Should I compress my roms (zip/rar/7z) Or upgrade my HDD?

[swimminginthoughts]

My TMP files average about 30mb but they range from less than 1mb to 65mb.  Altogether, all of my TMPs are 29.9GB but I used Windows compression on these and got them down to 19.9GB with no noticeable impact on load times or game play.  The largest TMP is for God of War II.

 

The TMP file is only created the first time the game is loaded, that's why that script is used to zip through all the games automatically and create it.  I got tired of waiting on the script so I changed it to run for one minute.  This worked for 90% of my games, then I changed it to 3 minutes and this worked for the other 10%.  I forget how long this process took.  I think about a day or so.

 

I did find that when you go through this process, you'll end up with a GAMENAME.iso.gz file so you have to edit the PCSX2 module is you're using Rocketlauncher as mentioned here:

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/topic/7368-compressed-ps2-isos-gz-and-hlhq/

 

As far as burning the ISO, it would only be as long as extracting the ISO and then burning it.  Depending on what level compression you use, it should only take a few minutes to extract.  Most of mine are compressed at "normal" (#6) but I did do some at "maximum" (#9).

[SkyHighGam3r]

Ok, well that sounds like gz may be the best option then if you can just uncompressed it easily like a zipped file. I probably won't run the script for automation if I can just do it manually. I need to go through and test all the games anyway so I can document in a fade screen or something what kind of settings PCSX2 requires. So if I understand correctly, this would be taken care of at the same time.

I already have to switch to software mode for Champions of Norrath (fiance's favorite) which makes it a pain when I switch back to WinBack (my favorite) and have to put hardware back on, then turn on extra+ clamping or w/e it's called. I need to figure out if there's a way to do this automatically, but probably not... maybe have a duplicate of the emulator... that would take lots of space though.

[Spawk]

I was thinking about this as well. You're best option is to create another install of pcsx2 that will always run in software mode. Then in RL, add Champions (and any games that need it) to the alternate emulator list.

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[Avar]

Ok, well that sounds like gz may be the best option then if you can just uncompressed it easily like a zipped file. I probably won't run the script for automation if I can just do it manually. I need to go through and test all the games anyway so I can document in a fade screen or something what kind of settings PCSX2 requires. So if I understand correctly, this would be taken care of at the same time.

I already have to switch to software mode for Champions of Norrath (fiance's favorite) which makes it a pain when I switch back to WinBack (my favorite) and have to put hardware back on, then turn on extra+ clamping or w/e it's called. I need to figure out if there's a way to do this automatically, but probably not... maybe have a duplicate of the emulator... that would take lots of space though.

I really like your thinking on this. I wonder if it'd be possible to setup a scraper that read the official wiki that could do something like this automatically.

[SkyHighGam3r]

I'm not sure what a scraper is (other than what I use to remove ice from my windshield lol) but if it can be done that would be amazing. One of my main goals is to ensure that once you turn on the machine, you never have to see any other elements of windows. PS2 has been an incredible obstacle for that with these various settings.

[Avar]

I hear ya. I have PS2 on my wheel for brewing but usually just load manually right now.

Scraper's a code/tool/program for getting specific data from sites. XBMC updates all of its images, actor biographies, etc via web scraper. I imagine it would be doable if the wiki uses a logical nomenclature for games but I have no idea how to make one and apparently it's rather whorish.

[Spawk]

Scraper for this will never happen. Not only do you need to maintain a database. Someone would also need to create an API for access. And enough bandwidth for 1000's of people accessing it.

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[SkyHighGam3r]

Interesting! Though I think spawk made a good point, it sounds like something that might overload their website! lol

I'm sure there will be a solution at some point, honestly it'd be great if their program could just recognize the game you are using and apply some saved settings.

 

Sort of how RetroArch will load differant settings per core.

[Melu]

Example for Nintendo GameCube:

007 - Agent Under Fire (USA)

.7z = 56,11 seconds (1,03 Gigas)

.rar (rar5) = 15,29 seconds (1,04 Gigas)

.gcz = load immediately (1,07 Gigas)

.iso = load immediately (1,35 Gigas)

So Styphelus, why do you prefer .rar5 for GameCube? I think it's better format .gcz

[SkyHighGam3r]

That's a really nice breakdown.

Personally, just looking at that, I'd say .gcz is the clearcut winner.

[Melu]

Nintendo Wii: 178 Games (466 Gigas .7z) to (481 Gigas  .wbfs)

.wbfs is the best for Wii

[SkyHighGam3r]

Nintendo Wii: 178 Games (466 Gigas .7z) to (481 Gigas  .wbfs)

.wbfs is the best for Wii

The real question is, what is the size uncompressed? 16GB difference isn't too bad. The fact wbfs runs straight through dolphin is a big deal though. As well as being able to pop them right on a wii-drive and play them on real hardware.

[Avar]

This is a great thread. Personally, aside from systems which can be compressed and still load instantly, I've just thrown compression out the window, especially with PS3 and Wii U coming eventually. With my HS drive raided I can fit almost everything comfortably and I use to try my best to avoid overflow but now I just roll with it as it seems like the least hassle in the long run.

[SkyHighGam3r]

OK, so I compressed my PSP library with .cso since PPSSPP runs them natively, that dropped a good 16 GB out of the folder.

I'm trying to compress GC to .gcz, but I keep getting an error in Dolphin. The only one that it worked on was Billy Hater & the Giant Egg. Otherwise I get "Dolphin was unable to complete the requested action".

I thought maybe it was just the 1080 game I was compressing, but it keeps happening. Any ideas?

OH and I just got Total Commander, so I'm gonna pop those PS2 to the .gz format too.

[swimminginthoughts]

SkyHighGam3r, did you compress them outside of Dolphin, or use Dolphin to compress them?  In Dolphin, if you RIGHT-CLICK on the ISO, there's an option there to compress.  Do that and it should work, at least it did for me!

[SkyHighGam3r]

SkyHighGam3r, did you compress them outside of Dolphin, or use Dolphin to compress them?  In Dolphin, if you RIGHT-CLICK on the ISO, there's an option there to compress.  Do that and it should work, at least it did for me!

Yeah I'm using that method in Dolphin to do it.

I figured it out though, it seems my external HDD wasn't making a proper connection or something. I unplugged it and plugged it back in, now it's working fine. lol I really thought I was screwed for a moment... like I had all these poor quality images or something.

[bulbousbeard]

but I'm coming really close to my 1TB limit on my external drive. All I have on that drive are games, so I'm looking to save space, hopefully without deleting anything lol.

What do you guys think?

 

I think you've got a LOT of shitty games on that system if you're filling up a TB. There aren't that many good games. There is no way you play even a tiny fraction of those. Delete the crap.

[SkyHighGam3r]

Lol actually I've made a point to ensure there is no garbage on my system, I've spent the last 2 years going through collections one-by-one to make sure I only had personal favorites, iconic entries, historical pieces, and then I threw in some translated imports and high-quality rom-hacks. I know 1TB SOUNDS like a lot but you have to consider I have a lot of systems:

Sega Master System
Nintendo NES
NEC TurboGrafx-16
NEC TurboGrafx-CD
Sega Genesis
Sega CD
Sega 32X
Super Nintendo
SNK Neo Geo AES/MVS
SNK Neo Geo CD
Panasonic 3DO
Sega Saturn
Nintendo 64
Sony Playstation
Sega Dreamcast
Nintendo Gamecube
Sony Playstation 2
Nintendo Wii
Sega Game Gear
Nintendo Game Boy
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
SNK Neo Geo Pocket
SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color
Nintendo DS
Sony PSP

It adds up pretty fast, mostly anything disc based. PS2 alone was sitting at almost 500GB (Uncompressed ISO)

This also doesn't count the PC Games I have, as those are installed in the internal drive.

I was also under the impression that most people's builds contained 3-4 TB of games.
 

[Spawk]

I am with you sky, 1tb seems almost laughably small to me. I also aim for a "best of" type of thing with my HS. But I do start with/and keep full sets so I can add any game in (maybe by request) at a later time.

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[bulbousbeard]

Lol actually I've made a point to ensure there is no garbage on my system

 

Sega CD

Sega 32X

SNK Neo Geo CD

Panasonic 3DO

Sega Game Gear

Nintendo Game Boy Advance

 

 

There is NO point in 99% of the Neo Geo CD games as the cart versions in MAME are better anyway.

Virtually every Sega CD, 32X, 3DO, and GBA game is ass. Less than 1% of those libraries is good.

[scooter1974]

 

There is NO point in 99% of the Neo Geo CD games as the cart versions in MAME are better anyway.

Virtually every Sega CD, 32X, 3DO, and GBA game is ass. Less than 1% of those libraries is good.

 

Perhaps he likes those games? Why does it matter to you what he has on his drive? Could you just stop being a dick ALL of the time?

[Spawk]

Was gonna say something similar. I don't have anything older than NES on my rig but I would never suggest that people who grew up with the likes of Atari and ColicoVision that they like shit games. if they owned these systems and played a lot of them, then that's what they like. Gaming is a very personal taste type thing.

[bulbousbeard]

This isn't a matter of personal taste. The Neo Geo CD games are missing animation and have long load times. They're garbage and a waste of space.

[badboo]

I have 4tb so far on my 5tb hyperspin disk. Mostly all the capacity taken by approx. 1tb PS2 isos, 500 - 700 gb PSX and 00 - 700 gamecube isos.

1TB hdd seems small for me too

[SkyHighGam3r]

There is NO point in 99% of the Neo Geo CD games as the cart versions in MAME are better anyway.

Virtually every Sega CD, 32X, 3DO, and GBA game is ass. Less than 1% of those libraries is good.

Well...

Sega CD - Sonic CD (As if that wasn't enough of a reason) Plus the 2 Lunar Games and the upgraded versions of Genesis titles

32X - Knuckles Chaotix & Virtua Fighter, and the upgraded versions of various Genesis games.

PLUS together they both have some exclusive "Genesis CD-32X" titles that are historically significant.

Neo Geo CD - Had a couple exclusives such as Samurai Showdown RPG and Crossed Swords 2

Game Gear - Sonic Triple Trouble is enough of a reason to keep this, but there's also an exclusive version of battletoads, shinobi, & beavis and butt-head.

GBA - This has one of the best libraries of any 2D system, so I don't know what you are talking about.... Sonic Advance 1-3, Metroid Fusion & Zero Mission, Mario vs Donkey Kong, Megaman Zero series, Mega Man Network Transmission Series, Ninja Five-O, Double Dragon Advance... seriously I can keep going but I've made my point.

The only one I can't give examples for is the 3DO. I'm honestly still deciding on it as I am not familiar with it's library. I went and got what was considered to be the best of the system, but haven't given them a go as of yet.

It's not like I have EVERY game on these systems. I've hand-picked what is available for all. The systems are only listed because there is at least one game in it's library.