Bb3 Game Excessively Slow On Android Device

Discussion in 'Buildbox 3.0' started by landyman, Apr 22, 2020.

  1. landyman

    landyman Boxer

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    I have read several threads that report this problem and not one of them has been resolved. I have tried all of the steps suggested like turning off shadows etc but the problem persists.
    I have only followed one of your tutorials to develop a demo game so I could try BB3 (Geometry Dash Clone) and it plays perfectly on my laptop. When I export it and create the .apk file for my Samsung phone the gameplay is so slow it is virtually unplayable.

    If the Buldbox team want people to upgrade to a paid version of their software then these problems need to be rectified. I was hoping to start using BB as it is so simple to build a game but if the exported game is unplayable then there is no point considering upgrading.

    Does anybody have any suggestions what might be causing this or is it just a bug in the software?
     
  2. Sean Buildbox

    Sean Buildbox Serious Boxer

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    Hey there!

    What phone are you testing on? To be clear Buildbox 3 Android export is currently meant for flagship level or higher to run at best quality.

    We're still working to improve the Android export to work on as many devices as possible, but for now the following steps are to be followed for best optimization:

    1- I would also suggest removing shadows from characters & all objects.

    2- Keep image size on the small side, then slightly enlarge to the size needed.

    3- Make sure to rebuild & optimize Atlases before exporting.

    4- Adjust render distances accordingly and adjusting the 'Next Scene Threshold' & Delete Scene Threshold helps as well.

    5- I recommend, if using third party 3D models, try not to use models w/high poly counts.

    6-
     
  3. landyman

    landyman Boxer

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    To be fair I am testing on a galaxy S6 but I wouldn't have thought that would be a major issue.

    1- I would also suggest removing shadows from characters & all objects.
    I have removed shadows from absolutely everything.

    2- Keep image size on the small side, then slightly enlarge to the size needed.
    All images I have imported have been reduced in size using photoshop. I've only imported a couple though as the demo games uses mainly the inbuilt assets

    3- Make sure to rebuild & optimize Atlases before exporting.
    Rebuilt and optimized before exporting

    4- Adjust render distances accordingly and adjusting the 'Next Scene Threshold' & Delete Scene Threshold helps as well.
    I set the game up exactly as in the tutorial videos and didn't adjust anything. Surely the basic 'new game' template should be fairly well optimized?

    5- I recommend, if using third party 3D models, try not to use models w/high poly counts.
    No 3D models have been imported, as stated, I followed the tutorial video to create a geometry dash style clone game. I copied it almost exactly with a few minor tweaks to make it look slightly different (colours, slight variations on layout etc)

    I understand that BB3 will be aimed at higher end phones but I download games from the app store frequently which run just fine on my older phone so it obviously isn't completely outdated yet, I even play games like COD mobile without issues. I would have thought that such a basic and simple game such as in the tutorial videos would be no problem anyway as it uses so few graphics anyway. There is only one atlas and it has about 8 images on it. When I tried BB2 some years ago, I built out a complete game, imported lots of graphics, had about 4 atlases full of graphics and lots of animations. This always ran just fine on any phone I tried it on.

    Surely there has to be a way that this issue can be fixed. There are still millions of people out there with older phones and we would be cutting out a huge chunk of the marketplace if they are excluded from downloading our games.
     
  4. shahar.m192

    shahar.m192 Avid Boxer

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    galaxy s6 is not a powerful phone same go-to iPhone 6s that I testing also games runs very slow,
    I think that it both sides the phone is too old and not the best optimization on bb3
     
  5. landyman

    landyman Boxer

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    I understand by todays standards that the S6 isn't a powerful phone but it should be powerful enough to run a simple, basic game.

    Like I said, I have Call Of Duty Mobile on it and it can handle a game as graphically intensive as that. Obviously the developers are experienced enough to optimize the code so it will run on most devices but surely buildbox can also do similar when the games are so basic.

    As stated, using buildbox at the moment for game developing will prevent a huge chunk of users from downloading the game. It's the only thing preventing me from paying for a premium license. I really hope the team sort this issue out soon. BB2 did not have this problem, I realise that BB3 is a different beast altogether but if I can't get a simple game to run on an older phone then there is no point whatsoever developing something more complex with multiple worlds or highly animated 3D models.

    It would be nice to know if this issue will be addressed. If not then unfortunately BB is not going to be for me.
     
  6. kwinchi

    kwinchi Boxer

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    so if i understand right if a device doesnt reach the designed 60 fps builbdox is set to run at then it's deemed to play slowly ? why is that ?
    most devs rely on ad models for generating revenue and the majority of people don't have a flagship device . i suggest you either turn it down to 30fps or have a proper way of compensating for the fps difference
     
    landyman likes this.
  7. landyman

    landyman Boxer

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    OK after doing a bit more testing it appears the problem lies purely with 3D mode.

    I created a very simple platformer type game with just a couple of scenes in 2D and it runs just fine. Obviously the issue is with the 3D world which kinda sucks as I had some amazing ideas for simple 3D style games.

    Any chance a member of the dev team can comment and let me know if this is just the way BB3 is going to be or if they are working on optimizing the 3D export? (If it's even possible to do so)

    Thanks
     
    volcank likes this.
  8. Adilzhan

    Adilzhan Boxer

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    Hello! Im glad to see that thread, because this optimization (slow on mobile devises) not only my problem. Game in mobile devices is very unplaylable.
     
  9. strawmann

    strawmann Boxer

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    I've been battling this problem for days and finally figured out a solution.
    My game is a jumping bottle flip clone. I was running between 22-31 fps on my Android.
    So, I increase the Gravity and the Jump Force's Y-axis and Z-axis until it felt right.
    The BB simulator runs around 60 fps, so it feels WAAAAY too fast. But on a slow Android, it's almost perfect.
    These may not work for you exactly the same, but try tweaking your physics settings similarly. Maybe it'll help.
     
    Josh (Nology Games) likes this.
  10. Charles Rozén

    Charles Rozén Boxer

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    Buildbox should have a cheaper version for those that export to android if its subpar with the IOS version. 3dgraphics without shadows makes the graphics look flat. Kinda odd that you need to have the best phones when the graphics itself is very basic.
     
  11. tonymartz2

    tonymartz2 Avid Boxer

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    my 2 cents: most of my players don't have high end phones or tablets, its just how it is.
    So I was kinda forced to focus on 2d games for now until BB3 gets better... the issue is that 3d games look so much nicer and more 2020.

    Stay Safe everyone
     

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