Performance And Gaming

Performance And Gaming

OpenLaunchDeck is designed to stay light while games, OBS, Discord, and audio routing software are running.

What The App Does To Stay Responsive

• MIDI callbacks do minimal work.
• Actions run through a worker queue when they may block.
• Hotkeys, text entry, and media keys use the lightweight Windows input path.
• OBS and network operations use timeouts.
• Lighting updates skip pads that did not change.
• Rapid lighting changes are coalesced and flashes share one scheduler.
• Sound playback uses QtMultimedia instead of loading whole files into memory.
• File logging runs through a background queue instead of blocking button dispatch.
• Profile edits are saved in short batches instead of writing JSON for every keystroke.
• The Windows process stays at Normal priority so games keep scheduler priority.
• Hidden or minimized windows skip unnecessary grid/status repaints.
• Background health checks use coarse, low-frequency timers.
• Performance logs are quiet by default.

Best Settings For Gaming

Recommended starting point:

• Keep performance logging off unless troubleshooting.
• Keep the app minimized or use Focus Grid while playing if you do not need the editor visible.
• Use OBS WebSocket for clips and screenshots instead of game hotkeys when possible.
• Use F13 through F24 for hotkeys that should not conflict with normal keyboard keys.
• Avoid huge sound files for short soundboard clips.
• Keep duplicate or looping sounds under control with toggle_stop or ignore.

In-Game Hotkeys

Some games block synthetic keyboard input, especially if the game runs elevated or uses strict input handling.

If a game hotkey is unreliable:

1. Run OpenLaunchDeck and the game at the same privilege level.
2. Try an extended key such as F15.
3. Bind the game or OBS action to that key.
4. Prefer OBS WebSocket for replay buffer clips and screenshots.

For OBS replay buffer, use operation save_replay_buffer.

For OBS screenshots, use operation save_screenshot.

Soundboard Performance

Good soundboard habits:

• Use .wav for lowest decoding overhead when file size is reasonable.
• Use high-quality .mp3 for longer clips.
• Keep clip volume below clipping.
• Do not enable overlap on long clips unless you really need layered playback.
• Use Stop All Sounds if a test gets messy.

When To Enable Performance Logging

Enable performance logging only while troubleshooting.

It helps measure:

• MIDI receive timing
• Button press to action dispatch
• Action duration
• Lighting refresh duration
• Sound trigger latency
• Update check duration

After testing, turn it off again so normal logs stay clean.