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Are substances to slow?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by TylerPerry, Sep 6, 2014.

  1. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    So I want to get into using substances for stuff but they seem to just be way to slow, on some older Android devices the Windmill demo will hardly run when demos like Epic Citadel and the Skycastle scene runs at around 30fps and they look way better? I can't find that many demos with substance but it's worrying that they don't just have a performance impact when they change but the whole time? I thought that the computation would only happen when you update them or in Awake or something. Just wondering if people have found this an issue?
     
    TylerPerry, Sep 6, 2014
    #1

  2. orb

    orb

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    orb, Sep 6, 2014
    #2

  3. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    I'm not sure(As this isn't my tests just a demo by Allegorithmic) but how could I consider using Substances when the performance on their demo is so bad? (Demo here) Like it seems to run like a slug even on high end devices.
     
    TylerPerry, Sep 6, 2014
    #3

  4. orb

    orb

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    It runs fine on my phone (Nexus 5). It takes only a few seconds to load too.
     
    orb, Sep 6, 2014
    #4

  5. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    That is like the second most high end phone available on the market so I'd hope it does.
     
    TylerPerry, Sep 6, 2014
    #5

  6. orb

    orb

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    It's not even top 10 :)
     
    orb, Sep 6, 2014
    #6

  7. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    Really? I'm talking about raw performance I'd imagine the only thing faster then the Snapdragon 800 would be Snapdragon 805 and perhaps the Tegra K1.
     
    TylerPerry, Sep 6, 2014
    #7

  8. orb

    orb

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    Nope, it's 53rd on overall on a recent Android device list, and a few dozen places down on phone lists.
     
    orb, Sep 6, 2014
    #8

  9. Ippokratis

    Ippokratis

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    Oct 13, 2008
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    Substances trade loading speed for build size.
    Also, if you want textures that update in-game, the trade-off is fps for flexibility and build-size (the alternative would be a long png sequence).
    They represent a very useful tech, if you use them for what they are intended.
    If you have Unity Free, you can try them using the free substances that are available.
     
    Ippokratis, Sep 6, 2014
    #9

  10. tswalk

    tswalk

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    Jul 27, 2013
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    I've only been using SD to generate static textures, and for building atlases... since dynamic procedural effects don't work for Windows Apps/ Phone with SD (yes, let the sad faces and the crying of small children ensue)...

    Are you certain that procedural is needed on that platform? as Ippokratis mentions, you can have SD build them static at load time for the saving of build size. But I'm finding it almost easier to prep things in the editor, generate an atlas, and go with static...

    I guess it depends on what your clients are wanting... might need some trickery.
     
    tswalk, Sep 6, 2014
    #10