Speculation on loading time

Safe-Keeper · 12-05-06, 11:20 PM

OK, so one of the things you're bound to notice when watching the in-game footage is that the loading time for the single-player mission is so incredibly short. First I thought this had to do with the computer being high-end, the loading sequence recording being fast-forwarded and/or the game being incomplete (thus without lots of time-consuming features to load), and undoubtedly it greatly has to do with that, but then I got to thinking: Are there memory-saving features in Silent Hunter 4 that reduces loading time? My speculations are listed as such:

We've read that the ocean is "split up into 15 maps". Obviously each would have to be relatively big since the entire globe would have to be covered, but still, only loading one single small portion of the game Earth would be greatly superior loading time-wise than to load up the whole thing. It might work as the world in an MMORPG, where you load up one little portion of the universe at a time, for then to load new "segments" only when the player enters them.
If mission editors had the option to not spawn every single ship in the entire world for single-player missions (what's the point of modelling traffic near the US Coast for a single-player mission taking place near the Phillipines), loading times would be greatly reduced. Options to not spawn the ships in a certain area or even the entire world would be great in either case - who haven't experienced making a mission and having it negatively affected by entities from the Campaign Layers?

What do the rest of you think?

LZ_Baker · 12-06-06, 10:20 AM

That would bve interesting. Over even if they do the "load on the go", only have the computer generate shipping in something like a 500 mile radius instead of the entire world. That would save alot in the load time and in cpu calculations.

Frateloder · 12-07-06, 04:17 PM

If loading time is too short, then I won't have enough time to go mix my cocktail!

Safe-Keeper · 12-07-06, 04:19 PM

Hmm, there's a point. Who wants me to make a "Longer Loading Time Mini-Mod" that'll increase it to SHIII standards?

bookworm_020 · 12-07-06, 06:33 PM

It would be the most unused mod ever for a game!:hmm:

_Seth_ · 12-07-06, 06:43 PM

Agree, maybe the loading time is short because this is WIP, and also the fact that ubisoft is using high-end rigs.. There could also be some mem-saving ding-dongs developed specificly for SHIV.

Ship Hunter · 12-09-06, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

We've read that the ocean is "split up into 15 maps".

This is wrong! There will be a special Campaign which is splitted in 15 Missions for non-hardcore players.

In the real and dynamic Campaign you have the WHOLE World!!!

AJ! · 12-09-06, 06:30 AM

Yeah the 15 maps are probably just 15 missions which have nothing to do with the main campaign, Just like SH3 had.

its been confirmed that the whole world will be the map in SH4.

GlobalExplorer · 12-09-06, 11:02 AM

I am programming applications that use huge geospatial data myself, and splitting / organizing data is an absolute must with this kind of data. From that point of view, the 15 maps make more sense. Maybe SHIII was loading the whole campaign data for every mission instead of clipping objects along a simple rectangle which describes the "active world".

Some other observations which might explain the better loading times:

Did you ever wonder why SHIII took 2-3 minutes loading data just to show the main menu, ot to switch to the museum? SHIII would "boot" the whole engine for the main menu, museum and then do it again for the mission, which is of course not efficient. Discarding all data and the starting over with sth like Application.Inititialize() is a common solution you can fall back to when you run out of time during development, because it is very easy to implement.

Reading/parsing the mostly text based data files ate up loads of times, so maybe they have a binary format now.

In general, loading / engine initialization seemed badly implemented in SHIII. So they probably had lots of opportunities for improving load times.

Just look at the strange savegame system and the 80's style organization of the crew management file for some other examples where they had room for improvement.

I am glad it's loading faster now, but hopefully this doesn't mean the data is now all binary - this would suck for modifications!

GE

12-05-06, 11:20 PM	#1
Safe-Keeper Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 3,234 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Speculation on loading time OK, so one of the things you're bound to notice when watching the in-game footage is that the loading time for the single-player mission is so incredibly short. First I thought this had to do with the computer being high-end, the loading sequence recording being fast-forwarded and/or the game being incomplete (thus without lots of time-consuming features to load), and undoubtedly it greatly has to do with that, but then I got to thinking: Are there memory-saving features in Silent Hunter 4 that reduces loading time? My speculations are listed as such: We've read that the ocean is "split up into 15 maps". Obviously each would have to be relatively big since the entire globe would have to be covered, but still, only loading one single small portion of the game Earth would be greatly superior loading time-wise than to load up the whole thing. It might work as the world in an MMORPG, where you load up one little portion of the universe at a time, for then to load new "segments" only when the player enters them. If mission editors had the option to not spawn every single ship in the entire world for single-player missions (what's the point of modelling traffic near the US Coast for a single-player mission taking place near the Phillipines), loading times would be greatly reduced. Options to not spawn the ships in a certain area or even the entire world would be great in either case - who haven't experienced making a mission and having it negatively affected by entities from the Campaign Layers? What do the rest of you think? __________________ First Strike Mod tester. Hardcore sub skipper.

12-06-06, 10:20 AM	#2
LZ_Baker Engineer Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 213 Downloads: 51 Uploads: 0	That would bve interesting. Over even if they do the "load on the go", only have the computer generate shipping in something like a 500 mile radius instead of the entire world. That would save alot in the load time and in cpu calculations. __________________

12-07-06, 04:17 PM	#3
Frateloder Watch Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN - USA Posts: 20 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	If loading time is too short, then I won't have enough time to go mix my cocktail! __________________ "A ship is always referred to as "she" because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder." -Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN

12-07-06, 04:19 PM	#4
Safe-Keeper Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 3,234 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Hmm, there's a point. Who wants me to make a "Longer Loading Time Mini-Mod" that'll increase it to SHIII standards? __________________ First Strike Mod tester. Hardcore sub skipper.

12-07-06, 06:33 PM	#5
bookworm_020 Navy Seal Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast Posts: 5,966 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	It would be the most unused mod ever for a game!:hmm: __________________ "There is always one person in any organization who knows whats going on, That person must be fired"

12-07-06, 06:43 PM	#6
_Seth_ Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: In Tromsoe, @Tirpitz' final resting place.. Posts: 3,277 Downloads: 94 Uploads: 0	Agree, maybe the loading time is short because this is WIP, and also the fact that ubisoft is using high-end rigs.. There could also be some mem-saving ding-dongs developed specificly for SHIV. __________________

12-09-06, 06:30 AM	#8
AJ! Commodore Join Date: May 2006 Location: That lil island above france Posts: 601 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Yeah the 15 maps are probably just 15 missions which have nothing to do with the main campaign, Just like SH3 had. its been confirmed that the whole world will be the map in SH4. __________________

12-09-06, 11:02 AM	#9
GlobalExplorer Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Location: Berlin Posts: 2,015 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	I am programming applications that use huge geospatial data myself, and splitting / organizing data is an absolute must with this kind of data. From that point of view, the 15 maps make more sense. Maybe SHIII was loading the whole campaign data for every mission instead of clipping objects along a simple rectangle which describes the "active world". Some other observations which might explain the better loading times: Did you ever wonder why SHIII took 2-3 minutes loading data just to show the main menu, ot to switch to the museum? SHIII would "boot" the whole engine for the main menu, museum and then do it again for the mission, which is of course not efficient. Discarding all data and the starting over with sth like Application.Inititialize() is a common solution you can fall back to when you run out of time during development, because it is very easy to implement. Reading/parsing the mostly text based data files ate up loads of times, so maybe they have a binary format now. In general, loading / engine initialization seemed badly implemented in SHIII. So they probably had lots of opportunities for improving load times. Just look at the strange savegame system and the 80's style organization of the crew management file for some other examples where they had room for improvement. I am glad it's loading faster now, but hopefully this doesn't mean the data is now all binary - this would suck for modifications! GE __________________