can i compress the ARK folder and not suffer any issues?

[Leravi The Hyena:33]

it takes a HUGE chunk of space and trying to see if i could compress it

[Tachyon]

I wouldn't bother because even if the game folder CAN be compressed without issues it will need to decompress to play, so that will take time and Ark can be slow to boot up as it is. Hard Drives are cheap anyway, and even my ageing games machine has 5 terabytes for storage.

[zerassar]

Originally posted by conor.r.foley:

it takes a HUGE chunk of space and trying to see if i could compress it

Just remember that compression is a cost trade-off situation. You're trading more storage space for increased CPU/RAM usage.

So if you have sufficient CPU/RAM then sure, whatever go for it. Just know that load times will be likely longer.

As was mentioned though storage is at an all time low price so you may want to consider just adding a new drive to your computer.

[Leravi The Hyena:33]

Originally posted by zerassar:

Originally posted by conor.r.foley:

it takes a HUGE chunk of space and trying to see if i could compress it

Just remember that compression is a cost trade-off situation. You're trading more storage space for increased CPU/RAM usage.

So if you have sufficient CPU/RAM then sure, whatever go for it. Just know that load times will be likely longer.

As was mentioned though storage is at an all time low price so you may want to consider just adding a new drive to your computer.

is it even possible for a Rebublic of gamers laptop to isntall a new drive?

[Tachyon]

I have spent years upgrading PCs and laptops as both a job and a hobby and I have never yet encountered a laptop that couldn't have it's hard drive taken out and replaced with another hard drive.

[zerassar]

Without knowing the exact model... I would normally assume that your laptop is using a standard 2.5" or M2 style drive. So yes it should normally be possible to remove and upgrade the drive.

Unless they are ♥♥♥♥♥ like Apple and solder the SSD onto the motherboard.

Though, IMO, you are best to have an actual desktop computer for gaming. If you need a laptop for uni/work then get a cheap laptop dedicated for that purpose. Laptops are always a trade off and are an expensive option for gaming.

[necaradan666]

I used a program called CompactGUI to compress my Ark game files, went from around 250Gb to 100Gb and I can't tell the difference when loading or playing. i7 8700k/970 evo

[zerassar]

Originally posted by necaradan666:

I used a program called CompactGUI to compress my Ark game files, went from around 250Gb to 100Gb and I can't tell the difference when loading or playing. i7 8700k/970 evo

Only potato PC's or the most anal pedants would really notice in most situations. CompactGUI is very literally just a GUI interface for built in features in Windows10. Just gives buttons and an interface for the native command line utilities.

You may need to reapply the compression after patches though.

[Gran]

Originally posted by conor.r.foley:

Originally posted by zerassar:

Just remember that compression is a cost trade-off situation. You're trading more storage space for increased CPU/RAM usage.

So if you have sufficient CPU/RAM then sure, whatever go for it. Just know that load times will be likely longer.

As was mentioned though storage is at an all time low price so you may want to consider just adding a new drive to your computer.

is it even possible for a Rebublic of gamers laptop to isntall a new drive?

We would need the exact name/model for a definite answer, but usually Yes there should be at least one free sata port.
Installing the drive usually means to loose some screws on the lower cover of the notebook, taking the whole lower part, or just a small part off (sounds like much, but it's just a bit of plastic), installing the drive and refit the cover. No biggy.

[Tachyon]

Originally posted by necaradan666:

I used a program called CompactGUI to compress my Ark game files, went from around 250Gb to 100Gb and I can't tell the difference when loading or playing. i7 8700k/970 evo

I couldn't even be arsed to use that, given the very large amount of storage on my HD. If people need to squeeze out a measly 150Gb of storage that badly they need a bigger drive.