The next patch for Rainbow Six: Siege looks set to be a big one, regardless of what platform you’re on. That’s because Ubisoft are changing how the game data is organized, and that’s a pretty big task in itself.
Ubisoft’s estimates for the patch size vary from platform to platform. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners can expect the smallest patch size, although it still comes in at a pretty hefty 15 GB. PC users who are playing without Ultra HD can expect a download size of around 26 GB, while PC gamers who are using Ultra HD will have to make room for a 42 GB download.
In a blog post on the game’s official website, Ubisoft went into detail about why they are releasing this patch, called Y2S3.0, and why it is so big. Essentially, this patch will change how future updates are delivered to gamers, which is why the download size is so big as a lot of the data is being replaced. As well as changing how the data is organised, Ubisoft are also changing many of the game’s textures which have contributed to the rather large download size.
Currently, Ubisoft use data forges which are compressed archives that store game data. This means that when they release a new patch, the new patch files can be added without needing to replace the entire data forge, which as you can imagine, isn’t something you want happening every time you release a patch. This may sound like a good process, and it is as it reduces the overall download size of each patch. However, the downside to this is that more storage space is needed as a lot of wasted disc space is created for the game, which therefore takes longer to load.
This is why Ubisoft are releasing this patch to consolidate the files, meaning the overall size on your hard drive will be smaller. This will mean that players will get faster load times with consoles seeing about 10% faster loading times for matches.
“By consolidating our patches and data players will see a reduction ‘seek time’, which means faster load times for all players,” Ubisoft said in the blog. “While it is difficult to determine an exact loading time reduction percentage for PC due to the variety of configurations, consoles will see about 10% faster loading times for matches.”
Ubisoft add that future patches should also be reduced by 12%-15% and will improve loading times.
Source: *Ubisoft