SilenceFailed
SilenceFailed t1_j296oh0 wrote
Reply to comment by arsehead_54 in Rant: All single player games should have an easy way to quit to desktop and save as-is. Too many games require exiting to main menu and then quitting from there -- with an obligatory "ARE YOU SURE - YOUR PROGRESS WILL NOT BE SAVED" warning. Save the progress and quit -- it's not that hard. by BBorNot
Ok, now I see what you're saying. You don't want to go through the title and splash screens again. Well, that is an engine thing. Think Unity splash screens. You don't have the option to avoid those because it's free. For some developers, it's a loading system. It's what loads all of the main menu UI. Again, you're missing the issue that I'm making you aware of. Memory makes that constraint. Currently. Unless we get a new OS or devs start switching to Linux, it's not going to happen.
SilenceFailed t1_j283505 wrote
Reply to comment by arsehead_54 in Rant: All single player games should have an easy way to quit to desktop and save as-is. Too many games require exiting to main menu and then quitting from there -- with an obligatory "ARE YOU SURE - YOUR PROGRESS WILL NOT BE SAVED" warning. Save the progress and quit -- it's not that hard. by BBorNot
Memory. How many objects do you think are rendered in every frame? Given most frames fill in under 20ms, yeah, that's a lot. Serializable data classes have to get moved to RAM before that occurs. Since most modern OS', outside of Linux, have no swap buffers, your memory is already clogged with the games data. Long save on quit, or go through the menus. Your call. We ditched long load screens in favor of efficiency.
SilenceFailed t1_j27xfj3 wrote
Reply to Rant: All single player games should have an easy way to quit to desktop and save as-is. Too many games require exiting to main menu and then quitting from there -- with an obligatory "ARE YOU SURE - YOUR PROGRESS WILL NOT BE SAVED" warning. Save the progress and quit -- it's not that hard. by BBorNot
Here's the game development side of it. Not every game handles memory the same. Closing a game while it's running, in theory, is supposed to free all of your memory back up. This is not always the case. By going through the menus, it's freeing up the memory by destructing (removing) the objects in the game. Some games handle them in certain menus. Meaning, if you quit, to the main menu first, the game will destruct all of the objects in the world. When you quit the main menu to the desktop, it will destruct all of the UI and any remaining used memory blocks. Now you have whatever RAM the game used, back. You usually notice this when you use alt+f4 causing system hangups for a second or two.
As for the saving part, again, this is a memory constraint. Most games use a checkpoint type system. In open world games, there is typically a draw distance around the player with chunk loading points scattered around the map. As you travel, every now and again it makes a quick save by distance or at a chunk point. On the flip side, manual saves stutter the game because it's stopping everything to save before continuing. The more RAM you have (and higher core count CPU), the less stutter you get. Older hardware is notorious for this. In mmos, it's a clock based sync with the server.
So, yes, you're right it's not hard. The hardware itself makes it that way.
SilenceFailed t1_j01ufw7 wrote
Reply to comment by PlaidBastard in Why does physical gold sometimes appear dull? Is gold's lustre affected by its purity? by pursuit_veritas88
This is the same with soldering on circuit boards. The gloss, like in blacksmithing, occurs when all of the slag (impurities) are removed. Hitting metal with a torch is a good way to hand out impure metals.
However, you are right. Having polished stainless steel molds for glassware, it is essentially a corrosive substance like kerosene (when working with substances that stick to each other, like glass in metal), a polishing lacquer (like rouge, French word, it was green stick, not positive on its makeup), and a polishing paste, to make a seal on the metal (ours was pink, not sure if it's makeup either). To hit the full shine, we cleaned it out with alcohol when we were done. Sand paper of varying levels of grit is used to smooth it out. Now, if you want the full process, let me know. I'll post the whole thing. I used to work in a glass factory producing various glass pieces from various companies. From pier 1 to Christmas Shop to dollar stores to Walmart.
SilenceFailed t1_j29stb6 wrote
Reply to comment by DomusLudus in Rant: All single player games should have an easy way to quit to desktop and save as-is. Too many games require exiting to main menu and then quitting from there -- with an obligatory "ARE YOU SURE - YOUR PROGRESS WILL NOT BE SAVED" warning. Save the progress and quit -- it's not that hard. by BBorNot
The way games work doesn't change. It's hardware. Like I've said over and over. Manufacturers set these limitations. Until you can produce a FOSS game system, you cannot realistically expect us to make this happen.