Looooong load times

Discussion in 'Support!' started by falconz, October 5, 2013.

  1. falconz

    falconz New Member

    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    hello All

    I have been having some extremely long load times. it takes on average 10 minutes to join a game, by which time the other plays have had a massive head start.

    It sits on the Starting game screen, my machine is sitting under 20% cpu and my DSL connection is maxed out (800k) it seems the more planets and the size of them the longer it takes.

    Not sure what can be done about this... it is making the game a but irritating as I have no chance of winning a match
  2. poyepolomi

    poyepolomi New Member

    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi, I have a similar issue. Here is a copy of a message I posted on reddit explaining it:



    Hi. So I have an issue with loading times.

    When I want to play with other people, when I finally join the game after loading, everyone has started for a great while (at least several minutes, like 3 minutes usually when I get to chat with them while it is loading for me), and have expanded quite a bit already (several factories, map control, etc).

    Sometimes it's even worse, it doesn't even work, I can't play at all. When I try to play with my brother, after it finishes loading for me, he was already in game of course. But I don't get to spawn, I am immediately annihilated right after I joined. The game then stops for him since I get annihilated at spawn. I assume it is because it took too long to load.

    To give an idea, it takes between 5 to 10 minutes to load a game, on a single planet of scale 2.

    I play with settings at minimum.

    Here are my specs: GTX 770, i5-4670, 8GB DDR3 (1600MHz). I have the latest Nvidia graphics drivers. I do not have a SSD, my hard drive is a Steagate Barracuda.

    My internet connection is ok: 6 Mbps donwload, 1 Mbps upload, according to speedtest.net.

    So, the only thing I don't have is a SSD. But I don't think every other player who always joins at least several minutes before me has one...

    So why is it so slow for me? I'm pretty sure I must be doing something wrong.

    Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

    TLDR: Powerful PC, 5 to 10 min of loading on a single small planet, always join at least 3 min after the game started, sometimes can't even join because it takes too long.
  3. zaits

    zaits New Member

    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    I am in the same boat. I used to be the first one to load and it would take 15-20 seconds, but now it takes a 1-3 minutes to load.

    Edit - I should have stated, this started happening when Beta started.
  4. omi570

    omi570 New Member

    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    1
    I have the exact same problem, it started around Wednesday and hasn't changed too much since, other than getting some small help through the forums.
  5. garat

    garat Cat Herder Uber Alumni

    Messages:
    3,344
    Likes Received:
    5,376
    We're working on this, but especially if you're running on good rigs, chances are, it's a connection speed issue, not a PC issue. There is a lot of data going back and forth, which we're trying to reduce a lot. It has gotten better, but we have a ways to go.

    Things to do: Try a different region (see how it impacts load times). Reduce internet traffic (if you're streaming videos or anything else, just pause it while loading the game - see if it affects load speed). Do some speed checks to make sure your actual connection isn't being either throttled or otherwise slowed by intermediary servers.

    Like I said, there is a lot more we can do to try and speed this up, but those are some suggestions to hopefully help improve it on your own. The larger the solar system you're trying to play in, the slower the load times as well - it's just that much more data that needs to be sent.
  6. omi570

    omi570 New Member

    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    1
    Well what is the minimum download/upload speed?
  7. poyepolomi

    poyepolomi New Member

    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    So I made some trials with different servers. I live in EU. I tried with a single moon-type planet of radius 800, with another player.

    EU server: 1 min 50 sec (wow now that was fast! If only it could always be so)
    USA server: 4 min (and the game started with the other player alone while it was still loading for me)

    Those times are both surprisingly faster than what I got earlier today. So maybe the time of the day and server traffic has a huge impact on loading times as well.

    But well no luck for trying another server though, I get the best times on the EU one.

    By the way, according the speedtest.net, I have a better connection than this other player. And I also have a much better computer. But he always loads much faster. So maybe I have a specific connection issue with the servers that are used by Uber? (as opposed to generally speaking a poor connection) How could I know or fix this? There are no other servers to try, except the Uber ones...

    One question I have is that after the loading, I see the planet and the metal spots are very slowly appearing, it takes some time to see them all and be able to spawn. During this stage, is it still server dependent or only client dependent? If it is only client dependent, does lowering graphics settings improve the loading times of the metal spots?
  8. qklilx

    qklilx New Member

    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Is the game supposed to take a few minutes to load? I mean just opening the application. I've been busy so I only just now installed the beta but both times I've opened it I had to wait a good 2-3 minutes before the sign-in screen came up. Then signing in takes a long time. I'm running an MSI GT60 so I know my computer isn't slow. :/
  9. SXX

    SXX Post Master General

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    1,812
    This notebook looks like it's have switchable graphics (Intel HD + Nvidia). Are you sure game is running on Nvidia card? (check this video how-to)
  10. qklilx

    qklilx New Member

    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Ah yes I forgot to change that setting. Not used to doing it since I'm not a gamer. I also figured out that the launcher is separate from the actual exe... the game still runs slow on my computer even on a smaller planet with "high" settings. It's a lot better though.
  11. SXX

    SXX Post Master General

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    1,812
    Can you do two thing then:
    1. Make your game log and upload it:
    • Open directory where game installed
    • Open "media" subdirectory
    • Create "user" subdir and open it
    • Create "log" subdir and open it
    • Run game and keep it open
    • There will be created log file named like that "PA-18-13-59.225.txt"
    2. While game running created DxDiag.txt and upload it as well.

    I'll check what video card game currently using and give you some advice if there driver updates required.
  12. qklilx

    qklilx New Member

    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Well, it turns out I forgot that I DO have a driver update and I downloaded it but never installed it. The game is running much smoother now even on uber settings. There's still the issue where queueing units takes time (one click every half a second, roughly) but I dunno if that's a bug or the last little bit my computer can't handle. lol

    Thank you for your willingness to help me out though.
  13. SXX

    SXX Post Master General

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    1,812
    You can as well go to Nvidia Control Panel and force enable "Threaded Optimization" for PA.exe. This will give you some extra FPS.
  14. stilgar84

    stilgar84 New Member

    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    1
    I also have long loading time, usually starting 2 min after the start of the game.
    I have a good enough rig and a correct connection (neither of which are maxed out during loading, far form it).
    It may be a latency problem? I also have quite a bit of stuttering during play (good fps, just units not updated), lot of bandwith remaining so probably latency related.
  15. GoldenPeanut771

    GoldenPeanut771 New Member

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Same problem here. Sometimes I load in 5 - 20 seconds and now in like 1 - 3 minutes.

    CPU: i7 860 @ 3.4 Ghz
    RAM: 12 GB DDR3-1600
    HDD: 2 TB Samsung HDD - 5400 RPM
    GPU: HD 6950 2 GB

    Download speed: 150 Mbit
    Upload speed: 15 Mbit
  16. Devak

    Devak Post Master General

    Messages:
    1,713
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    When i recently played against the AI, it had a 5 minute headstart on me. Could you make it so that in a player vs AI match, the AI actually doesn't start until the player connects? this should at least reduce SOME of the pain.
  17. ephoscus

    ephoscus Member

    Messages:
    93
    Likes Received:
    1
    Bare in mind that just because your connection is speed is fine and even speedchecks say it's great, doesn't mean it's not a connection speed issue. Playing at peaks time and to the wrong region could well make things a lot worst. Lot of fibre and copper cable your data has to travel over and will only be as fast as the slowest cable.
  18. Natima

    Natima New Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Please open Task Manager during this time and monitor your RAM usage and take a screenshot.
    I think it's connected to the huge memory consumption of planets.

Share This Page