Performance Optimization Basics

"Optimize for mobile, scale up for desktop – 60 FPS is the goal."

When to Use

Use when:

• FPS drops below 60
• Debugging performance issues
• Starting optimization work

The 16ms Budget (60 FPS)

System	Budget	Notes
Input	~1ms	Event handling
Physics	~3ms	Rapier/Cannon updates
Game Logic	~4ms	State, AI, animations
Render	~5ms	Three.js draw calls
Buffer	~3ms	Safety margin
Total	16.67ms	60 FPS target

Quick Start Canvas Config

// Performance-optimized Canvas
<Canvas
  dpr={[1, 2]} // Limit pixel ratio
  performance={{ min: 0.5 }} // Auto-reduce quality
  gl={{ antialias: false }} // Disable for mobile
>
  <Suspense fallback={null}>
    <Scene />
  </Suspense>
</Canvas>

Decision Framework

Symptom	Likely Cause	Solution
Low FPS everywhere	Too many draw calls	Instancing, merging
FPS drops on zoom	LOD not implemented	Add LOD system
Mobile slow	DPR too high	Limit to 1.5
Memory grows	Dispose missing	Add cleanup
Stuttering	GC pressure	Object pooling

Progressive Optimizations

Level 1: Basic

// Limit device pixel ratio
<Canvas dpr={Math.min(window.devicePixelRatio, 2)}>

// Disable expensive features on mobile
const isMobile = /iPhone|iPad|Android/i.test(navigator.userAgent);

<Canvas
  shadows={!isMobile}
  gl={{
    antialias: !isMobile,
    powerPreference: 'high-performance',
  }}
>

Level 2: Object Reuse

// Reuse Vector3, Quaternion instances
const position = useRef(new THREE.Vector3());
const rotation = useRef(new THREE.Quaternion());

useFrame(() => {
  position.current.set(0, 0, 0); // Reuse, don't create
});

Level 3: Memory Management

// CRITICAL: Dispose of Three.js objects
useEffect(() => {
  const geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry();
  const material = new THREE.MeshStandardMaterial();

  return () => {
    geometry.dispose();
    material.dispose();
    if (material.map) material.map.dispose();
  };
}, []);

Performance Monitoring

import { useFrame } from '@react-three/fiber';
import { useRef } from 'react';

function PerformanceMonitor() {
  const frameCount = useRef(0);
  const lastTime = useRef(performance.now());

  useFrame(() => {
    frameCount.current++;

    const now = performance.now();
    if (now - lastTime.current >= 1000) {
      console.log(`FPS: ${frameCount.current}`);
      frameCount.current = 0;
      lastTime.current = now;
    }
  });

  return null;
}

Anti-Patterns

❌ DON'T:

• Create objects inside useFrame
• Skip dispose() calls
• Use shadows on mobile without testing
• Render invisible objects
• Use uncompressed textures

✅ DO:

• Reuse Vector3, Quaternion instances
• Always dispose geometries and materials
• Profile before and after optimizations
• Compress textures (WebP, Basis)

Checklist

• DPR limited appropriately
• No object creation in useFrame
• Dispose called on cleanup
• Shadows disabled on mobile
• Textures compressed
• FPS stable at 60

Common Performance Killers

1. Too many draw calls → Use Instances
2. High polygon count → Use LOD
3. Unoptimized textures → Compress, resize
4. No frustum culling → Enable frustumCulled
5. Memory leaks → Call dispose()
6. GC pressure → Object pooling

Reference

• Three.js Performance Tips
• instancing.md - Instanced rendering
• lod-systems.md - LOD techniques