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TIPS AND TRICKS TO KEEP YOUR  LAND LAG FREE

I suspect many of us have visited a region and had our FPS (Frames per Second) rate drop to low single digits. Some people managing a region have this problem and start looking for help figuring out what was wrong with it.

FPS: The number of times per second your computer is redrawing (or refreshing) what’s on the screen. Higher numbers are better. A framerate between 15-30 frames per second (FPS) is about as smooth as broadcast television.

One tip is to select an item you think may be using a number of large textures. A simple right click on it will do. Then press Ctrl-Alt-Shift-T. This will send a series of notifications. You will get a list of the textures used in the item as a list ordered by each object in a link set. The notifications tell you the size of the texture and which face it is applied to.

You can see the result in the image: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-T Read Out. 

Examples of problematic scripts include:

  • Scripts that are constantly active without sleeping; for example: Sensor scripts with less than a few-second sleep interval.

  • Temp-rezzer scripts that allow a slightly larger number of prims at the expense of region performance.  << big lag monsters

Physical objects can potentially slow your region down. Specifically, physical objects that are often moving and collide with each other can contribute significantly to the time your region takes to perform the physics calculations. In the Statistics Bar, the Sim Time use ctrl + shift + 1 (Physics) line shows how many milliseconds your physics calculations are taking. If this value is over 4 milliseconds, then it may be worth check to see if this can be reduced. Again you will be sent a warning on these objects and be asked to correct them or they will be removed.

Remove Excessive Large Textures –
Excessive use of large textures can slow down a region. In general, it’s a good idea to avoid using textures greater than 512×512 pixels. In the Statistics Bar, the Images Time line tells you how many milliseconds the handling of your region’s images is taking. If this value is over 2 milliseconds, it may be worth checking to see if it can be reduced: When a person’s avatar views a large image or numerous smaller images for the first time since entering the region, they’ll automatically download the image to their viewer. If a number of avatars are doing this simultaneously, a significant load is created on your region, slowing down its FPS. If you can’t remove these large textures, the following strategies might be useful for increasing your region’s performance:

  • Reducing the number of unique textures

  • Reducing the size of textures

  • Reducing the resolution of textures

  • Optimize Scripted Texture-Changing Objects

Scripted objects that change textures can also slow down a region. Each time a new texture is displayed, it must be downloaded to each avatar looking at the object. If you can’t remove these objects, then reducing the number and size of unique textures in these objects can increase your region’s performance

Large numbers of objects will slow your region down, especially if they’re of any of the following types:

  • Moving

  • Rotating

  • Flashing

  • Scripted

  • Shape-changing sculpties

Reduce Visitor Attachments:
While this is harder to do, some regions have been able to see some improvements by having visitors remove attachments, especially high-prim or heavily scripted ones.

Region Optimizations for Improved Viewer Performance

The following region items can slow down viewer performance:

  • Large or numerous textures, when an avatar first comes within sight of them

  • Overuse of sculpted prims, twisted tori, and other geometrically complex objects.

  • Particle effects (which includes bling and poofers).

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