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[RESOLVED] Is this standard behavior? (Merge Sets question)

jperkins79

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jperkins79 Advanced Member

jperkins79

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I just found out about the Merge Sets option. So, I have turned it on for my Playstation emulator. (It works wonderfully, btw). But when I go click into "Final Fantasy VII", it shows a "loading" screen for about 7 or 8 seconds. It doesn't take that long to load on startup, or when going into the initial Playstation emulated games screen. I have verified that the loading is coming from the Merge Sets option being enabled. I can go into a game that has only 1 .iso file and no subfolders, and it will do the same thing. Disabling Merge Sets stops the loading screen from showing up.

I'm just curious if the behavior I'm experiencing is normal, or not. If it's not normal, I can post up my .ini and log files. Just let me know.

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nullPointer GameEx God (Top Rank)

nullPointer

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Hmm this may or may not be normal, and could be dependent on a number of factors. Taking a look at your log and GameEx.ini may shed some light on the issue. Just to clarify the 7-8 second pause occurs between selecting a game from your list and loading the Game Info screen?

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jperkins79 Advanced Member

jperkins79

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Yes, when I enter the Playstation game list, that loads normally. However, when going into any game, whether there are merged items or not (not merged meaning a game with a single .iso file), it will take that much longer to load. I just timed it, it seemed to consistently be 11 seconds.

It's worth noting, that these ROM files are being loaded from a mapped network drive. If I copy the folders down from the network drive to a local drive, the "loading" screen doesn't show up and the game description page loads immediately. But also worth noting, that if I disable the Merge Sets option, the same files on the same drive will load immediately as well. It's something about enabling Merge Sets on files stored on a network drive.

Other info worth mentioning... the mapped network drive is on a server in my home, behind my router, on a gigabit network connection.

Here is my Playstation emulator .ini:


[Emulator]
Enabled=True
System=Sony Playstation
Category=Console
Emulator=ePSXe
Version=1.70
Rating=8.3
DownloadUrl=http://www.gamesdbase.com/setupwizard/emulators/download/epsxe.7z
RequiredFiles=scph1001.bin (512kb)
Website=http://www.epsxe.com/
Info=Sony Playstation Emulator
TitleText=Playstation
StartPageName=Playstation
StartPageLogo=Sony Playstation
Command=epsxe.exe -nogui -loadbin "[ROMPATH]\[ROMFILE]"
RomFilter=*.cue;*.iso;*.mds;*.ccd;*.pbp
Database=[Console] Sony Playstation
ConfigFile=[Mapping Off] Exit ScummVM (ALT+X)
MapFile=[Console] Sony Playstation.map
RomPath=G:\ROMs\Sony Playstation
SnapPath=G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Snaps
TitlePath=G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Titles
BoxPath=G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Boxes
CartPath=G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Cartridges
ManualPath=G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Manuals
ControlPanelPath=G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Controls
WorkingPath=G:\Emulators\Sony Playstation\ePSXe
MapKeys=True
WaitBeforeKeys=
SendKeys=
ReplaceDash=False
ReplaceUnder=True
Capitals=False
RemoveBrackets=True
ShowDesktop=True
Debug=False
AlsoLaunch=
LaunchBefore="G:\Emulators\Sony Playstation\ePSXe\CustomLaunch_SoundPlugin.vbs" "[ROMPATH]" "[ROMFILE]" "[ROM]"
LaunchAfter=
ExcludedFiles=
CustomBackground=
PlayMusic=False
DontShowInfo=
PlaySelectionMusic=False
SelectionMusicFolder=
PCGame=False
GamesIn7Zips=False
PlayInScreenSaver=False
ShowMostPlayed=True
RandomMostPlayed=True
CDCheck=False
CDCheckFile=
VideoSnapPath=
RomsInFolders=True
UseDbName=True
lastgame=
MergeSets=True


And here is my game log:


19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Opening Configuration File
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: GameEx: Version 12.98: Starting Log
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Operating System Platform: Win32NT
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Operating System Name: Windows 7
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Operating System Version: 6.1.7601
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Aero running
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Initializing Vista/Windows 7 volume control
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Getting CPU and RAM info
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Intel® Core i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 16367MB
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: 3.29Ghz - 4 Cores or CPU's
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Running Randomize()
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Loading PlugIns
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Loaded Plugin:"Cursor Hider" Version 1.01 By Stu
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: PlugIn: "Cursor Hider" Initialized OK
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Using Plugin System Version: 1.3
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Loaded Plugin:"Xpadder Plugin" Version 1.0.6 By Adultery
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: PlugIn: "Xpadder Plugin" Initialized OK
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Using Plugin System Version: 1.4
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Checking for applications to Launch On Startup
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Running Misc startup tasks
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Setting Menu types
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Getting Configuration Values
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Using Theme: Acidbrain Vision
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Checking for alternate Image Directory for Theme: Acidbrain Vision
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Launching HideOS.exe
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Initialising Video/MNG DLL's
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: GameEx will check for media insertion (may affect performance)
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Hiding Taskbar
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Is Media Center running?
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Checking/Creating LCD Registry values
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Check Media Center Exit/Start Mode
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Media Center Mode 2
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Video previews on. Warning: Only recommended on modern systems
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Snap Delay set to: 4
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Get other settings
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Desktop set to Hide ICONS and set Background to Black
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Set: Find emulator artwork on best match basis
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Start work for Form
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Getting Original Screen Size
19:53:52.2 1/21/2013: Opening Database Connection
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Initializing Component
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: MAME Path is: C:\Emulators\Mame32
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Cannot Find MAME Path: MAME Disabled
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Loading Controls.ini map file
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Applying Language/Text
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Text/Language: English
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Loading Language/Text
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Loading Custom Emulators
19:53:52.3 1/21/2013: Loading Emulator 1: Nintendo
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Loading Emulator 2: Super Nintendo
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Loading Emulator 3: Genesis
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Loading Emulator 4: Playstation
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Checking if Steam enabled
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Steam is installed correctly
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Invalid or filtered path: c:\\program files (x86)\\steam\\steamapps\\jimbo6846\\winui
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Did not find any Steam games
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Using 2D Animations
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Retrieving resolution setting
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Using General Font: Trebuchet MS
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Using Title Font: Trebuchet MS
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: GameEx will try to reduce CPU usage
19:53:52.4 1/21/2013: Initialising Direct3D
19:53:52.5 1/21/2013: Applying GameEx is Loading Image
19:53:52.5 1/21/2013: Setting Resolution to 1920x1080 32 bit color
19:53:52.5 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Creating Primary Surface - Full Screen Mode
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Creating Back Buffer
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Version 2 Theme being used. Loading.
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Loading Button Data
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Loading Font Data
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Loading Layout Data
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Loading Taskbar Data
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Loading graphic Surfaces
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Display is running at: 1920x1080 32bit color, 60hz
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Max texture size: 8192x8192
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Available texture memory: -70MB
19:53:52.8 1/21/2013: Initialising Bass Audio Library
19:53:52.9 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Misc and Dialogs
19:53:52.9 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Volume
19:53:52.9 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Arrows
19:53:52.9 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces GameEXlogo Text
19:53:52.9 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Toolbar
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Toolbar Controls
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Backgrounds
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces GameEx Logo
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surface Unselected
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Home & Exit
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Snaps
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Surfaces Menu and List Bars
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Fonts
19:53:53.0 1/21/2013: Creating Game Font
19:53:53.1 1/21/2013: Creating Game Font Faded
19:53:53.1 1/21/2013: Creating Title Font
19:53:53.1 1/21/2013: Restoring Title Font From Cache
19:53:53.3 1/21/2013: Creating Menu Font
19:53:53.4 1/21/2013: Creating Font Black
19:53:53.4 1/21/2013: Creating Font Black Small
19:53:53.4 1/21/2013: Fonts Created Succesfully
19:53:53.9 1/21/2013: MAME CMD options: -nowindow -joy -skip_gameinfo
19:53:53.9 1/21/2013: Initialising DirectInput for Gamepad support
19:53:54.0 1/21/2013: Using Device XBOX 360 For Windows (Controller)
19:53:54.0 1/21/2013: Loading Start Page
19:53:54.1 1/21/2013: Initializing MCE Remote
19:53:54.1 1/21/2013: Playing intro sound file
19:53:54.1 1/21/2013: Initialization OK! Starting GameEx!
19:53:54.1 1/21/2013: Testing Main Loop Once: Processing Frame
19:53:54.2 1/21/2013: Testing Main Loop Once: Main Loop ran successfully
19:53:55.1 1/21/2013: XPADDER PLUGIN: Xpadder Plugin [1.0.6] Initialized successfully!
19:53:55.1 1/21/2013: XPADDER PLUGIN: No profile found for GameEx Interface, so not launching!
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Snap Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo NES\Snaps
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_1: Snap Path Does not exist
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Control Panel Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo NES\Controls
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_1: Control Panel Path Does not exist
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Database: [Console] Nintendo NES
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Title Snap Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo NES\Titles
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_1: Title Snap Path Does not exist
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Box Art Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo NES\Boxes
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_1: Box Art Path Does not exist
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Cart Art Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo NES\Cartridges
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_1: Cart Art Path Does not exist
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_1: Manual Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo NES\Manuals
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_1: Manual Path Does not exist
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Snap Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Snaps
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 1: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Titles
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Control Panel Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Controls
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Database: [Console] Nintendo SNES
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Title Snap Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Titles
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Box Art Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Boxes
19:53:57.7 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Cart Art Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Cartridges
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_2: Manual Path: G:\Assets\Nintendo SNES\Manuals
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Snap Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Snaps
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Video Snap Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Videos
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Control Panel Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Controls
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Database: [Console] Sega Genesis
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Title Snap Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Titles
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Box Art Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Boxes
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Cart Art Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Cartridges
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_3: Manual Path: G:\Assets\Sega Genesis\Manuals
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Snap Path: G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Snaps
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Control Panel Path: G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Controls
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Database: [Console] Sony Playstation
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Title Snap Path: G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Titles
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Box Art Path: G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Boxes
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Cart Art Path: G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Cartridges
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Validating: Emulator_4: Manual Path: G:\Assets\Sony Playstation\Manuals
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Warning: Emulator_4: MAPFile Does Not Exist
19:53:57.8 1/21/2013: Restoring Emulator from Cache: 1
19:53:57.9 1/21/2013: Restoring Emulator Database From Cache: 1
19:53:58.0 1/21/2013: Restoring Emulator from Cache: 2
19:53:58.1 1/21/2013: Restoring Emulator Database From Cache: 2
19:53:58.1 1/21/2013: Restoring Emulator from Cache: 3
19:53:58.1 1/21/2013: Restoring Emulator Database From Cache: 3
19:53:58.2 1/21/2013: Cache Diff: - *.cue;*.iso;*.mds;*.ccd;*.pbp
19:53:58.2 1/21/2013: Not Restoring Emulator from Cache: 4
19:53:59.5 1/21/2013: Not Restoring Emulator Database From Cache: 4
19:54:28.0 1/21/2013: Exiting GameEx!
19:54:28.0 1/21/2013: Disposing all videos
19:54:28.0 1/21/2013: Deleting temporary Karaoke videos
19:54:28.0 1/21/2013: Disposing Image List
19:54:28.0 1/21/2013: Disposing Fonts
19:54:28.0 1/21/2013: Disposing Surfaces
19:54:28.1 1/21/2013: Saving Settings
19:54:28.1 1/21/2013: Shutting down Bass
19:54:28.1 1/21/2013: Closing HideOS.exe
19:54:28.4 1/21/2013: Disposing Plugins
19:54:28.4 1/21/2013: Disposing Plugins
19:54:28.6 1/21/2013: Closing database connection
19:54:28.6 1/21/2013: Checking for applications to Launch On Exit
19:54:28.6 1/21/2013: XPADDER PLUGIN: Xpadder was terminated successfully!
19:54:28.6 1/21/2013: XPADDER PLUGIN: Closing GameEx and cleaning up!
19:54:28.6 1/21/2013: Media Center was not open when starting GameEx, so not launching
19:54:28.6 1/21/2013: Bye

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nullPointer GameEx God (Top Rank)

nullPointer

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Posted

Hi jperkins,

My feeling is that you’ve discovered the cause of the issue already. It sounds like storing your PSX disc images remotely is causing some latency in GameEx. Obviously you’ve got some good speed on your network, but even then it appears to be the defining cause of the issue. Only Tom could say with certainty whether this is normal system behavior (although it would be great to hear from someone else running a similar setup)

One point I might mention. I notice you’ve got Merge Sets set to true as well as Roms in Folders set to true. Bear in mind that when you set Roms in Folders to true, GameEx must perform a recursive search of every sub-directory under your ROM directory in order to locate your disc images. Running a full recursive search across a network connection could be a costly operation depending on the size of the ROM directory. If it’s not already I’d recommend insuring that your ROM directory structure is not terribly deep. After locating your ROMs, GameEx has to aggregate the data in conformance with the Merge Sets feature (and find matching database data). All the same, 11 seconds is practically an eternity in processor time … but also not outside the realm of possibility once network latency is added into the mix I suppose.

I dunno ... it would be great to hear from someone running a similar setup if they've experienced similar latency.

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jperkins79 Advanced Member

jperkins79

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Posted (edited)

yeah, I kinda figure this will be a "that's just the way it is" scenario, and it's not by any means a big deal. More than anything, I'm just curious if others have experienced it.

EDIT: So, looks like it is indeed the recursive folder scan over the network that is causing the delay. I just moved all of the discs out of their own folders into a single folder on the network drive, and disabled Scan Subfolders, and it loads instantly.

Well, at least the 'mystery' is solved. I think I'll keep all my discs in a single folder and leave on Merge Sets. It's too nice of a feature to do without, just for the sake slightly better file/folder management.

Edited by nullPointer
This topic has been marked as RESOLVED and is now closed. Please begin a new thread if you are experiencing any similar issues.
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