Is it possible to save a map to include already constructed buildings as part of the map rather than changes to that map. The reason I’m asking is that if this is possible this would decrease game lag as the game would not have to keep track of all changes and merely incorporates new buildings into the map. This should reduce overhead, pathfinding and save time a lot by freeing up system resources.
This would be fine as long as the player is happy with losing their building status; but it would mean losing the ability to edit or remove* the building, and any other associated building controls or bonuses.
*actually, this would allow players to mine blocks from buildings individually and I’m sure that many players would love that… to remove a building, simply mine the whole thing! However, there would be no way to replace the ground in that case, so you’d have to leave the floor intact or create a new building over it.
While I think this would work really well for ruins, I don’t think it would be suitable for normal play. However, it may well be possible for the team to save buildings “into the map” as a less detailed building rather than as terrain, so there’s definitely an idea to play around with here.