Windows Question about CPU usage and memory usage

[Zuljaras]

Hello everyone!!!

I have the following question!

Currently I am developing a game and maybe it is late to ask such a thing but what is the appropriate CPU usage and memory usage of a game?

Currently my game packs at about 19.5% CPU usage and around 35-50MB Memory.

Is that acceptable? I read the blog about optimising your game but there is no information there about some boundaries on the CPU usage and memory usage.

Could someone with more experience on the matter give some input please

 

[RangerX]

If you would go over the reasonable memory usage, your game would crash with a "not enough memory" thing. There has to be a maximum allowed of games produced with GMS and GMS itself. A software cannot take "infinite" memory.
As for the CPU there's no limit. However, the more your game is demanding, the more you'll need to have it optimised for lower end machine ---- which in turns protects your from using too much CPU...

 

[Fern]

Currently Game Maker: Studio 1.99.x and Game Maker: Studio 2 have a limit of around 3.4gb before you get an "Out of memory" error message. It really depends on your game but for the sake of stability and low-end users, I'd try to stay below 2.5gb.

CPU usage is hard to measure by percentage. It is best to use get_timer() and/or the debugger's profiler to measure the time each frame takes to process. If you have a crappy computer then you can get a much better idea of what to optimize and how much.

General rule of thumb with Game Maker is to keep the fps_real() above 120 to avoid users experiencing dipping.

One of my games that has some higher demands for hardware in terms of CPU will never dip below 500 for fps_real(). I've never heard users complain about performance issues.

 

[Yal]

I'm unorganized and cynical enough to say that "play it on the crappiest PC you can find that it still runs smoothly on, write down system specs, advertise them as the requirements and your main PC's specs as the 'recommended' specs" is a valid strategy. I'm consistently using bottom-line and second-hand PCs (because I can't afford proper super-powerful gaming PCs) so it's worked for me so far

 

[Zuljaras]

OK! Thanks! I will use the same thread for another question. FPS!!!

My game is locked at room speed 60 which I guess is equal to 60 fps on theory.

I used the fps_real overlay to see the performance.

I got those 2 values:

FPS - 59-60

FPS - 5999 - 6000

As I read in the documentation I saw that the value is ok to jump from one number like 60 to 6000 but is this ok?

I mean should it be like HARD 60 and never go to 58-59 or something like that? Or it is normal?

 

[RangerX]

FPS_real --> is the real FPS at which the engine is running.
FPS --> is the fps of the current room, capped at the number you put in the variable "room_speed".

 

[Zuljaras]

FPS_real --> is the real FPS at which the engine is running.
FPS --> is the fps of the current room, capped at the number you put in the variable "room_speed".

I was talking about this: "This read-only variable returns the current fps as an integer value. Please note that the function will only update once every step of your game and so may appear to "jump" from one value to another, but this is quite normal."

The thing is that I wonder if the fps should be 60 like not moving at all. The number on the monitor changed like 5 secs it was 60 fps (58-60) and then changed to 6000 (5999-6000) and I think that is ok but my concern is about the fluctuation.

Here is the code:

draw_text(view_xview+50,view_yview+90, "FPS = " + string(fps_real));

 

[RangerX]

That's fluctuation is possible yeah. It happens quite all the time.
Do you have a stuttering fps when you play the game though? ( I mean visibly apparent one)

 

[Zuljaras]

That's fluctuation is possible yeah. It happens quite all the time.
Do you have a stuttering fps when you play the game though? ( I mean visibly apparent one)

No. I am asking because I though thta something like that could indicate thta something is wrong in my code and lead to problems in the future and become worse.

 

[RangerX]

From what you describe, I don't see a problem or sign of a problem.
You might want to see how the FPS_real behave on other machines though. Just for me observation.

 

[Xer0botXer0]

Turn off windows visual effects, it helps.