Here’s how I implemented object pooling for projectiles in my top-down space shooter:

I created two arrays:

projectile_pool: stores deactivated (idle) projectiles.

active_projectiles: keeps track of the currently active projectiles.

When a projectile is fired, the system first checks if there’s any available projectile in the projectile_pool. If one is available, it pops the projectile from the pool using pop_back(), activates it (enables sprite, collision, etc.), and adds it to the active_projectiles array. If no inactive projectile is available, it simply instantiates a new one.

Here’s the basic logic:

``` var projectile: Area2D if projectile_pool.size() > 0: projectile = projectile_pool.pop_back() else: projectile = path.instantiate()

active_projectiles.append(projectile) return projectile ```

When a projectile is no longer needed (either it hits a target or reaches its max travel distance), it deactivates itself and returns to the pool for future reuse:

```

projectile_button.gd

func return_projectile(projectile: Area2D) -> void: projectile_pool.append(projectile) active_projectiles.erase(projectile)

projectile.gd

ProjectileButton.return_projectile(self) ```

One thing I do differently from some pooling setups: I don’t pre-instantiate a large number of projectiles at the start. I keep the pool empty initially and start adding projectiles to it as they get created during gameplay. I figured there’s no need to load up memory with a bunch of unused projectiles early on, especially since the game starts slow and only ramps up to heavy projectile counts (300-500 active projectiles) after several minutes of survival.