[FO4] Archive loading ? [Archive] .ini stuffs.

[Kesta]

Hello !
 
I have a few questions about the new archive loading implemented by Beth in FO4, and was wondering if anyone here had already investigated this here.
 
As you probably are aware of, the archive format changed from .bsa to .ba2. With this came a lot of optimization in resource management from the game, and a few more complexity.
In Skyrim, we had :
 
sResourceArchiveList list common .bsa
sResourceArchiveList2 list location-based .bsa (voices)
 
And know, in FO4, we have :
 
sResourceIndexFileList
sResourceStartUpArchiveList
SResourceArchiveList
SResourceArchiveList2
sResourceDataDirsFinal
SGeometryPackageList
SCellResourceIndexFileList
SResourceArchiveMemoryCacheList
 
 
Meh, talk about complexity... what we (or should I say, "I") already know/guess :
 
1.
sResourceDataDirsFinal have to point loose folders/files you want to have loaded in the game if you don't have bInvalidateOlderFiles set to 1.
What I don't know : Is there a performance/stability/whatever difference between the two options : 

bInvalidateOlderFiles=1

or

sResourceDataDirsFinal=STRINGS\, TEXTURES\, MUSIC\, SOUND\, INTERFACE\, MESHES\, PROGRAMS\, MATERIALS\, LODSETTINGS\, VIS\, MISC\, SCRIPTS\, SHADERSFX\

I can't help but think that only folders/files actually installed should be listed in sResourceDataDirsFinal, but haven't tested it.
 
2.
sResourceIndexFileList list all the texture-related .ba2. By its name and default content, it'd seem that .ba2 somehow optimized for textures have to be listed here to take advantage of that. Also, archive listed here don't have to be listed anywhere else. By the look of it, only a texture-optimization mod would have to be its archive added here, provided his archive have been optimized the same way beth's .ba2 were. I think this is something to keep in mind for the UFO4P if you guys reword/optimize some textures.
 
3.
sResourceStartUpArchiveList by default load "Startup" (meshes, music, sounds, textures and interface loaded related to the loading menu), "Shaders", and "Interface". Startup isn't listed anywhere else. It'd seem that files listed here are loaded at the launch of the game, while others are loaded later.
 
4.
sResourceStartUpArchiveList seems similar to Skyrim, except that voices files are also loaded here. basically, generic .ba2 goes in here.
SResourceArchiveList2 point to the animations .ba2 by default... why ? Mistery. This is completely different than what Skyrim used this ini entry for.
 
5. 
SGeometryPackageList and SCellResourceIndexFileList respectively load Fallout4 - Geometry.csg and Fallout4.cdx. I haven't invesitgated those files yet. Any input is welcome.
 
6.
SResourceArchiveMemoryCacheList, a very interesting entry. Especially because it point to .ba2 already listed in other settings. Misc (scripts and some texture effects used to alter the visuals during weather or specific atmospheres), Shaders, Interface, and Materials. All those files have one common point : They're fairly dynamic stuffs which the game need to have quick access to. This, plus the name, lead me to think that .ba2 listed here are kept in memory in a specific way so that the game can access to it way faster than to others. The downside being probably a higher RAM usage/reservation.
 
 
 
Any thought/insight on that would be much appreciated

 

 

Edit : opened the discussion on Bethsoft as well : http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1568410-ba2-archive-loading/

[InsanePlumber]

This will help with "Loose Files" ArchiveInvalidation.

 

From my testing it appears that this is the best method for them.