HMMM...not sure...Part two

[Flying Trucker]

Good evening all...

Have been doing a little experimenting with different settings during the same flight and conditions.

Not happy with the Frame Rate I see at all.

This computer is only used for FSX, loads of memory and kept cleaned up after every flight.

I think the Frame Rates should be much higher.

[U4EA]

I find that sometimes the angle, distance from subject, and lighting make a big difference.

For example; the C-47 I recently d/l'd sometimes looks a bit jaggy in dusk/twilight flights until I zoom in a bit then it sharpens right up.

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks U4EA...much appreciated...

[patchz]

Looking better with AA turned on Doug. In fact, looking very good

Compare the inside of the left vertical stabilizer in shots #1 & #2 with shots #3 & #4. It's smoother. So are the struts and wires.

I think you will find your frame rate drops when banking and/or flying over densely populated areas. More buildings, objects, the harder the card has to work.

And something I have learned, at least with my setup, is setting the frame rate to unlimited causes too much difference between the lowest and highest

rates, thus inducing stutters. I usually lock my frame rate at either 25 or 30, depending on the area I'm flying. Boonies at 30, large cities/airports with lots of objects at 25.

But what works for one system may not for another. If you are getting equal or better performance with frame rate set at unlimited, and not seeing

a big drop at times and stutters or micro stutters, then you should set it at unlimited.

[CHUCK79]

Looking GREAT Doug 8-)
I do think that there is a significant difference in jaggie reduction with your AA on.
I also agree with Larry about the frame rates. I usually lock mine between 25 and 30 too

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks Larry and Chuck...your time, patience and knowledge along with the help from far too many to mention here at Simviation make this a wonderful hobby.   ;)

[Daube]

Hi Doug,

I've been taking a close look to your last two series of screeshots.
Indeed the textures are now looking MUCH BETTER than in your old screeshots.
You did a great job with FSWC as well, your water looks really good now.

The last problem I can spot in your screenshots is the AntiAliasing, as other members stated already.

You said before that you had a NVidia 8800 video card. What is the rest of your computer components ? I'd like specifically to hear about your CPU. Then I should be able to provide a bit of advise to configure your sim properly to achieve better FPS as well as better graphic quality.

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks a lot Stephane...

[Daube]

Perfect, thanks Doug
What are your current settings in the game ?

[Flying Trucker]

Hi Stephane

Unlimited...1280X800X32 Pixels
most of the time...AS Anisotropy...AA Anti Aliasing ON...No Light Bloom

Global Options:

[Daube]

Perfect

You need to change the water though. Max 2x is a very expensive setting, in terms of FPS. I'd recommend you to stay at High 2x.

For the terrain settings, you should probably limit the ground texture resolution to 1 meter instead of 7 centimeters as it is now. For the autogen, the setting is good, but you probably want to write the autogen tweaks in the FSX.cfg to make the autogen less heavy on the FPS. I'm referring to the two lines in the [TERRAIN] section (you have to add them, they don't exist by defaut):
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=1000
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=300
The values are low, but it's because your CPU is not very fast, so it would not be a good idea to raise them too much. The good thing with those lines is that you can keep you autogen slider at "very dense" in the game, the autogen will still look dense close to your position.

For the AI traffic, it's up to you, but remember that airport vehicules can be very heavy on the FPS when you get close to big airports, so keep that setting low, that is minimum or disabled... but really, just try various settings, and see what you get (in terms of performance) in your favorite places

One last thing: it's probably better to disable the AntiAliasing in the game and force it through the video drivers settings. Do you know how to do that or do you need any exlanations ?

[Flying Trucker]

Good morning Stephane...


[glow=yellow,2,300]One last thing: it's probably better to disable the AntiAliasing in the game and force it through the video drivers settings. Do you know how to do that or do you need any exlanations ? [/glow]

I will need some help there Stephane...

Off to make the other changes right now...again thanks...

[Skunkworks]

[color=#0000ff]Hi Doug. Just to confirm a couple of things
about Daube's good advice. In my latest screenies, I've
kept the water at low2x with no appreciable difference
between that setting and the next two highest. This will gain some FPS also!

He's also 100% about forcing AA through your Nvidia video drivers instead of FSX.
Uncheck the AntiAliasing box in the graphics settings of
FSX to disable in the games control of AA.

Unfortunately I'm running ATI cards, so I don't have an
Nvidia control panel. In the Nvidia control panel there is a
section called 3D options and in that menu their are global
settings and game specific profiles to help force what ever
settings your 8800 is capable of. I'll stop there as it's been
too long since I've done this, just to say your in good
hands with Daube.

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks Greg...very much appreciated....

[Daube]

Thanks Greg for this additionnal info !

Doug, I'll provide you more details when I'll be home with my computer, because I need to have the tools in front of my eyes to explain precisely
Don't fear however, the modifications will NOT be complex at all.
You could, in the meanwhile, download and install a freeware tool nammed NVidia Inspector, which will help you modify the video driver settings. Then I will try to explain you how to use it