View Full Version : Nintendo THANK YOU (Load Times)
I just recently started playing Prince of Persia: Sands of Time on my Gamecube. I originally bought this game for the PS2 but traded it in as I wanted to beef up my CUBE collection. I have to say it has been a joy. The load times are non-existent in this version. It's really great when doing a part a few times not having to wait for the game to load up each time.
SteveMcQ
05-31-2005, 03:00 PM
Load times are something that I hope are addressed with the next-gen. What a great joy it was to play through the seamless levels of Jak III. It's possible on any system, it just doesn't seem to be an important point to developers.
eldad9
05-31-2005, 03:03 PM
Load times are something that I hope are addressed with the next-gen. What a great joy it was to play through the seamless levels of Jak III. It's possible on any system, it just doesn't seem to be an important point to developers.
Possible? maybe. Easy? not really. Worth it? sometimes.
There are so many factors involved: the genre of game, the size of the game world, its structure, console RAM, etc etc.
SteveMcQ
05-31-2005, 03:05 PM
Anything's possible if you put your mind to it.:roll:
whiteboy
05-31-2005, 03:09 PM
Yeah GC has great load times. I cant imagine RE4 on PS2, if it takes the PS2 3 minutes to load RE Outbreak just imagine the load times for RE4. Makes my penis soft...
javeryh
05-31-2005, 03:17 PM
I practically never notice load times on my Gamecube. They do an amazing job. God of War is actually just as good with its load times on PS2 though so I am sure it could be done if it was a high priority...
SevereTireDamage
05-31-2005, 03:23 PM
I find load times to be a really important, if often subtle, part of the gaming experience. It should be a non-issue in other words. I hope Nintendo doesn't forget it in their switch to normal media for the Revolution.
TimTucker
05-31-2005, 10:19 PM
I find load times to be a really important, if often subtle, part of the gaming experience. It should be a non-issue in other words.
This just goes back to basic usability research that goes back to the 60's:
http://www.useit.com/papers/responsetime.html
(Basically, under 0.1s isn't noticable, 1 second is noticable, but tolerable, and over 10 seconds is too long to keep people's attention)
Mospeada_21
06-01-2005, 12:32 AM
(Basically, under 0.1s isn't noticable, 1 second is noticable, but tolerable, and over 10 seconds is too long to keep people's attention)
very true.....over ten seconds means time for a bathroom break. reminds me of vice city......it was still worth waiting. but if it's a mediocre game, it spells trade-in!
Mookyjooky
06-01-2005, 12:33 AM
Thats funny, I bought Sands of Time for my cube and it was brand new and it kept freezing up and cut off on my completely and reset twice in two days.
Sounds like you got a real good copy.
captaincold
06-01-2005, 04:24 AM
I wonder how much extra i've paid on my electric bill via load times or non skipable fmv?
RAMSTORIA
06-01-2005, 05:25 AM
I practically never notice load times on my Gamecube. They do an amazing job. God of War is actually just as good with its load times on PS2 though so I am sure it could be done if it was a high priority...
given the ps2's track record, i was shocked to find out how good the load times were for god of war, considering that i see no reason why RE4 or even prince of persia couldnt have better load times
If sony use a faster DVD drive it would reduce some loading time. Also curse MS for being so fugal and not use a faster cable.
Quackzilla
06-01-2005, 10:05 AM
The only problems I have with loading on Gamecube is the Metroid Prime games.
Sometimes they take forever to load new rooms.
It starts loading when you shoot a door, and the door opens when it is loaded. Sometimes you will shoot a door and just have to stand there for 10 seconds.
opportunity777
06-01-2005, 10:09 AM
Load times will probably never completely disappear due to the fact that as hardware power increases, developers will be using higher res textures, etc.
Although, load times generally fall later on in the hardware's life as developers create more efficient algorithms.
examples: God of War
Grave_Addiction
06-01-2005, 10:22 AM
The only problems I have with loading on Gamecube is the Metroid Prime games.
Sometimes they take forever to load new rooms.
It starts loading when you shoot a door, and the door opens when it is loaded. Sometimes you will shoot a door and just have to stand there for 10 seconds.
Hmmm that's strange, I never remember anything like that happening with me. Metroid Prime always loaded really fast.
javeryh
06-01-2005, 12:09 PM
Hmmm that's strange, I never remember anything like that happening with me. Metroid Prime always loaded really fast.
yeah, me too. I get a hiccup sometimes but nothing that lasts for more than a second... just enough to be noticable but definitely not enough to affect gameplay...
oleander
06-01-2005, 12:17 PM
The only problems I have with loading on Gamecube is the Metroid Prime games.
Sometimes they take forever to load new rooms.
It starts loading when you shoot a door, and the door opens when it is loaded. Sometimes you will shoot a door and just have to stand there for 10 seconds.
It wasn't really noticeable for me except when I was trying to run away from something...and I am pretty sure the longest I had to wait was probably more like 2 or 3 seconds...
doodle777_98
06-01-2005, 12:18 PM
i love the GC load times.
Scahom1
06-02-2005, 08:08 PM
Worst loading times I've seen in a game recently was in Brothers in Arms. Even reloading a checksave took forever.
whoknows
06-02-2005, 08:14 PM
Yeah GC has great load times. I cant imagine RE4 on PS2, if it takes the PS2 3 minutes to load RE Outbreak just imagine the load times for RE4. Makes my penis soft...
Since when did it take 3 minutes to load RE Outbreak?
The only problems I have with loading on Gamecube is the Metroid Prime games.
Sometimes they take forever to load new rooms.
It starts loading when you shoot a door, and the door opens when it is loaded. Sometimes you will shoot a door and just have to stand there for 10 seconds.
That also happened to me a few times. Not very often and I really only cared when it happened and I was trying to run away so I didnt die. Still happened very rarely which was good.
Also I think that the size of the cd's for the GC help it a lot with the load times.
Load times for other systems can be really horrible (Enter the Matrix OMFG on PS2), but PS2 can also pull off some pretty good stuff (ratchet, jak, god of war) same with xbox if only the developers cared enough.
eldad9
06-02-2005, 08:26 PM
See kids, we never had this problem when I was your age.
Sure, we had to wait 2-5 minutes for the computer to load 48KB from the cassette tape...
psychobrawler
06-04-2005, 10:02 PM
The new standard for loading should be Halo 2. With all the major loads hidden during the cut scenes and most of the rest being minor hiccups, that turned out to be an awesome experience. It's sweet to think it's possible to wait for an initial 1 minute load or so and then play a 12 or 14 hour game without seeing another.
enlightenedgamer
06-04-2005, 10:17 PM
-The Metroid Prime thing is certainly true on occasion, but only when you're jogging across an area. The disc reading speed just can't keep up with Samus.
-Anyone else hear really compressed-ish effects and music on the GC version of PoP:SOT? I really never notice bad sound that my speaker-savvy friends always try to point out, but I definitely heard it with this game. Sounds like many of the sounds are coming out of a drive-through intercom. I tried it on several rigs, so I know it wasn't just the sound equipment. I've heard other versions of SOT, as well as GC Warrior Within, and they sound fine.
-Agreed with the Halo 2 loads. Sometimes the texture pop-in bugs me, but I actually think it's cool at the start of multiplayer rounds. You get to see the world being assembled around you. One of the (very limited) cool bits of Enter the Matrix were cutscenes that included such an effect.
BLarR
06-04-2005, 10:24 PM
Turok Evolution load times for the GC will make everyone praising them turn white. Like 5 minutes, though anyone that waits that long for THAT game to load is a sucker.
dastly75
06-04-2005, 10:30 PM
Worst loading times I've seen in a game recently was in Brothers in Arms. Even reloading a checksave took forever.
Agreed, I woulda played thru more than just half the game if its loading times weren't so bad.
Plumberboy
06-04-2005, 10:34 PM
Turok Evolution load times for the GC will make everyone praising them turn white. Like 5 minutes, though anyone that waits that long for THAT game to load is a sucker.
I don't think it is fair to judge any console based on Acclaim's efforts, especially anything produced during this generation. Acclaim became the epitome of half-assed game development.