Does Addon Linker Improve Load Times?

Discussion Hub Tools & Utilities
1

Hi folks,

I’m starting to accumulate more and more addons, and while my community folder is outside the sim, I still just throw them all onto that folder and load everything. My understanding of Addon Linker is that you can disable groups of addons that you won’t be using for a given flight, does this help to speed up sim load times?

I don’t currently have any conflicts that I’m aware of so really if I did this my benefit would be how long it takes the sim to load up. Any thoughts and experiences is appreciated!

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One of the biggest things that affects load times is the size of the Community Folder.
Yes, this will help.

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3

I just did a test:

  • loaded all 1144 addons / 341GB in my Addons Linker folder: 7 minutes from hitting “Launch” to the ingame main menu screen;
  • loaded a typical session of 208 addons / 61GB (2 planes + my Australia and New Zealand folders): 3 minutes from “Launch” to the ingame main menu screen.

Besides, as you mentioned, the ability to avoid conflicting addons loading together, it is of significant help in reducing the game’s impact on your memory and initial loading time. I should add It has been an amazing tool to keep my library organized and tidy. It takes a bit of time to set up and understand as you start but I couldn’t play without it.

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4

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve used similar apps in the past for other simulators and knew it would take a bit of time so I wanted to be sure it would be worth it.

Couple of questions: In the section that allows you to auto-start additional programs with the simulator, is there a way to add arguments to those apps in the command line? For example, AIG traffic controller has a “-MSFS2020” on the end, but I don’t see how this is possible in Addon Linker.

Also, How do addons behave when they are installed by other apps such as the Orbx or Contrail apps? Any issues with downloading updates? Do they need to be enabled in Addon Linker before running those apps?

5

For command line arguments, create a batch file.
For example, I want Addon Linker to run the “MCDU Server” app with the “no printer” argument.
So I create a file (MCDUServer.bat) with the following in it:-

START D:\MSFS\"Community Addons"\Aircraft\flybywire-aircraft-a320-neo\"MCDU SERVER"\server.exe --no-printer
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6

Thanks, good call. I should have thought of that.

7

You will also find that the heaviest drag on load times involves the number of aircraft and liveries you are loading. I have found that limiting the number of these, especially, makes a significant difference in load times.

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8

Still curious what to do with the addons in the community folder that are already links to somewhere else. Addon Linker doesn’t seem to want to manage those and therefore those still all load in.

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I’m no windows guru, but I don’t think you can have a link to a link?
I think what you would need to do is find where Aerosofy has installed the files for whatever product and move all of these into add-on linker.

You can then allow addon linker to create a soft link into Community.

I guess you might have to redo this when the products get updated unless you chose am installation path to somewhere within the add-on linker folder.

Same with Navigraph nav data.

10

All my add-ons from ORBX, Contrail - for example - are in Addons-Linker and it works flawlessly. You will notice that when you install an ORBX add-on you can select the path to the scenery folder (library) you wish, i.e. say “Western Europe”, ORBX will add an “msfs” subfolder and install it there (same thing with Contrail).

Thus when you run the ORBX or Contrail update tools, they will automatically detect where the products are installed and update them if applicable, and this whether or not those products are actually linked to MSFS.

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11

FYI, the more that is in your community folder, the longer the load times, it’s not just aircraft and liveries.
Airports, tools, you name it, they all add to the load time.

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Thank you. I spent some time this weekend doing just that and I think I’ve got things working. It forces you to think about your addons a bit differently, that’s for sure.

13

I recently added addon linker. I watched the video by badgamr but it doesn’t explain how to move current content into addon linker.

Any help or a point in the right direction?

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If you create a new library from where they originate then Add On Linker will see them as any other links and can manage them the same.

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I have the folliwing folders set up in Add on Linker ewch with subfolders
-Aircraft

  • Bush flights
  • Liveries
  • Sceneries
  • Utilities
  • Orbx
  • Aerosoft
16

Hi all. As per some of the other replies, using Add-on Linker has significantly improved the MSFS start up time for me. It was 7 minutes, and it reduced to less than 2 minutes.
I started with MSFS on Xbox prior to going PC, so my purchases have been / still are mainly through the MS Marketplace (not ideal, but portable and convenient, sort of).

With some small tests first, I also moved all my Purchases out of the “Official” folder also using the Add-on Linker “Advanced” option as I have a lot of purchases :flushed:.

NOTE: I left all the standard Asobo and MS items in Official, otherwise it will re-download them automatically at start up :unamused:.

I hope this helps others in their decision and usage.