Read my post above # 377115.I have been simming for at least 20 yrs and I am enjoying FSX.Waiting for Vista and directx 10 to upgrade.Probably won't do so till Oct 07 since I have outdoor avtivities in the summer.Ron

>What I want to know is how in the heck to beat the copter at>the end of "boat" level. I'm ready to give up far cry and>take up simming again.>>BobHi,What a coincidence, I have only been playing Farcry and FS for the past year. And I also can not beat that darn copter! So when I get to that point, in the game, I just re-start Farcry from the begining. I have long-ago gave up on getting past that point. There's a walkthru I found on the internet (can't find it anymore, sorry) that gives a suggestion on how to defeat that copter...you are suppose to swim to a nearby island, hide behind a tree, and shoot at the gunner on the copter and then kill him...See, simple... (I kill him by re-starting the game. To me the first half of FryCry is great. Once the "animal-creatures" show up, I find the game annoying.

try turning off bloom, aircraft self shadowing and all water 2.0 effects (basically all shader 2 effects)...Also turn off your autogen (for now) and push your mesh and terrain texture details all the way up...Use clouds at default and keep you AI at low or minimum (maybe even off for now)...Then take a look at your frame rates...I have a P4 2.4 with 1GB RAM and a Radeon 9800Pro and I'm getting rock solid 20fps (locked) with those basic settings...Basically Autogen, AI and Shader 2 effects are the frame rate killers... If you keep them off or set at very low I'm sure you'll find FSX more than enjoyable...

If you like city flying with commercial planes and someone tells you to turn your AI off in FSX just so you can get it to work then forget it. If you're like me city to city flying demands a robust AI. Go back to FS9 where you can turn your AI way up and enjoy commercial traffic and flying.Only way I can get decent AI in FSX is to turn everything down to default with no autogen. Then my frames are usually around 10 fps on the ground in big airports with default planes.

Sorry if this started in the wrong forum. Thanks for all of the input. I will probably take a break from FSX for a while. I am not knocking FSX, rather myself for wanting the new things when they first come out. Can't expect to cut down a redwood with a paring knife.