Is loading time dependent on graphic details?

[wolis]

Having just tried EL on my brothers lowly notebook I noticed that it loaded quite quickly.

So I wondered if my load-time was so long because I have graphic details set for max on a 1900 x 1050?

If this is the case.. would cutting back on some graphics niceties speed up my load-time?

And if this is the case.. what might have the most impact.. turning off reflections? Reducing my resolution? or lower details objects etc..?

Yes I know I can tinker with this myself but since it takes forever to load once Im in I am reluctant to get out.

Thanks

[warsign]

It effects according to my opinion.

Enter option menu and set min config then try again.
Thus you can compare two settings...

Good flying...

[wolis]

Hmm.. just turned all settings to low and it still seems to take as long.. now I gotta find out why a slower CPU and hard drive would load faster than mine. Maybe (as its mostly ram activity) I have slow ram?

[Daedalao]

Do you know what kind of ram you're running, is it dual channel? If it's dual channel is it running as dual channel?

[tk7223]

I'm not sure what, if any, settings would effect load times(Vice?). But I can tell you I've run EL on three machines now.

here is my average load time from hitting launch on each machine;
Mid-Tower system
AMD 64X2 4400+ 2Gb ddr2(800mhz) mem
7200rpm Harddrive SATA 3gb
8600gt X 2(SLI)(single display mode) 512mb DDR2
PCI X-Fi 5.1 audio
32bit 1280x1024 with all settings to max quality
LOAD TIME: 45-50 seconds


Laptop
Intel® Pentium® 4 630 Desktop Processor w/ HT Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB 2MB DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz
Hard Drives(RAID 0) - 120GB (60GB x 2) 5400 RPM ATA100
128MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7800 GTX
Intel® High-Definition Audio (integrated) 2.1
All settings to Max Performance External VGA out, single display setting for 32bit 1900x1020
LOADTIME: 60-64 seconds

Gamepod Full Tower
AMD AM2+Phenom4 Blacklabel 2.5ghz with 2Gb DDR2 (800Mhz)
GTX260 896mb(DDR3) X2 in SLI single display
150Gb 10000RPM Harddrive SATA 3Gb
PCI-e X-fi Fatality 7.1 audio
All settings for Quality 32bit 1900x1020
LOADTIME: 30-34 seconds

All my systems are running WinXp SP3. Only my Gamepod pc has old drivers(no internet settup yet), it's just running OEM drivers. I think I could get more speed out of the gamepod pc if I start tweaking it. But it's so fast right now I have no desire to spend the time on it. I have noticed a pretty good difference in FPS by changing my Laptop settings to performance (per the official FAQ) vs quality. It was just to choppy at the higher resoultions. Hope this comparison helps.

[Edited on 2-21-2009 by tk7223]

[Kursah]

I'm not sure how long my rig takes, I would assume similar to tk's Gamepod Full Tower or slightly faster, if I had to guess around 25-35 seconds. I really find the single load time worth it for the rest of the seamless gameplay experience overall, considering all it loads/builds to create the game-world. I'm sure in the future there may be some engine and other optimisations that may improve load times, but for now I really can't complain overall!

[Vice]

Changing settings can have a minor impact on load time. Graphics detail has the biggest impact as that setting will use lower resolution textures that take less time to load and construct in memory. But the performance of the system is the primary factor.

All 3 of your systems have load times that I would estimate to be typical for their configurations. The Phenom4 is a very faster processor and helps to take the gamepod into the lead by quite a bit. The extremely fast hard drive reduces the disk load time. Its fast SLI video card helps as does its DDR2 memory that is likely running in the proper dual channel mode. The combination of all of these factors gives it a 30 second load time.

[Tpol]

Just FYI, here are my load times. I'm running Vista 64-bit.

From double-click of desktop icon, it takes 13 seconds to get the UAC continue dialog to show up. After clicking Yes, it takes another 15 seconds for the game to come up, with lots of flashing on the screen. I hit escape to get to the pilot selection screen.

After choosing my pilot and then Launch, it takes 66 seconds to be in the game.

From what Vice says above and my system specs, I guess that's about par, yes?? It would be nice to figure out how to make it load faster, but I'm happy with the smooth game performance while playing.

My system:

CPU: INTEL Core2Duo E7200 2.53GHz
Memory: 8GB of 800MHz memory, running in Dual-Channel
Graphics Card: 9600GT-512MB PCIe 2.0
Main Hard Drive where EL is located: 250GB with a 16MB cache, SATA2, 7200rpm
Audio: On-board Realtek HD

Settings left as optimized by the game. My desktop is 1900x1200

[Edited on 2-21-2009 by Tpol]

[Edited on 2-21-2009 by Tpol]

[wolis]

I get a respectable 12secs from desktop icon to intro movie.

But I think I loose this speed race.. Im clocking 2.15mins from the time I hit Launch.

Im running on an Asus F3jv with Intel Core 2 T7200 @2.00GHz,
2GB Ram (no idea about type or speed - came with the notebook),
GeForce Go 7600 @ 1680 x 1050
and a hard drive that clocks about 35/Mbps read time

[Daedalao]

How much dedicated video memory do you have wolis?

[Vice]

Yes, Tpol, that sounds about right.

[wolis]

Daedalao, Ive got 256Mb dedicated for graphics outside of my 2Gb ram.. so Im not really short on ram.

I also run a very clean PC with very little junk running (Sysinternals Process Explorer is my way of keeping an eye on what else is running).

I even turn off unessential services.. maybe I have tinkered with my setup too much.

I have a few other PCs here I can play with so some day Ill stop playing the game and do some investigating.. for now Im clicking the Lanuch button.

[Daedalao]

Well, wolis... My guess for now would be to just let it be