Low-end computers like mine will never be able to handle the mythic, legendary settings or even anything near that. So the game is installed with all these beautiful heavy graphics which I will never be able to use. Some games from popular companies allow you to choose if you'd want to install full game or without UHD / HD files, that allows the game to be less than half of the full game size. I'd love if it would be added to Sea of Thieves.
Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games
@burnbacon said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
Low-end computers like mine will never be able to handle the mythic, legendary settings or even anything near that
Then like many users, dont crank your settings so high.
If you actually read the OP, they are referring to the install size of the game, which is not affected by the settings.
I can totally understand the request, especially as it's now pretty much 100GB in size, but the game would have to be built from the ground up to support optional texture packs.
I would consider playing it on cloud on the pc, pros and cons to it but there are way more pros than cons for a lot of people and a lot of situations.
Image quality can drop depending on a variety of different factors but you probably will have nicer waves on cloud than on a lower end pc and the performance may be better (there are cloud specific issues but they haven't been terrible for me after I settled in)
especially if you're more of a casual player and/or just don't take it that serious in general.
@realstyli said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
@burnbacon said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
Low-end computers like mine will never be able to handle the mythic, legendary settings or even anything near that
Then like many users, dont crank your settings so high.
If you actually read the OP, they are referring to the install size of the game, which is not affected by the settings.
I can totally understand the request, especially as it's now pretty much 100GB in size, but the game would have to be built from the ground up to support optional texture packs.
Agreed, IF the game is currently built in a way that would allow it to run without that artwork I say sure. But I would hate to see them spend a ton of developer time on this so if it is not fairly simple then no.
2nd cloud suggestion. You'd have to wait an hour or two on big weekends tho lol.
It would be useful if you could opt out of High resolution texture packs. I know the Series X has a bigger install than the S. Make a "low res" install available for the PC guys.
Or just get a console and it looks good 😉
@tesiccl said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
So much for the PC master race ;)
Let's see, $300-$500 for an Xbox or $1000-$2000 for a gaming computer with a mouse that will eventually tear up your wrists.
Whaaaaat? Y'all are crazy. KB/M is the way to go. The one and only downside is the lack of analog movement inout but most games don't allow for true analog even if you use a controller.
Also - Talking about your $500 console like you aren't paying $70 for your games. I've bought SoT for like 4 people for $5 each. Average game I buy is like $10-20 and I just wait a few years to play new titles since they release too early anyway.@crowedhunter said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
Whaaaaat? Y'all are crazy. KB/M is the way to go. The one and only downside is the lack of analog movement inout but most games don't allow for true analog even if you use a controller.
Really just depends on the person's situation, style, and preference
Most players aren't tdmers and outside of competitive tdm controllers work fine
I went into it with no competitive pvp controller experience and was alright within a month, Of course I'm more accurate, efficient, and effective on m/kb because that's where most of my hours are.
I did it specifically to challenge myself and to try the game in a new way and outside of a few rough practice weeks it's been good. I lose more than I would on m/kb but I also play in a fairly unique way. Most players will do fine on controller.
Anyone on a lower end pc is going to be experiencing lower end pc issues during gameplay which effects the accuracy and overall performance of pvp anyway. xbox and/or cloud and controller can be more consistent for plenty of people.
The controller servers can be interesting for people as well, different players to encounter. Lots of skill and pvp still on controller servers, they are more an opportunity to shake up those recent player lists.
@realstyli said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
@burnbacon said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
but the game would have to be built from the ground up to support optional texture packs.
No?
I do a lot of 3D modelling, all you need to do is downsize say a 4k texture to a 2560x1440 on some assets such, Whatever software & pipeline they are using. Most updated 3D software lets you downscale textures anyway and import those textures/models in EU4 etc.Then re-import those textures in UE4 where the game is made in. If they can't do that, then they shouldn't be working as artists as this can be done in a days work. Not only that it's literally bread & butter skillset to have as a 3D artists no matter if your doing basic props to characters etc.
4k Textures eats up a lot of your GPU VRAM first and foremost more then your CPU/RAM etc. It also uses a lot of space if you texture every asset in the game to be 4k.
Which is also why you can't really play games on 4k say on a 3070 since it only has 8gb of vram compared to higher tier GPU that have 24+ gb VRAM.
The performance just tanks at 4k with GPUS that have 8gb VRAM for 4k textures. going from a 1080 / 100fps experience to 20 fps in a heavy scene to even your game freezing/crashing.I'm not sure whats causing the game to reach almost 100gb.
I remember when it was only 50-60gb 2 years or so ago.
Maybe if you do a fresh install of the game again it's lower so who knows: Big problem is that they are not efficient in deleting old code after each update so instead of replacing code, it just adds up.tl:dr, If you think they need to build the game from scratch to optimize textures, you either have no idea what you are talking about, or you are by some miracle right, and RARE messed up so badly that they can't just import lower res textures in UE4 at will, which I find incredible unlikely.
@foambreaker never had wrist pains from using a mouse
Using controllers for even a moderate period of time easily kills my hands
Not to mention that a mouse will never ever ever have issues like axis drifting or anything of that sort.Literal hot garbage.
@wolfmanbush I actually have rules for when I bust out the ol controller. Generally when damage avoidance is more important than dealing damage, the naunce of analog and the accuracy of camera don't matter as much. Any souls-like, or even Monster Hunter World. Even when aiming is important, if it's over the shoulder like in Dead Space, controller is King. Not to mention it being harder makes it more immersive when things gets tense.
But any FPS, I just can't justify controller when my aim suffers so greatly. This game though, aim doesn't really matter. I used to use controller and I had a great time. But I had to convert bc I was playing against PC players and I thought headshots existed. Now I'm just too trained on it to go back.
Still, regardless of controllers, PCMR
Well, "you either have no idea what you are talking about" is a heck of a gambit to play when you literally didn't understand what I said.
Of course the game is already using different sized texture assets for different LODs, you can see that very clearly when a higher quality version fails to load or it pops in suddenly.
What the OP is asking for is that those high res textures (4K) are made entirely optional on the install and that the 4K textures would be a separate pack, which some games can do these days (Smart Delivery). Whether the game already does that on console automatically, I don't know.
4k Textures eats up a lot of your GPU VRAM first and foremost more then your CPU/RAM etc. It also uses a lot of space if you texture every asset in the game to be 4k.
Which is also why you can't really play games on 4k say on a 3070 since it only has 8gb of vram compared to higher tier GPU that have 24+ gb VRAM.
The performance just tanks at 4k with GPUS that have 8gb VRAM for 4k textures. going from a 1080 / 100fps experience to 20 fps in a heavy scene to even your game freezing/crashing.Yes, this is correct, but the VRAM budget for Sea of Thieves isn't significant. Even at the highest settings, the game isn't using 8GB of VRAM. Where it's struggling is on the CPU utilisation side, which I've ranted enough about in the past.
They are likely already compressing installed textures to a point, but it's the shear amount of bespoke and unique content over the years that's added to the install size. Audio also adds to it, and they're already compressing that, too.
The game at launch was about 20-25GB, IIRC. That increased a bit and then was reduced prior to Anniversary with a completely fresh build that allowed them to optimise how updates would be added on top of the existing game (ironically, without inflating the install size). Anniversary increased the size of the game again, and it was around 45GB when A Pirate's Life hit. To now, where the game is 100.48GB installed on Steam.
@remakoro said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
@foambreaker never had wrist pains from using a mouse
Using controllers for even a moderate period of time easily kills my hands
Not to mention that a mouse will never ever ever have issues like axis drifting or anything of that sort.Literal hot garbage.
Never heard of carpal tunnel? It is especially bad in games where you hold down the mouse buttons to move.
@tesiccl Ah right, that reminds me. Don't you guys have to pay Microsoft to use your own internet? That comes with gamepass sure, but gamepass is closer to a requirement than a bonus. Because you could neglect gamepass but then you're still paying for XBL and spending 60-70 dollars on games.
In terms of expense it isn't even a question. That said, a lot of people can't build their own PCs also many couldn't fix them if they messed up on firmware or something simple. So there are plenty of reasons to buy a console and it doesn't have to be that it's cheaper or better. Because it decidedly isn't either.
@crowedhunter right lemme explain. I currently pay nothing for the entire year because I bought a year’s worth of Gold and converted it into GamePass (The money I saved doing that alone was at least 50% overall). Even if I hadn’t, for Ultimate, it would be £12 per month, with that I get Gold, access to 100+ games that are regularly refreshed at least 5/6 times a month, I can stream the games with never having to download a single MB, and get to play Day One games that would cost £70 brand new (most recent example being Starfield), for free. Yes I’m paying a regular monthly fee, but for what I get for all of that, it’s damn worth it!
It was a harmless jibe my original comment, but i thought it was worth explaining for those who didn’t already know about GamePass and the benefits of it.
@realstyli said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
Yes, this is correct, but the VRAM budget for Sea of Thieves isn't significant. Even at the highest settings, the game isn't using 8GB of VRAM. Where it's struggling is on the CPU utilisation side, which I've ranted enough about in the past.
Not sure if you are bothered to explain again, but I am curious, I heard the biggest reason is the waves, seeing an GDC talk where they showcased the mesh of the waves, it's pretty cool seeing literally millions of vertices move around to create the waves yet a bit questionable on how they would think it could be optimized for the future especially on older XBOX consoles.
Does LoD work on waves to across the map? Or is the whole literal sea constantly moving no matter where you are on the map hence the high CPU usage?I also wonder what Nanite would of done in EU5 If we could theorise if SoT was made on that technology today. Wonder if you have any experience/knowledge on that aspect, would Nanite fix SoT if they were to recreate the game on EU5 and use it's feature sets?
The game at launch was about 20-25GB, IIRC. That increased a bit and then was reduced prior to Anniversary with a completely fresh build that allowed them to optimise how updates would be added on top of the existing game (ironically, without inflating the install size). Anniversary increased the size of the game again, and it was around 45GB when A Pirate's Life hit. To now, where the game is 100.48GB installed on Steam.
It is ridiculous it's gotten to that point, then again it doesn't surprise me, I watched a video a while back about a Coder that got a job working at RARE/SoT After graduation and I believe with only 1 years worth of experience.
If that is the level that the are recruiting it's no surprise the game is one of the buggiest Triple A games I have ever played in my life, It's mind boggling how they picked up a Junior position role for such a big game to code and be responsible for. Must be a talented Prodigy that swooned the recruiters.BF 2042 is a good contender in how bad in comparison it is in terms of Bugs, at least they fixed their game, RARE is making theres worse, so congrats on them in continuing to fumble the bag....
Really I have respect for the art department even though I have my own gripes that they can in reality crank out a lot more props and skins into the base game (Excluding emporium) Which is probably the Directors decision after all to limit what goes in the game, the re-colours of re-used assets is an embarrassment, a year one/two student in Games Art can do that in 2 days worth of work.@ix-indi-xi said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
@realstyli said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
Yes, this is correct, but the VRAM budget for Sea of Thieves isn't significant. Even at the highest settings, the game isn't using 8GB of VRAM. Where it's struggling is on the CPU utilisation side, which I've ranted enough about in the past.
Not sure if you are bothered to explain again, but I am curious, I heard the biggest reason is the waves, seeing an GDC talk where they showcased the mesh of the waves, it's pretty cool seeing literally millions of vertices move around to create the waves yet a bit questionable on how they would think it could be optimized for the future especially on older XBOX consoles.
I discussed the CPU utilisation in this thread here. Basically, the game doesn't really utilise more than 2 cores on a CPU. Which means that it's going to always be the bottleneck. Even Xbox consoles have 8 cores.
Does LoD work on waves to across the map? Or is the whole literal sea constantly moving no matter where you are on the map hence the high CPU usage?
It's low CPU usage, but I don't think that really matters with the waves. From what I understand, all those calculations are done server side and synched to the clients.
I also wonder what Nanite would of done in EU5 If we could theorise if SoT was made on that technology today. Wonder if you have any experience/knowledge on that aspect, would Nanite fix SoT if they were to recreate the game on EU5 and use it's feature sets?
It's still pretty early for UE5, I think we've only really seen a few AAA games using the engine. I've heard good things about Alan Wake II's performance though, and I think we'll see more games using mesh shaders in the future (that does unfortunately mean a modern GPU is essential).
The game at launch was about 20-25GB, IIRC. That increased a bit and then was reduced prior to Anniversary with a completely fresh build that allowed them to optimise how updates would be added on top of the existing game (ironically, without inflating the install size). Anniversary increased the size of the game again, and it was around 45GB when A Pirate's Life hit. To now, where the game is 100.48GB installed on Steam.
It is ridiculous it's gotten to that point, then again it doesn't surprise me, I watched a video a while back about a Coder that got a job working at RARE/SoT After graduation and I believe with only 1 years worth of experience.
If that is the level that the are recruiting it's no surprise the game is one of the buggiest Triple A games I have ever played in my life, It's mind boggling how they picked up a Junior position role for such a big game to code and be responsible for. Must be a talented Prodigy that swooned the recruiters.BF 2042 is a good contender in how bad in comparison it is in terms of Bugs, at least they fixed their game, RARE is making theres worse, so congrats on them in continuing to fumble the bag....
I would cut Rare some slack here. I don't know for sure, but I get the sense they are still learning how to work in UE and this is their first real attempt an online multiplayer game. The game was prototyped on Unity and they went looking for an engine that could do what they wanted in terms of the art and features. It might be that, while they've brought on folks familiar with UE, the initial build probably had a lot of work practices carried over from Unity. I may be way off on those assumptions, however.
Really I have respect for the art department even though I have my own gripes that they can in reality crank out a lot more props and skins into the base game (Excluding emporium) Which is probably the Directors decision after all to limit what goes in the game, the re-colours of re-used assets is an embarrassment, a year one/two student in Games Art can do that in 2 days worth of work.
I think it's very easy to be critical about the recolours and how slow they are to add cosmetics that, on paper, seem rather straightforward. I'm sure there must be a reason. If I had to guess (and going off what they said in the documentary earlier this year), they are still battling memory constraints and that's really the limiting factor.
In hindsight, I'm sure they would have considered a better option - such as dyes/shaders.
@tesiccl said in Reduce game size like in Fortnite and other popular games:
@crowedhunter right lemme explain. I currently pay nothing for the entire year because I bought a year’s worth of Gold and converted it into GamePass (The money I saved doing that alone was at least 50% overall). Even if I hadn’t, for Ultimate, it would be £12 per month, with that I get Gold, access to 100+ games that are regularly refreshed at least 5/6 times a month, I can stream the games with never having to download a single MB, and get to play Day One games that would cost £70 brand new (most recent example being Starfield), for free. Yes I’m paying a regular monthly fee, but for what I get for all of that, it’s damn worth it!
It was a harmless jibe my original comment, but i thought it was worth explaining for those who didn’t already know about GamePass and the benefits of it.
Plus every two months I get a $10 credit for achievement bonuses. For me I pay about $60 a year for Ultimate by the time all the discounts and gift cards are figured in.
Plus lets not forget all those posts we see about laggy this and laggy that, about cheats; those are PC issues.
@foambreaker that too!
And yes agreed. I know what I’d rather, a standardised version of the same machine that’s built for one purpose, to play games on.
1 out of 25
