3. LOADING SCREEN

Prior to beginning a game session, we will need to load in starting game resources (whether the game is created from the Session Creation screen, or is a campaign/standalone scenario).

3.1. Storyboard

Game resources will load in the background while the scenario's storyboard is playing (see [u]​Scenario Editor[/u]).

The player can choose to skip the storyboard at any time by pressing a key. The storyboard will stop at its current point, freeing up a few milliseconds for loading time.

If the scenario does not have a storyboard, a random stock background image, progress bar and tips will be displayed instead, and the game will begin as soon as resources are loaded.

While this would obviously be of the most use in single player campaigns, we could have stock storyboards set up for Random Map games too (which explain the principle of that game type, map type, how those settings will affect the type of game you'll play, tips when fighting human versus AI opponents, all on a single page -- in fact, maybe that could be the default storyboard for a newly created scenario, which can then be modified by the designer as he wishes).

3.2. Progress Bar

A progress bar at the bottom centre of the screen indicates the % loading progress. Once it is completed, the game session will begin, unless the player is still viewing the storyboard. This is essential to ensure that the user knows how much time is remaining, and isn't inclined to assume that the game has locked up and then reboot.

3.3. Tips

Random text tips will appear during the load, in a banner just above the progress bar, providing hints about advanced gameplay features. Each time the storyboard advances to a new page, a different tip will be displayed. Tips are enabled by default, but the scenario builder can choose to disable this option for his scenario.

3.4. Technical Considerations

According to programming input, our optimised archiving code and demand loading scheme should ensure that essential data loading will not take more than a few seconds. However, if the player needs to be briefed, it is agreed that we might as well load as much as possible in the meantime, and also entertain them while pulling in what we do need to load. The effect on the loading time is minimal; estimates for music are 20 KB/s (OGG/MP3), and pictures 250 KB every few seconds, which leaves plenty of room for grabbing other data.