Switching between levels, re-initialize existing structure or create new one?
- by Martino Wullems
This is something I've been wondering for quite a while.
When building games that exist out of multiple levels (platformers, shmups etc) what is the prefered method to switch between the levels?
Let's say we have a level class that does the following:
Load data for the level design (tiles), enemies, graphics etc.
Setup all these elements in their
appriopate locations and display them
Start physics and game logic
I'm stuck between the following 2 methods:
1: Throw away everything in the level class and make a new one, we have to load an entirely new level anyway!
2: pause the game logic and physics, unload all currents assets, then re-initialize those components with the level data for the new level.
They both have their pros and cons. Method 1 is alot easier and seems to make sense since we have to redo everything anyway. But method 2 allows you to re-use exisiting elements which might save resources and allows for a smoother transfer to the new level.
