How big is too big?

[Mavadelo]

Personally I am a big advocate for small file sizes, I might have a leet connection (200Mb/sec down, 20Mb/sec up) but i know there are still many out there that have slow connections, data limits and other download-slowing issues. Breaking up a download if possible gives people the possibiliy to download a large program, route or whatever in their own time and pace without them having to deplete their datalimit or long wating until theri internet speed for other things is back to what they consider normal.

So you are saying we should gear everything to the least able among us?

By no means, The question was How big is to big, I merely give my opinion on that and the reasoning behind it :)
It would be impossible in many cases to "gear" towards those with lesser connections I understand that fully, for me personally though, if I make a download package and I can split it if it is big or shrink it by ommiting files I know a potential downloader already has and can copy over easy I will package in the smallest size possible :)

[artimrj]

How can you know what a potential downloader would have though? Some people download every route, they would have them. Some people only download small ones, they wouldn't. Some people don't download unless everyone is raving about it, they would not have "everything" yet either. It is a tough call. Our next route is going to be massive and many might have duplicate assets already, but many also may not. It just a situation.

[Mavadelo]

How can you know what a potential downloader would have though? Some people download every route, they would have them. Some people only download small ones, they wouldn't. Some people don't download unless everyone is raving about it, they would not have "everything" yet either. It is a tough call. Our next route is going to be massive and many might have duplicate assets already, but many also may not. It just a situation.

I understand what you mean, as I said it is simply not always possible. I guess for routes it will be a tough one, for reskins it is a simple one. I just gave my opinion on your question, how big is to big. It s by no means meant to "set a standard" or whatever. Sometimes it will be easy, sometimes it will be hard and sometimes impossible. And if push comes to shove, DTG has no problems with 1,8Gb downloads.I might be a newbe in this field, I earned my stars and stripes in other games and I make it a point to supply the smallest file possible. What othes do is not of my concern.

I don't get it, if a question is asked it is to collect answers or opinions right? I somehow get the idea my particular opinion in this topic is ..... less appreciated.. I am not "saying" anything, I just present how I think about the issue

[jalsina]

And here I am!
Mavadelo is very aware (as we are good friends in Steam ) that I am one of those with two slow download Internet providers (6 and 2 mbps).
But if I have to choose I prefer quality over download time savings or storage size.
After all, there is a full night to download a big file and hard drives are not expensive.

[buzz456]

Yes I agree with that. Huge files are things you start the D/L just before you go to bed. Works great.

[artimrj]

I don't get it, if a question is asked it is to collect answers or opinions right? I somehow get the idea my particular opinion in this topic is ..... less appreciated.. I am not "saying" anything, I just present how I think about the issue

Well your reading too much between the lines then. You gave your opinion and I added to it or so I thought. I still do not know how to pack up the almost 3 gig of stuff. I have a route and its assets and a lot of rolling stock. More than I thought I would ever have for the route. My goal was to have everything all in one place. But the more people that helped the more everything grew. Harry Adkins painted a lo of trains and rolling stock. Buzz painted a bunch of engines. I borrowed some of Xdriver's repaints and painted a bunch my self. I am also sure some of the assets will be duplicates for some people. But I am more concerned about the people who don't have them. I want the release to go nice and easy.

[DrewG]

I don't get it, if a question is asked it is to collect answers or opinions right? I somehow get the idea my particular opinion in this topic is ..... less appreciated.. I am not "saying" anything, I just present how I think about the issue

Well your reading too much between the lines then. You gave your opinion and I added to it or so I thought. I still do not know how to pack up the almost 3 gig of stuff. I have a route and its assets and a lot of rolling stock. More than I thought I would ever have for the route. My goal was to have everything all in one place. But the more people that helped the more everything grew. Harry Adkins painted a lo of trains and rolling stock. Buzz painted a bunch of engines. I borrowed some of Xdriver's repaints and painted a bunch my self. I am also sure some of the assets will be duplicates for some people. But I am more concerned about the people who don't have them. I was the release to go nice and easy.

Maybe you could separate it into two packages, Route & assets, and rollingstock. It's fine if someone downloads an asset they already have as not copying it/overwriting it is simple.

Personally, I've got an awful internet connection, really slow. I'm good with a bug package as I can download it overnight, one of the trade offs of living in farm country.

[Bcbuhler]

I am one of the ones with slow internet (50 kb/s average speed) but I once downloaded a 500 mb file so I should be able to download files if they were split up the way merciless245 suggested.

[Mavadelo]

I don't get it, if a question is asked it is to collect answers or opinions right? I somehow get the idea my particular opinion in this topic is ..... less appreciated.. I am not "saying" anything, I just present how I think about the issue

Well your reading too much between the lines then. You gave your opinion and I added to it or so I thought. I still do not know how to pack up the almost 3 gig of stuff. I have a route and its assets and a lot of rolling stock. More than I thought I would ever have for the route. My goal was to have everything all in one place. But the more people that helped the more everything grew. Harry Adkins painted a lo of trains and rolling stock. Buzz painted a bunch of engines. I borrowed some of Xdriver's repaints and painted a bunch my self. I am also sure some of the assets will be duplicates for some people. But I am more concerned about the people who don't have them. I was the release to go nice and easy.

Good, then disregard that last part. Not having the best of days so I might indeed have been reading to much in your comment and that of Buzz

[jjmcray]

Download size is no problem at all. It's when it's compressed and packed and then difficult to unpack that gets my goat, really very annoying. Some of the programs are just not straight forward to unpack and that makes it frustrating. So when I get a big download that is then needed to be uncompressed in the most obscure way possible, that's what I'm talking about.

[buzz456]

Download size is no problem at all. It's when it's compressed and packed and then difficult to unpack that gets my goat, really very annoying. Some of the programs are just not straight forward to unpack and that makes it frustrating. So when I get a big download that is then needed to be uncompressed in the most obscure way possible, that's what I'm talking about.

Could you give an example?