RE: [AD] Font loadin: Feature Request

["Vincent Penquerc'h" <Vincent.Penquerch@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: RE: [AD] Font loadin: Feature Request

> I am with Shawn as for load times, and as a particular
> example, some days
> ago a friend lent me his copy of Blade.  Apart from being ridiculously
> easy to rip stuff from the game (even python code), the game took 20
> minutes to UNINSTALL, when a single datafile would be erased
> in less than
> a second. Blizzard's games (Starcraft, Diablo) exploit really
> nicely the
> "all in a single file" strategy and it's way more efficient.

I would like to offer another point of view on this point.
In my case, I have a game level that uses a set of graphics, sounds,
and so on. These are stored in datafiles, and loading the whole thing
would take a given amount of space. I do not load that in a go, though
it would probably be a bit faster if I did. I load only what I need,
as this saves a great deal of memory. Sure, you'll tell me that it's
OK to chew 10 megs more than I do need, but it's an argument I don't
buy.
Storing the data in different files can bring more ease, but it is
often not an option, as it would mean either duplicating lots of
resources or splitting more and more, up to the point where you get to
datafiles holding a single item.
In this case, loading only items you need (they're refcounted) is a big
win on space, while not sacrificing loading speed too much.
That said, I have a custom table-of-contents system :)

--
Vincent Penquerc'h