Whenever I load a system above 1MB it always causes the UI to lag a lot, and people usually dont think that loading causes them to lag so much, so they alt-f4 while in lobby beacuse they think their PC is dying. So, simple request: please add a new_game alert/popup to tell players that this process takes time to load planets and will lag the UI.
I instead request that Uber has somebody optimize the map system. Currently there is one substantial flaw: The whole system was written back when maps were a short json string with a few numbers. It assumes it is okay to push around the json string a lot. For example the map is part of some state object and the server logs that completely twice during the startup of a game. Tons and TONS of useless string data written into the console. And that is the tip of the iceberg. The lobby UI has to process that string. The handlers that pass it around have to wait for the users internet to download/upload it. Many points of contention that make it all very laggy and slow on TOP of the issue that the planet generation process is very very cpu hungry. Maps need to be handled as "potentially big files" that are cached locally. Check some hash against the map on the server and if there is a map cached for that hash do not redownload.
I've been experimenting with @mikeyh today with the system designer. You can decrease the pas files by half to avoid these loading times. what you have to do: export pas file open it with a text editor find the find the following Code: "planetCSG": [ start with selecting the bracket and comma above that code Go further up (at the beginning) until you hit Code: "source": { "brushes": [ Delete those two lines too save import it again in pa check in system designer if everything is ok is it? then close system designer ( dont save) and play the map. If its not then you deleted to much Voila you just shrunk your pas file almost by half. GG EDIT Did it to your ffa system. Should load wayyyy faster
