Have you ever wondered why Helldivers 2 demands significantly more storage space on PC compared to Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5? At a hefty 150GB on PC, the game is approximately three times larger than its console counterparts. Brendan Armstrong, Deputy Technical Director at Arrowhead game studio, has shed light on this discrepancy, attributing it to Helldivers 2 still catering to a small segment of PC users.
In a comprehensive Steam post, Armstrong detailed that Helldivers 2`s substantial installation size is largely due to extensive data duplication. This practice benefits players who continue to use traditional mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs). It`s an outdated method where identical data is grouped closely to minimize loading times. Armstrong emphasized that this duplication is unnecessary for players who have upgraded to solid-state drives (SSDs). However, Arrowhead faces challenges in accurately determining the number of players still relying on mechanical HDDs.
“How many Helldivers 2 players are still using mechanical HDD? The truth is that we don`t currently know,” Armstrong stated. “Even Steam user surveys fail to provide reliable data on mechanical HDD usage across the broader gaming population. Our best estimates suggest around 12% of all PC gamers, but this data is highly unreliable and based on significant extrapolations. Until we can more precisely ascertain how many Helldivers 2 installations are on mechanical HDDs, it`s difficult to gauge the impact of reducing data duplication. Even if that number is small, remember that the load time for each player entering a mission is dictated by the slowest member of their squad.”
Armstrong outlined several potential solutions, noting that the upcoming update will contribute to reducing the game`s file size. However, he cautioned that players might not perceive a significant difference, as “the new content we`ve added will absorb those gains.” For a mid-term strategy, Arrowhead plans to consolidate common assets, moving away from numerous duplicate files. While this might slightly increase loading times for mechanical HDD users, Armstrong aims to keep these times under “less than 30 seconds.”
Looking ahead, Arrowhead is also committed to enhancing its game engine and refining compression techniques to diminish the need for duplication. Nevertheless, Armstrong mentioned that the studio is yet to determine if the potential impact on loading times will render this approach unfeasible.
Meanwhile, Arrowhead Game Studio CEO Shams Jorjani recently affirmed that the team`s objective for Helldivers 2 is perpetual support, rather than progressing to Helldivers 3. The studio has also released a patch addressing issues like cave crashes and audio bugs. More recently, Arrowhead acknowledged a considerable list of problems requiring attention, including “performance drops, stability hiccups, freezes, and the annoying audio bugs.” An update is slated for later this month, but many of these complex issues may require more extended resolution periods.
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