As game installs become bigger, it's time for the industry to adopt selective installation

Microsoft's machine learning install tech seems really really cool.

Check out what Microsoft is doing with their FastStart announced at E3 2018, as well as what their giant Master Chief Collection update will be providing later this year. Part of this is on the platform holders, and part of it is on the developers themselves.

Xbox FastStart

• https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/faststart
• https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/5/17536732/microsoft-xbox-one-july-update-faststart-feature

Halo MCC 2018 Update Threads

• https://www.resetera.com/threads/halo-mcc-insider-flight-3-is-now-up-early-access.53008/
• https://www.resetera.com/threads/couple-of-screenshots-of-halo-mcc-with-the-4k-update.53096/

TimExecutor said:

We already have that to a minor degree, such as optional 4K texture packs. But it really needs to be more granular than that. I don't need all languages, for example.

It's sad that the piracy PC scene often has selective installs, but the legit versions are still bloated. The pirates are more progressive on this aspect of PC gaming than the real devs.

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It's honestly horrible when I have a game like DOOM (2016) on Steam, but have to opt for (illega) smaller repacks because the game is so fucking big. It's quite disappointing, thankfully I didn't bother doing either and just not re-play the game. Nioh on PC is also like 80gb.

I would love an option to download low-res versions of pre-rendered videos. As in extremely low res to the point where it exists just so it doesn't break anything instead of a multiple gig video for a cutscene I'll see once.

DocSeuss said:

Microsoft's machine learning install tech seems really really cool.

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Have they gone into detail about it? Does it do anything beyond prioritizing different parts of the game to download first based on crowd sourced data?

Atom Heart Mother said:

It's honestly horrible when I have a game like DOOM (2016) on Steam, but have to opt for (illega) smaller repacks because the game is so fucking big. It's quite disappointing, thankfully I didn't bother doing either and just not re-play the game. Nioh on PC is also like 80gb.

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Nioh's actual download size is closer to 30GB and you can compress it using Window's own compression tool (use compactGUI to do it for you). Still huge for what the game is but better than Doom which stays fucking huge.

Yeah, i'd at least like an option to select what language I wanna download and lower res pre-rendered cutscenes. I'd be cool to be able to delete campaign mode in FPS shooters after beating them, the only ones I replay are in the Halo series.

I have still to yet figure out why Doom is so fucking huge on PS4. If only I could get rid of mp completely.

Hitman Sniper Assassin (the pre-order bonus for Hitman 2) is 8.5GB. For some reason it includes the Paris map from Hitman. It's kinda ridiculous sometimes.

Call of Duty PC had the right idea years ago when they decided to split single and multiplayer. No idea why more devs didn't follow suit

Valve does allow this on Steam, some games do have high res texture packs as free DLC. You can also decide what DLC to download for your Steam games. By default it downloads all the DLC you own for a game but you can go to the library page and uncheck the DLC, which will cancel the download for that DLC (or uninstall it if it's already on your computer).
Valve also allows separate library entries for single player and multiplayer, the Call of Duty games do it but I don't see many other games do it.

Slayven said:

Isn't Shenmue 3 predicted to be 100 gigs? Yeah between data caps, and storage costs something has to give

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That's just a tentative estimate.

Can't imagine some publishers would allow you to download pieces of their game and not others if they are being monetized.

TimExecutor said:

Cash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy:
Compressed download size of 4.3GB, which extracts to a final installation size of 29.1GB.
Holy shit, that compression ratio! Great for people with data caps.

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Holy hell I didn't think it would be possible to compress a game almost 7X its actual size.

dr_p0p7ar7_ said:

Check out what Microsoft is doing with their FastStart announced at E3 2018, as well as what their giant Master Chief Collection update will be providing later this year. Part of this is on the platform holders, and part of it is on the developers themselves.

Xbox FastStart

• https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/faststart
• https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/5/17536732/microsoft-xbox-one-july-update-faststart-feature

Halo MCC 2018 Update Threads

• https://www.resetera.com/threads/halo-mcc-insider-flight-3-is-now-up-early-access.53008/
• https://www.resetera.com/threads/couple-of-screenshots-of-halo-mcc-with-the-4k-update.53096/

Spoiler: MCC Custom Installation Screenshot

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I've been testing the Smart Delivery feature included in the latest MCC Insider Program build and it's definitely the way to go from now on. Taking into account game that install size will continue to increase next-gen, people should always be able to choose what part of the game will download/install first.

I also hate games that get bloated with useless multiplayer garbage. GTA V and Doom are the worst. I couldn't care less about the download size, but I do care about useless crap filling up my SSD. That multiplayer garbage shouldn't be mandatory for people who don't want it. It certainly doesn't get me any closer to playing it and dumping money on it (GTA), if that's what they think.

Just give me a stack of 10 dvd disks like the old days.

Just let me install SP separately so I don't have to waste HDD space on MP I'll never touch.

DocSeuss said:

Microsoft's machine learning install tech seems really really cool.

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Jez wrote a article about Faststart and the best thing about it is requires nothing from the devs of the game.

https://www.windowscentral.com/hands-incredible-xbox-fast-start





Unlike other types of intelligent delivery that required developers to build their games a certain way, FastStart requires no input from developers and is instead fully handled by the Microsoft Cloud. Microsoft's servers analyze which parts of a game installation are accessed first, and begin compiling the install order to reflect that progression. As such, games will be ready to play far faster — up to fifty percent faster, according to the company.

I fully agree! Let me chose between downloading/installing the following on both console and PC:

- Language: Most of the time I just want two at most, English and Japanese if applicable
- Assets: 4k assets or Full HD
- Game-modes: Multiplayer / Singleplayer
- Audio: Compressed or Uncompressed Audio

Why this all isn't a standard yet is beyond me, if I had the choice I would always just install English and Japanese as a language when available, skip the game-modes I know I won't play, always pick 1080p assets and compressed audio.

THEVOID said:

Jez wrote a article about Faststart and the best thing about it is requires nothing from the devs of the game.

https://www.windowscentral.com/hands-incredible-xbox-fast-start





Unlike other types of intelligent delivery that required developers to build their games a certain way, FastStart requires no input from developers and is instead fully handled by the Microsoft Cloud. Microsoft's servers analyze which parts of a game installation are accessed first, and begin compiling the install order to reflect that progression. As such, games will be ready to play far faster — up to fifty percent faster, according to the company.

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I don't see this having anything to do with saving space by letting you choose what to install.

Microsoft's Intelligent Delivery is only getting you playing faster.

I just bought the Division and there is so many updates , only thing I hate and love about this gen .

They can patch and update your game with dlc but it takes up so much space and time

KillLaCam said:

Yeah, i'd at least like an option to select what language I wanna download and lower res pre-rendered cutscenes. I'd be cool to be able to delete campaign mode in FPS shooters after beating them, the only ones I replay are in the Halo series.

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One of the most noteworthy things of Quantum Break was choosing whether or not to stream cutscenes instead of downloading them. Downloading the local version of all of them puts the game at a completely silly 180GB installation, increasing the size of the installation by about 75%.

ShinUltramanJ said:

I don't this having anything to do with saving space by letting you choose what to install.

Microsoft's Intelligent Delivery is only getting you playing faster.

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No "fast start" let's you play fast by learning which parts of a game tend to be accessed first. Intelligent Delivery lets users choose which parts of the game they want to install- whether it be SP only, MP only, HD assets only, etc....

THEVOID said:

Jez wrote a article about Faststart and the best thing about it is requires nothing from the devs of the game.

https://www.windowscentral.com/hands-incredible-xbox-fast-start





Unlike other types of intelligent delivery that required developers to build their games a certain way, FastStart requires no input from developers and is instead fully handled by the Microsoft Cloud. Microsoft's servers analyze which parts of a game installation are accessed first, and begin compiling the install order to reflect that progression. As such, games will be ready to play far faster — up to fifty percent faster, according to the company.

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Oh, you need the internet to use it.

Trup1aya said:

No "fast start" let's you play fast by learning which parts of a game tend to be accessed first. Intelligent Delivery lets users choose which parts of the game they want to install- whether it be SP only, MP only, HD assets only, etc....

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I see. Well this is what we need. Are they allowing this on PC as well?

Agree, focus should be :

Start install, it asks you, normal or custom. If normal, then same as it is currently, if custom then :

Select SP, MP, or both.

Select Languages.

If SP only, let you opt-out easily of any updates, and choose only to update if there's some major bug to overcome.

Option to self destruct the cinematics in SP games after seeing them.

(Dreaming). PC mod like option to kill the damned logos at startup lol.

Dumping 4k textures or 1080 textures as desired. (Realize that in most '4k' games, not all textures are updated in resolution, only the ones focused on the most, but it would still help to get rid of any unnecessary duplicates). End result : only the optimal textures are loaded for desired output. Or, even if you have 4k, maybe it's a game you're not all that concerned about having 4k assets in, you just want it to download faster and or take up less space.

BBboy20 said:

Oh, you need the internet to use it.

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It's 2018, you need the internet for basically anything.

I would rather they invest in smart/fast compression and decompression tech. I have shitty internet down under and buying games digitally have gotten out of question for me.

ShinUltramanJ said:

I see. Well this is what we need. Are they allowing this on PC as well?

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Yeah it's supposed to be a feature of UWP.

The best thing about FastStart is that Microsoft already has a way to manually configure games to install certain parts first. Almost nobody uses it properly though (e.g. Resident Evil 4 loads up through the village encounter first, and is ready to start as soon as that's loaded - areas past that are installed piecemeal afterward), which leads to "Ready to Start" notifications that lead to a title screen saying the game is still installing. Cue people getting angry at Microsoft for "lying" to them about a game being ready.

And their response is to get AI to do it instead.

BBboy20 said:

Oh, you need the internet to use it.

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I mean, it's a thing about downloading games, so...

ShinUltramanJ said:

I see. Well this is what we need. Are they allowing this on PC as well?

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All things considered, I don't see why they wouldn't. However, I don't recall hearing any explicit confirmation, either.

Combichristoffersen said:

Just let me install SP separately so I don't have to waste HDD space on MP I'll never touch.

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^THIS

Doesn't seem like a good idea for publishers - if a user doesn't install multiplayer, for example, that person is less likely to ever try it than if it's installed and just a button press away at all times.

Yes. And anything else that reduces the install size is welcome too.

There's a lot of smart options up to AI aided so I'd like to see them used in service of the consumer.

Definitley. At the very least, for games like Doom make the MP and SP mode separate installs. I don't play MP games anymore other than the odd co-op game here and there so that's just wasted space for me.

I don't really have storage issues as I rarely replay games so I just uninstall most things after I'm done, but it sucks downloading a bunch of extra GBs of stuff I won't touch since we have a 1TB cap and occasionally go over if it's a heavy month of game downloads and video streaming in the house.

Taffy Lewis said:

Doesn't seem like a good idea for publishers - if a user doesn't install multiplayer, for example, that person is less likely to ever try it than if it's installed and just a button press away at all times.

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Juggle that with people don't buy a game at all because it's too big, or uninstall soon after purchase because it takes up too much space- so they never revisit.

In my case, I'm an MP guy first and foremost, having unwanted SP components clogging my HDD makes me want to delete the whole game.

Intelligent Delivery will be critical for MS Gamepass... many of their first party games are over 100GB, which is a massive obstacle for a service offering a buffet of game choices.

Intellegent Delivery would also help with upselling products. Right now, many publishers do free weekend trials, that give you complete access for 2 days, then lock you out until you pay... More consumers would participate if they didn't have to earmark 20% of their HDD and crush their data limits just to try.

Agree

Agreed, SP and MP installs should be separate as well.

So basically become PCs? Consoles would lose even more of its convenience for people

Cinemikel said:

So basically become PCs? Consoles would lose even more of its convenience for people

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How would it lose convenience if you just get a checklist on what to download or install? o.o

Skyfireblaze said:

How would it lose convenience if you just get a checklist on what to download or install? o.o

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Because it won't just be "Install singleplayer and multiplayer?"

Cinemikel said:

Because it won't just be "Install singleplayer and multiplayer?"

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Well to quote myself:

- Language: Most of the time I just want two at most, English and Japanese if applicable
- Assets: 4k or Full HD assets
- Game-modes: Multiplayer / Singleplayer
- Audio: Compressed or Uncompressed Audio

These would be sensible options, just add a Default button and there's nothing bad about it for the less knowledgeable users.

TimExecutor said:

It's sad that the piracy PC scene often has selective installs, but the legit versions are still bloated. The pirates are more progressive on this aspect of PC gaming than the real devs.

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Piracy wins again.

Really, all they need to do is just add a "Default installation" option that just install everything and a "custom" one where you can choose what to download. Sounds pretty simple to me. Saves bandwith for Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo/Steam and the user, saves precious drive space... Why they haven't done it yet is the real mystery.

Kent said:

I mean, it's a thing about downloading games, so...

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I wonder if you could pull the fast start meta data out of the cloud and use it to install from a disc faster, too.

The best thing about fast start is tricking the games into thinking they are 100% installed while they are still being downloaded. I don't see why they can't pull selected files from the disc the same way they do from a server.

KarmaCow said:

I would love an option to download low-res versions of pre-rendered videos. As in extremely low res to the point where it exists just so it doesn't break anything instead of a multiple gig video for a cutscene I'll see once.



Have they gone into detail about it? Does it do anything beyond prioritizing different parts of the game to download first based on crowd sourced data?



Nioh's actual download size is closer to 30GB and you can compress it using Window's own compression tool (use compactGUI to do it for you). Still huge for what the game is but better than Doom which stays fucking huge.

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We know Microsoft has talked about segmenting the games up too; it seems like they're doing a really good job trying to make games both smaller and faster on the download.

Today we have games "ready to play" at a specific %, its a step in the right direction but selective download is a MUST

I've seen some games on PS4 that allow you to prioritize which part of the game you want to install first, SP or MP. Next step is giving the option not to install the other part at all.

FastStart and Intelligent Delivery are solving two different but really important problems related to install size.

• FastStart lets you start playing games before they're fully downloaded, in a way much more flexible than what PS4 and Xbox One currently do, thanks to machine learning. But ultimately you still end up downloading the entire thing.
  
  
• Intelligent Delivery enables developers to only download a subset of content, instead of the entire thing:
  

  

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FastStart automatically works without developer intervention, but Intelligent Delivery requires manual work from the developer - hopefully more developers are able to begin implementing it soon!