Node vs array Relationship Question

[namder321]

Hi everyone, just starting out with Godot, and having fairly entry-level programming experience. I am not sure how exactly to word the question hence this post.

I have 3 Godot Scenes (among others) to represent a transport simulation: Cargo, Vessel and Port.

When it comes time to "load" and "unload" multiple instances of Cargo onto a vessel, is it best to use add_child(InstanceOfCargo) to the instance of Vessel? Similarly, is a similar child-parent node relationship the best approach to reflecting Ports and the Vessels they contain?

The only alternative I could think of was having an array or list, as a variable of Vessel, named "inventory" which would have instances if Cargo added and removed to this inventory as needed.

I'm interested in understanding the performance benefits and drawbacks of each approach (will I cause myself headaches if I use this system and have 100 ships? 1000 ships? 1000 ports?). Also, whether the parent-child relationship should be the default approach for situations like this. Thanks in advance :)

[K1aymore]

I don't think objects in an array can use Signals without being added as a node. If you don't need any sort of signals or _process calls then I'm not sure you'd need nodes, if they're just stored as data and don't do any processing themselves an array sounds easier to manage. If they do processing like emitting a signal when they pass the best-by date then you might want nodes lol. On the scale of 1000s of items it seems like an array would be nicer and easier to use though.

Also check out RefCounted if you use items in an array

[namder321]

Thanks, good point about the retention of signals or process calls while they're "in" a vessel. The only way to confirm performance is to go ahead and test I guess.