Update. Getting the issue even with very simple code. e.g got a drop in fps from 15k to 9.
if (live_call()) return live_result; var s_clock = (alarm[0]/main_clock)*3.14; var r1 = r1_max*sin(s_clock); var r2 = r2_max*sin(s_clock); draw_set_color(c_white); draw_rectangle(x-r1,y-r1,x+r1,y+r1,0); draw_triangle(x-r2,y,x-r1,y-r1,x-r1,y+r1,0);//left triangle draw_triangle(x-r1,y-r1,x,y-r2,x+r1,y-r1,0);//top triangle draw_triangle(x+r1,y-r1,x+r2,y,x+r1,y+r1,0);//right triangle draw_triangle(x-r1,y+r1,x,y+r2,x+r1,y+r1,0);//bottom triangle
Out of curiousity I tried again but removed "var" temporary variables and it had a small effect but not by much, down to around 20 fps.
This is occuring with 16 of these instances on screen.