From Tiki6, it's possible to alter the smarty compilation behavior.
Modified: As used previously. Before using a compiled template, Tiki will verify if the source file was modified previously.
Never: Skip the check. Modifications to templates will not appear until template cache is manually cleared. Combined with Bytecode cache, significant performance improvements can be expected due to reduced disk access (slowest component in a server).
Always: Always recompile, regardless of the modification state. Should only be used on development.