Terrain detail texturing and frame rates

[Hornit 3]

Im just curious what folks see if you turn off the check box for terrain detail textures in the graphic settings screen. I am running a Voodoo 5 on a T-bird at 1.4ghz with a 7200rpm HD and 512mb PC2400 DDR. I was kind of stunned at what an improvement I am seeing when I turn this off and Im below a few thousand feet where you can start to see this. I have seen my frame rates go from mid teen and low twenties right on up to the high twenties(sometimes almost 30) with it turned off. Im just wondering if this is peculiar to the Voodoo and how it does texture memory. All I miss are the grainy surface detail on the ground bitmaps and runways. It seems like a super trade off. Still looks great and now Im smooth with almost no blurries at all most of the time. This is with everything else set where ive had it for quite some time. I did a bunch of testing and it literally gives me about almost a 30% improvement at times and most always gives about 15-20%. I usually set my frame rate at around 18-20, now I can put it up to about 25-27 and still have crisp terrain with little pop-up.Hornit

[Guest]

Funny you should mention this, as I turned off detail textures about a week ago in th search for smoother flying. I'm a VFR flyer, and for me, the terrain looks a lot better without it on, and at the cost of frames being increased! I'm in for some of that! :-lolMy card's a GF2 MX400, btw :-)http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/edenw/FS_..._banner_je8.jpg Long Live General Aviation!

[Guest JonP01]

When I had a Voodoo 5500 I had it turned off because it did severly impact performance. With my Geforce 4 Ti 4400 I don't notice any impact on performance at all. I think the detail textures do improve the look of the terrain in many instances, as it does add an extra element of texture and colour variation over standard terrain bitmaps. For example, I was flying over a sandy-coloured texture yesterday and noticed the extra texture layer of orangy-brown dirt on top of it. I think it does add significantly to the realism but perhaps not all the time. The problem is that it doesn't seem to be very selective as to what gets "enhanced" and what doesn't. So some bitmaps look the worse for it imo.

[Hornit 3]

Ahh just another little thing to add to the growing list of concessions keeping this card is causing me. I think its time to pop for the GF4 as the prices have come down dramatically, especially for the GF4 ti 4200 and 4400. I will HAVE to have something better for LOMAC when it comes out.Hornit

[Guest]

yea what are you doing with a Voodoo card anyway? Those are so outdated. You can get a new GeForce3 card today for well under $100, and the new G4, just over $100Go for it!With that system, 20fps is awful. You should be seeing double with a G4. I get 50 fps average with all details on max, this is with a GeForce3 Ti200, Athlon XP 2000+

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"yea what are you doing with a Voodoo card anyway? Those are so outdated. You can get a new GeForce3 card today for well under $100, and the new G4, just over $100"It's embarrassing for people to be constantly told that they need to go out and spend money to be up to someone else's standard. Maybe that's his eventual goal, maybe that isn't. Maybe he'd rather spend $100 taking a family member to the doctor, or on a new carb for his dune buggy. Whatever the priorities, $100 is a lot to spend for some folks. Granted he concedes a new card may help. I always get **ss*d when I see comments like yours. He came in asking for help, and there's someone dissin' his card....And 50fps average? Go to LAX, max all your settings, max AI, look at one of the terminals, populated with AI aircraft at the gates, and prove to me you're getting 50fps.... I get 50fps "average" on a P3-800--because my average flight is over open country and in/out of the simpler airports like KPHX.... A new vid card, especially going from a V5000 to one of the new Nvidia cards, will not increase performance in the way you advertise, although it may improve fluidity and visual quality.

[Guest]

Someone had too much coffee this morning :-lol

[John_Cillis 2,406]

You're almost right...Krispy Kreme donuts...I have to admit it ddddiiidd innnnfluencceee mmy rrresponse.But I FEEL FINE....REALLY....WAIT, WHY AM I SHOUTING? WHAT THE HECK IS IN THESE KRISPY KREME'S!

[Guest]

Whenever I'm faced with the dilema of having to turn some graphics settings down I want to go shopping. So I did and I took the wife with me. I explained to the wife how I'd had my current putter for five years and and and that I really needed a new one for my new billing program and and and she said that if I buy her a new external plexter cd writer for her computer, that that that I could get a new putter. The credit card number is entered and I got my finger on the button right now. (already priced the components separately and not that much difference in price): Gotta order by the end of this month or shipping goes up!!!!! From Alienware.com .Case: Dragon Full-Tower Case (340-Watt PS) (Space Black) Processor: Intel

[Guest Reddog]

Intresting thread here. I just posted a help one yesterday about getting a vidio card. I have a P3 800, 512 megs pc133 ram, running a Voodoo5 5500 64 meg Agp card.this set up has been running all my flt. sims just fine, maybe not everything maxed out but the detail high enough that I'm happy with it. the only reason behind the new card thing is I want to be able to see these shiney new reflective texures that are coming out an the Voodoo isn't showing them.I might be updateing the system next year but for now I just want a good card that will run on my P3 and give me what the Voodoo does plus those shiney textures.http://www.enter.net/photoalbum/data/reddog/481497.jpgSceenshots and Pics athttp://comunity.webshots.com/user/reddog18951USMC Retired

[Guest Sabadin]

As long as you have the PRO version of 2k2 the V5 can do reflective textures with a little tweaking. The problem is that the alpha channel that defines the amounst of shine is read differentyl through the V5 in 2k2. If you have a way to invert the alpha channel,presto!, Shiny textures.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"..........give me what the Voodoo does plus those shiney textures."Scan this site, and perhaps the tips site at FSGateway. There's a workaround out there somewhere for the Voodoo 5000/reflective textures problem. It's a bit of a challenge to work through, but I know that those who've tried it like the results.A few months ago, I was left with a hard choice--I had a Voodoo 3, and although fps were good, visuals were very poor. With the release of the GeF/4, GeF 2's and 3's plummeted in price. I picked up a GeF/2, and never looked back. I also have a P3/800, and I have a good mix of FS settings that has given me hours and hours of fun simming. The other night, I took Flight1's Cessna into the AZ desert, and buzzed the Autogen trees, cruising 200KTS at 100 ft...and maintaining my target fps of 25.... Very smooth, very fluid, and almost as intense as any combat sim, trying to plot a course between those trees. But alas, the virtual FAA (my daughter) came in and asked me to pull up the Lunette the Clown website.... I was busted!

[Guest Reddog]

I guess in my post I should have said I have the standard version not the Pro. Yes I read about that with the pro version and some tweaking you can get them to work.What about the ATI cards, even on my other thread they are not mentioned only the GF cards. Also can some one furnish some brand names to buy because i have no idea what to buy or what to stay a way from. Thanks for any and all info.Also I'm running WIN 98SE.http://www.enter.net/photoalbum/data/reddog/481497.jpgSceenshots and Pics athttp://comunity.webshots.com/user/reddog18951USMC Retired

[John_Cillis 2,406]

You can do the same tweaking on the standard version. DXTBMP can be used to invert the alpha channels, and it is available as freeware.-John

[Guest Reddog]

JohnCi, can you tell me where to get that program please.http://www.enter.net/photoalbum/data/reddog/481497.jpgSceenshots and Pics athttp://comunity.webshots.com/user/reddog18951USMC Retired