DACSLABS

ROCKITPLAY delivers data differently than a standard game download or file load. Instead of downloading files in an arbitrary sequence, ROCKITPLAY sequences data based on real user gameplay, so that the data blocks that are required in the first minutes of gameplay are delivered first. FastStart downloads can start a game with as little as 1% downloaded. ROCKITPLAY dynamically adjusts the time to start based upon the game and available user bandwidth.

No. With ROCKITPLAY, the game is being downloaded in data-sequenced order, so at the end you have a full, standard game install. Data remains sequenced even on your local drive, significantly improving game boot and loading time.

ROCKITPLAY intelligently adapts to any giving bandwidth, calculating the minimum amount of data needed to safely start gameplay. A gamer should never run out of content, so ROCKITPLAY sets a safe start time and dynamically loads any missing content over the network during gameplay. At high bandwidth, gameplay starts almost instantly.

On the server side, we use machine learning to optimally sequence the data chunks  comprising a full game image based on real user’s I/O telemetry during gameplay. The system is constantly learning – as more users play, the download is further optimized, allowing gamers to start even faster with highly optimized load sequences.

Yes, FastStart is great for Free-to-Play, eliminating download dropouts by eliminating long download times – driving revenues and lowering the average user acquisition cost. FastStart reduces the time from ad click to game start from hours to seconds, so that gamers can enter the game with zero delay and start playing within minutes or seconds.

ROCKITPLAY Staged Download is able to deliver only a small part of the game to every user to conserve bandwidth. This unique capability makes it possible to deliver free to play games progressively, at a very low cost. Gamers who play more get more content delivered, eliminating data delivery waste. Deliver the full download only to active users, everyone else gets just enough to test.

DACSLABS just completed a demonstration of ROCKITPLAY – its groundbreaking FastStart Cloud Engine, by delivering THQNordic’s playable teaser Gothic together with the game testing platform Antidote to users worldwide. With ROCKITPLAY, gamers can start a game with as little as 1% of the game downloaded, virtually eliminating friction-to-play. The findings were stunning – over 90% of participating gamers were very satisfied with ROCKITPLAY FastStart and would like to see a feature like FastStart implemented in their favorite game store. In addition, 76% shared they would rather buy a game with FastStart implemented than the same game without it. And 77% confirmed, they would try MORE games if these were available with FastStart.

Yes. Multiplayer games and open worlds can require larger pre-loads due to many paths users can take in the early phases of gameplay. However, even open-world games tend to have introductory experiences that allow the preload to get well ahead of the gameplay. ROCKITPLAY delivers a consistent gameplay experience and is able to dynamically load any missing data so that users have a great experience regardless of the path they take.

Customers begin by offering FastStart on new titles and perform background ROCKITPLAY® installs – over time – for already installed, non-FastStart, titles. It is a title-by-title decision and does not require an irrevocable infrastructure change. Since ROCKITPLAY does not modify game builds it can be opt-in and opt-out at any time.

Yes, ROCKITPLAY can be applied to any game in binary form. The game itself does not need to be modified.

Yes, the ROCKITPLAY Cloud Service is provided as a set of Docker images and can operate on any private or public cloud infrastructure. It can run on your infrastructure or we can host it for you, depending on your game delivery model.

Currently we support Windows 10 64bit and are working to support Windows 11. The underlying technology can be ported to other platforms.