does oblivion load faster, when i extract all .bsa-files?

[PvtPirate]

hi, i've been using mods a lot and i extracted the bsa-files for reviewing mod content before installation and for changing modded/combining meshes/textures to my own liking.

so i always had the bsa-files extracted for reference and as a backup in case some meshes/textures dont work properly.

 

so my question is: can it decrease loading times when i extract all bsa-files and put them into Oblivion\Data\ (meshes, textures, sounds) ?

or does the game load faster if i keep those extracted files at a minimum?

 

this question/answer could also be added to the "useful tips"...

 

thanks in advance

[Striker879]

Interesting question, one I wish I had a definitive answer to.

 

My thoughts are that the slowest part of your system is your hard drive (after the DVD/Bluray drive that is). If you HDD is reading compressed data it has few bits to read (which would be faster) at the cost of now requiring data decompression by the CPU. With a fast enough CPU you should see a slight increase in speed reading the compressed bsa. Now the hot tip would be to have uncompressed data files on a SSD dedicated to games only (OS on a separate SSD).

 

Sigh ... one can dream, can't one?

[Fonger]

just as a point of logic

 

even if the bsa is unpacked - won't the game still require the BSA to be in the game folder

 

so the extracted files will have to be used over the BSA's originals (through archive invalidation)

 

if so, it implies that this process will always take more effort on the part of your computer - logically load original, then load replacement

 

(BTW some people have reported in other Nexus forums that they see this kind of behavior in their games)

[eric31415]

I tried this once, to hopefully gain performance, and i strongly suggest that you not do this. I actually lost a few FPS, didn't notice a difference in loading times. Thankfully i also have a vanilla install to use as a backup, so i was able to just replace the originals. Repacking the extracted files didn't seem to get me back to quite where i was before.

 

The best way i have found to browse bsa files while maintaining performance (and without cluttering your mesh and texture files) is to use mTES4Manager to create multiple clones of the game. At a minimum keep 3 clones. A vanilla backup, a working one to play, and one for the CS. Only extract bsa files in the CS clone.

 

This also has the advantage of better testing. Make a mod in the CS clone, export it, convert to OMOD and install to your main game. This way you see exactly what an end-user would get.

 

Edit - i was just thinking a bit more about this. Packing your mod-added mesh and texture files into bsa format might be a good way to gain a little performance, You'd have to unpack them before installing any new mods and pack them up again after, but it might be worth it. When i go back to OB, i'm going to test this.

Edited April 5, 2012 by eric31415

[PvtPirate]

about having both the bsa and extracted files: i dont care for disk space used, as my one TB HDD is big enough... but for loading times its bad... also i didnt know the game first loads the bsa and then looks into the other data inside data-folder. this sounds very much like the developers didnt think about loading times...

 

:thumbsup: good idea to pack those mod-added files into a bsa. now i get why some mods come with bsa instead of data folder...

if i pack them into one or more bsa-files, i guess i'll have to add those bsa filenames into the oblivion.ini(s) so they get loaded - right?

 

a friend of mine has a flash-drive for his OS and the most often used games - it boots within 5 seconds and all games load almost instantly. but its really expansive.

[Striker879]

I'm not sure about creating BSAs of non-BSA mod files (i.e. may help or may hinder ... I can't say for sure).

 

Something I've noticed in my own game is that doing a periodic cleanup of my save files helps load time tremendously. I'm a packrat, so I don't delete them, just move them to a folder outside of the game's save folder (a separate drive in my case). When I notice that opening menus and loading the game starts to get sluggish again it's time for some more cleanup.

 

SSDs are coming down in price, but to use them I'd need to move on to Windows 7. Unfortunately I have three unused copies of Win XP Pro still kicking around and the spendthrift in me would clamour about spending money on Win 7 when I have three copies of an OS in stock. Hence the sigh.

[PvtPirate]

wow, i didnt know they dont work on XP...

i wont move on to win7 too soon - i play some games that are proven to not work on it.

and if i move to win7, i'll surely keep a second drive with an XP install or even a whole PC for XP.

 

so cleaning the saves folder from time to time can help too? ok, i'll keep that in mind when i finally get my game to run with the mod-collection :)

[Striker879]

OK I'm not 100% accurate on SSDs and WinXP. You can use them on XP but the OS isn't natively able to perform TRIM commands (to free up space from deleted files ... 3rd party utilities can be used), doesn't properly align partition boundaries automatically (but it can be done manually) or automatically disable the defrag command on SSDs. According to the Wikipedia wiki on SSDs Vista does a bit better than XP but Win 7 is the way to go if you are bent on using SSDs.

[Fonger]

i wont move on to win7 too soon - i play some games that are proven to not work on it.

out of curiosity - - - which games

 

BTW never install anything to the programs(x85) or programs directories --

micro$haft's gift to migraines

 

 

PS - 64 bit drivers for specific hardware not available in Win7 -- that's a more serious issue

Edited April 6, 2012 by Fonger

[PvtPirate]

which games? let me think... "Vietcong - Fist Alpha", "Hidden & Dangerous 2", "Gothic" and some other classics :cool: