Leaks, effects vs units

[Justify]

Hey guys.
I don't even have a problem, just an idea I saw somewere ago.
We all know that effects leak, and that removed effects still keep some memory (leaks can't be cleaned completly) while units don't leak after being removed.
I thought of using dummy units for every effect...
Pro:
- Can be removed very easy due to expiration timers
- Units don't leak after being removed
Contra:
- Loading time increased dramaticly if many units are required
- I think unit creation is slower then effect creation (I can create more effects then units before it starts lagging, at least at my comp)
- Would "require" a small system: hashtable with string keys to get the unit ids

Comments? Or does it already exist?
Justify

 

[bReathl3sS]

does it already exist? i don't know because i haven't looked it up or cared much of it.
but is it in use? hell, yeah, especially i use them a lot. not only because you can add units to a group whereas effects just can be summed up as an array. sure you have to create lots of units, but if there's a spell where you create a lot of special effects at once (good example is Spectre's Spectral Dagger from DotA where the Shadow Path appears --> they are obviously units and not effects) it is better (imo) to create units instead of sfx. Other spells with 1 sfx are no prob i think, if they are not there to be spammed like hell.
but i can't imagine a system i saw for that.

greetings

 

[YourNameHere]

No wonder you didn't find a system because all you have to do is create units instead of effects. I don't see where that would need any system at all. (Maybe removing units after x seconds, but there are systems for that)

Well another advantage of using units instead is that you can simply move them around (even in 3d)

 

[Reaper2008]

Why not use both?

By binding a timer to anything you can have timed stuff (effects, units, doodads, anything).

 

[chobibo]

Effects don't leak memory, rather effects have a decay time, which is reconfigurable on the Gameplay Constants, that's why effects aren't recycled immediately. I think it was done to make effects display their death animations properly.

Loading time increased dramaticly if many units are required

True, but more related to slk data.

I think unit creation is slower then effect creation (I can create more effects then units before it starts lagging, at least at my comp)

True, units have more data stuffed onto them.

Actually, choosing between the two is pointless, since some effects are stationary and don't require the functionality of dummy units. The best thing to do is to decide which spells need a non-dynamic effect and which spells don't.

Look at Vexorian's XE module for more details on dynamic effects.

 

[Reaper2008]

XE uses dummy.mdx, so it uses both .

It's the best method by far though. (For dynamic effects)

 

[chobibo]

XE uses dummy.mdx, so it uses both .

Exactly, but it does not use different unit types, only a single unit type, so it won't prolong a map's loading time.

 

[Justify]

Erm, from what I've read effects DO leak after being destroyed...
http://warcraft.ingame.de/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149991
(It's a german site).
Loop with 10.000 executions in a 0.5 s periodic trigger, which is turned off after 1000 evaluations.
=> 10.000.000 times over 500 seconds. I think the test is accurate enough.
Still not usefull to use units? :/

 

[YourNameHere]

Yeah, they leak 0,09kb, even if they're destroyed.

 

[chobibo]

effects aren't recycled immediately

Haven't you read what I just typed? Effects don't get recycled immediately after destroying it, it needs to decay first.

 

[YourNameHere]

Haven't you read what I just typed? Effects don't get recycled immediately after destroying it, it needs to decay first.

No, they still leak after those default 5 seconds.

 

[chobibo]

Ah I see.

 

[Justify]

Haven't you read what I just typed? Effects don't get recycled immediately after destroying it, it needs to decay first.

Like I wrote, this test took 500 seconds...
EDIT: kay^^
EDIT2: What I mean with system: stringkeys to access the units id, else you'd have to enter each id manualy

 

[azlier]

Units DO leak after destruction. Irreversibly so. Unit creation is also very, very slow.

Using an effect attached to a recycled dummy unit gives you nearly the efficiency of effects with the ability to size, tint, and move units.