Firefox slowing FarmVille, Facebook games down? Try this quick fix

Facebook games are notorious for running like absolute junk at times. (I'm looking at you, FrontierVille.) Thankfully, our friends at Download Squad have found a potential fix to the problem with the help of Lifehacker. Well, at least while running the games in Firefox. According to Download Squad, Firefox takes a snapshot of all the browser tabs you have open every ten seconds so that in the event of a crash, or accidentally closing the browser, your tabs will be restored. Oddly enough, this is actually pretty taxing on Firefox's resources, and harvesting your 10 thousand strawberries in FarmVille doesn't help.

But you can alleviate the problem without shutting off this useful feature entirely--just change how often it saves your tabs. Here's the way to do it from Switched:

    To do this, type about:config into Firefox's address bar, then in the filter box enter browser.sessionstore.interval. The default value is 10000, which is the number of milliseconds between snapshots. Setting the number to 120000 lengthens the period to two minutes, a more reasonable but still useful period. Of course, you can set it to whatever you want, as long as you keep in mind that you're dealing with milliseconds.

In other words, just change the number and Firefox should be able to handle intense games like Zuma Blitz even better than before. However, this only works for games that were created in Flash. If you're having trouble running a game like PGA Tour on Facebook, that might be an issue with your video card's age considering it runs on a 3D engine. In the event that your computer can't run a 3D browser game, I'd say it's time for an upgrade.

[Via PopCap]

[Image Credit: Meme Generator]

Did this fix work to make your games run faster? What tips or tricks do you have to make Facebook games run more smoothly?

Could Adobe Flash 11 make 3D the norm in Facebook games? [Video]

Well, it's certainly a possibility. VentureBeat reports that Adobe Flash, the software used by developers to create most of the Facebook games you play right now, will be updated to Version 11 this October. The new version of Flash will include something gamers, critics and industry folk alike have clamored for: 3D graphics. Namely, 3D graphics with no downloads.

San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe's goal is to get 3D gaming in front of 1 billion online gamers. Adobe evangelist Andrew Trice said that this new version of Flash can easily integrate with Facebook's social features. This could help bring (in theory) Adobe's vision of "the game console on the web" to life.

"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Adobe VP and GM of Platform Danny Winokur. Adobe should reworded that statement to say "Facebook" rather than "PC," because that's exactly where the company seems to be looking.

Another part of Adobe's announcement worth noting is that through its Adobe Air software, developers will be able to create games that are cross-platform--even on Apple's iOS, which is notorious for omitting Flash support from its iOS devices. This means that (again, in theory) you could enjoy social games that look and play no different on Facebook than on your iPhone.

And they'll both be directly connected, because (for a third time, in theory) they would be the same exact game. In fact, the company looks to have Adobe Air-powered games on over 1 billion mobile devices by 2015. But whether 3D gaming will become the norm on Facebook is ultimately up to the developers, some of which have turned to software like Unity to make it happen.

However, Unity requires a download from the user to work, something not many Facebook gamers are down with. This is especially considering how wary users like FarmVille fans are already of developers potentially encroaching on their privacy. The fact that 3D gaming in Flash will require no download is certainly a boon against its 3D competitors.

If developers take full advantage of this brand spankin' new Flash, it has the potential to push Facebook gaming into the same arena as console gaming. You know, if HTML5 doesn't take off first. The video below shows what your Facebook games could be like in the not-so-distant future with Adobe Flash 11.


[Image Credit: MacLife]

Are you excited that 3D gaming could hit Facebook in a big way? Do you think 3D games could become the norm on Facebook like they have on consoles? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments