Does schedule eat cpu cycles?

Hello,

I've found a hack that works, but it is bringing my (quite fast) machine to it's knees. It seems quite odd, and I presume I'm doing something dumb.

What I've got is AI's mounted in Wheeled Vehicles (Flight Compendium Complex ones to be specific), following paths (AIPatrol resource). I've got some nice rocket launchers mounted onto the cars. What I would like to do, for example, is have them squeeze off a shot every five seconds. Makes for a nice tableau, no? :-)

So I wrote this little function:

function AIPlayer::RandomFire (%player)
{
    if (%player.isMounted()){
       %thiscar = %player.getControlObject();
       %thiscar.setImageTrigger(0,true);
       
    %player.schedule(5000,"RandomFire",%player);
    }
    else 
    %thiscar.setImageTrigger(0,false);
    %player.schedule(5000,"RandomFire",%player);
}

I'll admit that I find the syntax for schedule confusing, but it does actually work. However, once only three or so vehicles are in there, the game starts hanging on and off, getting worse as more cars are added. Without this, I can have dozens and dozens of happy path following wheeled vehicles with no problem. (It's quite amazing, really--I expected Torque to break under what I've been throwing at it a long time ago, but it just chugs away like a champ!)

Anyway...this surely must be a braindead approach? Or is it just a goof?

Edit: Just wanted to mention that it doesn't seem to be due to the missiles themselves. I hacked it up thus:

function AIPlayer::RandomFire (%player)
{
    if (%player.isMounted()){
       %thiscar = %player.getControlObject();
       %thiscar.setImageTrigger(0,true);
       
   // %player.schedule(5000,"RandomFire",%player);
    }
    else 
    %thiscar.setImageTrigger(0,false);
    %player.schedule(500,"RandomFire",%player);
}

and they all fired every half second, lots of missiles, framerate down, but no lockup-ish-ness.

Say wait a minute. How can that work? They are mounted but it is scheduling the call to RandomFire...
Please be merciful...I am essentially an amateur...


Lee