FPS always low

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January 9th, 2016, 12:25
Maty12

FPS always low

I feel like this is an issue worth posting about. I don't exactly have a super computer, mine's a Dell laptop with a NVIDIA 740 graphics card, 900 GB of memory and 8 GB of RAM. While it may not be that great, it can run GTA V, War Thunder and X-Plane 10 with around 35-40 fps, but in FSX I'm lucky to get 20. If I'm near an airpoirt with at least one aircraft, the FPS drops to 10-15. Does FSX lack LOD's? Or is it just incredibly poorly optimized? FSX doesn't seem to depend on what aircraft I fly, from re-packaged old low polygon FS2002 aircraft to high quality aircraft like Milton's planes to huge birds like the C-5 and An-225. Anyway, does anyone have any tips on boosting FPS? I have road and airport vehicle traffic off, and boat and aircraft traffic set to near 0. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
-Maty
January 10th, 2016, 03:27
Hdguy

you don't mention what Ghz your cpu is. That is probably what kills fsx for you.
January 10th, 2016, 04:25
henrystreet

Autogen and AI traffic are the 2 most intensive scenery related activities for the processor running FSX. Sounds like you have the traffic under control, try turning the autogen to "Sparse" and global texture to "Medium".

Another thing to look at if autogen is under control, is other programs running while you are using FSX. Antivirus activity, download Windows updates, and other disk/processor intensive tasks can really disrupt FSX.

Let us know what processor speed you have and possibly we can recommend more detailed settings.
January 10th, 2016, 05:43
Maty12

Quote:

Originally Posted by henrystreet

Autogen and AI traffic are the 2 most intensive scenery related activities for the processor running FSX. Sounds like you have the traffic under control, try turning the autogen to "Sparse" and global texture to "Medium".

Another thing to look at if autogen is under control, is other programs running while you are using FSX. Antivirus activity, download Windows updates, and other disk/processor intensive tasks can really disrupt FSX.

Let us know what processor speed you have and possibly we can recommend more detailed settings.

As far as I know the only thing running while I'm in FSX is skype, and a few times I was watching youtube while FSX loaded up. My processor speed is apparently only 1.80 GHz. I'll try checking the Autogen and texture settings to see if it helps.
January 10th, 2016, 05:53
txnetcop

Maty are you using FSX Steam? 1.8Ghz is awfully low for FSX but believe it or not, 20 fps is good for that low GHz speed. If it stutters considerable that is more than likely a cfg problem and can be remedied to some degree.
Ted
January 10th, 2016, 06:05
Maty12

Quote:

Originally Posted by txnetcop

Maty are you using FSX Steam? 1.8Ghz is awfully low for FSX but believe it or not, 20 fps is good for that low GHz speed. If it stutters considerable that is more than likely a cfg problem and can be remedied to some degree.
Ted

It is? See, that's what I don't understand, why is FSX so intensive on the CPU when compared to much more graphically demanding simulators and games like X-Plane 10, GTA V and War Thunder? Is it related to the complexity of the flight models or something like that?

P.S. It's a dual core, if that helps.
January 10th, 2016, 07:02
henrystreet

The issue with FSX is the legacy code that inefficiently uses modern processor technology. That is why Ted was asking you about FSX Steam. FSX Steam was recompiled using modern software building tools. It doesn't fix all the problems with the legacy FSX code but there is a noticeable positive improvement. Even on my high end machine, FSX Steam runs much smoother and with higher FPS.

Again to follow up from what Ted said, 20FPS with that hardware is not bad, you might need to tune things to get rid of stutters.

Let us know what happens with the autogen.
January 10th, 2016, 07:23
glh

Here's a couple of things I do before I run FSX Accel on my Dell GX270 desktop with 3 GHZ processor, 2GB of RAM, 512 MB GeForce video card and Windows XP Pro:

1. First, run EndItAll2, a small, free utility you can find on the web that lists and lets you stop unnecessary programs running in the background.

2. Second, a batch file (made by myself) that stops unnecessary processes (example: Print Spooler, Themes, Update, etc.) that are not necessary to running FSX. There are several websites that demonstrate how to do this and it will be somewhat dependent on your operating system. You will probably just have to fine-tune your file. Just Google "Stop Windows Processes".

And that's it. Just get rid of the unnecessary "junk" running on your machine. I have these two files on ALL the machines in my inventory. Good Luck and I hope this helps.
January 10th, 2016, 07:38
Maty12

Quote:

Originally Posted by henrystreet

The issue with FSX is the legacy code that inefficiently uses modern processor technology. That is why Ted was asking you about FSX Steam. FSX Steam was recompiled using modern software building tools. It doesn't fix all the problems with the legacy FSX code but there is a noticeable positive improvement. Even on my high end machine, FSX Steam runs much smoother and with higher FPS.

Again to follow up from what Ted said, 20FPS with that hardware is not bad, you might need to tune things to get rid of stutters.

Let us know what happens with the autogen.

Yes, I'm running FSX Steam. I kinda forgot that it and FSX Acelleration are different (Sorry for posting in the wrong section). After turning the Autogen to "sparse", there was a noticeable FPS boost (On the ground, can't get airborne since I left my yoke at home, and I won't be there until the 12th). Despite this, I'm about to put it to an extreme test: the Iwo Jima 1945 map, where my FPS is usually practically nonexistent due to many parked aircraft and ships near the shore. Will report back after I check.
January 10th, 2016, 12:22
Maty12

Alright, so unsurprisingly Iwo Jima 1945 still lowers my FPS down a lot, I'm getting 10 fps.
January 10th, 2016, 13:07
henrystreet

If the Iwo Jima scenery package was designed for or converted from FS2004, this is very common. Again, if this is the case, the only way to improve performance with that scenery is the tedious process of converting it all to native FSX objects and bgl files.

Is the Iwo Jima scenery of FS2004 origins?

EDIT: I see the scenery is native FSX. If you want all the "eye candy" you may have to deal with the performance. Otherwise, if you can find, for example, the bgl file that has the static aircraft in it, you can remove/rename it to stop those objects from rendering. This would help the overall FPS but may defeat the purpose of the scenery for you.
January 10th, 2016, 13:29
Maty12

Quote:

Originally Posted by henrystreet

If the Iwo Jima scenery package was designed for or converted from FS2004, this is very common. Again, if this is the case, the only way to improve performance with that scenery is the tedious process of converting it all to native FSX objects and bgl files.

Is the Iwo Jima scenery of FS2004 origins?

EDIT: I see the scenery is native FSX. If you want all the "eye candy" you may have to deal with the performance. Otherwise, if you can find, for example, the bgl file that has the static aircraft in it, you can remove/rename it to stop those objects from rendering. This would help the overall FPS but may defeat the purpose of the scenery for you.

Well, removing around half the planes would drastically increase performance, and yet still leave a bunch of eye candy. Removing some of the ships would also probably help. I'm gonna try and find that BGL file.

EDIT: How do I edit those files? I tried with notepad, but I can't figure out any of what's written on it.
January 10th, 2016, 13:37
henrystreet

The bgl files are binary, you cant read them directly.

You can try removing them one at a time to see what each one does.
January 10th, 2016, 14:00
Maty12

Quote:

Originally Posted by henrystreet

The bgl files are binary, you cant read them directly.

You can try removing them one at a time to see what each one does.

The file names are pretty direct, one for each object type (B-25, B-29, P-61, C-47, P-51, Catalina, Fletcher Destroyer, general objects), removing one will simply remove that vehicle from the map. Is there a way to edit them instead?
January 10th, 2016, 14:53
txnetcop

I see, thanks to Henrystreet, you are heading in the right direction so I will leave you to it. Honestly the coding for FSX is archaic as can be, but FSX Steam has be recompiled and it has made a difference. FSX really does better on laptops of 3 GHz or better. Anyway I think the direction you are working will give you acceptable frame rates. Good luck!
Ted
January 10th, 2016, 15:27
Maty12

Quote:

Originally Posted by txnetcop

I see, thanks to Henrystreet, you are heading in the right direction so I will leave you to it. Honestly the coding for FSX is archaic as can be, but FSX Steam has be recompiled and it has made a difference. FSX really does better on laptops of 3 GHz or better. Anyway I think the direction you are working will give you acceptable frame rates. Good luck!
Ted

Thanks, Ted, hopefully it will.
January 10th, 2016, 16:12
henrystreet

Maty,

With your questions, you are digging in the area of FSX scenery design. The files you mention (P-61, for example) are the object definitions. Removing the object definition will make ALL the objects of that type disappear from the scenery.

There is probably another bgl file that has the placement information for all the objects. This is the file that has the location and total number of each object. Yes, this can be edited but you will need software similar to Instant Scenery and a good bit more knowledge/study.

For now, I would recommend simply removing some of the files you identified to get the scenery package usable for your needs. If you want to dig deeper into scenery design, there is a good forum here at SOH and another at fsdevelopers.com.

Hope this helps and glad we could get some improvement for you.