memory consumption and display mode

[schrodinger]

So far I've been ok with Standard Video Mode for just everything...
but recently I've implemented some lighting effects unavailable in Standard mode.

The simple fact of switching from Standard to Direct3D 9 pumped the memory usage from 32 Mb to 45 Mb
(is this because I have no particular video hardware in my computer?)

Adding one layer for the lighting fx (with just a quick backdrop and some actives) quickly raised the bar to 61 Mb, doubling the starting standard-video quote of 32.
(I also note that now layers behave in a strange manner, as I had to switch their display order and to create an additional empty layer between the main one and the GUI to make the latter actually appear...?)

Since my app is windows only, and by now I see no slowing down or any other malfunction, I should'nt be concerned about this issue -the doubling of memory usage- or...?

Thank you for sharing your experiences on the matter.

[piscesdreams]

If it is Windows only, 61mb is nothing to fear. While following as much efficiency and power of 2 protocol as you can is key, I have a game that hits 1500 mb and it is doing fine speed wise. Though I am focusing moreso on gaming pc's, I am really pushing Fusion as hard as I can to learn where it starts to freak out. But 61mb for a windows app is nothing to fear.

[schrodinger]

Well, that's really good news
I was trying to keep as low as possible but never really knew where the limit was,
maybe I read something about mobile devices apps to keep lower than 50Mb... but that's a completely different story I guess.

Thank you for your advice!

[piscesdreams]

For mobile devices I agree. But it all depends on the app, resolution, device, etc. Windows is much more flexible. But of course, the lower the better.

My game, while geared towards mid to higher end pc's, does not play well with your standard 4gb ram onboard graphics pcs.

Ive only tested on a couple, but it seems like people need either a decent gpu with my game or 8gb ram. I havent tested enough to know. But Fusion itself has been handling it nicely, just always follow as much efficiency protocol as you can, no matter the platform.

I have read that Fusion goes for your gpu memory first, after that it uses standard ram. Not sure if this is true.

[schrodinger]

I wanted to keep mine geared towards as low-end machine as possible,
since there are not spectacular graphics involved I guess memory usage will not grow up much more,
but there are some processor-intensive looping that will be more likely the speed-killers.

In this scenario, I think I won't be able to give up on some simple nice looking lighting effects and willingly pay that extra-30 Mb fee

[piscesdreams]

If you don't intend to tackle mobile platforms, it will be fine. If you do intend, I'd recommend testing as you go along so that you're not in for a shock later, possibly.

[schrodinger]

Surely not for this project, I've implemented too many win-only extensions,
and most of all, for the small size of its many elements, the app would be completely usable only on a decent-size screen.

In future plans on mobile devices, I would certainly step-test as you suggested!

[Danny]

Just a bit of an N.B - the Mobile exporters are optimised and packed up differently than your D3D9 Windows Executable... It all depends on the hardware of the device, RAM, CPU usage and everything is in OpenGL as opposed to DirectX, it's almost a different kettle of fish.

[schrodinger]

Well, since for the moment I'm one of the three people in the world still not even having a smartphone,
I guess it will be a very long road to me
...a road surely worth trying,
since mobile app/gaming seems to be the (present and) future of widespread software development.

Thanks for clarifying what's meaningful to look after when planning an app for mobile!