Reducing File Size Of Custom Liveries

Phil Etty · Mar 17, 2014

Hi There,

I tried a race with the McLaren Mp412c GT3 & my PC struggled with myself & tried 14 extra cars. I Thought it was perhaps time to upgrade some components - maybe it still is! However, I noticed that there is some considerable variation in the file size of many Skins

Many of the excellent user contents skin file sizes are over 20 Meg. Is it to do with the DDS format they are saved in? For example, the superb looking http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/threads/mclaren-mp4-12c-gt3-bhai-tech.83641/ is 21 meg, the http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/threads/drive-energy-drink-mp4-12c-gt3.83848/ is also over 21 meg.

The equally good http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/resources/mclaren-mp412c-gt3-2011-united-autosports.1816/ is only a tad over 4 meg.

So I can run my race (and when I get round to do my own skins) how can Skin file size be kept down?

Thanks,

Phil

Paul Lock · Mar 17, 2014

I really dont think the quality/size of a skin file contributes to poor AI performance.

Edit - there is a great skinning guide over on the official AC forum. I would link you up but i am away from my pc.

Joao Alves · Mar 18, 2014

I believe Paul means this one: http://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/i...to-skin-modding-painting-the-bailey-way.3951/

ENDR · Mar 18, 2014

Paul Lock said:
I really dont think the quality/size of a skin file contributes to poor AI performance.

Maybe not to the AI's, but definitely to his PC's performance... which in turn can screw with the AI, when it's not good enough.

After_Midnight · Mar 18, 2014

I am a skin maker of the AC forum. The different file size of the dds file is mostly the result of the resolution of the skins. If a make my skin in a resolution of 4096x4096 the dds file size will be over 20 MB. If I make a skin in the original resolution of the ingame skin 2048x2048 the dds file size will be 5.33 MB. The bigger size of the dds skin size have a negative effect for the game performance for sure. You will notice it if your rig is on the limit.

Greets After_Midnight

Phil Etty · Mar 18, 2014

Thanks for replies guys. The excellent skinning guide referred to, is indeed excellent. That guide suggests using "8.8.8.8 ARGB 32 bpp | unsigned" as the DDS file type. I had a little play around and saved some of the great custom liveries I have found here as "DXT 5 Interpoloted Alpha". File size reduced to about 5.5 meg from over 20. Not sure what detrimental affect that has, if indeed any?

My rig specs currently are:

AMD PHENOM II X4 955 - BLACK EDITION
ASUS M5A87
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 1333MHz (upgrade to 8GB 1600 on order - maybe this will help?)
POWERCOLOR HD6850 (time to upgrade to that GTX 760 I have been eyeing up??!!)

When driving around a track on my own, getting 40 - 60 FPS (screen is 60HZ). On the special race events (e.g. BMW Race) FPS drops to around 30, so playable. However, unplayable FPS and game struggles to run when trying a custom McLaren for example, even with reduced livery file size.

Settings (1920 X 1080):

ANISOTROPIC X 2
AASAMPLES X 2
FAST AA - OFF
VSYNC - OFF
100% COLOUR SAT
VERY HIGH WORLD DETAIL
MOTION BLUR - OFF
MEDIUM CUBEMAP RES REFLECTIONS
FACES PER FRAME 6

I will play about with settings to see if that helps, my upgrade to 8GB 1600 RAM will do no harm, but can't see that totally eliminating my problem.

Given my rig other specs, would that GTX 760 cure it?

Joao Alves · Mar 18, 2014

Phil Etty said:
Given my rig other specs, would that GTX 760 cure it?

With my 760 I can currently run very high settings with a large AI grid and stay above 60FPS.
More ram is never a bad thing. If I may suggest a card in particular (depending on where you're from)
My EVGA 760 ACX SuperClocked was $10USD more than the regular card, and I'm able to very easily OC it to 1285MHz and get ~5-15FPS more over stock. The drivers from NVIDIA are slowly getting better and overall I'm very happy with the card, and can easily recommend it.

Dinca Andrei · Mar 18, 2014

I have Athlon II X4 640 8Gb RAM and GTX 760 (Update from GTX 560Ti)
Quote your settings but slightly different

Settings (1280 X 1024) 4:3 monitors x2

ANISOTROPIC X 2
AASAMPLES X8
FAST AA - X4
VSYNC - ON (No stuttering with it ON)
60% COLOUR SAT
HIGH WORLD DETAIL
MOTION BLUR - OFF
MEDIUM CUBEMAP RES REFLECTIONS
FACES PER FRAME 6

With this settings if i turn VSync off i get from 93-96 to 115-120 fps on different tracks,alone,no AI.
With 12 AI and VSync ON it shows steady 60 fps (60Hz monitors)
So yeah the GTX 760 does a verry nice job at its price.Now i need a new motherboard with Intel CPU and faster RAM.

Paul Lock · Mar 18, 2014

I stand corrected regards skin resolution

To explain my thinking, is that AI is predominately CPU dependant, and rendering is GPU dependant.
As CPU usage maxes out and the frames drop to unplayable, the GPU usage tails right off as a direct result. You could be packing triple titans but if your CPU bottlenecks it doesnt matter what GPU is waiting behind it.

So i would say, if your GPU is the bottleneck, lighter weight DDS files might give you a FPS boost and its worth compromising or optimising the quality/size of skins.
If your CPU is the bottleneck, just turn down the number of AI and enjoy your full fat skins and plan an upgrade of chip, mobo and ram.

Although from my tests AC didnt use much more than 4gb of my 1600 Ram with a full grid, again probably because of the CPU bottlenecking which kinda rulled out a cheap Ram upgrade for me for a performance boost.