zoning optimization?

[GnashingOfTeeth]

Has anyone done any research on this?
Bandwidth or HDD speed dependent? Luck of the draw? Server load?
Curious, thanks

I have a good SSD, wondering if there are any tips ?

[Ziggy]

turn on memory cache, use the smallest (default) texture files, maybe look into eqplaynice. honestly anything under 1 minute is totally NOT CLASSIC

[Pringles]

Ram disk.

[khanable]

Ram disk.

mmhmm.

Using EQLite I put aside 2gb for a ramdisk, it's stupid fast.

[Zaela]

Loading textures is definitely the most time-consuming part by far (and why the caching option is there). Mass-spawning mobs is probably second, but not much you can do there.

EQLite

Be sure to have used this thing. If you are running an unmolested Titanium install, you are potentially wasting up to a few seconds loading post-GoD models from the per-zone loading scripts.

[kaev]

turn on memory cache, use the smallest (default) texture files, maybe look into eqplaynice. honestly anything under 1 minute is totally NOT CLASSIC

Wrong. In true classic, i.e. pre-Kunark, zoning in less than 15 seconds was the norm unless you had a rig so weak it you were lucky you could even play the game. Longer zone times were more a Velious thing.

[Doil_Boil]

How does one turn on the memory cache?

[tristantio]

Doesn't the load/popping into an initial zone depend on the 6 second server tick as well?

For instance, if the following occurs:

12:00:00 - Server tick
12:00:01 - You hit zone line
12:00:06 - Next server tick
12:00:06 - You enter next zone

Which would mean in an optimal case (fast SSD or running in a ramdisk) you're still looking at an average of ~3 second load time? (some slower, some faster)

[Whirled]

How does one turn on the memory cache?

When u first log in, there is an options (or advanced I forget)... it minimizes game & brings up all those changes u can make to click thru

[myriverse]

Wrong. In true classic, i.e. pre-Kunark, zoning in less than 15 seconds was the norm unless you had a rig so weak it you were lucky you could even play the game. Longer zone times were more a Velious thing.
Not true. On average, it would take me 4 minutes in 1999. Sometimes, I'd miss the next docks when on a boat because of the time.

[kaev]

Not true. On average, it would take me 4 minutes in 1999. Sometimes, I'd miss the next docks when on a boat because of the time.

:shrug:
I started in '99 with a 200MHz Pentium MMX, 128MB of RAM, and a 64MB Voodoo Banshee video card, over 56K dial-up. Zone times were ~ 10 seconds on average. I remember having to wait ~15 seconds after being trained out of Crushbone or I'd zone back before the train reset. Maybe that was a good rig at the time, seemed pretty unimpressive compared to what my friends were playing online FPS games with. I do recall people with non-Voodoo video complaining a lot about performance.

[maskedmelon]

:shrug:
I started in '99 with a 200MHz Pentium MMX, 128MB of RAM, and a 64MB Voodoo Banshee video card, over 56K dial-up. Zone times were ~ 10 seconds on average. I remember having to wait ~15 seconds after being trained out of Crushbone or I'd zone back before the train reset. Maybe that was a good rig at the time, seemed pretty unimpressive compared to what my friends were playing online FPS games with. I do recall people with non-Voodoo video complaining a lot about performance.

My box in 2000 was a 266mhz with 48mb of RAM and a 16mb Voodoo 3 (I upgraded from some stellar 2mb onboard graphics to make play smoother ^^)

My zone times were 5min+ in Velious and I would often get booted from groups while zoning because they'd thought I went LD even after explaining that I was a SLOW zoner. The best part was, group changes while zoning caused you to become group bugged, requiring you to log, so I spent a couple more mins logging out and 5 more to log back in.

I couldn't take the boats to Kunark either because I wouldn't some in until the boat had already left the zone causing me to immediately return to loading. Was only able to escape the load loop in BB. Great times ^^

[Paleman]

zoning took like 4-6 mins back in the day, enough time to piss, grab a beer so it was always great imo. now i cant do that :(, but sometimes I pretend I can and do it anyways.

[khanable]

I remember going from 64mb ram to 192mb ram and it made a hell of a difference zoning back in 2000.

Man what a piece of crap my rig was =p

[mr_jon3s]

:shrug:
I started in '99 with a 200MHz Pentium MMX, 128MB of RAM, and a 64MB Voodoo Banshee video card, over 56K dial-up. Zone times were ~ 10 seconds on average. I remember having to wait ~15 seconds after being trained out of Crushbone or I'd zone back before the train reset. Maybe that was a good rig at the time, seemed pretty unimpressive compared to what my friends were playing online FPS games with. I do recall people with non-Voodoo video complaining a lot about performance.

Well with that rig of course you would zone fast. But most peope playing in 1999 had PoS comps.

[myriverse]

:shrug:
I started in '99 with a 200MHz Pentium MMX, 128MB of RAM, and a 64MB Voodoo Banshee video card, over 56K dial-up. Zone times were ~ 10 seconds on average. I remember having to wait ~15 seconds after being trained out of Crushbone or I'd zone back before the train reset. Maybe that was a good rig at the time, seemed pretty unimpressive compared to what my friends were playing online FPS games with. I do recall people with non-Voodoo video complaining a lot about performance.
64MB video card would have been about the best you could have in 1999.

[kaev]

My box in 2000 was a 266mhz with 48mb of RAM and a 16mb Voodoo 3 (I upgraded from some stellar 2mb onboard graphics to make play smoother ^^)

My zone times were 5min+ in Velious and I would often get booted from groups while zoning because they'd thought I went LD even after explaining that I was a SLOW zoner. The best part was, group changes while zoning caused you to become group bugged, requiring you to log, so I spent a couple more mins logging out and 5 more to log back in.

I couldn't take the boats to Kunark either because I wouldn't some in until the boat had already left the zone causing me to immediately return to loading. Was only able to escape the load loop in BB. Great times ^^

Wow, I didn't even know you could play EQ with only 48MB RAM. I just looked up my old video card and it was 16MB not 64, it must've been the GeForce II card in the machine I bought to keep playing after Luclin came out that was 64MB. My load times stretched some with Kunark (new global textures for those damned needy Iksar), and some more with Velious (all those cool armor textures I never got to wear at the time.)

I still remember how cool the boat from BBM to Kunark seemed when it was new. All old hat now :(

bolded my correction of video RAM size above