tweak(gamemessage): Reduce number of MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP messages by Caball009 · Pull Request #2668 · TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGameCode

Caball009 · 2026-04-30T20:06:39Z

Similar to PRs tweak(gamemessage): Remove unused argument of MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP #2664 and tweak(gamemessage): Remove unused MSG_AREA_SELECTION message from game logic #2667

The client considers primary mouse clicks in the game world as a deselection, and will also update the game logic. This means that GameMessage::MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP messages are sent frequently, even if no objects are currently selected. There's actually an old EA comment on this issue. It's also unnecessary to send this message prior to the creation of a new group. This PR changes that by checking first if the local player has objects selected, which reduces the number of messages significantly.

I've tested with two local clients in multiplayer (VS22 debug builds); one had this feature and one didn't, and everything worked fine.

See commits for cleaner diffs.

Results for Golden Replay 1:

MSG_NETWORK_MESSAGES: 56985
MSG_LOGIC_CRC: 11601 (doesn't include 1785 for playback)
MSG_DO_MOVETO: 6888
MSG_AREA_SELECTION_DEPRECATED: 4476
MSG_QUEUE_UNIT_CREATE: 2225
MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP: 17366
MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP_NO_SOUND: 317, new group: 88
MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP: 8299, new group: 8114
MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP before new group creation: 8901 (more than 8114 + 88, because sometimes this message is used twice).

Just the MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP message before the creation of a new group accounts for 15% (8901 / 56985) of all network game messages in this replay. That doesn't even take into account how many times this message was used when no units were selected.

TODO:

Replicate in Generals.
Do more thorough testing.

greptile-apps · 2026-04-30T20:11:22Z

Greptile Summary

This PR reduces the frequency of MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP network messages by ensuring the message is only sent when there are actually selected drawables, and by suppressing it in call-sites that immediately follow with MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP (which implicitly replaces any existing group on the logic side).

InGameUI::deselectAllDrawables gains an updateGameLogic parameter (renamed from postMsg) and captures hadSelectedDrawables before the deselection loop, gating MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP on both updateGameLogic=true and the selection being non-empty.
SelectionXlat introduces m_pendingDeselection to defer the deselect message from RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP until after MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK has resolved, preventing a double MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP when the user clicks a new object while another is already selected.
All deselectAllDrawables() call-sites that directly precede MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP are updated to pass FALSE, and a pre-existing double-deselection bug in onMetaAddTeam is fixed with a deselectedAllDrawables guard flag.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge — the changes are logically consistent across all call-sites and the game logic correctly handles MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP as an implicit group replacement without a preceding destroy message.

The optimization is narrowly scoped: the hadSelectedDrawables snapshot is taken before the deselection loop so it is always accurate, m_pendingDeselection is properly initialized and cleared in every branch, and the FALSE-parameter updates are applied consistently across all relevant call-sites. The author validated the change in a two-client local multiplayer session. No rule violations were found and no pre-existing correctness assumptions are broken.

No files require special attention.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/InGameUI.cpp	Core change: deselectAllDrawables now captures whether any drawables were selected before clearing them, and only posts MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP when updateGameLogic=true AND objects were previously selected. Logic is correct; the snapshot precedes the deselection loop.
Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/SelectionXlat.cpp	Introduces m_pendingDeselection to defer the deselect message from RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP until after MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK resolves, preventing double MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP on new-object selection. Removes the now-redundant deselectAll() static helper. Double-deselection bug in onMetaAddTeam is also fixed with a deselectedAllDrawables flag.
Core/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/CommandXlat.cpp	All deselectAllDrawables() call-sites that immediately precede MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP are updated to pass FALSE, suppressing the redundant MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP in those paths. One change is inside a block comment and has no runtime effect.
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/InGameUI.h	Parameter rename only: postMsg → updateGameLogic for better clarity. No functional change.
Core/GameEngine/Include/GameClient/SelectionXlat.h	Adds the m_pendingDeselection Bool member to SelectionTranslator. Straightforward declaration change.
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/ControlBar/ControlBarCommandProcessing.cpp	Single call-site update: deselectAllDrawables(FALSE) before MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP, suppressing the redundant destroy message.
Core/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/System/GameLogicDispatch.cpp	Single call-site update in replay observer path: deselectAllDrawables(FALSE) before reselecting objects for the replay camera, suppressing the destroy message during replay sync.

Sequence Diagram

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
sequenceDiagram
    participant Mouse
    participant SelectionXlat
    participant InGameUI
    participant MessageStream

    Note over Mouse,MessageStream: Alternate mouse mode – click on empty space (deselect)
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: "m_pendingDeselection = TRUE"
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: onMouseLeftClick() – no object found
    Note over SelectionXlat: m_pendingDeselection still TRUE
    SelectionXlat->>InGameUI: "deselectAllDrawables(updateGameLogic=true)"
    InGameUI-->>InGameUI: hadSelectedDrawables?
    alt had selected drawables
        InGameUI->>MessageStream: MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP
    end

    Note over Mouse,MessageStream: Alternate mouse mode – click on new object
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: "m_pendingDeselection = TRUE"
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: onMouseLeftClick() – object found
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: "m_pendingDeselection = FALSE"
    SelectionXlat->>InGameUI: "deselectAllDrawables(updateGameLogic=false)"
    Note over SelectionXlat: No MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP (skipped)
    SelectionXlat->>MessageStream: MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP

%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {"darkMode": true, "background": "#0d1117", "primaryColor": "#21262d", "primaryTextColor": "#e6edf3", "primaryBorderColor": "#8b949e", "lineColor": "#8b949e", "textColor": "#e6edf3", "edgeLabelBackground": "#161b22", "actorBkg": "#21262d", "actorBorder": "#8b949e", "actorTextColor": "#e6edf3", "actorLineColor": "#8b949e", "signalColor": "#8b949e", "signalTextColor": "#e6edf3", "noteBkgColor": "#373320", "noteBorderColor": "#d4a72c", "noteTextColor": "#f0e6c0", "labelBoxBkgColor": "#21262d", "labelBoxBorderColor": "#8b949e", "labelTextColor": "#e6edf3", "loopTextColor": "#e6edf3", "activationBkgColor": "#30363d", "activationBorderColor": "#8b949e"}}}%%
sequenceDiagram
    participant Mouse
    participant SelectionXlat
    participant InGameUI
    participant MessageStream

    Note over Mouse,MessageStream: Alternate mouse mode – click on empty space (deselect)
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: "m_pendingDeselection = TRUE"
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: onMouseLeftClick() – no object found
    Note over SelectionXlat: m_pendingDeselection still TRUE
    SelectionXlat->>InGameUI: "deselectAllDrawables(updateGameLogic=true)"
    InGameUI-->>InGameUI: hadSelectedDrawables?
    alt had selected drawables
        InGameUI->>MessageStream: MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP
    end

    Note over Mouse,MessageStream: Alternate mouse mode – click on new object
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: "m_pendingDeselection = TRUE"
    Mouse->>SelectionXlat: MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: onMouseLeftClick() – object found
    SelectionXlat->>SelectionXlat: "m_pendingDeselection = FALSE"
    SelectionXlat->>InGameUI: "deselectAllDrawables(updateGameLogic=false)"
    Note over SelectionXlat: No MSG_DESTROY_SELECTED_GROUP (skipped)
    SelectionXlat->>MessageStream: MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP

_{Reviews (6): Last reviewed commit: "Misc fixes." | Re-trigger Greptile}

xezon

How confident are we that this will cause no gameplay issues?

xezon · 2026-05-09T15:55:15Z

 						if( !TheInGameUI->getPreventLeftClickDeselectionInAlternateMouseModeForOneClick() )
 						{
-							deselectAll();
+							m_pendingDeselection = TRUE;


Why is this necessary? Can't we just call deselectAllDrawables here? A second call to deselectAllDrawables will not send a second message then.

(My comment assumes alternate mouse mode is enabled).

The selection of an object generates two messages, RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_DOWN and MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK. Originally, both would deselect everything, even in the case of a new group creation, which doesn't require prior deselection.

Why is this necessary? Can't we just call deselectAllDrawables here? A second call to deselectAllDrawables will not send a second message then.

It would be ok to call deselectAllDrawables here, except it's extremely likely that the next message is MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK creating a new group in which case there's no Logic deselection required at all. If you can think of a cleaner way to do this, I'd like that.

So MSG_MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK is synonymous for a single MSG_RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_UP.

If object deselect cannot be fully determined at RAW_MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON_DOWN, then why not just determine it at only MSG_MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK?

Perhaps for consistency with RAW_MOUSE_RIGHT_BUTTON_DOWN, and because MSG_MOUSE_LEFT_CLICK has 7 early breaks before it gets to the code that does the group creation.

xezon · 2026-07-01T18:34:16Z

 		DEBUG_ASSERTCRASH(selectThisObject->getContainedBy() == nullptr, ("InGameUI::selectNextIdleWorker Selected idle object should not be contained"));
-		deselectAllDrawables();
+		deselectAllDrawables(FALSE);
 		GameMessage *teamMsg = TheMessageStream->appendMessage( GameMessage::MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP );


MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP is guaranteed to deselect, yes? If it was not, then behavior would be changed.

MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP is guaranteed to deselect, yes?

That depends on the first parameter. A new group means deselection.

//New group or add to group? Passed in value is true if we are creating a new group. teamMsg->appendBooleanArgument( TRUE );

I changed 12 of those (in commit 5), 11 are followed by the creation of a new group.

The other one is here: 1ba3f6e#diff-3d35bdf48c71852a399a66cf0cc15056aa294618b54e3c69b9258b3988979c5bR831 and only applies to playback mode in which object (de)selection shouldn't* impact the game logic anyway.

Yes but in handler of MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP are a couple more conditions. I wonder if this is gucci.

The only relevant one I see is if the ObjectID lookup leads to a nullptr. If that happens we have bigger problems, I think.

The only way I can see how MSG_CREATE_SELECTED_GROUP + group creation parameter doesn't actually create a new AIGroup is if either all ObjectIDs are invalid or the player mask is invalid.

The behavior in those cases remains the same with or without this PR: no logical deselection / no new group creation and no logical selection.

Caball009 added Enhancement Is new feature or request Minor Severity: Minor < Major < Critical < Blocker Gen Relates to Generals ZH Relates to Zero Hour labels Apr 30, 2026

xezon reviewed Apr 30, 2026

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Caball009 commented May 3, 2026

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Comment thread GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/InGameUI.cpp Outdated

Caball009 force-pushed the tweak_msg_destroy_sel_group_reduced branch 2 times, most recently from 2a1e6c7 to fcb6ef1 Compare May 3, 2026 18:48

xezon reviewed May 7, 2026

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Comment thread GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/SelectionXlat.cpp Outdated

Comment thread GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/InGameUI.cpp Outdated

Comment thread GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/InGameUI.cpp Outdated

xezon reviewed May 8, 2026

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xezon reviewed May 9, 2026

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xezon reviewed May 10, 2026

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Comment thread GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/MessageStream/SelectionXlat.cpp Outdated

Caball009 added 6 commits June 30, 2026 02:14

Added an empty selection check to 'deselectAllDrawables'.

5d4595c

Removed 'deselectAll'.

cb27fd2

Refactored 'selectSingleDrawableWithoutSound'.

b80ccc4

Refactored 'SelectionTranslator::onMetaAddTeam'.

ba252d2

Updated callsites of 'InGameUI::deselectAllDrawables'.

1ba3f6e

Added logic to avoid double deselection on left mouse click.

74b9ff4

Caball009 force-pushed the tweak_msg_destroy_sel_group_reduced branch from 65a34a7 to 74b9ff4 Compare June 30, 2026 04:35

Misc fixes.

219fa73

Caball009 force-pushed the tweak_msg_destroy_sel_group_reduced branch from 8baab11 to 219fa73 Compare June 30, 2026 04:39

xezon reviewed Jul 1, 2026

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TODO:

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Greptile Summary

Confidence Score: 5/5

Important Files Changed

Sequence Diagram

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Caball009 commented Apr 30, 2026 •

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