steves "fixer"

[Daveroo]

what is this fixer thing,and does it do anything for P3D? i just dont know what it does or is....thanks

[thefrog]

I haven't got it but AFAIK you need it to use DX10 mode properly in FSX. It's payware and pretty much essential if you want to use DX-10.

[William Njurmi]

Also being a software engineer or programmer is a prerequisite to get it installed and running. Just my humble observation.

[lownslo]

Steve's DX10 Fixer brings out much of the DirectX 10 goodness of FSX... it is a simply brilliant addon that adds years (and a ton of enjoyment) to FSX life. It will do nothing for P3D since that sim is coded for DirectX 11.

HTH

Greg

[Roger]

FsX Dx10 is pointless without Steve's Fixer. However it is only designed for FsX Dx10 and will not enhance any other sim.
Although I bought the full version of P3d v3 I prefer FsX with Dx10. This may change with the advent of P3D v4 64 bit

[Naismith]

Also being a software engineer or programmer is a prerequisite to get it installed and running. Just my humble observation.

What is so difficult about it? Or are you just being pithy?

[rvn817j]

I have found Steve's DX10 Fixer to be a great utility that gives you spectacular "eye candy" running FSX in DX10 preview mode. There is a setup guide that has been out for a couple years which assists with system setup so using the "Fixer" isn't too difficult. One of the big items the "Fixer" helps with is shadows. You can even get a cloud shadows add on for the "Fixer" which adds a load of depth to the FSX experience!

Additionally, the "Fixer" has a diagnostics routine that helps you tweak your fsx.cfg and also has a screen that allows you to easily edit some parameters in your fsx.cfg without opening the .cfg file in a text editor. I'm sure there are a number of other things contained in the "Fixer" that I'm not aware of, but for relatively low priced utility, the "Fixer" is packed with a load of beneficial stuff! For me, the "Fixer" keeps me in FSX because it is now fixed!

[William Njurmi]

What is so difficult about it? Or are you just being pithy?

Just a personal experience, nothing more. Overwhelmed by the choices you have to make and the risk of messing all things up.

[Bjoern]

Just a personal experience, nothing more. Overwhelmed by the choices you have to make and the risk of messing all things up.

There's an illustrated manual and lots of discussions with tips and settings in its forum on Avsim and there's always Google.

[dvj]

and don't forget that "Fixer" has the cloud shadows utility for FSX. A payware add-on, but a must have for FSX fans.

[delta_lima]

What is so difficult about it? Or are you just being pithy?

Who knows. I'm neither of said roles; in fact, am likely bordering on SOH's token village idiot and have managed just fine. As has been pointed out, there's good tutorials, which to be honest, I've needed to only skim. You can reverse/undo the libraries, so am not sure the source of the concern.

As Roger et al pointed out, a must-have for FSX + DX10, but useless for anything sim. But for a mere few bucks, I'd consider it the mandatory non-aircraft or non-scenery payware utility in which to invest if you're running DX10. Additionally, it'll take otherwise unusable older addons that DX10 won't show correctly and make them look near perfect.

and don't forget that "Fixer" has the cloud shadows utility for FSX. A payware add-on, but a must have for FSX fans.

True story. Which reminds me, I need to install the latest version - got my update email a few weeks back and need to apply it. Thanks for the reminder.

dl

[Ganter]

It is purely an FSX thing. Nothing to do with P3D. Principally it's do with how FSX utilises Microsofts DirectX graphics engine. Generally DirectX has improved graphics in Windows over the years and the higher the number the more eye-candy can be seen in gaming, graphics, etc. When FSX was being finalised DirectX9 was the engine in use. Direct10 was just round the corner. We are now (2017) at DirectX 12.

If you're happy about the way your FSX looks and feels then you don't need it. If, like many of us you've ever thought to yourself "I wish FSX looked more real, better, less cartoony, less, less like FSX and more like flying an aeroplane" then read on.

In your FSX Menu Graphics settings you'll see a tick box saying DX 10 PREVIEW MODE. This was ACES studio's plan to integrate DX10 compatibility into FSX. They never got round to it before releasing the final version of FSX Deluxe + Acceleration. Consequentially they left crucial code out of the core program and FSX does not work in DX10 Preview Mode. Well, try it yourself, put a tick in the box and take a flight and you'll see it looks awful, textures missing, big black squares where lights are meant to be, stuttering frame rates and all in all, a mess.

Enter Steve,

steve's DX10 Fixer is a standalone program that amongst other things makes changes to your fsx.cfg file to allow FSX to successfully run in DX10 Mode with textures and shaders, all corrected and optimised.

Steve's DX10 Fixer uses shaders and code to unleash what FSX would have looked like if Aces had finished making FSX DX10 compliant. Lighting is better, surfaces reflect light correctly. Cockpit shadows scuttle across gauges and switches on the panel as you bank and roll, the skies look better, clouds, etc

I've been running steve's DX10 Fixer for about 6 months and I have to say that when, on the very odd occasion I run in DX9 mode (usually to check something) my immediate reaction on loading a free fight is "Ughh, that's ugly!"
And it's not just there for the eye-candy either. The FPS is much improved over DX9 and stutters and tearing also all but eliminated. There's a lot going on behind the scenes to make the sim a lot more stable and solid feeling.

In all it's a lot of little differences that all add up to one massive improvement in the In-sim experience.

Installing is easy - just use the .exe and leave everything at default. There is a manual - read it - to make further tweaks and improvements according to how you've got your sim set up. Steve always replies to support questions and is deeply knowledgeable about all things FSX. He is often cited as one of the most important people in the sim community.
Flicking back and forth between DX10 and DX9 is as easy as clicking a switch in the Fixer program on your desktop. If you run nVidia Inspector to manage your graphics card Anti-aliasing settings, etc you can store two profiles to drop into the Inspector when you switch over. I have one profile named dx9 and the other dx10. Simples. Once it's all set up to your liking the Fixer remembers your last settings and you can forget about it. FSX just loads normally with no other actions required. I haven't touched the Fixer program for weeks, months now actually. Oh, and FSX loads quicker than it used to under DX9.

Sorry I've ranted, there's lots of info out there and Steve has his own support page on avsim. I do not work for him nor am I affiliated with him in any way, shape or form. I'm just a very satisfied customer.