[Solved] Tilemap System? My method is too slow.

I'm trying to figure out how I can make a tilemap system. I need to be able to build and remove tiles real-time ingame.

So I made something up:
Each tile has a size equivalent to 1 world unit, so I'll spawn them 1 world unit apart, creating a nice tiled map.
Then I created a dictionary that stores the position of the tiles (vector2) in keys, so that I can easily find out if a "tile spot" is occupied - by using dict.ContainsKey()

However as the dictionary gets larger, the time it takes to call dict.ContainsKey() is a bit too long.
With only a few (~20) tiles, the game freezes for ~0.5 secs before the tile appears on the screen.

Here's a paste of the code if you want to have a look at my approach: http://pastie.org/private/ldzjscipbqolas9yeh64aq

Anyone know how I can improve this to make it work without lag?
Any help would be appreciated

Edit:
I just realized that I have to have at least 1000 tiles, so my method probably wont be efficient enough.
Is there any better method I could use? I've heard about mesh stuff, but would that work in my case, where I want to be able to build and remove tiles in-game, and there can be special blocks (e.g. some cant be removed).

 

Don't use string keys.
try an intVector2, or hash the coords

 

Would using an intvector2 / hashing the coords really change that much?

Anyways, I just realized that I have to have at least 1000 tiles, so my method probably wont be efficient enough.
Is there any better method I could use? I've heard about mesh stuff, but would that work in my case, where I want to be able to build and remove tiles in-game, and there can be special blocks (e.g. some cant be removed)?

 

String comparisons are slow, so yeah it might

 

I forgot to mention that I've tried vector2 without a difference.

 

Is the posted code is really all you've got, I can't imagine it taking half a second to spawn a tile, even with a dictionary check.

nb. regular vector2s as keys may be prone to false negatives

 

I'm also highly skeptical that the dictionary lookup has anything to do with it. Dictionary lookups are very fast and essentially constant time regardless of the number of entries.

@AndreasGan, can you back up and tell us exactly what you've measured and how?

 

Sorry. I had a script running I forgot all about. Thanks for the help though
I disabled the other script, and it works like it should now.

Anyways, I think I'll look into a better method for tilemaps, as this is going to be very inefficient, having one gameobject for each block.

 

The answer is voxels. Google it.

 

Yes, that's very likely true. Not because of the dictionary, but because of all those GameObjects.

I think the right way to do this is with a dynamic Mesh. If that seems daunting, I'm sure you can find a good grid/tile system on the asset store, or maybe even something open-source. I'm sorry I don't have any specific recommendations handy, though.

Good luck,
- Joe

 

Thank you for the help and suggestions guys.
I forgot Toolkit2D has a tilemap feature, so I'll be using that because I have tk2d.

I can't close the thread? :/