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Issues, Workarounds & Localization

 
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Eve Client Caches & Optimization

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Velarra
#1 - 2016-05-13 17:16:23 UTC  |  Edited by: Velarra
Not strictly a workaround or really an issue but i thought i'd share here:

If you have ram in the neighborhood of 32 GB or more one can optimize Eve performance to really squeeze the most out of all possible situations where resources are loaded into the client. Be it grid after moving from one system to the next, un-docking, or loading up the client. The only things you'll end up waiting for are server ticks.

Eve's 2 caches can be found in separate paths, accessible via the launcher or Win's user/appdata route in /CCP/ . The latter is the one that's often suggested as something to cleaned via the in-game Esc. options or via the Launcher, when the client goes a bit haywire and weird.

The first one can be found from in the launcher, the Shared Resource Cache. It seems to contain all of eve's asset resources, such as textures and so on. It can be set to progressively download as needed, or you can download it all at once, setting the client to update completely, every time a new patch rolls around.

The fascinating thing about the total download option for the resource cache is that with every patch, it increases in size. Usually a few gigabytes to a few hundred megabytes. However, it doesn't seem to need or require the old files. The growth of the resource cache doesn't seem to be necessary at all. But what's a few more gigabytes of data? Everyone has a large SSD / platter based hard drive....? While this is a valid concern, it's only until you're trying to fit it all into a Ramdisk. Fortunately, the Resource cache has rarely grown to a size over 12.7 Gigabytes when freshly downloaded. Regardless of new patch. As a result, with every new, very large patch such as the last Citadel release, It can really benefit one long term, to re-download the entire resource cache over-night, the day after release. Yes, this can be a tincy bit annoying but compared to running eve from SSD vs. Ramdisk, squeezing the resource cache back into its default 12.x gig works out rather well.

The second cache, the one that's in WINUSERNAME/appdata/ccp can't seem to be easily configured like the Resource cache. However, one can set up Symbolic Links in NTFS. Rather then have this client cache be delayed by SSD read/write speeds, it too can be redirected to a ramdisk directory, along with one's usual /temp/ redirects.


There are a number of caveats and concerns one might have regarding the above too. While the burst of speed from SSD to Ramdisk might not be as phenomenal as platter based storage to SSD, it's still darned entertaining. Just as equally you'll probably want to be cautious of situations involving client errors or weird glitching. Particularly given the nature of the secondary cache that's normally located in AppData.

In any case, Ramdisk & NTFS Symbolic Links in conjunction with Eve's 2 caches are a great way to really speed up Eve's load-times and responsiveness. Even if one's using an SSD bootdrive.

In closure, yes, I am skipping some specific bits of information and related links. Google is awesome as well as being wary of consequences and accidents.
CCP Snorlax
C C P
C C P Alliance
#2 - 2016-05-14 15:42:58 UTC
Velarra wrote:

...
The fascinating thing about the total download option for the resource cache is that with every patch, it increases in size. Usually a few gigabytes to a few hundred megabytes. However, it doesn't seem to need or require the old files. The growth of the resource cache doesn't seem to be necessary at all. But what's a few more gigabytes of data? Everyone has a large SSD / platter based hard drive....? While this is a valid concern, it's only until you're trying to fit it all into a Ramdisk. Fortunately, the Resource cache has rarely grown to a size over 12.7 Gigabytes when freshly downloaded. Regardless of new patch. As a result, with every new, very large patch such as the last Citadel release, It can really benefit one long term, to re-download the entire resource cache over-night, the day after release. Yes, this can be a tincy bit annoying but compared to running eve from SSD vs. Ramdisk, squeezing the resource cache back into its default 12.x gig works out rather well.
...

The latest version of the launcher (1037417) now verifies and trims the cache periodically. You can do this manually from the shared cache dialog (Settings, Shared Cache Settings) with the Verify button. This ensures that there are no corrupt files in the cache, and that any obsolete files are cleared. No need to download everything again.

CCP Snorlax - Software Architect - Team RnB - @CCP_Snorlax - http://ccpsnorlax.blogspot.is/
Velarra
#3 - 2016-05-14 19:47:50 UTC  |  Edited by: Velarra
CCP Snorlax wrote:
The latest version of the launcher (1037417) now verifies and trims the cache periodically. You can do this manually from the shared cache dialog (Settings, Shared Cache Settings) with the Verify button. This ensures that there are no corrupt files in the cache, and that any obsolete files are cleared. No need to download everything again.


This is great news, i really look forward to using it in the future.

At present, - boot.ini, Incarna's 'The Door', the camera moving more than 180 degrees (and breaking the 180 rule repeatedly) during star gate / system jumps, the completely useless "new map", nearly useless/terrible for pvp new camera, ... are all very vivid memories. I think i'll let the beta testers/bug hunters work out the various tiny gotcha's like memory leaks, problems with overview & client settings, ... before i go near the "new" launcher.

Hopefully then, it'll be great. Equally i DO appreciate the above feature you mention. :)
Sobaan Tali
Caldari Quick Reaction Force
#4 - 2016-05-16 21:48:46 UTC
Currently, another trick to "cleaning" the SharedCache is by running rescache.exe in purge mode. To do this, create a short-cut to reschache.exe on desktop (or anywhere really, even in same location should work). You then right-click on the short-cut and select "Properties". From there, click on the "Shortcut" tab and look for the "Target" line, which tells your OS what to launch with this shortcut. From there, simply add a space and the word "purge" to the line outside of the quotes and click apply. Mine looks like the following...

"C:\Program Files (x86)\CCP\EVE\rescache.exe" purge

When you launch rescache with the shortcut, rather than verifying the cache like normally, it will instead quickly (takes normally 15 to 20 seconds, much faster than normal rescache) to check the files within and deletes any file that is unused, obsolete, or otherwise unrecognized and considered bloat.

Between normal rescache, including this alternate command, and clearing your (smaller) regular cache folder, I would recommend running this at least once per expansion update. Personally, I clear cache as often as possible, usually every few days just to keep it nice and clean.

"Tomahawks?"

"----in' A, right?"

"Trouble is, those things cost like a million and a half each."

"----, you pay me half that and I'll hump in some c4 and blow the ---- out of it my own damn self."