I would just like to know if this performance loss is normal:FS 9.1Sight distance: 60 miles in FS (limited to 40 in AS)100% 3D CloudsMax cloud densitycloud draw distance: 30 milesFE 256 x 256 DXT clouds (tried it with 32 bit as well, no difference)overcast enhancement - NOT selectedcloud layers: 4 (max)4xAA8XAF (both from driver)With my system at 1600x1200 resolution, I can maintain 30FPS (locked) with no problems whatsoever.As soon as I get a heavily overcast situation, the FPS drops to 19-20Is an FPS hit like this normal? It seems I can have lots of cloud layers active and visible and still maintain FPS, but as soon as it goes overcast, I get the FPS hit.I have also tried it with FPS locked at 25, but it makes no difference.Here is the really strange part. If I select 'overcast' from within FS9's own weather I don't get the FPS hitDoes AS generate much 'thicker' overcast conditions or something?My GPU is not top of the line....would a faster GPU with more pipes help in this situation?Thanks,Glenn

>I would just like to know if this performance loss is>normal:>As soon as I get a heavily overcast situation, the FPS drops>to 19-20>>Is an FPS hit like this normal? Yes, I'm afraid it is. And many gfx cards try to AA the clouds, which is a further loss.>I have also tried it with FPS locked at 25, but it makes no>difference.>>Here is the really strange part. If I select 'overcast' from>within FS9's own weather I don't get the FPS hit>>Does AS generate much 'thicker' overcast conditions or>something?>Yes AS can generate thicker overcast. It depends on your ASv6 settings, but it sounds like you have lots of cloud layers and probably "Overcast Enhancement" checkbox checked.You might experiment with the settings in ovc conditions. I was having a similar hit sometimes, and newer drivers helped, but really I had to accept the fact that if I wanted 5 cloud layers at 100% density with 'overcast enhancement' on, I was going to have to accept a frame rate hit. The problem with testing these schemes is that even with the same wx file, it's often not *quite* the same weather cloud formations in the same spot from time to time in the sim.>My GPU is not top of the line....would a faster GPU with more>pipes help in this situation?>Now that I can't tell you for sure, as I am not familiar with ATI hardware at all. But I can say that sure, a higher powered card will help a little. But the main help would be raw cpu power.In the case of nVidia cards, the 7xxx series did clouds better than the 6xxx series. By 'did better' I mean fps were better, and I hear it was because of AA schema but probably the cards themselves being faster was a factor too.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2530 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Rhett,Thanks for the answer.I have 4 cloud layers at max density with 100% 3D clouds.Overcast enhancement is NOT selected.Would the FPS drop still be normal?Thanks Glenn

Hi Glenn,You have a pretty powerful system there so I would not expect that large of a drop off.Some suggestions:Go back to 512 X 512 32bit clouds.Make sure Render to texture is now turned Off in FS04.Make sure your drivers are up to date.Limit cloud layers to 3Run dxdiag from the Run box and go through the video tests.Run 4X AA and AF.Please let us know if this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Development Team Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterHiFi Beta TeamRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/AirSource Member: http://www.air-source.us/FSEconomy Member:http://www.fseconomy.com/

Jim,If I turn off render to texture, won't I have a problem with AI and user aircraft that use DXT paint textures?Could I just leave render to texture on but install the 32bit clouds?

Hi,No, I don't think so. I am sure some of my AI use DXT. RtT can cause frame rate drops. I suggest that you just try it both ways and see if there is a difference.Thanks,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Development Team Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterHiFi Beta TeamRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/AirSource Member: http://www.air-source.us/FSEconomy Member:http://www.fseconomy.com/

Ok, will doI take it you don't use 'render to texture' then Jim? I had no idea that it could reduce frame rates, in fact I always assumed the complete opposite!Thanks,Glenn

Ok,Tried everything as suggested, still get the FPS drop approaching overcast no matter what I select.The interesting part is that I see no worse performance from 512x512 clouds at 32bit than I do with 256x256 DXT3.....seems strange.I have been using the clouds supplied with FE upto now. Would I get any better performance from the clouds supplied with ASG?The problem is, I find the whole ASG interface totally confusing, hence why I stuck with FE generated clouds. (I like the FE sky textures and cant figure out how to 'keep' them when using ASG)

Hi Glenn,Are you flying default planes when this happens?Just run FE after ASG for FE sky textures to be shown in FS.Thanks,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Development Team Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterHiFi Beta TeamRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/AirSource Member: http://www.air-source.us/FSEconomy Member:http://www.fseconomy.com/

Hi Jim,I have used both the default C172 and the Dreamfleet A36, both with the same results.On a more positive note, I searched for 'Thunderstorms' in AS and loaded a flight and went through some heavy overcast cloud conditions. No FPS drop it seems now. One thing I did do though was to select a different cloud set in FE. I also left render to texture off and used 32bit cloud version.So far so good. Will let you know if it continues.....Thanks,Glenn