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Navtech
August 15th, 2012, 15:50
http://forum.avsim.net/topic/382519-a-huge-fps-increase/
Even if the tittle is not accurate .. the informations inside worth to be read !
The first message ....


I was reading some stuff in the forums and found a discussion in which our good friend Rafal gave someone advice about the importance of not mixing DXT3 textures with alpha and those without. He mentioned a utility that is available at Alpha India Group's website called AlphaSearcher. I went to their site and saw a discussion in which someone thanked the author and said that he had used it to identify textures at Aerosoft's Maastricht and having fixed them, he was now getting smooth performance.
I downloaded the utility and gave it a try with Maastricht. I set up a flight with the R22 and was getting 37-38 fps. I ran the utility, identified a bunch of textures that needed to be fixed and fixed them using DXTbmp. I then went back to the saved flight and my fps at Maastricht was 78-83! A HUGE IMPROVEMENT! I can't recommend this too highly to any of you who want maximum performance from FS9.

It's not difficult to do, though time consuming. But with an improvement like that, it's crazy not to do it!

Simply run AlphaSearcher and point it to the folder you want to check. Select "Procress subfolders too" and run it. It will identify the textures that need to be fixed. Then open that scenery and simply move the offending texture into DXTbmp. Save it, (Say yes to overwrite the original file). That's it! By putting it into DXTbmp and saving it, it will automatically regenerate the alpha channel. (I have no idea what an alpha channel is BTW!)

This is the best thing I've discovered since the last best thing. http://forum.avsim.net/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png I'm off to do a bunch more sceneries..... TTFN

Cheers
Ian

Applied ... and it's work (I get rid of stutters in some prob airports sceneries ..) :jump:

Jagdflieger
August 15th, 2012, 17:03
Hmmm. I wonder if that is the issued with some of my other airfields.

Milton Shupe
August 15th, 2012, 17:54
I found that DXT3 textures without alphas caused me problems some years ago with my releases so I try to ensure that when I use DXT3 textures, they always have alphas. I also found at time that 32-bit without alphas can cause this.

Any texture format that supports an alpha should have it even if it is pure white.

Trans_23
August 15th, 2012, 19:01
Good Info!!:applause:

Motormouse
August 16th, 2012, 03:05
DXT3 fixer utility uploaded to Avsim; by Peter Nyman; just tried it on a couple of sceneries, seems to do what it says on
the 'readme' (reproduced below)

ttfn

Pete




DXT3Fixer v1.1 for FS9 - neumanix 2012
--------------------------------------
Bugs fixed:
-----------
Crash when encountering a hidden or read-only file or folder
Now reports and error if trying to read a file or folder that the user doesn't have permission for (Win 7 and Vista)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This tool fixes the stutters in FS9 caused by dxt3 textures without mipmaps.
The fact is that the alpha data is there, but a byte is set wrong.
You can first choose to simulate a fixing process by selecting the "Just simulate" checkbox.
Then press the button to select from where you want to start searching for bad textures.
This doesn't have to be the FS9 root folder, but if you want everything fixed in one go, then choose
your FS9 folder.
All subfolders will automatically be searched.
It's handy because you can just choose one specific texture folder (that has no other subfolders), or
search an entire folder tree. Nice if you have your sceneries installed in non-default locations, on other harddrives perhaps.
It's perfectly safe to use, as only dxt3 bmp's will be searched and modified. And they should ALWAYS
have an alpha channel, so you can't do anything to mess up your sim.
Enjoy!
Regards,
Peter Nyman (neumanix)





Ps p'raps this thread should be moved to tweaks and tips area?

gribouil
August 16th, 2012, 06:49
Very intersting reading... thank you!!! :salute:

pfflyers
August 16th, 2012, 12:14
Good catch, thanks for the heads up! Learn something new every day.

Tom Clayton
August 16th, 2012, 12:41
Ps p'raps this thread should be moved to tweaks and tips area?

I was already thinking that by the time I read your suggestion! :applause:

gribouil
August 25th, 2012, 07:33
It solved the problems I had with the fantastic SIRP scenery!!! :applause::applause::applause:

stuartcox
August 26th, 2012, 23:35
DXT3 fixer utility uploaded to Avsim; by Peter Nyman; just tried it on a couple of sceneries, seems to do what it says on
the 'readme' (reproduced below)

Pete


This DXT3 Fixer works wonders!

I let it run and fix my entire FS9 installation, and have no 'stuttering' what so ever.
The FPS rate has increased dramatically, and the sim runs as smooth as a baby's bottom!
After reading the log, I was surprised how many files are effected by this issue, even in expensive payware.
This is the best improvement tool I have ever experienced! Easy to use and sooo effective!

Thanks to Peter Nyman for creating it :applause:

Stuart