performance efficient custom gamemode out there. By FAR the MAIN source of performance issue in VPAC maps was NOT custom assets but the prospect of creating a game within a game, something I learned in my particle fleet recreation in CW4. CW4 was not intended to have a modding capacity large enough to recreate games with, which is perfectly understandable. Older VPAC maps however did have performance fires which in modern times have been addressed and VPAC as of phase yellow now focuses on squeezing as much from the limited resources the game allocates for custom assets. |
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| :NOTE: The below is temporary and will be replaced in the future.\\ | |
| The [[cw4:cmod:docs:d91dbe48-8f28-46df-ad24-ed2217d965af|Blaster]] used to (long ago) spam LOS refreshes, the old Flare RL (replaced by [[cw4:cmod:docs:0180bc05-23e5-4a48-b189-a3d8befe9322|Rocket Launcher V]]) conducted complex mathematics constantly, and every custom enemy tower that could shoot at Creeper in a limited range constantly SPAMMED the search for targetable Creeper where there would typically be 50+ of them doing this every frame, all at the same time. If there was 100 custom enemy tower units on the map that could shoot Creeper in a limited range, that would be 3,000 calls for the moderately expensive API [[4rpl:commands:findunitenemy|FindUnitEnemy]] per second, all the time, scanning each cell within each unit's range for targetable Creeper. Lets say each of those units had a range of 20. Each unit scanned about 200 cells for Creeper to shoot at. Tally it up and we get 600,000 checks a second. | |
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| The war against lag has been reinitiated. The map VPAC Complex Decomissioning has started it again and all future maps should be vastly more performance efficient than even that very map. | |
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| ==== Major performance milestone versions ==== | ==== Major performance milestone versions ==== |
| * <color #00FFFF>v2.X.X.X</color> - Rebuild made indescribably more efficient. Flare RL replaced by vastly more optimized [[cw4:cmod:docs:0180bc05-23e5-4a48-b189-a3d8befe9322|Rocket Launcher V]]. | * <color #00FFFF>v2.X.X.X</color> - Rebuild made indescribably more efficient. Flare RL replaced by vastly more optimized [[cw4:cmod:docs:0180bc05-23e5-4a48-b189-a3d8befe9322|Rocket Launcher V]]. |
| * <color #00FFFF>v2.8.0.2</color> - Various custom units no longer spam [[4rpl:commands:findunitenemy|FindUnitEnemy]] if unable to find Creeper to target. (Made to be far less performance taxing when idle). | * <color #00FFFF>v2.8.0.2</color> - Various custom units no longer spam [[4rpl:commands:findunitenemy|FindUnitEnemy]] if unable to find Creeper to target. (Made to be far less performance taxing when idle). |
| | * <color #00FFFF>v2.12.0.0</color> Beginning of rendering optimizations of models by rendering objects invisible when the camera is far away. Future unit models will have this considered to ensure effective utilization. |
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| ==== CW4 Computer Resource Use ==== | ==== CW4 Computer Resource Use ==== |
| CW4 restricts itself to run off of a single CPU Core. It will never allow additional cores to be used for running CW4. This obviously makes sense for a simple game like CW4 but with the amount of modding support it has, here comes me (Vertu) who makes maps nearly 16MB in size, got the maximum tolerated map size lowered to 10MB, still tends to make 5-8MB maps, all while 99% of map makers makes maps less than 1MB in size. | CW4 restricts itself to run off of a single CPU Core when running units. It will never allow additional cores to be used. This obviously makes sense for a simple game like CW4 where there will not likely be hundreds of semi-complicated units. However, with the amount of modding support it has, here comes me (Vertu) who makes a bunch of custom units with dynamic functionality (and various performance inefficiencies like spamming [[4rpl:commands:getunits|GetUnits]] and [[4rpl:commands:findunitenemy|FindUnitEnemy]] though I have now began to address this obvious oversight with great success), who has many hundreds of units on a single map at times. |
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| | From K75 (A KnuckleCracker dev/moderator): |
| | "CW4 does in fact multithread where it is possible to do so (cf. the Creeper flow simulation). However the portion running units does not, since being "thread-safe'" is a complicated proposition, and it would only have benefitted limited numbers of units. Thread safety, inter-process communication and creating and creating, managing and destroying threads have a cost and one would have to know whether the savings from those would be such that it was feasible to use a thread. Many of these factors would be beyond the scope of 99.9% of map makers. It would also have burdened CW4 with an extended API and quite possibly many more bugs and vastly extended development time. All for a very limited benefit." |
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| Also, if any map has Autopilot AI, it WILL lag as a fully functioning AI using the built in units has to do A LOT of calculations in order to actually operate. It needs to figure out how it can place units, how to use them, how to "see", how to "play", so on, so on. I also didn't make it so don't ask me for more information about it. | Also, if any map has Autopilot AI, it WILL lag as a fully functioning AI using the built in units has to do A LOT of calculations in order to actually operate. It needs to figure out how it can place units, how to use them, how to "see", how to "play", so on, so on. I also didn't make it so don't ask me for more information about it. |
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| ===== Tutorial Missions ===== | ===== Tutorial Missions ===== |
| * TCML Tutorial Mission | * TCML Tutorial Mission - (OLD) |
| * NO OTHER TUTORIAL MISSIONS HAVE BEEN MADE AT THIS TIME! ALL OLDER TUTORIAL MISSIONS ARE TOO OUT OF DATE AND IT IS BEST YOU DO NOT PLAY THEM! | * VPAC Testing Initiative map series. Name changes from Testing Initiative to TI starting from the 7th main mission. |
| | * Testing Initiative 1&2 - Basic PAC units ([[cw4:cpack:docs:f3d1b56c-fb68-49a9-909e-54931da7635d|VPAC Main]] Units) |
| | * Testing Initiative 3&4 - Creeper Units ([[cw4:cpack:docs:0af46b44-90a2-404d-8909-749beb5df3e3|Creeper Expansion]] Units) |
| | * Testing Initiative 5&6 - Advanced Units (mainly [[cw4:cmod:docs:6cae7a75-f751-40d9-9d48-403eeadf6080|TCML]]) ([[cw4:cpack:docs:f9d9792a-8743-4c24-be1d-d650a78734ad|VPAC - Vertu's Creeper Buildings]] Units) |
| | * Testing Initiative 6.5 (PROPER TUTORIAL) - [[cw4:cmod:docs:4d9edae8-aac2-43c7-863c-2c6667509497|Lancer]], [[cw4:cmod:docs:f82d5850-d76e-4151-9939-245c5dd0970d|Light SAM]], and [[cw4:cmod:docs:05b746db-9ccf-484c-9a5f-5cd3d49a844f|Nexus]] ([[cw4:cpack:docs:4b916d16-43fa-486f-a1c0-aac0cbcc8cea|VPAC Vertu Expansion]] & [[cw4:cmod:docs:05b746db-9ccf-484c-9a5f-5cd3d49a844f|VPAC NEXUS.IOUS V.S (Single unit CPACK)]]) |
| | * Testing Initiative 6.75 - Optional challenge mission (must be on hardcore difficulty), :WARNING: VERY LAGGY! |
| | * TI 7 - Full arsenal "introduction". |
| | * TI 8 - Applied enemy units. Especially the [[DNE|Hover Tank]]. |
| | * TI 9 - Applied defense against relentless enemy units. Introduction of special unit [[DNE|Vertu Frigate]]. |
| | * TI 10 - Singularity Weapon of the [[cw4:cmod:docs:05b746db-9ccf-484c-9a5f-5cd3d49a844f|Nexus]]. |
| | * TI 11 - Introduction of player-applied [[cw4:cmod:docs:27ac8ff9-cc9a-4215-9f3f-d11431b5176d|Invader Emitters]]. |
| | * TI 12 - Working around void terrain. |
| | * TI 13 - INTO THE OCEAN WE GO! |
| | * TI 14-XY - TBD |
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| ====== Road Map ====== | ====== Road Map ====== |
| - Fix things that break and add misc-things (general maintenance and refinements). | - <color #00FF00>**Completed! (Effectively)**</color> Fix things that break and add misc-things (general maintenance and refinements). |
| - Add different types of starts other than landing Emitters. | - <color #00FF00>**Completed.**</color> Invader Emitters can now deploy any unit, diversifying VPAC starts. |
| - Add late game units like a Battle Drone. Flying [[cw4:cmod:docs:4d9edae8-aac2-43c7-863c-2c6667509497|Lancer]] that costs a lot of power. [Can be abandoned] | - Add more enemy units. Currently we have the swarm tactic [[cw4:cmod:docs:ecd497fe-f8ad-4bdf-9027-9adbb4ff7190|Fighter Drone]], medium class [[DNE|Hover Tank]], and heavy class [[DNE|V-Nullifier]]. |
| | - Add the Battle Drone. A flying [[cw4:cmod:docs:4d9edae8-aac2-43c7-863c-2c6667509497|Lancer]] that has more applicable firepower. Lancer is high fire rate, low damage. Battle Drone is low fire rate, high damage. Application TBD. |
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