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Home > Game Development > Game Optimization > Unity 5 Game Optimization
Unity 5 Game Optimization
Unity 5 Game Optimization

Unity 5 Game Optimization: Master performance optimization for Unity3D applications with tips and techniques that cover every aspect of the Unity3D Engine

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Unity 5 Game Optimization

Chapter 2. Scripting Strategies

Since scripting will consume a great deal of our development time, it will be enormously beneficial to learn some best practices. Scripting is a very broad term, so we will try to limit our exposure in this chapter to situations that are very Unity specific, focusing on problems arising from within the Unity APIs and engine design. We will discuss the nuances and advanced topics of the C# language, .NET library, and Mono Framework, in Chapter 7, Masterful Memory Management.

Whether you have some specific problems in mind that you wish to solve or you just want to learn some techniques for future reference, this chapter will introduce you to an array of methods that you can use to improve your scripting efforts now and in the future. In each case, we will explore how and why the performance issue arises, an example situation in which the problem is occurring, and one or more solutions to combat the issue.

Cache Component references

A common mistake when scripting in Unity is to overuse the GetComponent() method. For example, the following script code is trying to check a creature's health value, and if its health goes below 0, disable a series of Components to prepare it for a death animation:

void TakeDamage() {
  if (GetComponent<HealthComponent>().health < 0) {
    GetComponent<Rigidbody>().enabled = false;
    GetComponent<Collider>().enabled = false;
    GetComponent<AIControllerComponent>().enabled = false;
    GetComponent<Animator>().SetTrigger("death");
  }
}

Each time this method executes, it will reacquire five different Component references. This is good in terms of heap memory consumption (in that it doesn't cost any), but it is not very friendly on CPU usage. This is particularly problematic if the main method were called during Update(). Even if it is not, it still might coincide with other important events, such as creating...

Obtaining Components using the fastest method

There are several variations of the GetComponent() method, and it becomes prudent to call the fastest possible version of this method. The three overloads available are GetComponent(string), GetComponent<T>(), and GetComponent(typeof(T)). It turns out that the fastest version depends on which version of Unity we are running.

In Unity 4, the GetComponent(typeof(T)) method is the fastest of the available options by a reasonable margin. Let's prove this with some simple testing:

int numTests = 1000000;
TestComponent test;

using (new CustomTimer("GetComponent(string)", numTests)) {
  for (var i = 0; i < numTests; ++i) {
    test = (TestComponent)GetComponent("TestComponent");
  }
}

using (new CustomTimer("GetComponent<ComponentName>", numTests)) {
  for (var i = 0; i < numTests; ++i) {
    test = GetComponent<TestComponent>();
  }
}

using (new CustomTimer("GetComponent(typeof(ComponentName...

Removing empty callback declarations

When we create new MonoBehaviour script files in Unity, whether we're using Unity 4 or Unity 5, it creates two boilerplate methods for us:

// Use this for initialization
void Start () {

}

// Update is called once per frame
void Update () {

}

The Unity engine hooks in to these methods during initialization and adds them to a list of methods to call back at key moments. However, if we leave these as empty declarations in our codebase, then they will cost us a small overhead whenever the engine invokes them.

The Start() method is only called when the GameObject is instantiated for the first time, which can be whenever the scene is loaded or a new GameObject is instantiated from a Prefab. Therefore, leaving the empty Start() declaration may not be particularly noticeable unless there's a lot of GameObjects in the scene invoking them at startup time. However, it also adds unnecessary overhead to any GameObject.Instantiate() call, which typically...

Avoiding the Find() and SendMessage() methods at runtime

The SendMessage() method and family of GameObject.Find() methods are notoriously expensive, and should be avoided at all costs. The SendMessage() method is about 2,000 times slower than a simple function call, and the cost of the Find() method scales very poorly with Scene complexity since it must iterate through every GameObject in the Scene. It is sometimes reasonable to call Find() during initialization of a Scene, such as Awake() and Start(), only for objects that already exists in the Scene. However, using either method for inter-object communication at runtime is likely to generate a very noticeable overhead.

Relying on Find() and SendMessage() type methods is typically symptomatic of poor design, inexperience in programming with C# and Unity, or just plain laziness during prototyping. Their usage has become something of an epidemic among beginner- and intermediate-level projects, such that Unity Technologies feels the need to...

Disabling unused scripts and objects

Scenes can get pretty busy sometimes, especially when we're building large, open worlds. The more objects invoking code in an Update() method, the worse things will scale and the slower your game becomes. However, much of what is being processed may be completely unnecessary if it is outside of the player's view or simply too far away to matter. This may not be a possibility in large city-building simulation games where the entire simulation must be processed at all times, but it is often possible in first person and racing games, where the player is wandering around a large expansive area, where non-visible objects can be temporarily disabled without having any noticeable effect on gameplay.

Disabling objects by visibility

Sometimes, we want Components or GameObjects to be disabled when they're not visible. Unity comes with built-in rendering features to avoid rendering objects that are not visible by Cameras (Frustum Culling, which is...

Cache Component references

A common mistake when scripting in Unity is to overuse the GetComponent() method. For example, the following script code is trying to check a creature's health value, and if its health goes below 0, disable a series of Components to prepare it for a death animation:

void TakeDamage() {
  if (GetComponent<HealthComponent>().health < 0) {
    GetComponent<Rigidbody>().enabled = false;
    GetComponent<Collider>().enabled = false;
    GetComponent<AIControllerComponent>().enabled = false;
    GetComponent<Animator>().SetTrigger("death");
  }
}

Each time this method executes, it will reacquire five different Component references. This is good in terms of heap memory consumption (in that it doesn't cost any), but it is not very friendly on CPU usage. This is particularly problematic if the main method were called during Update(). Even if it is not, it still might coincide with other important events, such as creating particle effects,...

Obtaining Components using the fastest method

There are several variations of the GetComponent() method, and it becomes prudent to call the fastest possible version of this method. The three overloads available are GetComponent(string), GetComponent<T>(), and GetComponent(typeof(T)). It turns out that the fastest version depends on which version of Unity we are running.

In Unity 4, the GetComponent(typeof(T)) method is the fastest of the available options by a reasonable margin. Let's prove this with some simple testing:

int numTests = 1000000;
TestComponent test;

using (new CustomTimer("GetComponent(string)", numTests)) {
  for (var i = 0; i < numTests; ++i) {
    test = (TestComponent)GetComponent("TestComponent");
  }
}

using (new CustomTimer("GetComponent<ComponentName>", numTests)) {
  for (var i = 0; i < numTests; ++i) {
    test = GetComponent<TestComponent>();
  }
}

using (new CustomTimer("GetComponent(typeof(ComponentName))", numTests))  {
  for (var i ...

Removing empty callback declarations

When we create new MonoBehaviour script files in Unity, whether we're using Unity 4 or Unity 5, it creates two boilerplate methods for us:

// Use this for initialization
void Start () {

}

// Update is called once per frame
void Update () {

}

The Unity engine hooks in to these methods during initialization and adds them to a list of methods to call back at key moments. However, if we leave these as empty declarations in our codebase, then they will cost us a small overhead whenever the engine invokes them.

The Start() method is only called when the GameObject is instantiated for the first time, which can be whenever the scene is loaded or a new GameObject is instantiated from a Prefab. Therefore, leaving the empty Start() declaration may not be particularly noticeable unless there's a lot of GameObjects in the scene invoking them at startup time. However, it also adds unnecessary overhead to any GameObject.Instantiate() call, which typically happens during...

Avoiding the Find() and SendMessage() methods at runtime

The SendMessage() method and family of GameObject.Find() methods are notoriously expensive, and should be avoided at all costs. The SendMessage() method is about 2,000 times slower than a simple function call, and the cost of the Find() method scales very poorly with Scene complexity since it must iterate through every GameObject in the Scene. It is sometimes reasonable to call Find() during initialization of a Scene, such as Awake() and Start(), only for objects that already exists in the Scene. However, using either method for inter-object communication at runtime is likely to generate a very noticeable overhead.

Relying on Find() and SendMessage() type methods is typically symptomatic of poor design, inexperience in programming with C# and Unity, or just plain laziness during prototyping. Their usage has become something of an epidemic among beginner- and intermediate-level projects, such that Unity Technologies feels the need to...

Disabling unused scripts and objects

Scenes can get pretty busy sometimes, especially when we're building large, open worlds. The more objects invoking code in an Update() method, the worse things will scale and the slower your game becomes. However, much of what is being processed may be completely unnecessary if it is outside of the player's view or simply too far away to matter. This may not be a possibility in large city-building simulation games where the entire simulation must be processed at all times, but it is often possible in first person and racing games, where the player is wandering around a large expansive area, where non-visible objects can be temporarily disabled without having any noticeable effect on gameplay.

Disabling objects by visibility

Sometimes, we want Components or GameObjects to be disabled when they're not visible. Unity comes with built-in rendering features to avoid rendering objects that are not visible by Cameras (Frustum Culling, which is automatic in all...

Consider using distance-squared over distance

It is safe to say that CPUs are relatively good at multiplying floating-point numbers together, but relatively dreadful at calculating square roots from them. Every time we ask a Vector3 to calculate a distance with the magnitude property or with the Distance() method, we're asking it to perform a square root calculation (as per the Pythagorean theorem), which can cost a lot of CPU overhead compared to many other types of vector math calculations.

However, the Vector3 class also offers a sqrMagnitude property, which is the same as distance, only squared. This lets us perform essentially the same comparison check without the expensive square root included, so long as we also square the value we're trying to compare it against; or, to describe this mathematically, if the magnitude of A is less than the magnitude of B, then A2 will be less than B2.

For example, consider code like the following:

float distance = (transform.position – other.transform...
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Key benefits

  • Optimize CPU cycles, memory usage, and GPU throughput for any Unity3D application
  • Master optimization techniques across all Unity Engine features including Scripting, Asset Management, Physics, Graphics Features, and Shaders
  • A practical guide to exploring Unity Engine's many performance-enhancing methods

Description

Competition within the gaming industry has become significantly fiercer in recent years with the adoption of game development frameworks such as Unity3D. Through its massive feature-set and ease-of-use, Unity helps put some of the best processing and rendering technology in the hands of hobbyists and professionals alike. This has led to an enormous explosion of talent, which has made it critical to ensure our games stand out from the crowd through a high level of quality. A good user experience is essential to create a solid product that our users will enjoy for many years to come. Nothing turns gamers away from a game faster than a poor user-experience. Input latency, slow rendering, broken physics, stutters, freezes, and crashes are among a gamer's worst nightmares and it's up to us as game developers to ensure this never happens. High performance does not need to be limited to games with the biggest teams and budgets. Initially, you will explore the major features of the Unity3D Engine from top to bottom, investigating a multitude of ways we can improve application performance starting with the detection and analysis of bottlenecks. You'll then gain an understanding of possible solutions and how to implement them. You will then learn everything you need to know about where performance bottlenecks can be found, why they happen, and how to work around them. This book gathers a massive wealth of knowledge together in one place, saving many hours of research and can be used as a quick reference to solve specific issues that arise during product development.

Who is this book for?

This book is intended for intermediate and advanced Unity developers who have experience with most of Unity's feature-set, and who want to maximize the performance of their game. Familiarity with the C# language will be needed.

What you will learn

  • Use the Unity Profiler to find bottlenecks anywhere in our application, and discover how to resolve them
  • Implement best-practices for C# scripting to avoid common pitfalls
  • Develop a solid understanding of the rendering pipeline, and maximize its performance through reducing draw calls and avoiding fill rate bottlenecks
  • Enhance shaders in a way that is accessible to most developers, optimizing them through subtle yet effective performance tweaks
  • Keep our scenes as dynamic as possible by making the most of the Physics engine
  • Organize, filter, and compress our art assets to maximize performance while maintaining high quality
  • Pull back the veil on the Mono Framework and the C# Language to implement low-level enhancements that maximize memory usage and avoid garbage collection
  • Get to know the best practices for project organization to save time through an improved workflow
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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Nov 06, 2015
Length: 296 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785884580
Vendor :
Unity Technologies
Category :
Game Development
Languages :
C#
Concepts :
Game Optimization
Tools :
Unity

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Estimated delivery fee Deliver to New Zealand

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

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Product Details

Publication date : Nov 06, 2015
Length: 296 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785884580
Vendor :
Unity Technologies
Category :
Game Development
Languages :
C#
Concepts :
Game Optimization
Tools :
Unity

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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
1. Detecting Performance Issues Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
1. Detecting Performance Issues
The Unity Profiler
Best approaches to performance analysis
Targeted profiling of code segments
Saving and loading Profiler data
Final thoughts on Profiling and Analysis
Summary
2. Scripting Strategies Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Scripting Strategies
Cache Component references
Obtaining Components using the fastest method
Removing empty callback declarations
Avoiding the Find() and SendMessage() methods at runtime
Disabling unused scripts and objects
Consider using distance-squared over distance
Avoid retrieving string properties from GameObjects
Update, Coroutines, and InvokeRepeating
Consider caching Transform changes
Faster GameObject null reference checks
Summary
3. The Benefits of Batching Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. The Benefits of Batching
Draw Calls
Materials and Shaders
Dynamic Batching
Static Batching
Summary
4. Kickstart Your Art Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Kickstart Your Art
Audio
Texture files
Mesh and animation files
Summary
5. Faster Physics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Faster Physics
Physics Engine internals
Physics performance optimizations
Summary
6. Dynamic Graphics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Dynamic Graphics
Profiling rendering issues
Front end bottlenecks
Back end bottlenecks
Lighting and Shadowing
Optimizing graphics for mobile
Summary
7. Masterful Memory Management Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Masterful Memory Management
The Mono platform
Memory usage optimization
Prefab pooling
The future of Mono and Unity
Summary
8. Tactical Tips and Tricks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Tactical Tips and Tricks
Editor hotkey tips
Editor interface tips
Scripting tips
Custom editors/menus tips
External tips
Summary
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index

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BM Dec 16, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The author knows the subject inside-out and has done a great job in putting across concepts in a clear and concise way. The book is well organized and goes into great detail about different aspects of optimization. The tips and techniques mentioned in the book helped my game go from 25 fps (frames per second) to 55 fps in just a week!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
J JOAN LINARES PELLICER Dec 15, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I have been working with Unity for many years and a common problem we always have sooner or later is optimization. There are many tutorials, posts and articles out there with valuable information on how to optimize your Unity app, but they are not complete and difficult to collect.Chris in this Unity 5 Game Optimization has done a fantastic job putting into one book all the best techniques and suggestions to make your Unity game a success, considering all the different aspects your game can be optimized.A must have for intermediate-advanced unity developers.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Daniel Thomas Jan 04, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Pros:* Covers all areas of optimization. Scripting, Batching, Art and Sound assets, Physics, Graphics and memory management.* Always careful to show how to test if optimizations worth doing.* Highlights differences between mobile and desktop optimizations.* Includes chapter on using the Profiler that is now free in Unity 5 Personal.Cons:* Some topics covered more than once although this is probably more noticeable as I read book cover to cover rather than just cherry picking chapters.* A few sections quite wordy and felt they could be shorter.Whilst I don't yet have a project ready to use most of the topics covered in this book I will definitely be coining back to it again when I do.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Matt Thomas Dec 01, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Very, very well written and thorough. The author is clearly a member of the Unity community, attends the conferences, reads the forums & Stack Overflow, and is a power user. I finished the book in two days and took copious notes. This book is intended for an intermediate Unity programmer who wants to learn about a multitude of optimization techniques. Instead of regurgitating the manual, the author does a great job of pulling together information from disparate sources and presenting it in an extremely clear and friendly manner. One of the best Unity books out there.
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Amazon Customer Aug 31, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Perfect book. I'm satisfied.
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Mathematics for Game Programming and Computer Graphics
Mathematics for Game Programming and Computer Graphics
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Nov 2022 444 pages
Full star icon 4.9 (12)
eBook
eBook
  • eBook eBook NZ$44.99
  • Paperback Paperback NZ$80.99
NZ$44.99 NZ$64.99
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About the author

Profile icon Dickinson
Dickinson
Chris Dickinson grew up in a quiet little corner of England with a strong passion for mathematics, science and, in particular, video games. He loved playing them, dissecting their gameplay, and trying to figure out how they worked. Watching his dad hack the hex code of a PC game to get around the early days of copy protection completely blew his mind! His passion for science won the battle at the time; however, after completing a master's degree in physics with electronics, he flew out to California to work in the field of scientific research in the heart of Silicon Valley. Shortly afterward, he had to admit to himself that research work was an unsuitable career path for his temperament. After firing resumes in all directions, he landed a job that finally set him on the correct course in the field of software engineering (this is not uncommon for physics grads, I hear). His time working as an automated tools developer for IPBX phone systems fit his temperament much better. Now he was figuring out complex chains of devices, helping its developers fix and improve them, and building tools of his own. Chris learned a lot about how to work with big, complex, real-time, event-based, user-input driven state machines (sounds familiar?). Being mostly self-taught at this point, Chris's passion for video games was flaring up again, pushing him to really figure out how video games were built. Once he felt confident enough, he returned to school for a bachelor's degree in game and simulation programming. By the time he was done, he was already hacking together his own (albeit rudimentary) game engines in C++ and regularly making use of those skills during his day job. However, if you want to build games, you should just build games, and not game engines. So, Chris picked his favorite publically available game engine at the time--an excellent little tool called Unity 3D--and started hammering out some games. After a brief stint of indie game development, Chris regretfully decided that the demands of that particular career path weren't for him, but the amount of knowledge he had accumulated in just a few short years was impressive by most standards, and he loved to make use of it in ways that enabled other developers with their creations. Since then, Chris has authored a tutorial book on game physics (Learning Game Physics with Bullet Physics and OpenGL, Packt Publishing) and two editions of a Unity performance optimization book (which you are currently reading). He has married the love of his life, Jamie, and works with some of the coolest modern technology as a software development engineer in Test (SDET) at Jaunt Inc. in San Mateo, CA, a Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality startup that focuses on delivering VR and AR experiences, such as 360 videos (and more!). Outside of work, Chris continues to fight an addiction to board games (particularly Battlestar: Galactica and Blood Rage), an obsession with Blizzard's Overwatch and Starcraft II, cater to the ever-growing list of demands from a pair of grumpy yet adorable cats, and gazing forlornly at the latest versions of Unity with a bunch of game ideas floating around on paper. Someday soon, when the time is right (and when he stops slacking off), his plans may come to fruition
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Disclaimer:
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