ApexMods Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 It is just unbelievable how much I still need to learn about this game, and what it is capable of. Hold on to your butts! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Passing 70 gigabytes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 FYI: Yes, I will probably be using DXT texture compression, but to implement this for all of the map textures seems just unfeasible for a variety of reasons, e.g. long level loading times, as some of the bigger maps would take several minutes to load on reasonable hardware. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
die7 Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 3 hours ago, ApexMods said: Passing 70 gigabytes... Of content which is also In use and not for tracking, archiving or future mod development? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeealex Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 I didn't even think DXT was possible in rsb files, I'm rusty!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Wachter Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Why do I feel like this is going too far? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 55 minutes ago, die7 said: Of content which is also In use and not for tracking, archiving or future mod development? Map folder alone is almost 60 GB, not a single unused texture in there now. But mod development stuff and other XTRAS have grown a bit too, I admit. 🙂 52 minutes ago, Zeealex said: I didn't even think DXT was possible in rsb files, I'm rusty!! Yes DXT1 up to DXT5 are possible, although the implementation isn’t all that great. Textures are apparently loaded, decompressed and then recompressed when you start a mission. VRAM savings are potentially huge (up to 6:1), though. 8 minutes ago, Jack Wachter said: Why do I feel like this is going too far? Too far? What’s that? 🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Wachter Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 The accessibility is going way down. I would have to cleanup some space to even install it at this point. I know some games have large install sizes, but that doesn't that's an example we should follow. I definitely don't like the prospect of having to tell some of the people I play with "hey, you know that giant 30 GB mod? It's got an update that more than doubles the size." Would it be possible to make a version with downgraded textures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
die7 Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 31 minutes ago, Jack Wachter said: hey, you know that giant 30 GB mod? It's got an update that more than doubles the size." 😹😹😹 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 First of all, I’m not blowing up the mod’s size for the sheer fun of it, but to raise visual quality and add valuable content. I’ve looked into DXT compression as an option to reduce the size significantly, but the image quality degraded too much, and the long load times (2-3 minutes for a map) are not justified, IMHO. Of course, downsizing textures allows for a smaller, “more accessible” mod, but then why play HU at all? It’s big, it’s hard, it’s unforgiving. And it tries to capture twenty years of Ghost Recon gaming and modding history, while giving the game a lick of fresh paint and the most hardcore tactical gameplay possible. I think Ghost Recon deserves to be big. It deserves to be huge. It deserves a humongous chunk of my disk space, just as it deserves a sizable part of my time, and HU is probably most suitable for people who feel in a similar way. Anyhow, I’ll think about it while I set up an 8 terabyte hard drive a friend just donated to me. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Wachter Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Can we get some comparison screenshots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 When I get around to it. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeza Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Wachter Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Would it be possible to setup a HU "base mod" and then separate the maps into map packs as separate downloads? Some of the people I've talked won't be getting the next version of HU if it's going to be that huge, so this is probably the best way to handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Well, it’s not really a popularity contest, but yes, it would be possible, and I’ll think about it. Although I don’t like the idea all that much, so I won’t promise anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Might as well tell you folks now, that the next HU requires a 64-bit OS, which kinda lets the cat out of the bag... 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Here‘s a question for you folks. Would you rather have a smaller installed size and wait 3 minutes for each new map to load (while having worse visuals), or free up 80 GB of disk space? I could indeed create two different versions of HU, but the workload would be insane (as usual). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeza Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 I can only speak for myself but I've already set side 100GB for this so I am happy. However I can understand the pov of those which cannot. I suppose to give yourself a break you could release the 'full' version first and over the next few months work on a 'lite' version to release later... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Wachter Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 8 hours ago, ApexMods said: Well, it’s not really a popularity contest, but yes, it would be possible, and I’ll think about it. Although I don’t like the idea all that much, so I won’t promise anything. What about the idea do you not like? 2 hours ago, ApexMods said: Here‘s a question for you folks. Would you rather have a smaller installed size and wait 3 minutes for each new map to load (while having worse visuals), or free up 80 GB of disk space? I could indeed create two different versions of HU, but the workload would be insane (as usual). Both options, at least for me, sound like they suck. On one hand, I would get infuriated by loading times (this is the kind of game I want to jump into and play with minimal loading once it boots up). On the other, I would have to convince myself and others to free up space (and as I said, some of the people I've talked to and play with will NOT download HU with the current size projection, including those that already have the space). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 It is what it is. This mod comes with a entry fee - diskspace. If you want to enjoy it in all its glory, then commit the diskspace. I can't really imagine 80Gb is a huge ask for a PC gamer. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannik Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 80Gb is big, especially when it's for a game that came out in 2001, but if you consider the sheer amount of development that has gone into this, 80Gb is big, but it's far from too big, currently, compared to the vast number of current titles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeslaDev Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Disk space is no issue as far as I'm concerned. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 The long DXT load times may be a result of an error on my part. Testing some more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 Yep, there’s a way to load DXT quicker. Hang on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 Compression commencing... What a ride! DXT should be able to bring HU‘s install size down to around 40GB again. With the loading issue solved, that makes it a no-brainer, even with slightly degraded image quality. If I put the non-compressed maps in a separate download as an add-on mod, together both mods would take up about 100GB installed, but as that would be optional, people could decide if they want to spend the extra disk space. Sounds good? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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