Tired of tweaking my system

[dizzyweather]

Hallo there fellow simmers!!
I've found out that I'm spend more time now to trying optimize my FS 2002 for better performance than actually flying...  :-/

Now I've come to the point that a brand new system is needed to really enjoy the benefits of FS...

How about you guys, do you spend more time tweaking rather than flying?

Regards

Dizzyweather

[codered]

I used to feel that way.  Now I spend more time flying because I have come to the point where I feel that with my current system it is as good as it is going to get.  I am not complaining, because through all of the tweeking I have done, I have learned a lot about FS and my computer.  My frame rates are pretty good and the quality of the visuals is great also.  So with all of the tweeking I have reached the ceiling.  To go any farther would require me to invest in a brand new system.  That is an investment I am not ready to make at this time.

[Hoot]

What codered said.

For a while I was turning this feature on, another one off, setting this slider a little lower, that one a notch higher. Eventually I figured out what settings hum and which ones make my system choke. Detail terrain textures turned out to be my culprit. Aside from that one little deal it runs great. Full reflections, big textures, plenty of ground objects and a solid 18-30 fps in any flying condition. Only took me a few hours (and many reboots due to system slow-down) to figure out what did what. If you don't mind not seeing ants crawl around on the tarmac, FS can run pretty well on a moderate computer.

For the most part, I use Medium on the display settings with a couple items set custom. Trees and buildings I've got set to very dense, but then I rarely fly out of Chicago or NY. The biggest city I go to is Vegas, and only then to watch the fireworks. Aircraft detail is set to high with reflections turned on. The video tab is set to use 3 lights, mip mapping, and bi-linear filtering at 1024x32 rez. If you've got a nice-sized hard drive, crank up the scenery cache. Setting mine to 300 megs (vs 100 default) eliminated most of the computer choke. Now it only goes completely ape when I do a Mach 1 run from KYKM to Vegas. Apparently I'm outrunning the terrain updates at that speed. It'll gasp for a few when I stop for fuel while it loads the terrain elevation and textures. By the time I'm ready to go, it's done loading.

Also, you can turn down some of the stuff in your video preferences (winblows desktop, not in FS) and get a nice performance kick.


Enjoy!
------------
Hoot

[dizzyweather]

Well guys, I'll think I have to be pleased (for now) with the settings I have now, all the sliders set to 50% and a frame rate of 12-25 fps with the default cessna 172..

My problem is that I just love flying the Baron with Tipster's panel (great job there, Tipster, can't wait for the next version... ), the frame rate drops to around 7-8 fps at airports and thats annoying me...
When I'm airborne the framerate jumps up to 22-25...

The point is that it's rather frustrating to change drivers etc... to try improving performance...

Well, I'll guess it can't get better than this...

BTW, my system spec:

Intel 800 mHz
256 RAM
GeForce 2 32 MB ( )

Now you may understand why it's time for a new setup...  

Happy simming out there!!!

Regards

Dizzyweather

[ozzy72]

Dizzyweather, if the problem only occurs at airports then try lowering your AI traffic slightly, that should make quite a difference.

Ozzy

[codered]

That is the biggest fix for frame rates.  Turning down the AI traffic is the best thing that you can do.  I have turned mine down to 30%.  I will run from 30-50%.  This way I can add more into the scenery than traffic.  Traffic is a computer hog anyway.  Besides, I hate having to wait in line at an airport to take off.  One or two is fine, but when you are 5th for takeoff, that can be a long wait.  (You can always speed up the process by increasing the time rate).

[dizzyweather]

Thanks Ozzy and Codered, But I've tried that to...
AI traffic is set to 20 %. Don't want to to set it lower, because it's not realistic to be alone in a major airport

Thanks anyway guys but I think I have come to the point of no return.. i.e invest in a new computer