16 replies to this topic

[Lirezh]

One fact in the requirements just made me nervous:
[color=#515151]HDD Space: 4 GB[/color]

Modern games reach 30 GB at this time. 4GB means either low scaled textures, much repeated textures or a mix of both.

Are there any plans for a hi-res texture pack ?
While I'm sure most people would be glad with 4GB and the f2p people trying the game will be fine with a small download. Serious players should get the best graphical experience possible.

[Zyzyx66]

Or good compression. Or that there simply aren't as many textures as, say, GTA IV or Total War.

Plenty of PC games still only require a couple of Gs HDD space. From what I recall of my half-memories on the subject, console games are fairly picky with how their discs are laid out - they need to be able to access information quickly, and not deal with too much compression. So a 4GB game on a 360 may need low-res textures, but a PC is a much faster beast, and a HDD is much more capable of processing compressed data than a DVD-ROM, so it could compress textures better and not have to worry about their placement on the drive.

Best way to find out is to just look at the videos and screenshots - they don't seem too low-res to me (apart from the cockpit interiors - they kind of look like they're lacking any textures atm).

Edited by Zyzyx66, 03 July 2012 - 03:44 PM.

[BigJim]

Well optimised games shouldn't need to load a tonne of textures into memory either - The way you construct a map can often increase dramatically the amount of ram required for smooth gameplay.

Edited by BigJim, 03 July 2012 - 03:04 PM.

[Gorith]

What modern non MMOs are reaching 30 gigs?

4-6 gigs is plenty of space for a game like this to look good... Take a look at Blacklight and Tribes ascend they look really good and both fall in that catagory. Take a look at X3: Terran conflict its only at 7.5 on HD and looks down right amazing if your machine can handle it

[WardenWolf]

My guess is more that the number of maps we have at launch will be small. That should be what takes up most of the disk space, I suspect. Just as WoW started on 5 CDs (about 3GB) and now is in excess of 20-30GB should give you a good example of what can happen.

[Dax Frey]

It'll probably be twice that in a year with added mechs, maps, possible clan tech, other goodies...I would bet a stale bagel and and deformed pickle that you may be hyperventilating for no reason...specially since it looks pretty sick on the videos we've seen.

[Zyzyx66]

Cryengine also uses a whole bunch of post-processing effects to make everything look super spiffy - and they generally use next to no hard drive space. It means you can have fewer and smaller textures, and the game will still look fantastic

Besides, given the recommended specs of the game, I wouldn't be too excited about the prospect of HD texture packs bumping those requirements up.

[Russ Bullock]

WardenWolf, on 03 July 2012 - 03:13 PM, said:

My guess is more that the number of maps we have at launch will be small. That should be what takes up most of the disk space, I suspect. Just as WoW started on 5 CDs (about 3GB) and now is in excess of 20-30GB should give you a good example of what can happen.

True initial size will grow with content

[DeadlyFighter]

Russ Bullock, on 03 July 2012 - 03:29 PM, said:

True initial size will grow with content

Does the dev team have a max file size in mind? It might be a problem for some, eventually.

[Lt muffins]

low resolution textures.....

[Endless Ike]

DeadlyFighter, on 03 July 2012 - 03:32 PM, said:

Does the dev team have a max file size in mind? It might be a problem for some, eventually.

I think its absurd to ask devs what a maximum size might be, they gave you initial download size, and unless they have a crystal ball how cna anyone really know where this game will end up in 5 years. If its a problem for someone they can adjust their computer accordingly down the road. It's not as if hard drives are super expensive, and in a year or two they'll be even cheaper (as these thigns always are).

[KaOTiK911]

Average game size is closer to 8-GB if not less nowadays. Only games I can think of that get that high in size are Rage (25GB), Max Payne 3 (35GB), WoW with all its expansions, and Terra (25GB).

Crysis 1 and 2 are around 8-10GB, using other versions of the Cryengine.

All that being said, yes, the game is on the smaller side, but mechs aren't exactly texture hogs either, most are rather simple in their appearance in general.

[Gorith]

Lt muffins, on 03 July 2012 - 03:37 PM, said:

low resolution textures.....

muffins your NDA stop leaking stuff

[WardenWolf]

Russ Bullock, on 03 July 2012 - 03:29 PM, said:

True initial size will grow with content

I've been quoted by Russ twice in one day - I think I may die (a happy man)!

[Grayslin]

Russ Bullock, on 03 July 2012 - 03:29 PM, said:

True initial size will grow with content

he is correct, thats just base install. Once you download the updates etc, its going to be much larger.

[Syrusbrian]

well that depends if they will implement an compresser that will allow them to minimize the space that the maps will eventually take

Gorith, on 03 July 2012 - 03:46 PM, said:

muffins your NDA stop leaking stuff

you do know thats MW2 right?

[Blue Footed Booby]

Elder Scrolls IV (Oblivion) was about 4.5 gigs. Of that, about half was audio.

For skyrim, the combined size of the *.bsa files (main content archives, for textures, sounds, models, etc) and *.esm files (contains scripts, world data, interior layouts, loot leveled lists, etc) is about 5.4 gigs, of which 2.25 is audio. The Textures bsa is about 1.3 gigs.

The lesson here is that total file size is completely meaningless as a barometer or graphical detail unless you also know what portion of that total size is dedicated to visual assets. Even then it's hardly better than nothing because you have no idea how those megabytes are used.

Edited by Blue Footed Booby, 05 July 2012 - 03:40 PM.