The general game aside, I have been wondering as to why ALL the updates / patches for Halo 5 have been of Gigantic sizes.
Im grateful that 343i is interested in supporting the game even 2 years after its release and that they are beginning to listen to the community.
Now, the typical answer to this question is that it’s because 343 is a bad developer, but that is a stupid reply that doesn’t offer anything in terms of further discussing the topic. I was hoping that we could get a proper discussing going on why these updates are of ridiculous proportions (because they are).
The original size of the game (at launch) was around 49 GB + 6 GB update at launch. This is already a huge game and through leaked information prior to the games release, we knew that the game could get as large as 60 GB. With the possibility of this, that early in the games life, it would already be almost TWICE the size of most AAA titles releasing at the time.
As of Today (2 years after release) the game is over 100 GB in file size and this is just beyond ridiculous, for any game. It should not be acceptable for any developer to have their game take of this much space (1/5th of standard XB1 storage). So on this point, it baffles me as to why they release these updates with the sizes.
However
I was also curious as to WHY the updates reach the sizes that they do. The only thing I can think of is that 343i compression technology or experience is limited, but again im guessing this could have something to do with the game itself that doesn’t allow for smaller files, for whatever reason.
Im very interested to hear what your speculations are as to why the updates are so big.
Also if there happen to be any of 343i employees that see this thread and have any viable information, it would be really great to get some official insight into this topic.
At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
> 2533274800168045;2:
> At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
>
> I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
It really is a rough installation, been reinstalling it since 6 in the morning and its only on 95% at 10 at night
> 2535428779736382;3:
> > 2533274800168045;2:
> > At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
> >
> > I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
>
> It really is a rough installation, been reinstalling it since 6 in the morning and its only on 95% at 10 at night
Are you hardwired into your router, or on wireless? It could drastically improve your download speeds if you hardwire in, if possible. I know a lot of people aren’t exactly conveniently close to their routers.
> 2533274800168045;2:
> At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
>
> I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
Though they reduced the Overtime update, it is about 14,9 GB in size. That is still a considerable amount of storage space required for an update that dosen’t really add much in terms of extensive new elements, such as new missions or even worlds (Fallout being an example here).
I don’t even want to think about the original file size if the 14,9 GB is the compressed version of the update. Though I am grateful they prior to release acknowledged the original size as an issue.
Im interested in seeing their progression in file compression and where they are now. Wondering if Halo, with its engine, requires a unique compression of some sort.
> 2533274800168045;4:
> > 2535428779736382;3:
> > > 2533274800168045;2:
> > > At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
> > >
> > > I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
> >
> > It really is a rough installation, been reinstalling it since 6 in the morning and its only on 95% at 10 at night
>
> Are you hardwired into your router, or on wireless? It could drastically improve your download speeds if you hardwire in, if possible. I know a lot of people aren’t exactly conveniently close to their routers.
it can help being directly connected to the main router.
But I’d prefer we kept to the topic at hand and not on how to improve download times
> 2533274800168045;4:
> > 2535428779736382;3:
> > > 2533274800168045;2:
> > > At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
> > >
> > > I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
> >
> > It really is a rough installation, been reinstalling it since 6 in the morning and its only on 95% at 10 at night
>
> Are you hardwired into your router, or on wireless? It could drastically improve your download speeds if you hardwire in, if possible. I know a lot of people aren’t exactly conveniently close to their routers.
I pretty much have a NBN Wireless adapter, which Is pretty…pretty bad not gonna lie
> 2533274843127097;5:
> > 2533274800168045;2:
> > At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
> >
> > I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
>
> Though they reduced the Overtime update, it is about 14,9 GB in size. That is still a considerable amount of storage space required for an update that dosen’t really add much in terms of extensive new elements, such as new missions or even worlds (Fallout being an example here).
>
> I don’t even want to think about the original file size if the 14,9 GB is the compressed version of the update. Though I am grateful they prior to release acknowledged the original size as an issue.
>
> Im interested in seeing their progression in file compression and where they are now. Wondering if Halo, with its engine, requires a unique compression of some sort.
The 14.9GB isn’t the compressed file size as of yet. Apparently it’ll be addressed in a future hotfix but even then, it’s certainly a head scratcher as to how much the file will be compressed down to.
As for Halo’s engine, it’s been so heavily modified and has had so many overhauls now for the past 16 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s at this point now giving them some compression issues.
> 2533274800168045;8:
> > 2533274843127097;5:
> > > 2533274800168045;2:
> > > At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
> > >
> > > I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
> >
> > Though they reduced the Overtime update, it is about 14,9 GB in size. That is still a considerable amount of storage space required for an update that dosen’t really add much in terms of extensive new elements, such as new missions or even worlds (Fallout being an example here).
> >
> > I don’t even want to think about the original file size if the 14,9 GB is the compressed version of the update. Though I am grateful they prior to release acknowledged the original size as an issue.
> >
> > Im interested in seeing their progression in file compression and where they are now. Wondering if Halo, with its engine, requires a unique compression of some sort.
>
> The 14.9GB isn’t the compressed file size as of yet. Apparently it’ll be addressed in a future hotfix but even then, it’s certainly a head scratcher as to how much the file will be compressed down to.
>
> As for Halo’s engine, it’s been so heavily modified and has had so many overhauls now for the past 16 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s at this point now giving them some compression issues.
Yeah I would not be surprised if the engine is one of the culprits. I wonder if it would prove beneficial or even worth it, if they build a new engine from scratch. My guess is it would be quite costly but in my opinion, they need to (if it is to blame for the file size), because as time goes on there will be a lot more games to play and my guess is the fewest people will pick having a bigger variety of games on the HDD instead of one big game.
Just guessing but the file size could be that 343 is getting Halo 5 ready for the One X. UHD-4k textures take lots of storage space. Not to mention all the maps and reqs that are available now that are taking up space.
> 2533274795098297;10:
> Just guessing but the file size could be that 343 is getting Halo 5 ready for the One X. UHD-4k textures take lots of storage space. Not to mention all the maps and reqs that are available now that are taking up space.
4k content would only be targeted to users who will actually using a 4k compatible console - updates can now be pushed to target specific platforms like the 1X
> 2533274843127097;9:
> > 2533274800168045;8:
> > > 2533274843127097;5:
> > > > 2533274800168045;2:
> > > > At the end of the latest community blog post, 343i have acknowledged the size of the Overtime update exceeding their initial expectations, and have found a way to reduce it’s size. I’m not sure why this update in particular would have been as big as it was, but I’m glad it’s at least being addressed.
> > > >
> > > > I will say, I do think Halo 5 is the largest game in my library in terms of size. If I ever accidentally uninstalled it, I’d be in for a rough installation.
> > >
> > > Though they reduced the Overtime update, it is about 14,9 GB in size. That is still a considerable amount of storage space required for an update that dosen’t really add much in terms of extensive new elements, such as new missions or even worlds (Fallout being an example here).
> > >
> > > I don’t even want to think about the original file size if the 14,9 GB is the compressed version of the update. Though I am grateful they prior to release acknowledged the original size as an issue.
> > >
> > > Im interested in seeing their progression in file compression and where they are now. Wondering if Halo, with its engine, requires a unique compression of some sort.
> >
> > The 14.9GB isn’t the compressed file size as of yet. Apparently it’ll be addressed in a future hotfix but even then, it’s certainly a head scratcher as to how much the file will be compressed down to.
> >
> > As for Halo’s engine, it’s been so heavily modified and has had so many overhauls now for the past 16 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s at this point now giving them some compression issues.
>
> Yeah I would not be surprised if the engine is one of the culprits. I wonder if it would prove beneficial or even worth it, if they build a new engine from scratch. My guess is it would be quite costly but in my opinion, they need to (if it is to blame for the file size), because as time goes on there will be a lot more games to play and my guess is the fewest people will pick having a bigger variety of games on the HDD instead of one big game.
I feel it’d be beneficial in the long run in a sense of giving the series a breath of fresh air, and working with new tech towards developing the games, but would also halt development time as they get used to working with unfamiliar tech. So the only real negative impact I see using a new engine would have is a longer development time, which I would have no issues with at all, but I’m also no game developer, so maybe things would go much smoother than what I had stated.
Not sure if having a new engine would prompt them to do this, but I’d assume they’d also probably go about creating new animations for simple things such as walking, reloading, etc., as they’ve been reusing a ton of basic animations since Halo: Reach.