Thanks for the response! I'm a bit of a beginner to buffers so I'm trying to understand - is this to say if I have 1000 instances of the same tree, I really only need to create the model (write the VBuffs) once and then create a system that can save and load this information on each subsequent iteration of the tree? I guess I'm asking how certain videos of this system can handle so many models at once without spending an initial 1+ minute on loading each room.
Any tips on where to get started would be really appreciated!
Edit: Also, oddly, when I change the models to 2d billboarded sprites, the game's slowdown is still very significant due to calling so many iterations of matrix_build each frame. Is this normal? I feel like I might be doing something wrong that's causing all this slowdown