Windows 7 - Load Times and Loading New Missions in Campaigns

[StevenAus]

What is a rough estimate of the average time to load a saved game in 1.6.5 in Windows 7 32-bit, and for loading a new mission (like a latter mission in HttT)?

Best regards,
Steven.

[Zachron]

Given the precision of the specs you've given, that question cannot be answered. Load time varies based on a variety of factors including speed which is determined by the weakest of several links, including the program itself, it also varies based off the size of the file being loaded, and he size of Wesnoth's cache(which varies based on the number of add-ons you have installed). It can also vary based on what programs you have running in the background and what resources they consume. In short the only way to time it effectively, is to load it yourself, and hit a stop-watch... and even then, it may vary a bit. PC's are hardly a standardized platform afterall. (Aside from some extent of standardized compatibility.)

[StevenAus]

My computer has 4 GB of RAM, although I know that 32-bit Windows can only use 3.25 GB. I have not installed any add-ons for Wesnoth 1.6.5, the saved games are in Wesnoth's directory (rather than the Windows folders), the drive it is installed to has plenty of free space (like 125 GB ) and is fully defragmented. I moved most of the older saves out of the directory just in case that caused longer load and new mission times. However, whether I compress the saved games or not (or even when I have only a few saves in the save directory), it usually takes 2 minutes or sometimes up to 3-5 minutes to load a save, and loading a new mission can take up to 10 or 15 minutes (reasonably often when loading a save or starting a new mission it says that it Wesnoth 1.6.5 is not responding, though it always responds eventually). I haven't had any crashes at all with Wesnoth 1.6.5, so I would say that it is very stable.

I have Avast! Antivirus (pretty low resource usage AFAIK), Ashampoo Magical Defrag 3 (although I was getting the long load times even before this was installed and running), Siber Systems RoboForm and GoodSync Synchronizer, the essential Windows tasks like Explorer and so on, as well as Firefox (although this obviously does not really run in the background).

I hope this helps!

Best regards,
Steven.

[Dave]

Something Is Wrong [tm].

It should not take this long to load a save or a new game. What campaign is this that you are trying to load?

During the minutes it takes to load, what is CPU utilization like on your computer (per the task manager)?

David

[StevenAus]

CPU Usage is around 50% when loading a save.

Could it be Windows 7 - have there been any other reports of people playing Wesnoth 1.6.5 on Windows 7 32-bit having similar problems?

Best regards,
Steven.



I am currently on HttT Test of the Clan. This level took 20 minutes to load up from the previous level (Return to Wesnoth).

The cause of this long wait issue (for both saves and new level loads) seems to be very unclear...

Best regards,
Steven.

[Zarel]

My computer has 4 GB of RAM, although I know that 32-bit Windows can only use 3.25 GB.

Why would you ever use 32-bit Windows 7? Just get the 64-bit version and never look back.

By the way, it's less than 3.25 GB - you have to remember to subtract your video card RAM, too (including shared video RAM).

I have Avast! Antivirus (pretty low resource usage AFAIK), Ashampoo Magical Defrag 3 (although I was getting the long load times even before this was installed and running), Siber Systems RoboForm and GoodSync Synchronizer, the essential Windows tasks like Explorer and so on, as well as Firefox (although this obviously does not really run in the background).

Have you tried uninstalling Avast? I remember Avast being relatively average in terms of resource usage.

[StevenAus]

Well, I decided to get a 32-bit version of Windows 7 because I am using some older programs that would not necessarily run well on a 64-bit operating system. If all I had was new programs I would have got 64-bit Windows 7 for sure. And I have also heard that 64-bit Windows 7 was having some driver conflicts/instabilities so I didn't press to change to 64-bit.

If I did not use Avast!, what would you recommend as a good, free, effective and low usage antivirus program? I chose Avast! because it was the highest rated free antivirus program that I knew about, but then again I did not know that it could disturb a game like Wesnoth.

I made my decisions for my own reasons, but that does not mean I am unwilling to change my viewpoint given enough supporting evidence.

Thanks for people's help so far, and I look forward to your replies!

Best regards,
Steven.

[Zarel]

Well, I decided to get a 32-bit version of Windows 7 because I am using some older programs that would not necessarily run well on a 64-bit operating system. If all I had was new programs I would have got 64-bit Windows 7 for sure. And I have also heard that 64-bit Windows 7 was having some driver conflicts/instabilities so I didn't press to change to 64-bit.

Even older programs run just fine in Windows 7 64-bit. Have you tried them? I suppose if you had any 16-bit programs, you might have issues, but that's what DosBox is for.

To pass Windows 7 testing, a driver must work equally well in 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7. So unless, while installing a driver, you got a huge red "Warning: This driver did not pass testing and will probably crash Windows 7", you're probably fine. And if you did, you're probably still fine if the driver was made anytime in the past three years or so.

If I did not use Avast!, what would you recommend as a good, free, effective and low usage antivirus program? I chose Avast! because it was the highest rated free antivirus program that I knew about, but then again I did not know that it could disturb a game like Wesnoth.

I'm not saying I'm sure Avast is what's causing it, mind you. Just asking if disabling it appears to improve Wesnoth's performance.

As for a good free antivirus, I've heard good things about Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free. As for "effective", AV-Comparatives says it's the best right now, and they're the source I trust the most. I haven't tried "low usage" personally, but reviews say it's low usage. YMMV.

[StevenAus]

When I bought Windows 7 Pro 32-bit I was advised that 32-bit was better for older programs. If even older programs work in 64-bit, I think I'll go back and change it for Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and pay the little bit extra if necessary. Other games I enjoy include Civ 4: Fall from Heaven II Mod with big maps, and VCMI Project, which is an open-source engine re-write project for HOMM III: Shadow of Death and In the Wake of Gods, which will eventually allow a whole lot of excellent mods to be created for Heroes III without the limitations of pre-existing code (which what made it harder and harder for the WoG Project as time went on).

I really like Wesnoth, and the ideals behind it - open-source, just the right balance of skill and luck (a good way of implementing in computer games, unforseen events that can tip battles one way or the other, without writing GB of code that is ), a solid, simple yet deep strategy base, many great campaigns and add-ons, and all free! Plus the graphics are cool too. =) I'll try that anti-virus you suggested, and tell you how Wesnoth goes with that instead of Avast!. I look forward to a great Wesnoth experience!

Thanks very much for all your help!

Best regards,
Steven.

[StevenAus]

I think I will remain with my 32-bit version of Windows 7, as one of the programs that I use (Heroes III, which VCMI is a re-write of) was released around 1999 (that was for H3: Shadow of Death, and the previous, expansion pack and the original H3: Restoration of Erathia was even earlier). The information that I have seen on the internet suggests that 2004 was the earliest year for 32-bit programs to be made that would likely work in 64-bit Windows 7. Though it is possible that the VCMI re-write does not have the same limitations as the original H3 code, I'm not taking any chances. Besides, I have a fairly powerful system, play mostly turn-based strategy games (and the odd bit of Guild Wars), so I do not need to access every single GB of the 4 GB I have available. Sure, if I was playing the latest 3D shooters and/or complex RTSs with many things happening at once and needing plenty of memory under the bonnet, I would likely need to access more than what 32-bit Windows could provide and 64-bit Windows 7 would be a boon. But I am very happy with my Windows 7 Pro 32-bit, it is working great and would not like to trade it in for something that would not run one of my favourite programs.

I'm sure that 64-bit programs will only get more and more popular (and better and better supported). But for now, 32-bit Windows 7 Pro is fine for me, and since I have already bought it (about a month ago) I'm deciding to stick with it. I truly think Windows 7 is one of the best (if not THE best) Microsoft product I have ever used. Virtually no problems with it that I've experienced, and it is very smooth, responsive and attractive visually, and boots quicker than XP Pro (quite an achievement). So I don't want to mess with it too much.

Btw: I changed over to the free Microsoft Antivirus but I am still getting long load times in Wesnoth. Any other ideas that people think would help, based on the information I've already provided?

Thanks again for your help and your advice! Wesnoth seems to be a very great, deep game with a great community, and many good campaigns and add-ons. Look forward to spending more time in the future here.

Best regards,
Steven.

[Zarel]

Hrm. Start up in Safe Mode, and see if you still have the load time problems?

[StevenAus]

I've tried Safe Mode and it still does take at least 2 minutes to load a save, so I think I'll try a re-install of Wesnoth 1.6.5.

To the developers - before I reinstall, can I give you any information about Wesnoth that would help you work out the long load issue I was having on my computer? Have you had any reports (with Windows 7, or any earlier Windows version) of a similar 2 or 3-5 minute load time for saves, and a 10 or up to 20 minute load of new levels in a campaign? I'm wondering whether it is an isolated incident - if it is the first time it has happened, you probably don't need to worry about it too much, otherwise, I think you'd probably like to fix it if possible. Let me know what you would like.

Thanks for the great game, and I look forward to your reply!

Best regards,
Steven.

[Zarel]

As far as I know, we haven't had this problem before. Have you tried installing 1.8 beta 3 (i.e. 1.7.10) and seeing if you experience the same problem? Are you using some sort of nonstandard storage system, such as a solid-state drive, or a filesystem other than NTFS?

Windows 7 gives a Windows Experience Rating in the System menu. Can you click "View and print details" and copy the details over?

[StevenAus]

The latest Wesnoth beta version loads saves in 1-2 seconds and new levels in less than 5 seconds. I tried uninstalling Wesnoth 1.6.5, deleting all files and re-installing, but it seems the long loading is still there in that version, both loading saves and loading new levels.

Here is my Windows Experience Index Data (Both Wesnoth versions are installed on H: partition, with userdata in the actual program directory rather than Windows folders):


Component Details Subscore Base score
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8500 @ 3.16GHz 6.6 5.9
Determined by lowest subscore

Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB 6.6
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series 7.3
Gaming graphics 1919 MB Total available graphics memory 7.3
Primary hard disk 40GB Free (75GB Total) 5.9
Windows 7 Professional

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer System manufacturer
Model P5Q-PRO
Total amount of system memory 4.00 GB RAM
System type 32-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2
64-bit capable Yes

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 495 GB
Disk partition (C:) 40 GB Free (75 GB Total)
Disk partition (D:) 965 MB Free (15 GB Total)
Disk partition (E:) 17 GB Free (75 GB Total)
Disk partition (F:) 29 GB Free (30 GB Total)
Disk partition (G:) 1 GB Free (100 GB Total)
Disk partition (H:) 125 GB Free (200 GB Total)
Media drive (I:) CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Total available graphics memory 1919 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 512 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 1407 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.632.1.2000
Primary monitor resolution 1920x1200
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter Atheros AR8121/AR8113/AR8114 PCI-E Ethernet Controller(NDIS6.20)
Network Adapter Askey ADSL Router USB Remote NDIS Device

Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gaming graphics score is based on the primary graphics adapter. If this system has linked or multiple graphics adapters, some software applications may see additional performance benefits.
Caution: Based on the results of the WinSAT Disk assessment, your system drive may have slower response times under some workloads. Performance results will depend on the specific applications used and the amount of memory available. If your experience is satisfactory, no action is needed.


Best regards,
Steven.

[Zarel]

Hrm, the only thing weird I see are the hard drives. What are those hard drives?

Total size of hard disk(s) 495 GB
Disk partition (C:) 40 GB Free (75 GB Total)
Disk partition (D:) 965 MB Free (15 GB Total)
Disk partition (E:) 17 GB Free (75 GB Total)
Disk partition (F:) 29 GB Free (30 GB Total)
Disk partition (G:) 1 GB Free (100 GB Total)
Disk partition (H:) 125 GB Free (200 GB Total)

Are those all one hard drive? Why are they partitioned like that? Which partition is your system partition? Which partition did you install Wesnoth 1.6 on? 1.7? You should really clean up that G: partition (nearly-full partitions can slow down many different things, even if you aren't using them directly); if you can't, it should at least be read-only. E: is a bit questionable, too; clean that out if you can.