Creating a RPG - Should i have everything in one file?

[XLR8]

hi,

I'm currently making a RPG in which it's server based.. And in my RPG i have characters which can equip different items and hair styles.. clothes/armour.. etc

And i'm thinking.. if i get this to completion.. i'll have over a hundred items altogether..

Now.. this is going to be on a website.. for people to play.. and this involves them downloading the file..( and with so many items it's going to heavily bump up the file size ) .. so.. the question is..

Should i have everything in just one single swf..

Or.. should i split each and every hairstyle/item into it's own swf. and then.. only call them in when needed..?

I think splitting every item into it's own swf might be a good idea.. as then the player only downloads what they need. and other things.. which they don't need won't be downloaded.. and hence reducing file size and wait time..

But another thing is.. if I were to load each and every swf with "LoadMovie()" or equivalent.. would this be slow? And is there any other factors here which makes Flash handing so many files not be as good as having everything in one file?

Thanks!

[dialectric]

Hi,

I would suggest completing the project with one file, then, if you find the file size to be too large, breaking off some items as swfs. If the items are static images, you might be able to use a range of optimization techniques without hurting image quality to reduce file size. Maximal optimization would be to (re)draw each of the items as a vector -> movieclip in flash.

- dialectric

[XLR8]

Ok! Thanks!

So.. Now.. I'm thinking.. maybe... I'll load my RPG with only a few items.. and as the player comes across them.. i'll have a LoadMovie() to load in each and every movieclip which is in it's own.. .swf file..

I'm guessing this is the best way to do it? As swf files are small.. and only what is needed is loaded... heavily reducing file size..

But.. What if i need to reload some of the items? Would the loadMovie() check if it's already been loaded and not try to redownload it?

Or would the browser's cache kick into effect here?

Thanks again!