Reducing campaign layers = faster loading? - Page 2

bigboywooly · 03-04-07, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Ive come to realize i get more fun out of SH3 monkeying around with the files then i do acutally playing it. Kinda of a sad statement really.

Hear that
If it wasnt for testing I wouldnt see the inside of the game at all

Still , soon be time to stop and play

Ducimus · 03-05-07, 04:40 AM

Just an off the wall comment. If a player was to concenrate their playing in:

- the med/black sea, one could remove 98% of the traffic outside the med in the RND and SCR layers and run this as a JSGME plugin. Theoritically reducing load times.

- the indian ocean, same thing. One could remove.. (in this case), 95% of the traffic outside of the indian ocean in the RND/SCR layer and run it as a JSGME plugin. theortically reducing load times.

This wouldnt work for the north/south atlantic, carribean or us eastern seaboard as everything is interconnected there.

Rubini · 03-05-07, 12:19 PM

Edited: Ducimus, I don´t read your post above (we post at same time). My idea here is exactly the same. Again...

Cheers Mate!
=======================================

The problem in reducing for example the traffic in Med when using Atlantic campaign is that some convoys could start in the Med. It´s not so frequent but it´s a possibility
So what is possible is to "delete" really outside areas like far east when in Altantic career. But not the Med. (as an example)

But if someone makes a detailed work over the campaigns the result could be very good in reducing loading times.

The saved games will only work with the exact same campaign files. It´s a locked question for Sh3.

GWX really have a lot of new units and a huge Campaign. The loading times is a bit so much really...

And another idea could be to divide GWX SCR and RND in two or three parts and use it as needed. But this approach probably will work only for modders or others expert, not for the public in general.
Yes, it´s a good idea. I will try this for my personal use.

Rubini.

Mush Martin · 03-05-07, 01:09 PM

of course its possible but youd need to fabricate the layers and assumably manually put them in. I dont know of a way to make a program that
would read your campaign geographical location and insert the appropriate
layering.:hmm:

for me MBFL works great for what it is and I dont use it for campaign as it wouldnt work
so I just accept the loading time I did think of localized campaign layers when I thought
up MBFL but I couldnt be bothered.

JScones · 03-06-07, 02:08 AM

Guys, just a process check here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducimus

- stock was 53 seconds
- gwx was 2mins and 33 seconds.

suggests that between bare stock and full GWX is a difference in loading of 1:40 (all things being equal etc).

Is getting overly fancy really worth a 1:40 saving? Seriously? And that's between stock SH3 and GWX - remember the resulting GWX files would still prolly be more populated than stock files due to the number of Operations added to each theatre.

Also remember that any extra file versions result in backup and maintenance requirements for users, and version integrity problems for developers. Need I remind about map name labels, for example?

1:40 saving v "Why does my game CTD?"... :hmm:

One can get too fancy.

Ducimus · 03-06-07, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JScones

Is getting overly fancy really worth a 1:40 saving? Seriously?

Ive asked myself that same question a number of times. For me i think its just a pet peeve. Like alot of things that relate to.. i dunno, anything in the IT world (how my system runs, how such programs run etc) im a fan of lean, and highly efficient - more bang for teh buck with less resources consumed. I think its that same fetish that extends into Sh3 in my case.

At any rate i exerimented with cutting the campaign layers down this morning. I went through and painstakingly by hand went through and eleminated all traffic in both the SCR layer and the RND layer that did not cross into the med. Then loaded a game in the med. It acutally took a few seconds longer. Maybe i had some free floating waypoints or something, or some other unresolved calls in the files, but im pretty sure i got everything. Not a good test really since being close to land acutally increases load times. But the point is - didn't work.

I fear the only way to really cut down load times, is simply to reduce the amount of /sea and air units the game tries to load - which is also, ALOT of damn work to weed them out. But here i degrees, in another month, i wont care one way or the other once i get my grubby mitts on SH4.

GlobalExplorer · 03-07-07, 01:05 PM

I have written a small routine that reads in Campaign_RND.mis, removes all entries outside the time frame and writes back a new file.

Full file was GWX1.02 about 8MB - the reduced file is 1.44 MB. Further reduction is of course possible by checking if groups are in surrounding theaters of operation for the patrol, then you should end up with a much smaller file.

Personally I don't have the time to write the full program, but my hope is that somebody would want to take over from that. Implementing the out of scope routine is one thing that is easy, solving all the problems with different campaign files, adding a gui, testing etc, another.

If somebody want to try loading the reduced file, it can be downloaded from here. Though I assume it will CTD as I have not renumbered the groups, but that would not be difficult.

Attached is the example - that is all that is required to process the Campaign_RND layer.

But it looks like this idea is going nowhere. I am not going to do anything more in this direction myself ..

bigboywooly · 03-07-07, 06:00 PM

Interesting GE

Though not sure how SHIII will handle changeover points
FE if you made the campaign for 2 months and then spent 5 weeks on patrol
When you return to base you will have 4 weeks in port - longer if upgrading or repairs
That would be outside your original 2 month campaign

Now if you were to run another 2 month Rnd off I am not sure if the game looks back at previous files when loading

After updating to GWX 1.02 a lot of careers didnt work after the campaign file changes

Worth looking at though
Personally loading times dont bother me

Ducimus · 03-07-07, 06:16 PM

Just an FYI, my previous test with a reduced layer where i said it made no difference.

I found out later i misnamed the campaigns directory in the test mod i was using so the test files were never applied

Shame i deleted it in disgust. lol.

03-05-07, 12:19 PM	#18
Rubini Ocean Warrior Join Date: May 2005 Location: São Paulo Brazil Posts: 2,728 Downloads: 132 Uploads: 0	Edited: Ducimus, I don´t read your post above (we post at same time). My idea here is exactly the same. Again... Cheers Mate! ======================================= The problem in reducing for example the traffic in Med when using Atlantic campaign is that some convoys could start in the Med. It´s not so frequent but it´s a possibility So what is possible is to "delete" really outside areas like far east when in Altantic career. But not the Med. (as an example) But if someone makes a detailed work over the campaigns the result could be very good in reducing loading times. The saved games will only work with the exact same campaign files. It´s a locked question for Sh3. GWX really have a lot of new units and a huge Campaign. The loading times is a bit so much really... And another idea could be to divide GWX SCR and RND in two or three parts and use it as needed. But this approach probably will work only for modders or others expert, not for the public in general. Yes, it´s a good idea. I will try this for my personal use. Rubini. __________________ One gamer's must-have mod is another gamer's waste of time. -Sailor Steve

03-05-07, 01:09 PM	#19
Mush Martin Eternal Patrol Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 4,398 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	of course its possible but youd need to fabricate the layers and assumably manually put them in. I dont know of a way to make a program that would read your campaign geographical location and insert the appropriate layering.:hmm: for me MBFL works great for what it is and I dont use it for campaign as it wouldnt work so I just accept the loading time I did think of localized campaign layers when I thought up MBFL but I couldnt be bothered. __________________ RIP Mush Tutorial

03-07-07, 01:05 PM	#22
GlobalExplorer Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Location: Berlin Posts: 2,015 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	I have written a small routine that reads in Campaign_RND.mis, removes all entries outside the time frame and writes back a new file. Full file was GWX1.02 about 8MB - the reduced file is 1.44 MB. Further reduction is of course possible by checking if groups are in surrounding theaters of operation for the patrol, then you should end up with a much smaller file. Personally I don't have the time to write the full program, but my hope is that somebody would want to take over from that. Implementing the out of scope routine is one thing that is easy, solving all the problems with different campaign files, adding a gui, testing etc, another. If somebody want to try loading the reduced file, it can be downloaded from here. Though I assume it will CTD as I have not renumbered the groups, but that would not be difficult. Attached is the example - that is all that is required to process the Campaign_RND layer. But it looks like this idea is going nowhere. I am not going to do anything more in this direction myself .. __________________

03-07-07, 06:00 PM	#23
bigboywooly Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Swindon, England Posts: 10,151 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	Interesting GE Though not sure how SHIII will handle changeover points FE if you made the campaign for 2 months and then spent 5 weeks on patrol When you return to base you will have 4 weeks in port - longer if upgrading or repairs That would be outside your original 2 month campaign Now if you were to run another 2 month Rnd off I am not sure if the game looks back at previous files when loading After updating to GWX 1.02 a lot of careers didnt work after the campaign file changes Worth looking at though Personally loading times dont bother me __________________ My mediafire page http://www.mediafire.com/?11eoq19bq9r41

03-05-07, 04:40 AM	#17
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	Just an off the wall comment. If a player was to concenrate their playing in: - the med/black sea, one could remove 98% of the traffic outside the med in the RND and SCR layers and run this as a JSGME plugin. Theoritically reducing load times. - the indian ocean, same thing. One could remove.. (in this case), 95% of the traffic outside of the indian ocean in the RND/SCR layer and run it as a JSGME plugin. theortically reducing load times. This wouldnt work for the north/south atlantic, carribean or us eastern seaboard as everything is interconnected there.

03-07-07, 06:16 PM	#24
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	Just an FYI, my previous test with a reduced layer where i said it made no difference. I found out later i misnamed the campaigns directory in the test mod i was using so the test files were never applied Shame i deleted it in disgust. lol.