# Trying to create a city scape, but code is running very slow, can this be fixed by creating each tower as a PShape?

**URL:** https://discourse.processing.org/t/trying-to-create-a-city-scape-but-code-is-running-very-slow-can-this-be-fixed-by-creating-each-tower-as-a-pshape/43306
**Category:** Coding Questions
**Created:** [November 25, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/trying-to-create-a-city-scape-but-code-is-running-very-slow-can-this-be-fixed-by-creating-each-tower-as-a-pshape/43306 "2023-11-25T13:52:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![mdrmx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@mdrmx](https://discourse.processing.org/u/mdrmx)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/trying-to-create-a-city-scape-but-code-is-running-very-slow-can-this-be-fixed-by-creating-each-tower-as-a-pshape/43306/1 "2023-11-25T13:52:14Z")

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```auto
import peasy.*;
PeasyCam cam;

float cubeSize = 15;
float xoff = 0.5;
PShape Box;

Building[] city = new Building[100];

void setup() {
  //size( 1000, 1000, P3D);
  fullScreen(P3D);
  cam = new PeasyCam(this, width/2 -500, height/2, 1000, 2000);
  
  //create brick for building
  Box = createShape(BOX, cubeSize);
  
  //populate city array with building objects and pass coordinates
  for(int i = 0; i < city.length; i++){
    float r = random(-100, 100);
    float r2 = random(-100, 100);
    city[i] = new Building(r, height, r2);
  }
  
  //build tower with box pshapes with coords passed in previous loop
  for(Building city : city){
    city.build();
  }
}

void draw() {
  background(140);
  fill(255);
  
  //draw floor
  beginShape();
  vertex(-20000, height, 20000);
  vertex(20000, height, 20000);
  vertex(20000, height, -20000);
  vertex(-20000, height, -20000);
  endShape();
  
  //show buildings stored in city array
  for(Building city : city){
    city.show();
  }
}

class Building {
  float locX, locY, locZ;
  float columns, rows;
  ArrayList<Cube> walls = new ArrayList<Cube>();

  Building(float locXTemp, float locYTemp, float locZTemp) {
    locX = locXTemp;
    locY = locYTemp;
    locZ = locZTemp;
    columns = random(5, 20);
    rows = random(5, 40);
  }

  void build() {
    for (float x = locX; x < columns + locX; x ++) {
      for (float y = locY; y > locY-(rows*cubeSize); y -= cubeSize) {
        float noiseVal = 0;
        noiseVal= noise(xoff * x, xoff * y ) * (cubeSize * 1.2 );
        walls.add(new Cube(x * cubeSize, y , locZ * cubeSize + noiseVal, 255, Box));
      }
    }
    
    for (float x = locX; x < columns + locX; x ++) {
      for (float y = locY; y > locY-(rows*cubeSize); y -= cubeSize) {
        float noiseVal = 0;
        noiseVal= noise(xoff * x, xoff * y ) * (cubeSize * 1.2 );
        walls.add(new Cube(x * cubeSize + cubeSize, y, (locZ * cubeSize) + (columns * cubeSize) + noiseVal, 255, Box));
      }
    }
    
    for (float z = locZ; z < columns + locZ; z ++) {
      for (float y = locY; y > locY-(rows*cubeSize); y -= cubeSize) {
        float noiseVal = 0;
        noiseVal = noise(xoff * z, xoff * y ) * (cubeSize* 1.2);
        walls.add(new Cube((locX * cubeSize) + (columns * cubeSize) + noiseVal, y, z * cubeSize, 255, Box));
      }
    }

    for (float z = locZ; z < columns + locZ; z ++) {
      for (float y = locY; y > locY-(rows*cubeSize); y -= cubeSize) {
        float noiseVal = 0;
        noiseVal = noise(xoff * z, xoff * y ) * (cubeSize* 1.2);
        walls.add(new Cube(locX * cubeSize + noiseVal, y , z * cubeSize, 255, Box));
      }
    }
  }
  
  void show(){
    for(Cube walls : walls){
      walls.cube();
    }
  }
}

class Cube {
  float x, y, z, c;
  PShape b;

  Cube(float xTemp, float yTemp, float zTemp, float cTemp, PShape bTemp) {
    x = xTemp;
    y = yTemp;
    z = zTemp;
    c = cTemp;
    b = bTemp;
  }

  void cube() {
    fill(c);
    pushMatrix();
    translate(x, y, z);
    shape(b);
    popMatrix();
  }
}

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Chrisir](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/chrisir/32/45_2.png) [@Chrisir](https://discourse.processing.org/u/Chrisir)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/trying-to-create-a-city-scape-but-code-is-running-very-slow-can-this-be-fixed-by-creating-each-tower-as-a-pshape/43306/2 "2023-11-25T14:03:24Z")

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also your floor is pretty big.

maybe as a floor you could make a thin box

`box(40000, 5, 40000);`

(which would be around 0,0,0)

or

```auto
pushMatrix(); 
translate(0,width,0); 
box(40000, 5, 40000);
popMatrix();

```

(which would be around 0,width,0)

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![scudly](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/scudly/32/5597_2.png) [@scudly](https://discourse.processing.org/u/scudly)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/trying-to-create-a-city-scape-but-code-is-running-very-slow-can-this-be-fixed-by-creating-each-tower-as-a-pshape/43306/3 "2023-11-25T19:15:21Z")

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The most efficient way to draw triangles or quads is as a flat PShape. No GROUP, no BOXes, just a flat list of QUADS. If you make a PShape per building, you could even reuse them for multiple buildings of the same size. Make a dozen PShape buildings of different sizes, choose a few at random for each city block, and you could probably render hundreds of buildings smoothly.

Drawing quads using `stroke()` for their edges will probably still be quite slow. You could speed that up by drawing the quads with a texture that has a simple picture of the outline.

The most efficient rendering would, of course, be a single box per building with a full wall texture on it.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![mdrmx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@mdrmx](https://discourse.processing.org/u/mdrmx)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/trying-to-create-a-city-scape-but-code-is-running-very-slow-can-this-be-fixed-by-creating-each-tower-as-a-pshape/43306/4 "2023-11-25T20:49:17Z")

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That makes a lot of sense, especially as with the box the insides can’t really be seen.

One of them that I just started coding without much of a plan and was making it far too difficult for myself.

Thanks for your perspective!