I'm working with a socket server and I'm trying to decide how to update all of the clients.

I'm currently sending few packets with entire objects serialized in JSON. In most cases this adds a lot of overheard in the form of unneeded data. This to me is a no brainer, get rid of the serialization and send only what is needed. 

Lets say I have four server-side AIs. Should I send all four of the AIs in one giant update, therefore serializing only the needed data or should I send each one in a separate update?


Question: Weren't there originally going to be nine Star Wars films?
Answer: What is now Episode IV was originally released as simply "Star Wars". It was chosen out of all the stories Lucas had come up with in that universe because it was best able to stand alone as a single movie. Had it been only modestly successful as the studio thought it would be (most of the people working on it actually thought it'd bomb), it probably would have been the only Star Wars movie, and Lucas would have either moved on with the Indiana Jones stories he had in the works, or faded into obscurity. As it was, the film was so successful that Lucas could afford to bankroll ESB himself (something not normally done especially at the time, though the model has since been replicated by Spielberg, Cameron and several other prominent screenwriter/directors).