Squeezing Frames: Performance Pass and Optimization Wins

Before locking in the final build of the month for Banana Hell, we took a hard look at performance. Once the chaos hit around 250 active actors, bullets, enemies, effects , we saw frame rate dips and time dilation issues. We ran profiling tools like UnrealInsights, statunit, and statAI to isolate the bottlenecks. The biggest culprits turned out to be bullet trail particle systems.

*This was the original bullet trail before it was removed*

Also overly frequent AI ticks, and unnecessary post-processing. We began stripping down visuals that weren’t core to the gameplay. Motion blur, bloom, SSR, and eye adaptation all got cut as you can see in the picture below

*Below is how it looked before the changes*

We also optimized how enemies spawn by setting a hard cap and pausing waves until the on-screen count drops. Ranged enemies had their tick rates lowered, and we reworked the most expensive VFX to be far simpler. These tweaks brought our frame time back under control while still keeping the screen filled with enemies. Now the game holds a steady 60 FPS even during heavy fights.