Games taking a long time to start up

TassieDevil · Tue 10/10/2006 00:46:50

I am not sure when it started, I was on leave and came back, etc... But all the newer games take a really long time to start up. By clicking on the executable you see the icon on the taskbar, but it takes up to 30 seconds to show the window. Certainly nothing has changed with my PC (I really hope so!)

Has anyone noticed similar behaviours?

Thanks.

Gilbert · Tue 10/10/2006 02:22:26

Since you didn't give much information, we can't guess the cause, but here are some suggestions that you may check:
1. Check your virus scanner's setting
2. Check if your computer would possibly be infected by virii or something else
3. Check your graphics/sound/etc. drivers and DirectX settings (if possible, updating them seems to be a good try)
4. Maybe your HDD is fragmented, try defragmenting it
5. Worst of all, maybe your HDD is dying, doh!

Barbarian · Tue 10/10/2006 04:38:44

Or it could be that some of the newer games are not being made with the "Split Resources..." option checked. Therefore loading in one bigger lump, thus taking longer overall to load. Does some of the "older games" you have still seem to load okay?

Oh yeah, and what Gilbot da Robot said.

GarageGothic · Tue 10/10/2006 10:42:46

In addition, sprite compression was introduced a while ago. I guess that could also affect the loading time somewhat.

Gilbert · Tue 10/10/2006 10:54:31

Though IMO that'll probably make things faster, not slower, since compared to processing power (decompressing RLE-compressed data should be VERY fast, unless the system is VERY out-dated), disc access can pose a large effect on speed (compressing the sprites means you read less data from disc).

However, it may also be possible that more people made their games with more demanding specs. (like, say, using hi-res. 32-bit colour graphics), which may also cause an impact in overall performance (just blame the game authors

).

Khris · Tue 10/10/2006 13:19:53

Why don't you do a simple check and load one of the older games that used to start up immediately?
Posting your system specs would probably also shed some light on the issue.

Having said that, there's probably something wrong with your PC.

TassieDevil · Tue 10/10/2006 21:36:52

Quote from: Gilbot V7000a on Tue 10/10/2006 02:22:26
Since you didn't give much information, we can't guess the cause, but here are some suggestions that you may check:
1. Check your virus scanner's setting
2. Check if your computer would possibly be infected by virii or something else
3. Check your graphics/sound/etc. drivers and DirectX settings (if possible, updating them seems to be a good try)
4. Maybe your HDD is fragmented, try defragmenting it
5. Worst of all, maybe your HDD is dying, doh!

Look, the PC is dated July this year. It set up properly and I am running big Oracle applications on it. So, the answer is no - these reasons don't apply.

The effects I am seeing came from - for example - "which wich" and "Quimby". Then I downloaded an older one "anticipating Murder", no wait time whatsoever - it comes up as a flash.

SSH · Tue 10/10/2006 21:54:34

Can you press CTRL-V in these games and see which version of the engine they are using. Also, does your computer have an AMD dual-core CPU? There are problems with those and Allegro.

Gilbert · Wed 11/10/2006 02:01:48

Ctrl-V works only if the game was compiled with debug mode on, which is not (and should not be) the case for released games.

To check the version of the interpreter, just right click on the game executable file and choose "Property", then look at the "file version" field of the "Version" tab (note: since I'm not using English window$, the actual wordings may differ).

SSH · Wed 11/10/2006 10:16:53

Quote from: Gilbot V7000a on Wed 11/10/2006 02:01:48
Ctrl-V works only if the game was compiled with debug mode on, which is not (and should not be) the case for released games.

Uh-uh. Ctrl-V ALWAYS works.

Gilbert · Wed 11/10/2006 10:30:51

Yeah, I just checked and you're right about this one, but it surely is a sad thing that it's hard-coded into the engine and can't be got past if you don't really want it (especially when you're making things like action sequences which don't want such interventions), and it renders the following line in the default template useless:
if (keycode==22) Debug(1,0); // Ctrl-V, version

IMO it's more likely a glitch than a feature.

TassieDevil · Thu 12/10/2006 21:18:55

Coming back to the original question which was addressed to gamers in "Completed Games"

Quote from: TassieDevil on Tue 10/10/2006 00:46:50
Has anyone noticed similar behaviours?

Now the question is in the technical forum discussing about pressing ^V

I give up...

SSH · Thu 12/10/2006 21:41:40

If you have an AMD X2 CPU (like I asked but you didnt answer) try installing the AMD X2 CPU driver from their website. And which versions of AGS does CTRL-V give you in the games which work and those hat don't?

Gilbert · Fri 13/10/2006 02:40:38

TassieDevil, did you even tried our suggestions? Even if it's a new computer, most of our original suggestions still stand, so check them first and give more information of your system. Just asking whether anyone has similar problem won't help you much, especially when no one is confirming they have that problem yet.