/godot-auditor

Aurelius Protocol: 2D Physics NEVER List

• NEVER scale CollisionShape2D nodes — Use the shape handles in the editor, NOT the Node2D scale property. Scaling causes unpredictable physics behavior and incorrect collision normals [12].
• NEVER confuse collision_layer with collision_mask — Layer = "What AM I?", Mask = "What do I DETECT?". Setting both to the same value is usually wrong [13].
• NEVER multiply velocity by delta when using move_and_slide() — move_and_slide() automatically includes timestep. Only multiply gravity/acceleration by delta [14].
• NEVER forget force_raycast_update() for manual mid-frame raycasts — Raycasts update once per physics frame. If you change target_position, you MUST force an update [15].
• NEVER use get_overlapping_bodies() every frame — It is expensive. Cache results with body_entered/body_exited signals instead [16].
• NEVER modify RigidBody2D state directly in _process — Use _integrate_forces() for safe, synchronized access to PhysicsDirectBodyState2D [17, 411].
• NEVER move PhysicsBody2D nodes in _process() — Use _physics_process(). Moving bodies outside the physics step causes stutter and unreliable collision detection.
• NEVER use RigidBody2D for 1000+ simple entities — Use PhysicsServer2D to bypass node overhead for massive performance gains (Swarms/Bullets) [18, 397].
• NEVER use Area2D for high-frequency blocking (Bullets) — Area signals can be delayed. Use move_and_collide() or ShapeCast2D for frame-perfect results [19].
• NEVER ignore 'Physics Jitter' on high-refresh monitors — Enable Physics Interpolation to prevent micro-stutter in motion [21, 400].
• NEVER scale collision shapes directly at runtime — It causes major instability. Resize the shape resource (size/radius) instead.
• NEVER use set_deferred for immediate physics transform logic — It happens at the end of the frame. Use force_raycast_update() or PhysicsServer2D instead.
• NEVER leave Continuous CD (CCD) enabled for slow objects — It adds significant CPU overhead. Reserve it for high-speed projectiles to prevent tunneling.
• NEVER use a single collision layer for all tiles/entities — Separate layers (Ground, Walls, Enemies) to allow selective filtering via masks.
• NEVER forget to free PhysicsServer2D RIDs manually — They are not garbage collected and will leak memory permanently.