What is the best way to thousands of songs to load quickly?

[Daniel]

What do I need in my computer to get my 2000+ songs to load quickly? Lots of RAM? Fast processor?

[Akira]

IMO, you should separate it to a different installation.

copy/paste the files to a different folder and have the other songs in there

[Daniel]

I'm building a computer that will prevent me from having to use separate Stepmania installations. The computer will be made for Stepmania. Theresfore I want to know what mostly contributes to fast load speeds. I've gotten the impression it's your RAM amount that makes the real difference, but I want to know if a speedier processor helps a lot too.

[ramyishappy12]

stepmania loads quickly when it has the cache of songs. if you have uninstalled StepMania it deletes the cache that has all the songs that was built. when you reinstall stepmania you will have to give StepMania at least amount of time for it to reload all the songs into the cache. but as long as u did move any of your songs then it should automatically start and not take long. also check ur stepmania.ini for this line:

[Debug]
ForceLogFlush=0
LogCheckpoints=0
LogFPS=1
LogSkips=0
LogToDisk=1
ShowLoadingWindow=1
ShowLogOutput=0
Timestamping=0

[Editor]
ShowBGChangesPlay=0

[Options]
AdditionalFolders=
AdditionalSongFolders=
AllowExtraStage=1
AllowUnacceleratedRenderer=0
AnisotropicFiltering=0
ArcadeOptionsNavigation=1
AttractSoundFrequency=1
AutoMapJoysticks=1
AutoPlay=0
AutoRestart=0
AutogenGroupCourses=1
AutogenSteps=1
BGBrightness=1.000000
BackgroundMode=3
BannerCache=1
BlinkGameplayButtonLightsOnNote=0
BoostAppPriority=-1
BreakComboToGetItem=0
Caution=1
CelShadeModels=0
CenterImageScaleX=1.000000
CenterImageScaleY=1.000000
CenterImageTranslateX=0
CenterImageTranslateY=0
CoinMode=0
CoinsPerCredit=1
ComboContinuesBetweenSongs=0
ConstantUpdateDeltaSeconds=0.000000
CourseSortOrder=0
CoursesToShowRanking=Courses/DDRMAX/NaokiStandard.crs,Courses/DDRMAX/ParanoiaBrothers.crs,Courses/Samples/PlayersBest1-4.crs
DancePointsForOni=0
DefaultLocalProfileIDP1=00000001
DefaultLocalProfileIDP2=
DelayedCreditsReconcile=0
DelayedEscape=0
DelayedModelDelete=0
DelayedScreenLoad=0
DelayedTextureDelete=1
DisableScreenSaver=1
DisplayColorDepth=32
DisplayHeight=480
DisplayWidth=640
Disqualification=0
EasterEggs=0
EndlessBreakEnabled=1
EndlessBreakLength=5
EndlessStagesUntilBreak=5
EventMode=1
FastLoad=1
FirstRun=0
ForceMipMaps=0
GetRankingName=1
GlobalOffsetSeconds=0.000000
GradePercentTier01=1.000000
GradePercentTier02=1.000000
GradePercentTier03=0.930000
GradePercentTier04=0.800000
GradePercentTier05=0.650000
GradePercentTier06=0.450000
GradePercentTier07=-99999.000000
GradePercentTier08=0.000000
GradePercentTier09=0.000000
GradePercentTier10=0.000000
GradePercentTier11=0.000000
GradePercentTier12=0.000000
GradePercentTier13=0.000000
GradePercentTier14=0.000000
GradePercentTier15=0.000000
GradePercentTier16=0.000000
GradePercentTier17=0.000000
GradePercentTier18=0.000000
GradePercentTier19=0.000000
GradePercentTier20=0.000000
GradeTier02IsAllPerfects=1
GradeWeightBoo=-4
GradeWeightGood=0
GradeWeightGreat=1
GradeWeightHitMine=-8
GradeWeightMarvelous=2
GradeWeightMiss=-8
GradeWeightNG=0
GradeWeightOK=6
GradeWeightPerfect=2
HiddenSongs=0
HideDefaultNoteSkin=0
HowToPlay=1
IgnoredMessageWindows=
Interlaced=0
JudgeWindowAdd=0.000000
JudgeWindowScale=1.000000
JudgeWindowSecondsAttack=0.135000
JudgeWindowSecondsBoo=0.180000
JudgeWindowSecondsGood=0.135000
JudgeWindowSecondsGreat=0.090000
JudgeWindowSecondsMarvelous=0.022500
JudgeWindowSecondsMine=0.090000
JudgeWindowSecondsOK=0.250000
JudgeWindowSecondsPerfect=0.045000
Language=
LastSeenInputDevices=Keyboard
LastSeenMemory=511
LastSeenVideoDriver=ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 SERIES 
LifeDeltaPercentChangeBoo=-0.040000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeGood=0.000000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeGreat=0.004000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeHitMine=-0.160000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeMarvelous=0.008000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeMiss=-0.080000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeNG=-0.080000
LifeDeltaPercentChangeOK=0.008000
LifeDeltaPercentChangePerfect=0.008000
LifeDifficultyScale=1.000000
LightsStepsDifficulty=medium
LockCourseDifficulties=1
LongVerSeconds=150.000000
MachineName=NoName
MarathonVerSeconds=300.000000
MarvelousTiming=2
MaxHighScoresPerListForMachine=10
MaxHighScoresPerListForPlayer=3
MaxRegenComboAfterFail=10
MaxRegenComboAfterMiss=10
MaxTextureResolution=2048
MemoryCardOsMountPointP1=
MemoryCardOsMountPointP2=
MemoryCardProfileSubdir=StepMania
MemoryCardUsbBusP1=-1
MemoryCardUsbBusP2=-1
MemoryCardUsbLevelP1=-1
MemoryCardUsbLevelP2=-1
MemoryCardUsbPortP1=-1
MemoryCardUsbPortP2=-1
MemoryCards=0
MenuTimer=0
MercifulDrain=1
MercifulSuperMeter=1
MinPercentageForMachineCourseHighScore=0.001000
MinPercentageForMachineSongHighScore=0.500000
Minimum1FullSongInCourses=0
MoveRandomToEnd=1
MovieColorDepth=32
MusicWheelSwitchSpeed=15
MusicWheelUsesSections=1
NumArcadeStages=3
NumBackgrounds=20
NumGradeTiersUsed=7
PAL=0
PadStickSeconds=0.000000
PalettedBannerCache=0
PercentScoreWeightBoo=0
PercentScoreWeightGood=0
PercentScoreWeightGreat=1
PercentScoreWeightHitMine=-2
PercentScoreWeightMarvelous=3
PercentScoreWeightMiss=0
PercentScoreWeightNG=0
PercentScoreWeightOK=3
PercentScoreWeightPerfect=2
PercentageScoring=0
PickExtraStage=1
Premium=0
ProductID=1
ProgressiveLifebar=0
ProgressiveNonstopLifebar=0
ProgressiveStageLifebar=0
RefreshRate=0
RegenComboAfterFail=10
RegenComboAfterMiss=5
ScoringType=0
ScreenTestMode=0
ShowBanners=1
ShowBeginnerHelper=1
ShowDancingCharacters=0
ShowDanger=1
ShowLyrics=1
ShowNative=1
ShowSelectGroup=0
ShowSongOptions=-1
ShowStats=0
SignProfileData=0
SmoothLines=1
SoloSingle=0
SoundDevice=
SoundDrivers=
SoundResampleQuality=2
SoundWriteAhead=0
SubSortByNumSteps=0
SuperMeterPercentChangeBoo=0.000000
SuperMeterPercentChangeGood=0.000000
SuperMeterPercentChangeGreat=0.020000
SuperMeterPercentChangeHitMine=-0.400000
SuperMeterPercentChangeMarvelous=0.050000
SuperMeterPercentChangeMiss=-0.200000
SuperMeterPercentChangeNG=-0.200000
SuperMeterPercentChangeOK=0.040000
SuperMeterPercentChangePerfect=0.040000
TextureColorDepth=32
TexturePreload=0
ThreadedInput=1
ThreadedMovieDecode=1
TrilinearFiltering=0
TugMeterPercentChangeBoo=-0.010000
TugMeterPercentChangeGood=0.000000
TugMeterPercentChangeGreat=0.004000
TugMeterPercentChangeHitMine=-0.040000
TugMeterPercentChangeMarvelous=0.010000
TugMeterPercentChangeMiss=-0.020000
TugMeterPercentChangeNG=-0.020000
TugMeterPercentChangeOK=0.008000
TugMeterPercentChangePerfect=0.008000
TwoPlayerRecovery=1
UseDedicatedMenuButtons=0
UseUnlockSystem=1
VideoRenderers=opengl,d3d
Vsync=1
Windowed=0

if you have recently made some changes set the first load to 1 and give stepmania some time reload all the songs into cache. you can also do this by going to Config>Addittional Options and you should have an option to turn on fast load

[Daniel]

I see, load a few songs at a time so the startup is the quickest.

But what sort of hardware do you need to prevent the song wheel and song selection from being slow?

[ramyishappy12]

you dont need any special hardware. you jus have to uninstall stepmania , delete all the folders except the songs folder , reinstall stepmania then start stepmania and leave it for at least 1hr for it to reload all the songs into the cache. once you exit and start again it will be faster.

[Daniel]

Actually you can always just delete the contents of the cache folder instead of full on reinstalling Stepmania. Especially if you made tweaks to Stepmania you don't want to recreate all over again. I will most certainly take the cache tips, but I still need to know what sort of computer to build for a maxed out Stepmania system.

[Enoch-Fox]

ram
5char

[MdX MaxX]

Originally Posted by Akira

IMO, you should separate it to a different installation.

copy/paste the files to a different folder and have the other songs in there

How would SM loading songs from all different folders be faster than all from one folder?

[dieKatze88]

You need a ton of ram, and quick hard disk. SM can preform like a champ on a P3 running Windows 2000, but you need to have a good graphics board, RAM, and hard disk.

A good sound card isnt going to kill you either.

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by dieKatze88

You need a ton of ram, and quick hard disk. SM can preform like a champ on a P3 running Windows 2000, but you need to have a good graphics board, RAM, and hard disk.

A good sound card isnt going to kill you either.

Cool idea. I'll build my next computer based on that concept. But can a P3 with Windows 2000 handle today's video cards and fast hard drives? Also can high quality avi's BG changes run smoothly on a system like this?

[DjRandom]

My desktop at home loads Stepmania fairly quickly about a minute and a half for about 2.1k songs. I'll post the exact specs in a minute so I can access it from here and tell you.

Pentium 4 Running at 3.2ghz
1 GB RAM
Radeon X300/X550 (not sure if this is right but yeah..)
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS (sound card)

Thats all you need right?

[Daniel]

Wow so large song lists do load great with only 1 GB of ram.

[Akira]

Originally Posted by maxx freak

How would SM loading songs from all different folders be faster than all from one folder?

I realized that too

But it depends on the purpose

[Jubo]

Hmmm from from my logs... here what I got...

My Computer Spec from IRC System Info..

[02:47] <Jubo> Operating System: (WinXP Professional 5.1 Service Pack 2 (Build #2600)) ¤ Uptime: (16h 54m 30s) ¤ Record: (1w 3d 10h 7m 24s set on Wed Aug 23 11:13:33 2006)
[02:47] <Jubo> Memory Usage: (Usage: 710/959MB (74.04%) ¤ (||||||||||||||||||||||--------)) ¤ Display Info: (1440x900 32bit 60Hz) ¤ Monitor: (Plug and Play Monitor)
[02:47] <Jubo> CPU Info: (1 CPU - AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3700+, 2.19 GHz, L1: 64KB L2: 1024KB (11% Load)) ¤ Temperature: (Deactivated by user)
[02:47] <Jubo> Hard Disks: (Total/Free: 232.86/16.74GB ¤ Total/Free space on: C: 224.95/16.19GB ¤ D: 7.91/0.55GB)
[02:47] <Jubo> Connection/Network Interfaces: (#1 (Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport (100Mb/s) 1086.21MB In, 1849.88MB Out))

On loading StepMania 4.0 with

02:44.949: Found 4076 songs in 164.473000 seconds.

with these settings

AdditionalSongFolders=C:\Program Files\StepMania\Songs,C:\Documents and Settings\Compaq_Administrator\My Documents\StepMania CVS\Songs\In The Groove,C:\Documents and Settings\Compaq_Administrator\My Documents\StepMania CVS\Songs\SS Packs,C:\Documents and Settings\Compaq_Administrator\My Documents\StepMania CVS\Songs\Video Games Mixes

On Loading with StepMania 3.9 from only one folder

00:33.576: Found 1889 songs in 32.906000 seconds.

-I've kind of cheated when the logs.txt wasn't saving... so I loaded twice to do so <.<

So yah that what I've got

The Fast Loading was off on both versions

- - - -
My Guess...

more ram... if you playing with more songs to cache the pics and all (2gigs or more ^.^)

Processor... speed up the calculation of files?

Hard Drive with something over 7200rpm (I think 10,000rpm is the highest? I might be wrong)... faster access reads though the hard drive...

Defragmenting the Hard Drive might help too?