Database bloat is a term used to describe the accumulation of unnecessary objects in the game. Star Conquest's database is always loaded into active memory as a basic characteristic of the platform it runs on, and therefore a large database has serious implications for stability and performance.
We understand that it's natural for humans to want to acquire and accumulate many things, and far less natural for them to want to sort through and throw out old things later. However, this tendency leads to a gradual expansion of the number of things in the database.
In order to see your personal database footprint, type INFO. It appears near the top. You will be told the number of items personally owned by you and approximately where they are found. Your bloat will then be given a rating. For more specific information about where your items are hanging out, try the FOOTPRINT command.
There are a number of ways you can help us to manage database bloat:
- Refrain from purchasing excessive items in the first place. You don't need 30 decoy beacons all at once; the store will still be there next month. You don't need that skirt in every possible color. You don't need to carry a cooler of every alcoholic beverage in the game. And so on. Moderation is key!
- Get rid of old things. If you have items that you haven't even looked at in a month, it's probably the case that you don't really need them. Items can be destroyed by putting them in a trash can or pawning them.
- About half of the database is just starships and starship rooms. That sort of goes along with being a game about starships, but even so, they're a terrific source of bloat. You can sell unused starships at the ship store and get the greater portion of their value back in cash.
- We have a system whereby certain objects can be "exported" and no longer be in the active database. Most crucially, stationary clothing-storing objects like closets, dressers, wardrobes, armoires, bureaus, and so on will export clothing. There are egg containers sold to export aquatic critter eggs. Makeup bags export makeup. Using these items can drastically reduce your database footprint. One might ask, why not just export everything? It seems like an easy solution, but exporting objects requires processing time, and if used to excess, the system would trade database bloat for processing lag and performance issues.
- Don't just drop things you don't want. There are trash cans everywhere, particularly in most stores.
- Think twice before putting something up on the space market. Is someone really likely to buy this? If not, you're just making that item linger in the database. It may be better to pawn it.
