[Bibble]

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has worked on this project.  It is truly amazing how dedicated you all are and the results you produce are outstanding.

That being said, I'm experiencing extremely long level load times after I hit the "commit" button after the mission overview.  I am going through Freespace 1 using the FSPort-mediavps mod and I am really tired of waiting 5, 10, or even 15 minutes for levels to load.  Once they load, however, everything works great.  I don't know if this is a fixable bug or if my computer just isn't up to snuff.

My computer: Lenovo T61, Windows XP SP3, Intel C2D T8100 @ 2.1 Ghz, 2 GB RAM, Intel GM965 onboard graphics

I've tried FSPort without mediavps, mediavps, and regular FSO without any mods and the problem is there regardless.

Thank you for your assistance and let me know if you require any more information from me.

UPDATE:

I have found that disabling environment maps in the launcher (Features tab > Graphics list) seems to solve this problem.  Now when I hit commit I am instantly in my cockpit starting the mission. 

What, though, is the explanation of this?  I have tried this with only "enable specular, enable glowmaps," and "enable environment maps" as well as with all of the other recommended features enabled, and both times it seems that environment maps was the only variable.

Thank you all for your help!



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[General Battuta]

Ten minutes? Hooooooly craaaaaaaaap.

Could you post a debug log that runs at least up until you hit commit? You can find instructions on how to generate one in the pinned thread at the top of the support forum.

It's true that your Intel integrated graphics are a bit below spec, I'm afraid. But I haven't seen this manifest as unusually long load times.

[The E]

Unusually long load times usually indicate that there are missing cache files. As far as I am aware, the only model in the fsport mvps that triggers this is the Karnak, which isn't used in the main FSPort campaign.

Instead of what Battuta said, please generate a debug log with a mission that has these long load times.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Also try defragging your drive.  That can cause the issue as well if the VPs are scattered in small pieces all over the drive.

[Bibble]

Thank you for your assistance.

I thought the log I attached in my OP recorded what you requested, but I must be mistaken.

I have attached a log (compressed in .rar) to this post.  While generating this report I launched the game, started a mission, waited ~5 minutes for it to load, played through/completed the mission, and exited the game.  I hope this covers everything you wanted to see.

Also, I already defragged my harddrive after downloading everything but prior to launching the game for the first time.  I do not think I need to defrag it again as the analysis tool shows everything is blue, white, and green aside from one thin red line.

Please forgive me if I am doing something wrong in generating this log.  If you require anything else from me, please do not hesitate to ask.

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[General Battuta]

To be honest I totally missed the first log.  I suck. Not your fault.

[The E]

Hrm. The log doesn't really show anything out of the ordinary (as a side note, don't do the empty debug_filter.cfg thing unless you are hunting for a particular error, or some troubleshooter tells you to; if all the options are on there's the risk of burying the info needed under tons and tons of parsing crap).

The question then is, how fast is the HDD FS2 is on? Are there any programs running on your comp that would interfere with FS2's disc access?

[Bibble]

I believe my hard drive is the one described in the link below, a hitachi 7200 rpm drive.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822145180

I'm not sure what programs would interfere with FSO but I will try disabling my antivirus and possibly some other stuff.

I also will try to enable the -cache_bitmap option in the launcher, though it seems this will only help me between levels and not when I load for the first time.

[Bibble]

I should have mentioned that the program appears to freeze when I click "commit" and stays that way until the mission starts.  If I look in Task Manager it describes the program as "Not Responding."  This does, of course, change after the level loads ~10 minutes later.

[General Battuta]

So if you use the techroom to go back and re-load missions you've already played, is the load time still as bad?

[Galemp]

I should have mentioned that the program appears to freeze when I click "commit" and stays that way until the mission starts.  If I look in Task Manager it describes the program as "Not Responding."  This does, of course, change after the level loads ~10 minutes later.

OK, now THAT is weird. Long load times during the time the mission is actually loading with the progress bar are expected. But when you click Commit you should launch into the mission instantly.

So, what happens when you click on the icons in the briefing? Is there a lag before the model pops up?

[Bibble]

So if you use the techroom to go back and re-load missions you've already played, is the load time still as bad?

Yes, I have the same problem if I go through the tech room.  I should note that the load bar (the one that sort of looks like morse code that lights up) before the mission briefing progresses rather quickly.

OK, now THAT is weird. Long load times during the time the mission is actually loading with the progress bar are expected. But when you click Commit you should launch into the mission instantly.

So, what happens when you click on the icons in the briefing? Is there a lag before the model pops up?

There is no lag while in the briefing.  I clicked around freely between the overview, ship selection, and weapon loadout screens.  I could also play, skip, and go back in the briefing without issue.  The only problem I see is when I click on "commit."

Also, disabling MS Security Essentials had no effect.  Moreover, enabling -cache_bitmaps did not seem to help.  I failed a mission, retried it, and it took just as long to load.

I thank you all for your assistance thus far.

[General Battuta]

This is weird.

What happens when you actually click on the little icons on the briefing screen? The ones indicating ships on the briefing chart? Not ship selection or weapons loadout, in the briefing proper?

[FUBAR-BDHR]

OK if you disable all mods do you still see the problem?  I did notice an Intel chipset on the GPU and missing support for some dds file types.  Still you should be getting strange graphics and not long load times.  Oh and it wouldn't hurt to try running a debug build of 3.6.12 RC4.  Might pick up something 3.6.10 didn't.  

[Bibble]

This is weird.

What happens when you actually click on the little icons on the briefing screen? The ones indicating ships on the briefing chart? Not ship selection or weapons loadout, in the briefing proper?

Everything else in the briefing screen works well, even clicking the ship icons in the grid/map pops up a 3d model of the ship right away.  The only thing I can see that causes a problem is clicking "commit."

OK if you disable all mods do you still see the problem?  I did notice an Intel chipset on the GPU and missing support for some dds file types.  Still you should be getting strange graphics and not long load times.  Oh and it wouldn't hurt to try running a debug build of 3.6.12 RC4.  Might pick up something 3.6.10 didn't.  

If by "disable all mods" you mean clicking on the "no mod" button in the launcher then yes, the problem is still there.  Also, the problem still occurs in 3.6.12 RC4 (only tried it with the fsport-mediavps mod, though).  I will run the debug tomorrow and post a report then.

[General Battuta]

I'm clueless.

I'm guessing it's your Intel Integrated at fault but...we have players with Intel cards who don't have this issue.

[Bibble]

UPDATE:

I have found that disabling environment maps in the launcher (Features tab > Graphics list) seems to solve this problem.  Now when I hit commit I am instantly in my cockpit starting the mission. 

What, though, is the explanation of this?  I have tried this with only "enable specular, enable glowmaps," and "enable environment maps" as well as with all of the other recommended features enabled, and both times it seems that environment maps was the only variable.

Thank you all for your help!

[Galemp]

It could just be some quirk with your video card.

[General Battuta]

Environment maps are probably just a bit too taxing for your poor Intel Integrated. It needs a rest.