Profiling

S2-Launcher includes a built-in profiler interface powered by the Tracy C++ profiling library. When enabled, it provides real-time performance data across most language modules and supported plugins. Profiling is intended for developers and debugging purposes — it is disabled by default and should only be enabled when you need it.

Enabling the Profiler

To enable profiling, pass the --profiler flag when launching the game via S2-Launcher:

On Windows:

s2launcher.exe --profiler

On Linux:

./s2launcher --profiler

Combined with other arguments:

s2launcher.exe -dedicated -console +map de_dust2 --profiler

Once the flag is present, the profiler will automatically activate in supported language modules and plugins at startup.

Connecting Tracy

Tracy uses a separate viewer application to collect and display profiling data from the running game.

What You Can Measure

With the profiler enabled, Tracy captures performance data including:

• Frame timings across the game loop
• Plugin function call durations — see exactly how long each plugin's hooks and callbacks take
• Language module overhead — measure the cost of cross-language calls (C#, Python, JavaScript, etc.)
• Custom zones defined by plugins that have Tracy instrumentation built in

Recommendations

• Only enable when needed. The profiler adds overhead to the game process. Running it during normal play or on a production server is not recommended.
• Use the Tracy manual for in-depth guidance on interpreting traces, setting up custom instrumentation, and analyzing bottlenecks. The manual is included in the Tracy release as Tracy.pdf.
• Run in isolation. For the most accurate measurements, profile with minimal other processes running on the machine.

Troubleshooting

1. No sessions appear in Tracy:
   • Confirm you passed --profiler to the launcher and that the game started successfully.
   • Ensure Tracy and the game are on the same machine or the same local network (Tracy connects over TCP).
   • Check that your firewall is not blocking Tracy's default port (8086).
2. Profiler active but no plugin data:
   • Only language modules and plugins that have Tracy instrumentation built in will report data. Third-party libraries without Tracy support will not appear.
3. Game performance drops with profiler on:
   • This is expected. Tracy's instrumentation has a measurable cost. Disable the --profiler flag for normal use.