[Guide] Better loading times

[BB_Torkav]

https://ubistatic-a.akamaihd.net/0034/int/website/pictures/working_settler_hammer_frame.gif


This post contains instructions on how to improve the loading times.


What are the issues?


The loading bar gets stuck
Loading takes longer than a few minutes
File size is too big for the browser (browser.cache.disk.max_entry_size 51200)


Workaround (Chrome, Chromium, Opera and Vivaldi):

Right click on the application (Chrome, Chromium, Opera or Vivaldi) icon (on your desktop)
Click on settings
Under the "shortcut" tab you will see a "target" line
Move your cursor to the end of this line and put one space after the text (DO NOT DELETE THE TEXT)
Add --disk-cache-size=1000000000 to the parameter
If you're using Chrome, this parameter might be better:
--disk-cache-size=5000000000 --media-cache-size=5000000000 --disk-cache-dir="C:\chrome_cache"
Click on "apply" and reload the game

https://i.imgur.com/0pJjSjE.png

Workaround (Firefox):

Open Firefox
Enter about:config into the address bar and hit enter
A warning will appear, if you accept the risk click on "I accept"
Search for: browser.cache.disk.smart_size.enabled and change it to "false"
Search for: browser.cache.disk.capacity and double click on that line
Change the number to: 1048576
Search for: browser.cache.disk.max_entry_size and double click on that line
Change the number to: 131072
Once you changed this, make sure not to clear the cache - do it only if the Community Team or the Support Team clearly ask you to.
Clearing the cache will reload the big files and can result in longer loading times. With this workaround the loading bar should not be stuck anymore.


Additionally, you can try the official Slim Browser (https://www.thesettlersonline.com/en/download-game) - this application has been designed to load the game faster.


Note: This post provides a quick overview on how to avoid an issue and offers a workaround.

[BB_Torkav]

First of all: Even if the Chromium page specifies a special path, I wouldn't trust 100% that it is identical for all Linux derivatives and versions. In our player-reported case, the default path matched.


How to set the cache size under Linux using a policy rule

System: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS

Close Chrome to be on the safe side
Path to the Policies: /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed (if it doesn't exist, please create it) (root privileges required)
Create any .json file in that directory, we called it: diskcachesize.json (you need root privileges to create it)

Content:
{
"DiskCacheSize":1500000000
}
Important: NO spaces before and after the colon, Chrome is quite sensitive there.
Start Google Chrome
Under Google Chrome in the address line add chrome://policy/ and click on enter
See if a line exists under "value of policy" the number is the number from the json file and most importantly under status must be "OK". If there is something else, there is probably some syntax error in the json file. See the note with the explanation again.
The good thing about the policies is that if you change the value in the json file while the browser is still open, and you click under chrome://policy/ on "Reload Policies", the changed values will be taken over immediately
Start TSO, possibly several times, until everything has landed in the cache (as soon as you are in the game, all relevant data is in the cache and should stay in it for now)
=> This means that the first few times the loading time can still be long, but once everything is collected the loading time will be short again

Under Linux there is also often the problem that the home directory is often on its own and relatively small partition (and there are usually the user profiles from Chrome including all data) it might happen that you will have to specify the cache path in addition to the cache size.


How to set the cachedirectory under Linux using a policy rule:

System: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS

In general, the procedure is very similar to the procedure to set the cache size, but the effort is somewhat greater.
Exit Chrome to be on the safe side
Find out which partition has enough space (preferably well over 2 GB), in this example it is the /datadisk partition
If the root partition "/" is already big enough and only the mounted home directory is too small, it is even better, but we stick to our example with /datadisk. The directory you ultimately choose should not be a subdirectory of /home.
If you have found a suitable partition
Create a directory there e.g. ChromeCache (root privileges will probably be required).
The directory is given full read and write permissions: Example: enter chmod 777 /datadisk/ChromeCache in the shell.
Path to the policies: /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed (if it does not exist, please create it) (root privileges required)
Create any .json file in that directory, we called it: diskcachedir.json (root privileges required)
Content:
{
"DiskCacheDir":"/datadisk/ChromeCache"
}

Important: NO spaces before and after the quote
Important: Don't forget, the path is only a example and identical with the one from e.

Start Google Chrome
Under Google Chrome in the address line add chrome://policy/ and click enter
See if there is a line with the entry "DiskCacheDir", the path used from e. and g. is under "Policy Value" and above all if the status is "OK".
If not, click once on "Reload policy".
If still not, there is either an error in the json file, one of the paths is wrong, the permissions are wrong. Then start again from the beginning.
Since we have defined a new cache here, it is empty after the first start after this change.
Start TSO, possibly several times, until everything has landed in the cache (as soon as you are in the game, all relevant data is in the cache and should remain in it for now)
=> This means that the few first times the loading time can still be long, but once everything is collected the loading time will be short again

[BB_Torkav]

Mac users don't have shortcuts, so you can't do the browser customizations mentioned above there.
We have received a temporary solution for Mac users.

The Firefox Tip also works on Mac.

For Chrome:
In the terminal
defaults write com.google.Chrome DiskCacheSize -int 1024288000

If you want to check in Chrome if the cache settings have been applied, enter the following in the address bar:

chrome://policy/

If you run on defaults, nothing should appear. If the cache was changed manually, there should be the following:

Policy name
Value of the Directive
Well
Applies to
Plane
Status

DiskCacheSize
1024288000
Platform
Computer
Recommended
Okay

(with formatting)