JP6333369B2 - Deployment prediction apparatus, deployment prediction method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a development prediction apparatus, a development prediction method, a program, and a recording medium, and particularly to a memory development technique for an object necessary for drawing.

  In recent years, there has been proposed a cloud gaming system that allows an electronic device that does not have sufficient drawing performance to experience a game of the same quality as a device that has drawing performance (Patent Document 1). In the cloud gaming system, game processing and screen drawing processing are performed on the server side. A client device such as an electronic device can transmit an operation input related to a game to a server via a network, thereby receiving a game screen on which the operation input is reflected as streaming video data from the server. Such a system can be applied not only to a game application but also to an application that draws and presents a screen corresponding to an operation input, such as a simulator or a machine design application.

  By the way, in the drawing process of the screen to be presented, various data relating to objects drawn on the screen (hereinafter referred to as drawing objects) are expanded and used in a memory that can be accessed at high speed in order to speed up the process. . For example, one drawing object is associated with model data, texture data, a drawing program such as a shader, and other necessary information. When drawing a drawing object, it is necessary that these data are read from a recording medium such as an HDD and developed in a memory such as a DRAM. In a normal home game console, the memory expansion of data required for such screen drawing processing is performed according to the progress of the game being played, such as the field or stage where the character being operated currently exists. Is called. In this case, for example, all drawing object data that may be required according to the progress status is read from the recording medium and developed.

International Publication No. 2009/138878

  On the other hand, in the cloud gaming system, screen generation is performed in parallel for each of a plurality of connected client devices, so that the development area prepared on the server side is distributed and used for these devices. That is, the amount of memory allocated for generating a screen to be provided to one client device is limited. As described above, when using the method of expanding all data groups that may be required according to the progress status in the memory, a huge amount of memory is required on the server side, which increases the cost of server installation. Connected. In the case where data of all drawing objects that can be required, such as a home game console, is developed, the data includes data that is not actually used for drawing. Therefore, for example, by specifying a drawing object included in a range (drawing range) drawn on the screen in accordance with the determined viewpoint for screen drawing, and controlling so that only data related to the drawing object is expanded in the memory Server installation costs can be reduced.

  However, when the drawing content on the screen is updated as needed according to the operation input made in the client device, the drawing object in the drawing range is identified and developed in the memory after the viewpoint is determined. There may be a delay in the time to complete the process. In particular, when communication is required between a client device and a server as in a cloud gaming system, the amount of delay can be further increased due to communication delay.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the problem of memory development of data relating to such drawing processing, the present invention predicts data used for drawing processing and performs development of an efficient memory, a development prediction method, a program, and a recording The purpose is to provide a medium.

  In order to achieve the above object, an expansion prediction apparatus according to at least one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires data requested for expansion in connection with a screen drawing process at a first time point in execution of content; A second time point after at least the first time point based on history information indicating the data developed in the memory in relation to the screen rendering process before the first time point in time-series order and the data requested to be developed. Predicting means for predicting data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing process.

  With such a configuration, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to predict data used for drawing processing and to perform efficient memory development.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The accompanying drawings are included in the specification, constitute a part thereof, show an embodiment of the present invention, and are used to explain the principle of the present invention together with the description.
The figure which showed the system configuration | structure of the cloud gaming system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the drawing server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which illustrated the data structure of the history information managed in prediction part 105 concerning an embodiment of the present invention The flowchart which illustrated the drawing process performed with the drawing server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which illustrated the process which concerns on the prediction and the reading of the data performed in the drawing process which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which showed the system configuration | structure of the cloud gaming system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the drawing server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart which illustrated the expansion | deployment process performed with the drawing server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the embodiment described below, as an example of a development prediction apparatus, data that needs to be developed in a memory when drawing a screen to be transmitted to a client device is predicted based on a history of data development. An example in which the present invention is applied to a possible drawing server will be described. However, the present invention can be applied to any device capable of predicting data that may need to be developed at least after the data requested to be developed based on the history of data development to the memory.

"System configuration"
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a cloud gaming system that provides a game screen related to game content to a client device 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the cloud gaming system of this embodiment, a client device 400 used by a player who receives a service is connected to a drawing server 100 or a CPU server 200 via a network 300. In the present embodiment, the CPU server 200 performs processing for changing parameters relating to the game in accordance with operation inputs made in the client device 400 and changes with time, and various processing relating to game progress. For each frame that provides a game screen, the CPU server 200 generates a drawing command for drawing the screen based on parameters relating to the game, and transmits the drawing command to the drawing server 100. The drawing server 100 executes a drawing process related to the game screen based on the received drawing command, and transmits the generated game screen to the corresponding client device 400.

  In the present embodiment, for simplicity, the drawing server 100 and the CPU server 200 are described as different devices, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The drawing server 100 and the CPU server 200 may be configured integrally. In the example of FIG. 1, the drawing server 100 and the CPU server 200 are connected via the network 300 including the client device 400, but the connection between the drawing server 100 and the CPU server 200 is performed via the network 300. Needless to say, it may be configured to be directly connected without intervention.

<Configuration of Drawing Server 100>
Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the drawing server 100 in the cloud gaming system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 101 is a CPU, for example, and controls the operation of each block included in the drawing server 100. The control unit 101 controls the operation of each block by reading the operation program of each block stored in the storage medium 102 and developing it in the memory 103 and executing it.

  The storage medium 102 is a recording device such as a nonvolatile memory or an HDD. The storage medium 102 stores not only an operation program for each block of the drawing server 100 but also various data relating to drawing objects necessary for generating a game screen in a drawing process described later. The memory 103 is a volatile memory such as a RAM. The memory 103 is used not only as a development area for the operation program of each block, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing intermediate data output by the operation of each block. In the present embodiment, the memory 103 is also used as a development area for various data related to a drawing object necessary for the drawing process.

  The drawing unit 104 draws a game screen to be transmitted to the client device 400 such as a GPU. The drawing unit 104 performs a game screen drawing process based on the drawing command received from the CPU server 200. The drawing unit 104 uses various data related to the drawing object developed in the memory 103 in the drawing process, and applies translation, rotation, shading, and other processing to the data, for example, in a VRAM (not shown) or the like. Generate a game screen. The generated game screen may be transmitted to the client device 400 as it is, but in the present embodiment, it is transmitted as encoded moving image data in a streaming format. In the present embodiment, the encoding process related to the generation of moving image data is described as being executed by the drawing unit 104 for simplicity.

  Based on the drawing command received from the CPU server 200, the prediction unit 105 preferably develops data that is required to be developed in the memory 103 in a drawing process based on at least a drawing command received after the drawing command. Predict the data you think. In the present embodiment, the prediction unit 105 manages history information that shows data expanded in the memory 103 based on drawing commands received in the past in chronological order. The prediction unit 105 performs drawing executed by the drawing server 100 in accordance with a drawing command received after the newly received drawing command based on the history information and data requested by the newly received drawing command. Predict the data required for processing.

  The history information has, for example, a data structure in a tree format as shown in FIG. 3 in which a plurality of hierarchies are connected in time-series order, indicating a data set in which data of each hierarchy is developed in the memory 103 in a rendering process related to one frame. May be configured. In the history information, a data set shown in a hierarchy connected by a tree indicates a data set developed in the memory 103 with respect to drawing commands related to consecutive frames. A branch derived from one data set in the history information includes a plurality of drawing sequences in which a drawing command that requires the development of the data set regarded as the same is given, and then a different data set is developed in the subsequent drawing command. Indicates that this was done. The prediction unit 105 of the present embodiment sequentially updates the history information based on the drawing command that requires the data development from the CPU server 200 to the drawing server 100, and the history information as shown in FIG. Generate. In the present embodiment, the data of each layer of the history information is described as a data set developed in the memory 103 in the rendering process related to one frame, but the configuration of the history information is not limited to this. Absent. For example, in the case where a plurality of drawing commands in a predetermined unit are issued for one frame, the history information may be configured so that a data set developed for each unit of the drawing command is one layer of data. Good. In this case, the data set shown in the hierarchy connected by the tree may indicate a data set developed in the memory 103 for successive drawing commands related to one frame.

  In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that the history information is generated for each game content based on a drawing command that is executed in a process executed for each of a plurality of players using the game content. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a drawing command made by a process executed for one player or developer serving as a reference, or a drawing command made by a process executed for each player The history information may be generated based on the above. The history information need not be generated only based on a drawing command related to one game content, but generated based on a drawing command related to different game content that can use the same data. May be. Alternatively, if a tree is divided for each content within the history information, the content included in one history information need not be limited to game content that can use the same data.

  The expansion unit 106 reads data necessary for drawing the game screen in the drawing process described later from the storage medium 102 and expands it in the memory 103. The expansion unit 106 reads data that needs to be expanded in the memory 103 based on the received drawing command or data to be expanded based on the prediction result by the prediction unit 105 from the storage medium 102 and expands the data in the memory 103.

  The communication unit 107 is a communication interface that the drawing server 100 has. In the present embodiment, the drawing server 100 is connected to the network 300 via the communication unit 107 and transmits / receives data to / from the CPU server 200 and the client device 400. Data transmission / reception may be performed by a predetermined communication method, and the communication unit 107 may perform data conversion to the communication method.

<< Drawing process >>
A specific process of the drawing process performed in the drawing server 100 of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program stored in the storage medium 102, developing it in the memory 103, and executing it. The drawing process will be described as being started when a drawing command related to a game screen provided to one client device 400 is received from the CPU server 200, for example.

  In step S <b> 401, the control unit 101 identifies a data set that needs to be expanded in the memory 103 when drawing the game screen based on the received drawing command. The control unit 101 stores information on the identified data set in the memory 103.

  In the drawing processing of this embodiment, processing related to drawing of the game screen (after S403) and processing related to prediction and reading of data developed after the current frame to be drawn (S402) are performed in parallel. Will be described.

<Processing related to data prediction and reading>
Hereinafter, processing related to data prediction and reading performed in S402 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In S501, the prediction unit 105 determines whether information indicating a data set (corresponding data set) corresponding to the specified data set exists in the history information. The corresponding data set may be a data set in which the combination of data included in the data set is exactly the same as the specified data set. For example, if there is a character texture that can be customized for each player, a predetermined data set may be used. Data sets other than the above data may be the same, that is, a data set in which a combination of some data included in the data set is the same as the specified data set. If the prediction unit 105 determines that information indicating the corresponding data set exists in the history information, the prediction unit 105 moves the process to S502, and if it determines that the information does not exist, moves the process to S504.

  In S502, the prediction unit 105 acquires information indicating a data set developed in the memory 103 following the corresponding data set from the history information, and sets a data group indicated by the information as predicted read data. In the present embodiment, as the data set as the predicted read data, a data group included in the data set shown in all branch hierarchies connected to the corresponding data set in the history information is set. For example, when the corresponding data set is the data set 301 shown in FIG. 3, data included in the three data sets 302, 303, and 304 is included in the predicted read data. The data set as the predicted read data is not limited to the data set immediately below the corresponding data set, and may include data sets up to a predetermined number of lower hierarchies, for example.

  In step S <b> 503, the expansion unit 106 starts processing for reading the corresponding data from the storage medium 102 based on the set information of the predicted read data and expanding the data in the memory 103. The expanding process is preferably performed in order from the data included in the data set of the hierarchy immediately below the corresponding data set in the history information.

  In step S504, the prediction unit 105 performs processing for associating information indicating the corresponding data set with a hierarchy immediately below the information indicating the data set developed based on the most recent drawing command included in the history information, and updates the history information. . In addition, when the corresponding data set and the specified data set have a part of the same data, the history information is updated by associating the information indicating the specified data set as a new data set with the immediately lower hierarchy. May be. After the update of the history information is completed, the control unit 101 completes the process according to this flowchart.

<Processing related to game screen drawing>
Next, processing related to drawing executed in parallel with processing related to prediction and reading of the data will be described below.

  In step S <b> 403, the control unit 101 determines whether the specified data set includes data that has not yet been expanded in the memory 103. If the control unit 101 determines that the identified data set includes data that has not been expanded yet, the control unit 101 causes the expansion unit 106 to expand the data in the memory 103 in S404. If the control unit 101 determines that all the data included in the specified data set has already been expanded, the process proceeds to S405.

  In step S <b> 405, the drawing unit 104 uses the data expanded in the memory 103 to perform a drawing process based on the received drawing command and generate a game screen. The controller 101 completes the drawing process after the generation of the game screen is completed.

  As described above, in the drawing process of the present embodiment, the data developed in the memory 103 in the drawing process is accumulated as history information based on the game screen drawing command, and the subsequent drawing command is based on the history information. Data that can be requested for expansion can be predicted and expanded in the memory 103. That is, since the history information is configured based on the actually issued drawing command, it is possible to speed up the drawing process of the game screen by predictive reading more according to the game play.

  In the present embodiment, the data included in the data set developed subsequent to the corresponding data set is set as the predicted read data. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, when the corresponding data set can be predicted from the history information at the time when the information of a part of the data developed in accordance with the rendering command is acquired, the prediction unit 105 includes the corresponding data set as predicted read data. It may be set. Further, in the present embodiment, the data set necessary for drawing the game screen based on the drawing command has been described as constituting the data of each layer of the history information, but the drawing command issued before the drawing command is used. When the expanded data is continuously held in the memory 103, a data set excluding the held data may constitute data of each hierarchy of the history information. In this case, for example, there is a possibility that some data necessary for the rendering process may not be expanded only with data included in the data set subsequent to the corresponding data set, so the prediction unit 105 is higher than the corresponding data set and the corresponding data set. Predictive read data may be set including data included in the data set of the hierarchy.

  In this embodiment, when there are a plurality of types of data sets subsequent to the corresponding data set, that is, when there is a branch in the lower hierarchy of the corresponding data set in the history information, the data sets related to all the branches are predicted and read out. Although described as being set to data, implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the prediction unit 105 takes statistics for each branch of the history information based on whether or not the data set for the predicted read data is actually used for the drawing process, and discards the branch set for the predicted read data based on the statistics. You may make it select. In this case, the statistics may be configured for each player, or may be configured for a predetermined statistical standard target such as the country of origin or access area of the player.

  As described above, the expansion prediction apparatus according to the present embodiment can predict data used for drawing processing and perform efficient memory expansion. In solving the problem, the expansion prediction apparatus acquires the data requested for expansion related to the screen drawing process at the first time point in the execution of the content, and is expanded in the memory according to the screen drawing process before the first time point. Based on the history information indicating the data in time series and the data requested to be developed, the data to be developed in the memory at the time of the screen drawing process at the second time after the first time is predicted.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment described above, it is assumed that there is one drawing server 100 connected to one CPU server 200 and data necessary for drawing the game screen is stored in the storage medium 102 of the drawing server 100. . In the cloud gaming system of this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a plurality of drawing servers 100 are connected to one CPU server 200, and any one of the client devices 400 selected by the CPU server 200 is selected. One drawing server 100 draws a game screen to be transmitted to the client device 400. The selection of the drawing server 100 that performs the drawing processing may be performed based on a predetermined standard such as a server installed in an area closest to the client device 400 or a server having the smallest number of connections. In the case of such a system configuration, storing the same data in the storage medium 102 of all the drawing servers 100 means, for example, the tendency of content preferred in the area where the drawing server 100 is installed, Considering workability and maintainability, it may not be preferable in general. Therefore, in the cloud gaming system of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the recording device 600 provided outside the drawing server 100 holds various data related to the drawing object as shown in FIG.

<< Configuration of Drawing Server 100 >>
The drawing server 100 of this embodiment includes a monitoring unit 110 as shown in FIG. 7 in addition to the storage medium 102 not storing various data relating to drawing objects.

  The monitoring unit 110 monitors the communication status on the network via the communication unit 107 and confirms that the control unit 101 can acquire data when the communication status satisfies a predetermined condition for performing data acquisition based on prediction. Notice. The communication status on the network may be, for example, the traffic volume in the network to which the drawing server 100 or the CPU server 200 is connected. In this case, the monitoring unit 110 determines that the traffic volume is to acquire data. When the value falls below the value, the control unit 101 is notified. Further, for example, the communication status on the network may be a traffic amount related to communication between the recording apparatus 600 and an external device (for example, the drawing server 100 or the memory 103). In this case, the monitoring unit 110 determines the traffic amount. It is assumed that a notification is sent to the control unit 101 when the value becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value for data acquisition. Further, for example, the communication status on the network may be a transmission delay amount in the communication between the recording device 600 and the drawing server 100, and the monitoring unit 110 sets the delay amount to be equal to or less than a predetermined value for performing data acquisition. In such a case, the control unit 101 may be communicated. Further, for example, the communication status on the network may be the number of client devices 400 connected to the drawing server 100 or the traffic amount related to the transmission of the game screen to the connected client device 400. In this case, Assume that the monitoring unit 110 notifies the control unit 101 when the number of connections or the amount of traffic falls below a predetermined value for data acquisition.

《Deployment processing》
Hereinafter, details of the expansion processing executed in the drawing server 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the drawing server 100 according to the present embodiment, reading of various types of data related to the drawing object to the memory 103 requires communication with the recording apparatus 600, so that the processing related to prediction and reading using history information is monitored by the monitoring unit 110. Execution is controlled according to the communication status. This is because communication with the recording apparatus 600 for data acquisition causes communication delays, processing delays, and the like, which can ultimately affect the quality of the entire network or game content. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the drawing server 100 performs pre-acquisition of data based on prediction only when the monitoring unit 110 satisfies a predetermined communication condition on the network.

  Note that the same reference numerals as those in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 are attached to the steps for performing the same processing as the processing related to the prediction and reading of data in the first embodiment in the present expansion processing, and the description thereof will be omitted. .

  In step S <b> 801, the monitoring unit 110 determines whether the communication state on the network satisfies a predetermined condition for performing data acquisition based on prediction. If the monitoring unit 110 determines that the communication status satisfies a predetermined condition, the monitoring unit 110 moves the process to S802, and if it determines that the communication state does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the monitoring unit 110 repeats the process of this step.

  In step S802, the monitoring unit 110 notifies the control unit 101 that data can be read.

  In step S <b> 803, the control unit 101 identifies a data set that needs to be expanded in the memory 103 when drawing the game screen based on the currently received drawing command. The control unit 101 stores the information of the specified data set in the memory 103, and moves the process to S501.

  After the predicted read data is set in S502, the control unit 101 requests the data set as the predicted read data from the recording apparatus 600 via the communication unit 107 in S804, and starts receiving the data.

  In step S805, the control unit 101 determines whether data set as predicted read data has been received. If the control unit 101 determines that data has been received, the control unit 101 moves the process to step S806, and causes the communication unit 107 to develop the data in the memory 103. If the control unit 101 determines that no data has been received, the control unit 101 repeats the process of this step.

  In step S807, the control unit 101 determines whether all data set in the predicted read data has been received. If the control unit 101 determines that all data has been received, the process proceeds to S504. If the control unit 101 determines that there is unreceived data, the control unit 101 returns to S805.

  By doing in this way, the drawing server 100 of this embodiment can perform the data acquisition from the recording device 600 based on prediction in consideration of the communication status. That is, predictive reading for obtaining a data amount larger than the amount of data developed in accordance with one rendering command based on the prediction, for example, has a factor that the traffic amount is low and the service quality is deteriorated due to communication delay. This can be done at an avoidable timing. That is, the drawing server 100 according to the present aspect can grasp a communication status with an external device and the like, and can acquire in advance data that is predicted to be developed at a timing at which data can be received efficiently.

  In the expansion processing of the present embodiment, the data acquired based on the prediction has been described as being expanded in the memory 103, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The acquired data is stored in an unexpanded state, for example, in the storage medium 102 or the memory 103, and configured to be expanded in the memory 103 by the expansion unit 106 when it is predicted that the corresponding expansion state can be changed. May be.

  In the first and second embodiments, the history information is described as being used only for prediction of data reading. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the history information may be used to predict a suitable release timing of the data expanded in the memory 103 from the memory 103. As described above, data expanded in the memory 103 based on one drawing command may be used in a drawing process related to a drawing command issued after the drawing command. Therefore, the prediction unit 105 determines whether the data developed based on the drawing command for the current frame may be developed again before a predetermined number of frames elapses based on the history information. Based on this determination, the timing of releasing data from the memory 103 may be controlled. In addition, instead of determining the release timing of each data based on the history information in this way, for example, information on the release timing once determined is included in the history information, and based on the history information when setting the predicted read data. The release timing information may also be predicted. Of the data related to the history branch developed based on the prediction, the data related to the branch that does not correspond to the actually issued drawing command may be released at a predetermined timing.

  In the first and second embodiments, the prediction read data is set based on the received drawing command or the currently received drawing command. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the drawing command serving as a reference for predictive reading may be a drawing command issued at an arbitrary timing, and the predicted read data may be set based on data requested for expansion by the command. For example, since the drawing command related to the start point can be predicted at the start of the game, the process related to the prediction reading can be executed when the game content is selected by the player.

  In the first and second embodiments, the history information is described as managing the data set developed in the memory 103, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a predetermined status in the game content is received together with the drawing command, the history information may manage information that associates the status with the developed data set. In this case, for example, it is possible to predict complex data reading based on parameters such as camera position in a 3D scene related to game content, various parameters of a character used, and the like, and according to the action of the player by accumulating history information Efficient data reading is possible.

[Modification]
In the first and second embodiments described above, the drawing server 100 itself has been described as having a deployment prediction device. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the expansion prediction device uses the data indicating the data requested for expansion related to the screen rendering process and the data to be expanded in the memory based on the history information indicating the data expanded in the memory related to the screen rendering process in chronological order. The drawing server 100 does not need to have a configuration that exists as a separate module in the drawing server 100 or that functions as a development prediction device. That is, the apparatus is connected to the drawing server 100, acquires information indicating data expanded in the memory 103 of the drawing server 100 and information indicating requested expansion data, and obtains a prediction result based on the history information. The present invention can be implemented as long as it is a device that can transmit to the network. The apparatus connected to the drawing server 100 may be the CPU server 200, for example. The expansion prediction apparatus may transmit a data expansion command predicted when transmitting the prediction result to the drawing server 200.

  When the expansion prediction apparatus is configured as an apparatus external to the drawing server 100 as described above, information on the transmission delay amount in communication between the drawing server 100 and the recording apparatus 600 is, for example, predetermined from the drawing server 100 to the expansion prediction apparatus. It may be sent at intervals of. The development prediction apparatus determines not only information indicating data to be developed in the memory, which is a prediction result, but also a command for causing the drawing server 100 to acquire data to be developed in the memory from the recording apparatus 600 based on the communication status. Just send it.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The expansion prediction apparatus according to the present invention can also be realized by a program that causes one or more computers to function as the expansion prediction apparatus. The program can be provided / distributed by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or through a telecommunication line.

Claims (30)

An acquisition means for acquiring information indicating data requested to be developed in connection with a screen rendering process at a first time point in execution of content;
Based on history information indicating the data developed in the memory in the time-series order in connection with the screen rendering process prior to the first time point and information indicating the data requested to be developed, at least from the first time point. A predicting means for predicting data to be developed in the memory at the time of a second screen drawing process at a later time;
Release means for controlling whether to release the data expanded in the memory from the memory,
The history information further indicates data released from the memory together with data expanded in the memory in connection with screen drawing processing prior to the first time point, in time series order,
The predicting means predicts data to be released from the memory together with data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing processing at the second time point,
The said release means is an expansion | deployment prediction apparatus which controls whether the data expand | deployed to the said memory are released from the said memory based on the prediction by the said prediction means. An acquisition means for acquiring information indicating data requested to be developed in connection with a screen rendering process at a first time point in execution of content;
Based on history information indicating the data developed in the memory in the time-series order in connection with the screen rendering process prior to the first time point and information indicating the data requested to be developed, at least from the first time point. A predicting means for predicting data to be developed in the memory at the time of a second screen drawing process at a later time;
Release means for controlling whether or not the data expanded in the memory is released from the memory based on the prediction by the prediction means;
The first time point indicates a current frame in the execution of the content;
The releasing means does not release the data when the data expanded in the memory is predicted by the prediction means as being expanded in the memory before a predetermined number of frames from the current frame. Prediction device.   The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising expansion means for acquiring data to be expanded in the memory predicted by the prediction means from a recording device and expanding the data in the memory. Communication means for requesting the recording device to develop data in the memory and receiving the data from the recording device;
Monitoring means for monitoring the communication status on the network,
The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit receives data to be expanded in the memory from the recording apparatus when the communication state satisfies a predetermined condition. An acquisition means for acquiring information indicating data requested to be developed in connection with a screen rendering process at a first time point in execution of content;
Based on history information indicating the data developed in the memory in the time-series order in connection with the screen rendering process prior to the first time point and information indicating the data requested to be developed, at least from the first time point. A predicting means for predicting data to be developed in the memory at the time of a second screen drawing process at a later time;
Expansion means for acquiring data to be expanded in the memory predicted by the prediction means from a recording device and expanding the data in the memory;
Communication means for requesting the recording device to develop data in the memory and receiving the data from the recording device;
Monitoring means for monitoring the communication status on the network,
The communication means is a development prediction device that receives data to be developed in the memory from the recording device when the communication status satisfies a predetermined condition. Further comprising release means for controlling whether or not the data expanded in the memory is released from the memory;
The history information further indicates data released from the memory together with data expanded in the memory in connection with screen drawing processing prior to the first time point, in time series order,
The predicting means predicts data to be released from the memory together with data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing processing at the second time point,
6. The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the release means controls whether or not the data expanded in the memory is released from the memory based on the prediction by the prediction means. 6. The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising release means for controlling whether or not the data expanded in the memory is released from the memory based on the prediction by the prediction means. The first time point indicates a current frame in the execution of the content;
The releasing means does not release the data when the data expanded in the memory is predicted by the prediction means as being expanded in the memory before a predetermined number of frames have elapsed from the current frame. Item 7. The deployment prediction device according to Item 7. The monitoring means monitors the traffic volume in the network as the communication status,
The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the communication unit receives data to be expanded in the memory from the recording apparatus according to a traffic amount in the network. The monitoring means monitors a traffic amount relating to communication between the recording apparatus and an external device as the communication status,
The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the communication unit receives data to be expanded in the memory from the recording apparatus in accordance with a traffic amount relating to communication between the recording apparatus and the external device. . The monitoring means monitors a transmission delay amount in communication with the recording device as the communication status,
The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the communication unit receives data to be expanded in the memory from the recording apparatus according to a transmission delay amount in communication with the recording apparatus. Drawing means for drawing a screen related to the content using the data developed by the developing means;
A transmission means for transmitting the screen drawn by the drawing means to a connected client device;
The monitoring means monitors the number of connected client devices as the communication status or the traffic amount related to screen transmission to the connected client devices,
5. The communication unit receives data to be expanded in the memory from the recording device in accordance with the number of connected client devices or a traffic volume related to screen transmission to the connected client devices. The expansion | deployment prediction apparatus of any one of thru | or 11.   Further comprising: transmission means for transmitting information indicating data to be expanded in the memory predicted by the prediction means, and a command for acquiring the data from a recording apparatus and expanding the data in the memory to the expansion apparatus having the memory. Item 1 or 2 deployment prediction device. The recording device is a device communicably connected to the deployment device,
The deployment prediction apparatus further includes monitoring means for monitoring a communication status on the network,
The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the transmission unit causes the expansion apparatus to receive data to be expanded in the memory from the recording apparatus when the communication state satisfies a predetermined condition. The monitoring means monitors the traffic volume in the network as the communication status,
The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the transmission unit causes the expansion apparatus to receive data to be expanded in the memory from the recording apparatus in accordance with a traffic amount in the network. The monitoring means monitors a traffic amount relating to communication between the recording apparatus and an external device as the communication status,
16. The expansion prediction device according to claim 14, wherein the transmission unit causes the expansion device to receive data to be expanded in the memory from the recording device in accordance with a traffic amount relating to communication between the recording device and the external device. The monitoring means monitors a transmission delay amount in communication between the recording device and the deployment device as the communication status,
17. The transmission device according to claim 14, wherein the transmission unit receives data to be expanded in the memory from the recording device to the expansion device in accordance with a transmission delay amount in communication between the recording device and the expansion device. Deployment prediction device. The expansion device uses the data expanded in the memory, draws a screen related to the content, and transmits it to the client device connected to the expansion device,
The monitoring means monitors the number of connected client devices as the communication status, or the traffic amount related to screen transmission to the connected client devices of the expansion device,
The transmission means expands the expansion device into the memory from the recording device according to the number of connected client devices or the traffic volume of the expansion device relating to screen transmission to the connected client devices. The expansion | deployment prediction apparatus of any one of Claim 14 thru | or 17 which receives the data to perform. The history information further indicates data released from the memory together with data expanded in the memory in connection with screen drawing processing prior to the first time point, in time series order,
The predicting means predicts data to be released from the memory together with data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing processing at the second time point,
19. The transmission unit according to claim 13, wherein the transmission unit transmits an instruction indicating whether to release the data expanded in the memory from the memory based on the prediction by the prediction unit. Term expansion prediction device. The first time point indicates a current frame in the execution of the content;
The transmission means does not release the data when the data expanded in the memory is predicted by the prediction means as being expanded in the memory before a predetermined number of frames have elapsed from the current frame. The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the expansion prediction apparatus transmits a command indicative of   When the history information includes at least information indicating data expanded in the memory in connection with a screen rendering process at a third time point when the prediction unit determines that the data is the same as the requested data. 21. The expansion prediction according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the data expanded in the memory is predicted as data expanded in the memory in connection with a screen drawing process at a fourth time after the third time. apparatus. The history information is information that is configured in a tree format in which a plurality of hierarchies are connected in time-series order, showing data expanded in the memory in connection with screen rendering processing at one point in time.
The prediction means predicts, as data to be expanded in the memory, data indicated by a hierarchy related to a plurality of branches derived from data corresponding to the data requested for expansion when the history information includes a branch. The expansion | deployment prediction apparatus of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 20.   23. The expansion prediction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an update unit that updates the history information when information indicating the data requested for expansion is acquired by the acquisition unit.   The update means relates to the information indicating the data requested to be developed in relation to the screen drawing process at the fifth time point immediately before the first time point in the history information, and relates to the screen drawing process at the first time point. The development prediction apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the history information is updated in association with information indicating the data requested to be developed.   25. The statistical unit according to claim 1, further comprising a statistic unit that takes statistics as to whether or not the data developed in the memory predicted by the prediction unit is used in the screen drawing process at the second time point. Deployment prediction device. An acquisition step of acquiring data requested for expansion in relation to the screen rendering process at the first time point in the execution of the content;
Based on the history information indicating the data expanded in the memory in connection with the screen rendering process prior to the first time point in chronological order and the data requested to be expanded, at least after the first time point. A prediction step of predicting data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing process at the time of 2,
A release step for controlling whether to release the data expanded in the memory from the memory,
The history information further indicates data released from the memory together with data expanded in the memory in connection with screen drawing processing prior to the first time point, in time series order,
In the prediction step, the data to be released from the memory is predicted together with the data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing process at the second time point,
In the release step, a development prediction method in which whether or not to release the data developed in the memory from the memory is controlled based on the prediction in the prediction step. An acquisition step of acquiring data requested for expansion in relation to the screen rendering process at the first time point in the execution of the content;
Based on the history information indicating the data expanded in the memory in connection with the screen rendering process prior to the first time point in chronological order and the data requested to be expanded, at least after the first time point. A prediction step of predicting data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing process at the time of 2,
A release step for controlling whether or not to release the data expanded in the memory from the memory based on the prediction in the prediction step,
The first time point indicates a current frame in the execution of the content;
When the data expanded in the memory is predicted in the prediction step as being expanded in the memory before a predetermined number of frames from the current frame, the expansion prediction in which the data is not released in the release step Method. An acquisition step of acquiring data requested for expansion in relation to the screen rendering process at the first time point in the execution of the content;
Based on the history information indicating the data expanded in the memory in connection with the screen rendering process prior to the first time point in chronological order and the data requested to be expanded, at least after the first time point. A prediction step of predicting data to be developed in the memory during the screen drawing process at the time of 2,
An expansion step of acquiring data to be expanded in the memory predicted in the prediction step from a recording device and expanding the data in the memory;
A communication step of requesting the recording device to develop data in the memory and receiving the data from the recording device;
A monitoring process for monitoring the communication status on the network,
A deployment prediction method in which, in the communication step, data to be loaded in the memory is received from the recording device when the communication status satisfies a predetermined condition.   A program that causes one or more computers to function as each unit of the development prediction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 25.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 29 is recorded.

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