Jump to content

Lag meter (like in minecraft) for large bases?


paul23

Recommended Posts

Well are there any mods that enable more detailed profiling? I'm currently busy creating a self sustaining station, however now that I am getting in the 100 tonnes range with many many parts I'm reaching a lot of lag. I wonder what elements are creating most lag, and could maybe removed without too much negative feedback.

 

IE: shall i remove the redundant solar panels, is it better to keep the surface mounted or the free rotating when comparing processing power / electric power given. -> are the ladders laggy and should I remove them, disabling ability to just crawl accross the entire station; rcs thrusters to rotate the craft? 

Or most importantly: do parts inside kis containers create lag, or do those parts "not do anything"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@paul23 The number of physics calculations in a vessel scales in a great way (like logarithmic or exponential) as part count increases. A major thing is that KSP calculates how a certain part will respond to a physics interaction (like drag, thrust or impact) and how every other part will move and experience stress as a result of this certain part moving or turning-- like poking a puddle and causing a ripple.

For me, I get very annoyed when a given craft's part count passes 100 and I consider KSP unplayable when total part count in physics range reaches 300. Some people have the patience to still play KSP when their "frames per second" becomes "seconds per frame" and wouldn't be troubled in your situation. If your station is doing too much (such as, it has lots of USI LS and MKS parts and all their converters are on) that will hurt you too.

I assume you have lots of docked modules. These docked modules may likely have their own probe cores, batteries and RCS. This is bloat and should be replaced, as much as possible, with an orbital tug system (Only the tug will have the probe core, battery and (most of) the RCS.), and all extra RCS thrusters removed when no longer needed. If you have lots of open/unpaired un-shielded docking ports, they will create their own special kind of lag. Those are always scanning for whether another docking port is near and about to connect to them. Shielded docking ports have the ability to stop that scanning. USI Konstruction contains welding docking ports-- docking ports that vanish and directly attach the nearest parts behind them to each other. It's massively useful for permanent orbital stations and helping to control part count.

If you have a mod that lets you destroy parts and reclaim resources from them, make more use of that mod, and if possible, install and use OSE Workshop to build (and put into inventory) bigger, better versions of the weaker parts that you have been spamming. One large solar panel from the Near Future Solar mod will save you from spamming stock Gigantors.

If you have lots of ladders (especially for aesthetic value) then definitely remove them. 99% of the time, there won't be a kerbal holding onto them, and when a kerbal is holding on, it will be to 1% of the total amount of ladder. That's also an enormous waste of CPU. Instead, have the kerbal carry a single ladder and a tool in their inventory. If the kerbal needs to hold onto a particular place while working, have them bolt the ladder on where needed.

With how long KIS has been around, it would surely be able to have stored parts not count so I think you're safe with many incredibly full containers.

Finally: Just install an FPS counter app (I use the freeware "FRAPS") or such a mod and watch how the numbers change. I'm pretty sure LinuxGuruGamer owns one.

Edited by JadeOfMaar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm doesn't the game have the idea of 'physicless' parts to prevent the cumulative lag?

 

My ship station is quite literary covered in kas attachement points and the fixed joints. I'm not yet in the technology bracket for near future stuff, doing the 300 point research.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, paul23 said:

Hmm doesn't the game have the idea of 'physicless' parts to prevent the cumulative lag?

Yes. A dozen or so tiny radially attachable parts are physicsless. IIRC they still experience drag but they pass their mass to the part they're attached to.

EDIT: Wait I may be confusing this with massless. If you want parts that physics ignores then no, I do not believe any of the (attachable-to-ships) parts do that. And I do not see how they could and still act in any reasonable way in the game.

Edited by 5thHorseman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well things like rcs thrusters have physicsRelevance set to 1 in their part configuration. This means their mass is added to the element they connect to and they are not used for calculations taking moment of inertia into account. (or mass).

 

So I wonder how those compare to other parts when calculating lag.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The part having a huge number of modules creates more lag. Command module with reaction wheels, antenna, science container, internal space, science experiment and resource modules creates more lag than a structural part. Every stock command module includes all this and also a bunch of modules added by life support mods or something else like BDA radar, weapon manager, radar warning receiver or KIS inventory.

 

On 11/26/2019 at 10:36 AM, JadeOfMaar said:

If you have lots of open/unpaired un-shielded docking ports, they will create their own special kind of lag. Those are always scanning for whether another docking port is near and about to connect to them.

 Looks like it's the reason why my spacestations and cargo (space)planes lag so much despite their relatively small partcount. Always have extra docking ports in the cargobay to attach 4 types of rovers with different docking ports location, two types of submarines and n types of somethingelse. And stations.... they have docking ports everywhere... on every surface... the are looking at me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...