SurClaro Flight Simulator Resources

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:44 pm Post subject: Thank You RD..........

You helped a lot R.D. Just by answering and being there. Thank You.

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:30 pm Post subject:

Is this good for my system?

[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500.0]
Mode=1280x960x32
MipBias=8
TriLinear=1
[DISPLAY]
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40
[TERRAIN]
TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000
TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19
TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5
TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1
TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=0.000000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=0.000000
TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=1242456
[SCENERY]
IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=5
DYNAMIC_SCENERY=0
DYN_SCN_DENSITY=0
DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1
SUNGLARE=1
LENSFLARE=0

NONE OF THESE VALUES HAVE BEEN CHANGED! I only set them through the FS9 Settings

SYSTEM:
AMD Duron 1600 (I know... I am stupid. I didn't pick the 3Ghz P4 on that day)
SOYO SY KT-600 Plus Drangon V2
Seagate Baraccuda 120 GB 7200 RPM
1GB RAM
PNY Verto GeForce Nvidia 5500FX

T-Fish

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject:

How much ram on your video card? If it is 128MB set TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=200 and if 256 set to 400.

Try the settings I posted earlier in this thread too. You should notice a big difference in texture quality. It did on my setup anyways.

My default value for Texture_Bandwidth_Multiplier was 60, when I initially installed FS9. I've bumped it up to 70, 71, or 72, but the numbers I see and hear you all discussing, ( in the triple digits ), like 200 or 400 seem like HUGE numbers to me. My hardware can handle it, if those settings are appropriate. Are those settings OK to use? Why so much larger than the default value? What other settings should be changed as a result of increasing the Texture_Bandwidth_Multiplier to such high levels? What about the Target_LOD_FPS? It's under Graphics. The default is 17 upon installation. I keep mine in a range of 24 to 31, experimenting. This is the Level of Detail Target Frame Rate, measured in Frames per Second, right? I'm asking, cause I'm not sure. Richy has mentioned having his Extended_Terrain_Levels set at 4. I really don't understand that. My default value for Extended_Terrain_Levels upon installation was 232. I bumped mine up to 289, but I don't understand Richy's setting of 4. Can someone please explain that one to me? Hey Richy, you reading this? One last config. item I'm unclear about is the Upper_Framerate_Limit. My default value was 0, and I've never changed it. Why are people setting Upper_Framerate_Limit values? What effect does it have to set this limit? Why set any limit? Should it be done? If so, then how? I really want to hear from everybody. I'd like to hear what you all are thinking and doing with your flight sim programs and settings, ( so I can try to figure out what the H_LL I'm doing ). Thanks everybody!.....Thanks very much.

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:03 pm Post subject:

Here is some info for you.

· What are the following settings in the [TERRAIN] section of the fs9.cfg file?

TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=96.000000
This is a value from 0 to 100 that control the DEM radius (it is linear in area)

TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000
This the lowest value used to calculate the DEM radius based upon the TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR

TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
This is the highest value used to calculate the DEM radius

TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19
This control the DEM resolution: 18 = 150m DEM, 19 = 75m DEM, 20 = 37m DEM, 21 = 19m DEM

TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
This controls the terrain texture size. Valid values are 8 = 256x256, 7 = 128x128, 6 = 64x64

TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=4
This controls the autogen density

TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
This turns on/off the gradient map (cliffs).

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1
This turns on/off the extended texture ring

TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=
This is the default radius in textures for all rings, default is 2.5

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=
This is the radius used for the inner ring when the extended texture ring is turned on, default is 4.0

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=
This is the number of rings to add when using extended texture rings, default is 1

[ Back to Top ]

· What is the TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT parameter in the [DISPLAY] section?

This setting controls the rate at which textures get transferred to the video hardware.

Higher numbers will result in the textures getting to the hardware faster and avoiding "popping" textures when switching view but may increase stutters and require more physical memory on the video card (and some more, not recommended for video card with less than 128Mb).

There is plenty of info out there on this subject. What I did was copy each line and google it and read what everyone has to say. There are different opinions as you can imagine. If you do a searcn on this site there have been threads that go into detail on this subject. No need to repeat it again here.

Richy....

I was hoping someone would respond soon, and you did Richy. Thank you very much, ( especially for your comments at the end of your message ). Things like that help me learn so much. Explaining to me the relationship between certain settings and hardware capabilities and requirements is what I need to learn. That was great!

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:24 pm Post subject:

Post up your findings when you are done ok.

Regarding the UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT= line, I think the general consensus is a fixed frame rate allows textures to draw faster than unlimited. 0= unlimited. that is why I suggested a fixed rate of 40,and that may be a tich high. I have mine set at 18 but my machine is REAL slow...New 1 on the way. If you have any specific questions after your research, fire away and we will do our best to help...

Richy....

I want to set an Upper_Framerate_Limit=value, ( if I should ), but I don't want to, if I shouldn't. So, will you confirm for me that the general consensus is that textures will draw faster, if an Upper_Framerate_Limit value is set? And, if that's the case, then is "40" a ball park value for slower to moderate speed computers? What about a faster than average computer? What would a ball park value be for a faster computer? My value, ( from the point of installation ), has always been zero. I've never changed it, but I'm willing to. I just want some, ( need some ), guidance. Thanks Richy.