SurClaro Flight Simulator Resources

Richy2237 · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:55 pm Post subject: FS9.cfg file texture settings

Hi all,

Prior to reinstall of xp I made some changes to my fs9.cfg texture area. I had the page bookmarked that explained what each section in the "Texture" section of the fs9.cfg meant but i lost it in the reinstall. If someone knows a page like this could the post it please. If not can someone have a peek at this and see if I got it correctly from memory.

[DISPLAY]
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=20
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=20
[TERRAIN]
TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000
TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=200
TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5
TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1
TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.500000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=3.900000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4

P4 2.8 Intel
1 gig ram
radeon 9200se video (pci not pci express) I know ..no agp slot on this board.
40 gig 7200 WD harddrive.

Thanks..

Exxman · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:34 pm Post subject:

Those settings look good for the system you have Richy...

Exx

groundsquirrel · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:04 pm Post subject: here's mine...

Here's mine...

[DISPLAY]
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=26
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=800
[TERRAIN]
TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=45.000000
TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=45.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20
TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5
TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1
TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=40.000000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=60.000000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4.0

P4-3ghz, Intel 800mbs FSB, 1gig RAM, ATI 9600xt 128

rd · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:45 pm Post subject:

Hey, will the settings, as GS has them, make the scenery clearer and faster as well as the detail. Just wondering, never thought about modifying these files.

Ardie/rd

Exxman · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:37 pm Post subject:

They are different for each PC Ardie. Mine are completely different than both listed here. There are descriptions of those parameters on MS website and some FS sites I believe...

Exx

Richy2237 · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:01 am Post subject:

I found the page I was looking for. "I" think it explains the texture section quite well. here is a excerpt from it by Holger S. I have posted the whole link as well if anyone is interested. Here is the excerpt and link to the whole post:
http://portal.fsgenesis.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=15042

In order to maximize the detail/sharpness of ground textures it's a good idea to use terrain extended textures. Below is a summary of what these parameters mean and what values are possible. However, if you're using photoreal scenery (such as MegaScenery) you should turn off extended textures and reduce visibility to 30 miles or so. That is because without extended textures FS needs to load about 5000 texture tiles but with extended textures the number jumps to about 20,000!

There's still a lot of debate what exactly those parameters mean and what units they have but here's what I compiled from various sources and, IMO (!), makes sense:

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1

* that's easy: ON/OFF switch to load higher res textures beyond the initial "ring", which extends to about 40 miles

TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.500000

* apparently, values can range from 0 to 9.99 and higher settings will be ignored
* extends the use of the highest detailed mips (sharper textures) within the inner circle; lower settings means less than 40 miles and higher settings up to the 40-mile max.
* changing this value doesn't seem to make much of a visible difference

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=4.500000

* same range of values as above
* extends the use of higher maps for the outer circle(s). Supposedly, "1.5" reaches to ~70mi and "9.9" to about 100mi
* careful!!! A setting higher than 3.9 can lead to "texture tearing" (blue slivers) in the mid- to far distance when high-res mesh is used. Some add-on mesh files - like some of mine - provide additional "buffer" mesh files, which prevent those blue slivers even at settings >3.9

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4
* range from 0 to 8
* is tied to TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS and defines the max. mip level to be used for the outer ring(s), that is the sharpness of the outer ring textures
* I never noticed much difference between 0 and 4; no changes at all when >4

In summary, the TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS parameter appears to be the one with the biggest visual influence.

Oh, and TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT apparently determines the speed or priority with which ground textures are sent for processing to the graphics card.

Cheers, Holger

viche12345 · Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 841 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

Higher bandwidths result in slower performance, right?

groundsquirrel · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 1:16 am Post subject: That...

That is entirely system dependant. I posted my settings along a with quick overview of my system. As others do the same, maybe we can get a little bit of a pattern here and come up with something for our members in the way of hard data.

Terrain_Max_Vertex_Level=

This determines the mesh resolution displayed. A setting of 20 will display 38 meter mesh. A setting of 19 displays 76 meter and less. A setting of 21 will display mesh that is better than 38 meter, but when encountering lower resolution mesh in the scenery being called up, will extrapolate the resolution and can look kinda screwey. Unless you have a bunch of 19 meter mesh I suggest leaving it at 20.

Richy2237 · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject:

I have been looking around and after some testing came up with the following for my setup. Texture_Bandwidth_Multi was at 200 but no problems at 400 so I am leaving it there.

[DISPLAY]
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=18
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=400
[TERRAIN]
TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000
TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20
TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=3
TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1
TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=40.00000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=60.0000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4.0

Exxman · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:33 pm Post subject:

Careful messing with the config file there Richy. For some bizarre reason FS doesn't like too many variables being changed around. Those settings are set in FS under Setttings/Display and best changed throught that menu system. Don't change it via editing the config file.

Exx

RLBJr. · Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 93 Location: Washington, D.C.

From what I'm seeing here in the Forums, I could use an expert's eye, ( and opinions ). Here are some of my settings. Some I have altered, ( upwards from the default settings ). Others are unchanged. I'm having two problems. Either my computer keeps dropping out of FS9 altogether, and restarting. Or the computer just freezes, and forces me to restart it. I can't even exit FS9, when it freezes. This usually happens when I'm selecting an aircraft to fly, or an airport to fly from. While "scrolling" through the selections of aircraft or airports, FS9 fails and the computer restarts. The freezing usually occurs while flying, ( most often to an airport I haven't been to recently ), but that's not always true. Sometimes freezing occurs while flying to airports I frequently visit. Is there a solution I can achieve through modification of my config. settings? I'm going to update my hardware in my signature, so you can see what that is too. Thanks for your help. I need some input from someone. I spend more time retarting my computer, than I do flying. It's become really frustrating over ther past couple of months.

[GRAPHICS]
PERFORMANCE_MODE=1
DEF_PERF_MODE=7
LOD_TARGET_FPS=27 (Default value is 17)
[DISPLAY]
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=70 (Default value is 60)
[TERRAIN]
TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000
TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=24 (Values between 19 -23 are said OK)
TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5
TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1
TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=271.000000 (Default value is 0)
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=271.230000 (Default value is 0)
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=289 (Default value is 232)

Richy2237 · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 4:16 am Post subject:

I cannot help with the freezing but here are a few suggestions on your config file.

UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0 Set to 40
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=70 Set to 400
TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=24 Set to 20
TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=271.000000 Set to 40
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=271.230000 Set to 60
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=289 Set to 4

Try these and see if there is a difference. Save a copy of your config file first.

Freezing sounds like a conflict somewhere in your hardware... Maybe one of the exx-perts can chime in regarding the freezing issue..

Richy..

rd · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 6:56 am Post subject:

The freezing has nothing to do with the cfg settings. That is a problem within itself. Try starting a new post with all the information on your system, g-card, and just the settings in your cfg, just in case.

Also, let us know when it started happening, and whether it started with a new download or not, and if so, which one.

RD

PS: Have you tried deleting your FS9 cfg, and restarting it?? It will build a new cfg file if you do this.

RLBJr. · Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 93 Location: Washington, D.C.

I used to have A Pentium IV 3.2Ghz cpu overclocked to 3.85Ghz. I only had one videocard, an ASUS 6800GT. I only had 2GB of Samsung DDR400 memory, and 2 hard drives. I think the motherboard was an ASUS P4C-800E Deluxe. The rig was stable. Since my hardware upgrade, stability is gone. One thing I've had brought to my attention is my A.I. traffic add-on program. Some people say "Ultimate Traffic 2004", manufactured by Flight One Software, may have something to do with the freezing and crashing. Have you heard any thing like that? I hope it's not true, because I can't live without my A.I. traffic, ( but I'm not getting to fly much at all ). The computer's constantly crashing and restarting, or freezing, and forcing me to restart. I appreciate any help you can give me. You have no idea how frustrating this has been. I should have asked for help with this problem, sooner. Thanks again.

rd · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:12 am Post subject:

Wow, that is a good system, very impressive. You shouldn't be having any problems at all.

However, I have *heard* of problems with Ultimate Traffic, from other members.

I don't have it, so I am in the dark on this one. I don't think there is any kind of help even in the earlier forums for this.

My suggestion would be to go to Flight One, and their forums, and see what problems they might have. Or ask them what the problem could be.

Sorry I couldn't help, but hopefully pointed you in the right direction.

RD