Alex ๐Ÿฆ… Profile picture
May 1 โ€ข 8 tweets โ€ข 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Is your game struggling with performance?

Here is how to run your Unreal C++ code asynchronously to avoid bottlenecks.

A thread ๐Ÿงต๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿผ Image
A little bit of context:

I am working on integrating @Tolgee_i18n localization tools inside Unreal Engine.

One of problem I've encountered is the performance hit coming from refreshing the Localization Manager resources.

A single call would take 450ms and drop the FPS to 2. Image
1. Investigating & diagnosing the issue

The first step we need to take is to add as many TRACE_CPUPROFILER_EVENT_SCOPE in performance-heavy code. This will measure the impact of the function's execution.

As a general rule of thumb, when in doubt, always add more. Image
2. Evaluating if the code can run async

Certain functions can only be executed on the main thread (e.g.: Creating UObjects).

In most cases, Unreal's code marks these portions with: check(IsInGameThread()).

This is a clear sign the function should NOT be ran async. Image
3. Converting to async

All we have to do is to wrap our code in a lambda and call AsyncTask.

The first parameter is the thread type. We will go with AnyHiPriThreadHiPriTask because we want our work to get prioritized.

The second parameter is the lambda with our code inside. Image
4. Re-evaluating performance

When running our latest changes we can see the calls to our functions get spread across multiple threads depending on the workload and priority. Image
5. Checking result

The execution still takes 450ms, but it's no longer blocking our main thread so the player can enjoy a smooth experience.

All the FPS spikes are gone by writing just 3 lines of code. Image
That's all for today!

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More from @OutoftheboxP

Jan 14
Do you need to optimize your game?

Here is how to use Unreal Insights. A tool that will help you analyze the perforce of your game.

A thread ๐Ÿงต๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿผ
Step 1: Simply add the TRACE_CPUPROFILER_EVENT_SCOPE macro at the start of all of the functions you want to analyze.

Inside the parentheses, you can add any text you like, but I recommend using the ClassName::FunctionName for visibility.
Step 2: Start UnrealInsights.exe

This can be found inside *Unreal Directory*/Engine/Binaries/Win64
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