Stingm on 27/1/2021 at 04:19
I have a question. Why is that angel loader can scan 99% of a mission lightening fast and then take so long for that last 1%? I'm just curious.
Thanks for all your work Fen.
FenPhoenix on 27/1/2021 at 07:06
That happens when it's scanning a .7z mission. There are two parts to the answer:
1. Why it takes forever after getting to "100%":
The progress bar is really designed for when you're scanning multiple missions, because it only updates between missions. So if you're only scanning one, I guess it just goes to 100% right away because it's on mission 1 of 1. That's sort of weird though, it should stay at 0% until it's done in that case. I'll look into it.
2. Why it takes forever in the first place:
.7z files are very, very slow to scan due to the nature of the format. And because people often use .7z for large FMs in order to squeeze a bit more compression, scanning these files often takes horrendous amounts of time. It's my opinion that you don't save enough space going from zip to 7z to justify the glacial performance of doing anything with them in a loader (if you're downloading 450 megs already, what's another 50?), but then I'm a loader author so I'm biased.
I'm not sure if people don't know about the performance disadvantages of 7z files or if they just feel the extra compression is worth it, but let it be known to all that if you do package your FM in 7z format, then scanning, readme caching, and even installing will be substantially slower than with a zip. Them's the tradeoffs.
Psych0sis on 27/1/2021 at 16:16
.7z also has the benefit of helping make some garbage like darkloader be outdated as it can't even recognize them. We're doing our part to get rid of it, you know! :D
baeuchlein on 27/1/2021 at 17:26
I think it would rather be helpful to stop this holy crusade against an outdated FM loader. Using 7zip archives for this purpose means that a lot of people have to wait ridiculously long until they can play missions although they have already switched to FMSel or AngelLoader. I therefore hope that this was just a joke.
R Soul on 27/1/2021 at 18:50
FM authors can help with .7z files by creating the archives in two stages: 1 - strings folder and readme, 2 - everything else. The order of those two stages doesn't matter. However, with AngelLoader scanning the mission (or .gam?) files to determine which game the FM is for, authors may have to put them separately in as a third step.
Quote Posted by Psych0sis
some garbage like darkloader
That's a terrible attitude.
Fen, a feature for you to copy if you want:
(
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146917&page=15&p=2465747&viewfull=1#post2465747)
Psych0sis on 27/1/2021 at 21:06
It's not a terrible attitude, it's a terrible program that really, really shouldn't be used by anyone this late into either games' lives. This is why programs like AngelLoader and such were made, to
outdate it.
Quote Posted by baeuchlein
I think it would rather be helpful to stop this holy crusade against an outdated FM loader. Using 7zip archives for this purpose means that a lot of people have to wait ridiculously long until they can play missions although they have already switched to FMSel or AngelLoader. I therefore hope that this was just a joke.
Yes, I was merely making a joke. However now I am the one hoping you are joking... Because if waiting an extra few seconds to unzip a .7z is "ridiculously long" then I'm extremely perplexed. As an example I just unzipped
Ascend the Dim Valley (a .7z file at 80mb) and it took about 8 seconds whereas a similarly sized file,
Endless Rain (a regular .zip file at 72mb) took about 3-4 seconds. Is this really as painful as you're making it out to be? Is this another "Impatience is a virtue of a modern gamer" situation?
baeuchlein on 27/1/2021 at 22:33
Quote Posted by Psych0sis
if waiting an extra few seconds to unzip a .7z is "ridiculously long" then I'm extremely perplexed. As an example I just unzipped
Ascend the Dim Valley (a .7z file at 80mb) and it took about 8 seconds whereas a similarly sized file,
Endless Rain (a regular .zip file at 72mb) took about 3-4 seconds.
Depending on the loader (FMSel, AngelLoader, NewDarkLoader) and file size, it can be more than a few seconds. And sometimes, the loaders need more time to just show the FM list if a new .7z file is added to the archives. In some cases I even suspected that a loader had crashed/freezed. If the only reason for using .7z files was that some people tried to force DarkLoader go into retirement at all costs, then my comment on that would include some words depicting feces and similar things. I have seen some people getting close to telling lies just because they appear to hate DarkLoader so much, so I'm ready to believe some guys are ready to do other questionable things just to get rid of a loader which they don't like any more.
Forcing Thief players to do what someone else wants them to do is usually not a good idea.
Stingm on 28/1/2021 at 04:15
I never meant to start all this. I was just asking a question and not complaining. I have no issues waiting the extra time for a 7z file. I actually got the new rabenbach by christine and thats when I noticed it. Not a big deal. Sorry for the trouble. Thanks a bunch for answering.
Psych0sis on 28/1/2021 at 06:35
Yeah, I'm not quite sure Baeuchlein really understands I was joking and that the couple of seconds isn't a big deal. At least, it really shouldn't be one, as you seem to agree.
Aged Raver on 28/1/2021 at 11:21
Hi Fen
Couple of questions. I'm sure this is answered elsewhere and I haven't found it.
(a) Is there a recommended way to update AngelLoader?
Last June I downloaded it for first time (version 1.4.4) and think it's very good. Thank you. :D
I've now downloaded Version 1.4.8, unzipped it in a new folder and then ran it and entered the Settings. One or two fields in the AngelLoader display of FMs were blank (e.g. Comments) so I copied across the DATA folder from the earlier version and everything looks good.
(b) Is there anything else I should do?
Many thanks. :D
EDIT: As is always the way after posting. I've just read the start of this thread.
Updates will not overwrite your user data (settings, FM data, etc). You can safely extract new versions to your AngelLoader folder, as only application files will be overwritten.
DOH!