So when I launch my game (I launch it in standalone) with shadows off, i hover at about 45 fps but it will drop to about 30 fps when i look over a hill but that’s not my problem. My problem is when I turn shadows to one (I have everything in blueprints so i can just change the setting really fast for the game), my fps drops to about 15 or below and it makes it almost impossible to run. I have a fairly big world (probably about 15 sq km but I’m not sure) with no trees, no grass, or just no meshes in general. The only thing I have done is textured the landscape. All my other setting are set to 0 except for textures and it is also set to 1 but I don’t think that changes the fps much. I have tried to look up solutions to this problem but i have come up with nothing. Any Help?
P.S. I can’t unload pieces of the map because I’m trying to make it an mmo.
Having a Day night cycle is a struggle to optimize (just a warning). Shadows are pretty much the #1 cost for fps drop. I would look into lowering the shadow resolution, or the the number of distance cascades.
So, first off, Dynamic shadows can be a killer. Second, the fact that you are running only 45 frames in what I understand is a basically empty world sounds like you probably need a better graphics card. However, that aside, you can adjust the shadow draw distance, turn shadows off on things you dont particularly need it on, reduce the shadow resolution, use lightning channels to adjust what is being affected by which lights.
Shadows are a lot about thinking creatively how to fake things. For help with this you will need to share your lighting setup and probably some screenshots so we can get creative.
Well, let me put it this way, the editor caps at 120 FPS, VR requires 90 FPS, and most games should run at 60 FPS to be considered “really smooth”. You could also have an incredibly complex scene, but from your post I am gathering it is mostly empty. I suppose you could be bound by your GPU, but that really is beyond the scope of your original question or my real capacity to help you. A lot of what I deal with is what I like to call “Relative Performance Tests.” Check your frame rate in a default new level. From there compare it with your other scene. From there you have a relative comparison of performance drops that should hold up across many different computer setups.
You can use the Console Command “Stat Unit” to see the load on your CPU and GPU.
I generally wouldn’t recommend developing/profiling a game without at least being able to hit the 120 FPS cap in editor in a default scene.
Again, if you want help with reducing your lighting costs, some screenshots of your world would help us come up with some creative solutions to help you.
