Cooking Map Increased File Size???

[SmokeRingHalo]

So I did my first map cook and had success. no errors and no warnings, whew!
But it increased my file size from 65MB to 90 MB! And here I thought cooking was supposed to optimize the map file???
Anyone have any takes on this?

[ffejnosliw]

Cooking does several things. it strips out unnecessary data, converts resources to native formats, and creates self-contained packages for quick loading. This last action is probably why you are noticing a larger file size. Cooked maps contain all the content used in the map within the map file itself so that loading is much faster.

[unrealloco]

i really dont like that i started off with a 7 mb map and it ended up being 27 mb after i cooked it i hope they do something about this

[apophis3d]

They wont because it's the most efficient way to do things. Unless you want huge load times.

[ffejnosliw]

You don't have to cook your map if it is for the PC. The PC version of UT3 should work with cooked or uncooked maps. You do still have to publish the map, either manually (create necessary files and place them appropriately) or with the Publish feature of UnrealEd (which will cook your map). I don't know why you wouldn't want to take advantage of faster load times, but to each his own.

[Setheran]

Presumably you could cut down on that file size by not using too many different types of meshes and materials. Maybe go over your map and track down any minor assets that are used only once, and then replace them with ones that already exist in the level. Bumping up lightmap resolutions wherever you can afford to and using the "RemoveSurfaceMaterial" material on unseen surfaces will help too.