cache_exists() in Feature Requests

ID:112102
 
Apr 16 2011, 1:42 pm
Applies to:DM Language
Status: Open
Issue hasn't been assigned a status value.
Would it be possible to check the cache for an existing file? With that, we could make things like loading screens while loading a file, or something of that nature. My first thought was for sounds, and would go something like this (in pseudocode):

   play_sound(file)
      if(!cache_exists(file))
         load_screen(file)
         return
      src << sound(file)

   load_screen(file)
      spawn while(!cache_exists(file))
         //do something while it buffers
#1 Apr 18 2011, 11:56 am
If it was doable it would have to be as a /client proc, because file availability isn't global.

In general I don't see how this can be reconciled to our cache system because DD will try to send resources whenever it can unless it's under strict orders not to. If a custom loading screen is all that you want, that's really more a subject for a different feature request (a request for that already exists) and overall is probably easier to implement. If you want more fine control over how resources are sent out, I believe there's already a request for that as well.
#2 Apr 18 2011, 1:13 pm
The idea wasn't only for a loading screen, that was just an example. It's just one of the only applications I could think of. My reasoning was so you could not have to load all of the resources when the client logs in, and if you have a game that has area-based progression, you could make sure you only load the resources for that area, to cut down on lag. I guess I don't really know where that falls, so I made this.