Yandere Simulator Code Review Notes

Introduction

• The review was based on the May 15th build, with updates on June 1st, June 15th, and July 2nd.
• Key issues: slow development and poor game performance.
• Detailed investigation into game performance and architecture issues.
• No bullying reminder.

Initial Performance Analysis

• Benchmarks run via wine with Lutris installer; missing text noticed.
• Game crashes when the window is unfocused.
• FPS counter showed less than 60 FPS despite good PC specs.
• CPU/GPU not maxed out, suggesting a potential bottleneck elsewhere, but could be a wine issue.

Profiling the Game

• Utilized Unity's profiler for detailed analysis.
• High rendering time, especially for drawing opaque geometry.
• Excessive geometry in student models, sourced from volunteers lacking optimization knowledge.
• Need for major optimization sweep on assets.

Optimization Techniques

• Use of combined meshes to reduce draw calls.
• Level of Detail (LOD) partially implemented; not effective for students.
• Active use of occlusion culling to reduce rendering of non-visible objects.

Specific Rendering Issues

• Heart rate monitor inefficient due to incorrect culling mask.
• Physics calculations heavy due to unnecessary colliders.
• Animation calculations significant, partially mitigated by stop animation script.

Scripting Efficiency

• Scripts take 8-10ms per frame to run.
• Specific functions like uirect.update and aiBase.update are resource-heavy.
• High number of UI components active at once; need for optimization.

Architectural Issues

• YandereScript and StudentManagerScript are complex but necessary.
• StudentScript is overly complex and should be restructured.
• Suggestions for separating student-specific and generic behavior.

Implementation Details

• Save files are large and inefficiently structured.
• Interaction system can be optimized for dynamic prompts.
• School map rendering is inefficient, could use an image instead.

Common Code Criticisms

• Use of if-else chains instead of switch cases; not a significant performance concern.
• Misuse of array indexing and hard-coded values.
• Excessive public booleans for state tracking; suggested use of enums.

Potential Improvements

• Utilize Unity's job system for multi-threading.
• Consider using DOTS for better performance (major refactoring required).

Conclusion

• Yandere Simulator exemplifies technical debt issues.
• Game architecture needed refactoring much earlier.
• Encouragement and acknowledgment of community support.

Final Thoughts

• Importance of proper code organization and refactoring.
• Need for unit tests in game development to catch bugs early.
• Gratitude for viewer support and engagement.