Killzone: Shadowfall had to shrink down from 290GB

Last month we wrote about Killzone: Shadowfall being around 50GB in size, well it turns out that before Sony swooped in and saved the day, the game was bordering on 290GB. Those are some pretty hefty file sizes considering we're moving more towards being all digital.

The bulk of those files are new high resolution textures, Guerrilla's technical director Michiel van der Leeuw told Eurogamer: “I think we're probably a lot larger than the other cross-generation games, because we have no assets that have been made to a lower spec.” The technical director also took the opportunity to point out that the levels are around 10 times bigger than those found in Killzone 3.

The confirmed file size of the game is now 39.7GB but as I already mentioned, it was a lot bigger at one point. During testing the developers got 180GB worth of the game generated until the disc image generator broke, van der Leeuw said “If we would have put all the levels in, which we didn't, because then the disc image generator broke, it would have been around 290 gigs of data.”

Once the disc image generator broke, the team had to re-architect how they dealt with data and optimize the disc access pattern. “We had to completely re-architect how we deal with data, and we did a lot of work. Sony made special libraries for us because we were the first ones hitting these sort of problems. I think it's something that a lot of people will need to be doing in the future.”

If you suffer from slow Internet or you feel like waiting for a 50GB file to download would be a bit much then Sony has the answer: the Playstation 4 has the ability to play as you download but obviously the download has to have a bit of a head start. You will be able to play Killzone: Shadowfall once the first 7.5GB is downloaded, that is still a bit of a wait if you aren't running off of a fiber optic line but hopefully this new demand for bandwidth will force ISP's to start upgrading line speeds.

KitGuru Says: It looks like the next generation is going to continue bringing in massive file sizes, so those default 500GB drives will soon fill up. If you're planning on going next-gen soon, it might not be a bad idea to budget for a new 2.5″ replacement Hard Drive or external option. I don't think it'll take long for both Sony and Microsoft to release 1TB versions of these consoles. 

Source: Eurogamer

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