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Heads-Up for Firefox/Opera Users

• WGTniv 1,788 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 3:38 PM

  While poking around the internet and learning more about how cache size relates to performance I stumbled upon an article that showed me how to check my cache size in FireFox.  The results were interesting to say the least...

  Since 2004 Firefox has been "factory defaulted" to a 50MB cache size and Opera is defaulted to a mere 20MB.  This would be fine it we all had Hot Tub Time Machines and could travel back to 1995, but this is 2010 and cache demands are rather large for most websites nowadays and this game is no different.

  I cleared my cache and performed a little experiment.  After playing only 2 holes on St. Andrews and visiting each main page of the website I had already used 34% of my total browser cache (17MB out of the 50MB default).  Keep in mind this does not include visits to any other websites at all.  At that rate it's likely my cache would've been completely filled to 50MB by the time I finished the round.  That also means that files I cached on the first hole were lost by the time I was putting on #9.

  So how does this affect you in the game?  Well, every time you download course assets they are stored on your computer.  When the game switches between shots or between holes it calls on those files to keep the game running smoothly.  If the files are not present on your PC they must be re-downloaded.  Each hole can have approximately 5MB or more worth of assets (mostly course photos).  Players with somewhat slower (entry level broadband) or bottlenecked connections are going to notice a temporary stall for a few seconds while the server is contacted, the connection is negotiated and the assets are re-downloaded.  The server must be contacted in order to initiate the file exchange and hence there is an opportunity for a connection error here, which in turn could cause a disconnection or a load manager error if the player's PC can't negotiate the connection to the server properly. 

  Imagine this scenario.  You'll be trying to load any random webpage and it doesn't come up immediately.  You'll sit and wait for a few seconds, get tired of waiting and hit the REFRESH button and suddenly the page loads instantly.  There was really nothing different between your first and second attempt, the PC just hung up on the connection the first time.  Unfortunately that is the nature of the internet. =(

  My recommendation for all Firefox/Opera users is to manually set your cache size to at least 200MB in size.  In Firefox, you just need to go to Tools > Options > Advanced > Network Tab and adjust the cache size there.  Follow these instructions to set the cache size in Opera.  Players using IE7 or later have nothing they need to do as IEx builds automatically default your cache to roughly 10% of your HDD space.

  Please note that players with older systems may experience slower loading of the browser itself during the browser's initial startup, especially if the cache is near capacity.

  I'm interested in hearing feedback from you FireFox/Opera users to see if making this cache size adjustment has any effect on your performance or if it helps to rectify some of the disconnection issues that some players are experiencing.  It should help performance in the sense that you won't be wasting time downloading assets and negotiating server connections for files that you should already have that instead were deleted because you ran out of cache space.

• Infinito3010 3,689 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 3:54 PM

  WGTniv;

  It does have an impact on performance.  Presently my cache size is set at 500 MB.  Presently I am using 318 MB.  So, it doesn't take long for the cache to fill up.  Secondly, if you are playing CTTH challenges you will need to adjust your cache size accordingly. 

  Unrelated: Firefox is working on its next version which is 3.7 which hasn't hit beta yet, but the plugins will be utilized in a separate process, which should also be an performance improvement.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 5:00 PM

  Good find, niv. Firefox has been slower than Chrome for me but not by much. I have the options set up to clear the cache every time the browser closes. Tools/Options/Privacy. Check the "Clear history when Firefox closes" box and under Settings you can chose what to clear.

  @inf-The 318 MB-is it all WGT or do you have other windows open too?

• Infinito3010 3,689 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 5:49 PM

  Only window open when I play golf is WGT only.   Sometimes I forget to close excel after updating my stats etc.  I used to have the browser clear its cache every time the browser closes.  Now, I only have cookies etc cleared, no cache, also I allow for offline file cache. 

  Perhaps WGTniv can ascertain what would be the maximum size of the cache considering all three courses.  I would think that information should be easily obtainable.  Also, this question was asked before, it would definitely save alot of guess work.  Here is the link to the previous thread.

• Faterson 2,902 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 6:42 PM

  WGTniv:

  My recommendation for all Firefox/Opera users is to manually set your cache size to at least 200MB in size.

  OK, I've just done this in Opera and will try to play a round in it. It's not that it hasn't worked before, but play in Chrome has been smoother for me. As to browsing WGT pages and forums, I only use Opera for that, because its speed for text-based webpages seems unrivaled to me.

  One thing that has never worked properly in Opera is navigation on the WGT ProShop homepage. ProShop pages do get displayed properly, but you can't choose, say, Clubs >> Wedges in the ProShop homepage menu. Because of this, I always need to launch Chrome if I want to take a look at something in the ProShop. It's a hassle, and I'm pretty sure the lack of functionality is not Opera's fault, because they pride themselves on being as standards-compliant as can be.

  YankeeJim:

  I have the options set up to clear the cache every time the browser closes.

  Wow, but you shouldn't do that, should you? That means you may have to re-download game components every single time you re-start your browser. I think WGT have frequently and expressly warned users against clearing their caches too frequently. I guess that applies both to the Flash cache & regular browser cache.

  Infinito3010:

  Only window open when I play golf is WGT only.

  Unless you mean the game window itself, that is not to be recommended either. Whenever someone complains of meter skips, my first advice to them is: close all other browser windows, especially WGT windows. If you keep the main WGT browser window open in the background as you play the game, you may experience increased meter skips. This is because your Friends list gets continually updated in the background, Flash advertisements flicker, skip, or may get reloaded, and lots of other shenanigans. My definite advice to everyone: close ALL other windows except the game popup window, whenever you play this game.

  (Keeping a different browser, with non-WGT pages, open should be fine, though. Whenever I play the game in Chrome, Opera and Firefox are open on my computer as well, and there is no interference. But they are merely open; I don't really browse in them as I play the game, because that might have undesirable effects.)

• Infinito3010 3,689 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 6:59 PM

  Pardon my English, only the game client is open when I play golf.

• duffer66 700 Posts

  Wed, Mar 24 2010 7:28 PM

  I use Firefox and very rarely have any problems, most of my problems are from my cable provider when they decide to do something, upgrading, repairs or the like. I have never checked the setting on file size either. Lucky I guess.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Mar 25 2010 4:51 AM

  Faterson:

  Wow, but you shouldn't do that, should you? That means you may have to re-download game components every single time you re-start your browser. I think WGT have frequently and expressly warned users against clearing their caches too frequently. I guess that applies both to the Flash cache & regular browser cache

  Flash only clears when I do it manually. Browser cache is cleared often, especially after many rounds in a row. This does not affect asset loading speed on my computer.

• Angeltotti20 296 Posts

  Thu, Mar 25 2010 2:51 PM

  Hey there!

  I'm a firefox user and did the adjustments with cache size (500 mb) yesterday... I've noticed an interesting improvement on time-loading between holes and with meter, the second time i've played every course.

  Hope this helps all those players who are having trouble with game speed, you should spread the word.

  Thanks for the tip!!

• WGTniv 1,788 Posts

  Thu, Mar 25 2010 3:31 PM

  I forgot to mention that Firefox users can check on their cache size by typing about:cache into the URL bar and pressing enter.  Disk Size cache is what you'll be interested in.  Don't forget that other sites add to your cache too, so if you've gone anywhere besides WGT you will cache files from those websites as well and those are considered in those figures.  For reference: 102,400 KiB is approximately 100MB.

  Infinito: I don't have the resources to get an exact number, but consider that there's 1000+ HD photos per hole on the average multiplied by 45 holes.  Then add in the extra little bit from skill challenges too.  You also must consider that many of those photos are well off the beaten path and are not auto-cached to save time and space. They are only called upon when necessary.  There are many photos you will probably never see unless you really go exploring.  Too large of a cache setting can slow down some PC's, so it's basically a balancing act to find what works best for your own rig.  The only certain fact in the matter is that the Firefox & Opera factory defaults aren't gonna cut it. =)

  Faterson: Chrome has a fixed cache that is somewhat larger. I believe it's 256MB or something around there, so I wouldn't be surprised if Opera doesn't immediately perform better.  A larger cache setting than Chrome would help in the long run, but it would be a while before you noticed it.

  YankeeJim: I really don't recommend that.  That means you download files every time you play the game.  The browser cache is the meat & potatoes basically. Even with a high-end PC and solid performance every file downloaded is a chance for a hiccup.  99% of the time it'll work just fine, but you'll definitely notice the 1% that it doesn't.  Try not clearing your browser cache for a while (until next update) and see what effect that has.

  Angel: Glad to hear it.  I've experienced a similar result so far.