[4e4] Game Download size

We expect a wide range of sizes for this contest, and today games can be a lot bigger then they used to be. However keep in mind that your game must be uploaded and downloaded over the internet, and will be one of many entries (upload is an important part - if your game is large [>50MB], I suggest you plan to submit it ahead of time).

If you can do it, the ideal entry size is 1-50MB (frankly I'd like to see the average size around the 50MB mark, since judges need to download and evaluate every entry in a short period of time). Entries up to about 150MB are fine as long as you take responsiblity for getting it uploaded on time (entry time is when the upload is *finished*). 150-600MB can be submitted, but I suggest you contact Kevin ahead of time (a few weeks before the due date). If you plan on creating something over 600MB you should probably contact Kevin about it now, or by September at the latest.

Wow, that big 'eh...

I think mine will likely be under 10MB.

Quote:

The Rules Page 11. GameDev.net will not enforce a size limit on entries. However, please be reasonable. If you are concerned about the size of your entry, then please contact us regarding the size of your entry, and we will determine the best course of action for submitting your entry.

Mine may feature alot of music, so it might be pretty big but I would expect < 100Meg.

Thanks for the quick answers.

Superpig, Yeah I saw the rule on the contest page but just wanted clarification on what would fit 'reasonable'.

Anyway, thanks guys!

Those sizes are huge, I'm trying to fit everything in 1,44MB...

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Original post by paulecoyote Mine may feature alot of music, so it might be pretty big but I would expect < 100Meg.

Storing music as 192khz stereo 16-bit pcm is a bad idea. Try using a compressed format such as ogg.

[Edited by - Extrarius on August 3, 2005 5:48:56 PM]

If you send us huge entries that are that way because of big wav files, you will lose points (modern games have more then enough CPU power to decode mp3/ogg music). Using wavs for smaller files (sound effects) would be fine, but the entries size should not be bloated from uncompressed file formats. The same can be said for BMP files too - don't include 100MB of textures in BMP format for your 5MB game.

Ill get to work on a JPEG texture loader then :-(

Why not use something premade, like libpng or libjpeg?

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Original post by Michalson If you send us huge entries that are that way because of big wav files, you will lose points (modern games have more then enough CPU power to decode mp3/ogg music). Using wavs for smaller files (sound effects) would be fine, but the entries size should not be bloated from uncompressed file formats...

This is just for a placid state of mind purpose, but what would you prefer in terms of format for the following situation?

I have about eight pieces of music I plan to incorporate into my game. The only instrument in these pieces of music is the piano, and the length of the pieces range from about two minutes to five. Would it be better to choose the midi format and let the computer play it to the user so the overall size of the game is greatly reduced, or go the way of a recording format, say mp3, and have a human play it on a real piano?

Quote:

Original post by Xiachunyi Quote: Original post by Michalson If you send us huge entries that are that way because of big wav files, you will lose points (modern games have more then enough CPU power to decode mp3/ogg music). Using wavs for smaller files (sound effects) would be fine, but the entries size should not be bloated from uncompressed file formats... This is just for a placid state of mind purpose, but what would you prefer in terms of format for the following situation? I have about eight pieces of music I plan to incorporate into my game. The only instrument in these pieces of music is the piano, and the length of the pieces range from about two minutes to five. Would it be better to choose the midi format and let the computer play it to the user so the overall size of the game is greatly reduced, or go the way of a recording format, say mp3, and have a human play it on a real piano?

It's up to you. The point is more that being inefficient with your data formats could cost you points in the technical category - using wav when mp3 would suffice, for example. Dropping down from MP3 to MIDI is going to cause a decrease in audio quality which could cost you points in other categories... like so much else in development it's a tradeoff, and it's up to you to make the call.

Thank you for the response SuperPig.

Yeah, you shouldn't be penalised for a few extra Mb to have high-quality music as mp3 - that is a professional game feature. Dropping to MIDI just to save space is foolish unless you want to reduce the download size for other people after the contest.
Although DirectMusic provides a 'better' alternative to MIDI where you use wavs as the note sample. Then you're not reliant on the MIDI implementation on each PC.

To address concerns: I am using ogg - just that I have a talented musician that makes long tracks and depending on how much of the game is done there might be scope for an albums worth of tunes in there. I expect even that much music would weigh in <60 meg though, and to be honest the game is unlikely to be big enough the way things are going to need so much.

I was just doing the engineer over-estimating space requirements thing to test boundaries [wink]

I figure with all this emphasis on graphics others seem to be making, I would try and make my entry an audio feast [smile]