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Why 25GB?


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#26
pdusen

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Why today games need to be 20-25GB disk space?

 

DA:O vanilla is about 13GB

 

DA:I vanilla is 25GB, plus all DLCs will be about 45GB

 

Is there no way to compress files before release? I don't think much things in the game need to be large files. I think much problems on PC can be solved if the game file is optimized.

 

I don't think large file means quality

 

Higher-quality visual and audio assets absolutely do need to take up more space. With the sheer size of Inquisition in terms of content and assets, I'm not surprised at its size in the least.

 

Frankly, the only thing that surprises me is that DA:I vanilla is apparently less than twice the size of DA:O vanilla. That's the power of file size optimization right there.



#27
AlanC9

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What format does DA:I use for the music, anyway? I'd look but I'm not at my gaming rig.

#28
nightscrawl

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They can be extracted as mp3 at 225kbps. That's just on the one I tested for you, I don't know if they're all that way. I am rather surprised as I thought they might be wav, but I suppose that would really inflate the disc space the game uses.



#29
Serza

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AN alternative would also be OGG. I saw it in use with the Virtual Reality Engine (Bohemia Interactive Studio) a plenty in ArmA. OGG is still one (if not the only) file extension the game will accept, even after more than 10 years (nearly 15, as I seem to recall the original Op. Flashpoint coming out in 2001)

 

OGG also has decreased size as I remember, and I don't think there is any noticeable quality hit.



#30
berelinde

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I'm going to hazard a guess that it isn't going to be OGG, and I'm going to tender an explanation why sound files aren't compressed.

 

Compressed files take up less room and use less bandwidth when downloading, but they more than double in bulk when they're accessed. So if you have 5GB of compressed files, you may wind up needing 50GB once they're in use. If you don't have room for 25GB worth of game now, you really won't have room for the decompressed version. Plus there's playback to think about.

 

Compressed files must be decompressed before they can be played. Sure, modern technology is more than capable of decompressing files as they're played and or rendered (OGG files are compressed WAV files, BTW), but that requires a software overlay. Like every other software overlay (Fraps, Origin, what have you), it's going to add to the resource load. Most systems able to run the game can handle the additional resource load just fine, but some are going to whine and wheeze like a geriatric great-granduncle who is also a goat, and some may crash entirely. The game does not need more random crashes. And, to add insult to injury, the decompressed file is going to take up more precious RAM than the sound file would have if it weren't compressed in the first place, because - surprise! - when you decompress something, it gets bigger, and it doesn't delete the original file, so it's still there. Plus, you're going to need a system to go through and delete all those decompressed files after they're played, which becomes a potential memory leak, leading to steadily-increasing load times and steadily-decreasing system performance. Or, you know, they could just go with decompressed files to begin with, because systems buff enough to handle the decompression and post-play deletion of in situ audio/visual files will almost certainly have more than enough storage to handle the added bulk.

 

It's worth noting that uncompressed files require storage space. You need a bigger hard drive. Hard drives are cheap, and easy to upgrade. Compressed files require storage space, but they also require memory, RAM. RAM is cheap, too, relatively speaking, but it is not as easy to upgrade. Upgrading RAM isn't as difficult as climbing K2 (and you almost never need to apply for a permit from a foreign government to do it), but it is a hassle, and let's be honest. The first time you do it, you aren't going to check the supported memory list for your motherboard and you're going to buy the wrong thing. If you have my kind of luck, your motherboard is only going to support about five kinds of RAM, and you've already got the highest one installed. Upgrading storage is easy. Buy a hard drive, find a free slot, and plug it in. All done. I have no idea how it works if you've got a console instead of a PC, but I'm guessing that hard drive space is always going to be more plentiful than RAM.

 

Maybe the concern about file size is based on limited download bandwidth. OK, that's fair. Some parts of the world do place restrictions on data transfer, and 25GB may be outside some clients' monthly transfer allocation. If file compression can shave a few GB off that, it may even be worth the risk of file corruption that always accompanies the download of compressed archives. Just keep in mind that if the download is corrupted, you aren't going to get your bandwidth back if you have to download it again.


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#31
Serza

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I agree. Compressing too much leads to trouble, and let's face it, the Virtual Reality engine is hardly known for it's optimalization.