iOS 8 How to Prevent Spritekit Frame Rate Drop - ios

Question

In a game I have created I created a game mode where the player has 30 seconds to hit as many targets as they can. I added a 30 second countdown timer in the -(void)update:(CFTimeInterval)currentTime method. When the countdown is initiated, the frame rate drops significantly, and 99% of the cpu is used whenever the object collides with the target. This doesn't happen when the timer is not running. Is there another way to add a countdown timer? If not, how can I lessen the cpu usage and keep the frame rate constant? I am using Xcode 6.1 and the code is below. Also this is an iOS 8 problem. On iOS 7.1 it runs fine.
-(void)update:(CFTimeInterval)currentTime {
/* Called before each frame is rendered */
//reset counter if starting
int highscoret = [[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] integerForKey: #"highScoret"];
if (startGamePlay){
startTime = currentTime;
startGamePlay = NO;
}
countDown.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"Start!"];
int countDownInt = 30.0 -(int)(currentTime-startTime);
if(countDownInt>0){ //if counting down to 0 show counter
countDown.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%i", countDownInt];
}else if(countDownInt==0) { //if not show message, dismiss, whatever you need to do.
countDown.text=#"Time's Up!";
self.highScoret.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d Baskets",highscoret];
SKScene *endGameScene = [[GameOverT alloc] initWithSize:self.size];
SKTransition *reveal = [SKTransition fadeWithDuration:0.5];
[self.view presentScene:endGameScene transition:reveal];
[self saveScore2];
if (self.points > highscoret) {
self.highScoret.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d Points",highscoret];
[self saveScore];
self.points = 0;
self.scoreLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d Points",_points];
}
else {
self.points = 0;
self.scoreLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d Points",_points];
self.highScoret.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d Points",highscoret];
}
}
}
And here's other relevant code
-(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event {
/* Called when a touch begins */
for (UITouch *touch in touches) {
CGPoint location = [touch locationInNode:self];
if (CGRectContainsPoint(countDown.frame, location)){
startGamePlay = YES;
self.baskett = 0;
[self reset];
}
}
UITouch * touch = [touches anyObject];
CGPoint location = [touch locationInNode:self];
SKSpriteNode * object = [SKSpriteNode spriteNodeWithImageNamed:#"object.png"];
object.position = self.object2.position;
object.physicsBody = [SKPhysicsBody bodyWithCircleOfRadius:ball.size.width/2];
object.physicsBody.dynamic = YES;
object.physicsBody.categoryBitMask = objectCategory;
object.physicsBody.contactTestBitMask = targetCategory;
object.physicsBody.collisionBitMask = 0;
object.physicsBody.usesPreciseCollisionDetection = YES;
CGPoint offset = rwSub(location, object.position);
if (offset.y <= 0) return;
[self addChild:object];
CGPoint direction = rwNormalize(offset);
CGPoint shootAmount = rwMult(direction, 1000);
CGPoint realDest = rwAdd(shootAmount, object.position);
float velocity = 200/1.0;
float realMoveDuration = self.size.width / velocity;
SKAction * actionMove = [SKAction moveTo:realDest duration:realMoveDuration];
SKAction * actionMoveDone = [SKAction removeFromParent];
[object runAction:[SKAction sequence:#[actionMove, actionMoveDone]]];
}
-(void)object:(SKSpriteNode *) object didCollideWithTarget:(SKSpriteNode *) target {
[object removeFromParent];
[[self scene] runAction:[SKAction playSoundFileNamed:#"effect2.wav" waitForCompletion:NO]];
self.points++;
self.scoreLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d Points",_points];
if (self.points == 3) {
[self obstacle];
}
}

Answer 1

timer inside a update function is a bad idea used skaction with waitForDuration like this may be slove your problem
SKAction *updateTime= [SKAction sequence:#[
///fire function after one second
[SKAction waitForDuration:1.0f],
[SKAction performSelector:#selector(callFunction)
onTarget:self]
]];
//where 30 is number of time you want’s to call your function
[self runAction:[SKAction repeatAction:updateTime count:30] ];
-(void) callFunction
{
//what ever you want to do
}