So, I’ve always wanted to keep this game secret until release, but I don’t want to release if I can’t get this problem fixed. I’ve been working on a racing game for over 2 years now and I’ve worked with the likes of many coders to get the game completely finished. People that I recall have been involved at some point were: VolcanoInc, Rhyles, LeitrisArcade, Trioxide, Kert109, Quenty, Pyrolysis, Weeve, AxisAngle, Corecii, 0xBAADF00D, and Fractality.
It’s been a bumpy ride, due to a lot of outlandish, hard to solve bugs that some of those coders can vouch for, and also in part due to some inexperience and amateurish handling on my part of the overall game’s development/team management (As this was my first real game dev venture discluding the very simple Speed Run games). That’s not to say without a doubt though, I’ve learned a lot over the two years of making this game and am more than ready to try making some others, with less mistakes. I originally thought I could put the game together within a couple months, but it has taken a lot longer, which I’ve coped with, and it has all payed off- almost.
2 years and around 3000 USD spent on its development and it is finally 99% complete, except one glaring problem that has been mocking me from the start, and maybe a clear indicator that I bit off too much than I could chew with this kind of game for a first project. Lag, (seems to be FPS lag). Non understandable, seemingly uncalled for, ceaseless, and horribly distracting lag. It’s so unbearable to me that I can’t focus on anything else when trying to test the game, probably not because it’s actually that hindering to the gameplay, but it’s presence makes me sick seeing as it may never be fixed for release despite all the other great work that has been put into the game. I’ve reached out to many of the coders that have worked on the game to help me fix the lag, but it evades all attempts at being fixed. It’s like a final boss that is impossible to beat. We’ve analyzed all of the game stats, done debugging, process of elimination, and overall there have been several conclusions as to what the lag is caused by, and then attempts to fix it, but to no avail.
There are two main reasons as to why I think it is hard for me to get help in fixing this bug: 1. Not everyone experiences the lag. On my Dell XPS 15 I experience it, and on my HP Pavillion and other computers in my house as well. However, on a new Mac desktop, it’s not present, it’s smooth like butter. So, most people that I reach out to for help don’t actually experience the lag themselves. However, about 1 out of 4 regular players when testing say that they feel the lag. 2. Some people may feel the lag, but not think of it enough for it to be a large problem. I think we’ve all played games before with some level of lag and just ignored it, and I think some people are prone to unknowingly overlooking some FPS lag, but for me it definitely creates a horrible experience. And even if some random players say that they don’t feel lag, while they actually may be experiencing it- it may add to their unknowing disliking of the game. And of course not to mention, the lag in general is just hard to describe, sometimes it is unpredictable or inconsistent, and certain variables in the game like bigger/smaller maps, more/less unions, more/less animations, more/less players and more/less time spent in the game give misleading results that makes it all seem like a wild goose chase.
Aside from the lag, just for everyone’s information, as I said the game is 99% done, and that is in regards to the heap of coding for everything. Dozens of maps and buyable special items are still to be made, and new enticing UI to replace all of the current placeholder UI. All of that can most certainly be done within days/weeks, very quick, I have lots of great builders that have been on hold. I just don’t want to spend hundreds of more USD on additional aspects before this unbearable problem is fixed, if it can even be fixed. In conclusion, I have gotten great reception of this game from everyone, testers, developers and Roblox staff even with the present lag, but I can’t release it knowing that it’s going to be a laggy experience for maybe half of all the players including myself. This game may not be the very best game on Roblox, but I really think it’s worth finishing. Also, I’m not trying to convey the idea that the previous coders were not adept enough to finish my game, everyone involved has done a great job. But right now this problem is evading being fixed and it’s the only thing on my mind. I’ve been focusing on it for the past months, but to no avail. Anyone tackling it will definitely be facing a challenge.
If somehow the game’s lag were completely fixed, so that I can experience the game smoothly, and not get consistent complaints of lag from testers, I’d be willing to pay 1000 USD (or if you just want to fix it because you want the most intense coding challenge ever, for free then that’s that). I really wish I could get the attention of some engineers at Roblox that might be able to help me with this game, or someone that has fixed very troublesome issues like this in the past, but so far I think I’ve reached out to 80% of the top notch coders on Roblox in regards to this issue. If you think you can help, please PM me, or if you have constructive advice, post on the thread please. Sorry for the walls of text. Thank you!