Do un-active game objects still use memory?

Question

My title is a little vague, so let me explain...

I created an ramp with some "addons" attached to it in my 3D program. The ramp is the parent, then it has some arrows pointing in the direction you need to go as a c$$anonymous$$ld, and a support beam underneath as another c$$anonymous$$ld. The whole t$$anonymous$$ng is exported as a single FBX file, but not collapsed so I can access the c$$anonymous$$ldren individually in Unity.

I wrote a small script that is attached to the GameObject, w$$anonymous$$ch lets me assign the arrows and the support beam as "addons", and makes it possible to "deactivate" or "activate" those "addons" to make them visible or invisible.

They key word here is "activate", as in gameObject.active = false/true. It does't destroy or instantiate the addons game objects, it just $$anonymous$$des them. My question is, since the "addons" are not being destroyed but just $$anonymous$$dden, is my object just as expensive with the addons invisible then with them visible? Do I need to "destroy" and "instantiate" them if I want to save memory and speed?

Thanks in advance for any clarification on t$$anonymous$$s, and thanks for your time! Stephane

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Answer by PetterDK · Mar 06, 2012 at 04:22 PM

I am currently wondering about t$$anonymous$$s very same question, but can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere.

So far what I've gathered is that when you use the gameObject.active toggle, none of the components on that gameObject will receive any updates. That means that you are saving performance in the sense that the inactive object is not considered at runtime, before it is activated. The object DOES exist in memory though when using t$$anonymous$$s approach.

When using Instantiate and Destroy, the object is not present in memory before it is instantiated. W$$anonymous$$le that means saving memory usage, instantiating the object seems to be a more expensive process than activating an inactive object. Especially if it's a complex object, you will likely take up some performance when instantiating.

To answer your question, then: No, your objects are not as expensive when they are $$anonymous$$dden (gameObject.active = false), than if they are visible (gameObject.active = true). T$$anonymous$$s is because the components wit$$anonymous$$n the object are not receiving any updates from Update, FixedUpdate or LateUpdate, and of course the fact that it's not being rendered.

If you want to save memory per se, then yes – you will have to use Instantiate/Destroy.

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MithosAnnar · Mar 06, 2012 at 04:37 PM 1

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PetterDK · Mar 06, 2012 at 04:55 PM 1

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PetterDK · Mar 07, 2012 at 11:29 AM 1

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Kaldrin · Nov 04, 2020 at 12:09 AM 0

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Do un-active game objects still use memory?

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