As you play online some files are downloaded to your PC and stored in a so-called cache folder. These include:
- the skins for other boats see also: Boat_skins#About_the_P2P_cache
- any custom avatars for other skippers
This can explain some players experiencing network lag when racing online. If the maximum cache size is small (default is 300MB) then you may find that least recently used/viewed skins are being purged to make room for more recently viewed skins. The trouble is that many of those purged skins are downloaded all over again if a boat using a purged skin returns to your fleet later on!
At between 5MB and 10MB per custom skin it does not take long to fill the default cache. Avatar files are insignificant.
- If you have the available disk space then a 3x or even 4x increase in maximum cache size is highly recommended.
You can easily increase the maximum cache size via the game configuration menu that appears before you authenticate online. See Getting started with VSK5#Configure and especially note figure 5.
- Cache folder location
%UserProfile%\..\All Users\Application Data\Vsk5Online\Cache- replace Vsk5Online with Vsk5 or 32nd America's Cup
It is a little ironic that this cache folder is shared among all users of the one PC while the folders for boat models, skins and tracks are not shared. If more than one user plays VSK on the same PC then you definitely want a larger maximum cache size because there is no guarantee that the two user are sailing with the same fleet of custom skins each time. UserA's most recently viewed skins could be purging UserB's and vice verse!