extra file in FS2002 contrail Update

[Guest]

jerrycwo4I just tried to install the "Fs2002 Contrail Update" by Gerrit Kranewbard( file was here at Avsim). When I finished installing the 2 files ,(with instructions) 1. fx_contrail_1.fx into the EFFECTS folder 2. fx_1 into EFFECTS / TEXTUREI had an "extra" file named, "thumbs.db" (database file, 6 kb) left over with NO instructions as to what it was are where it went. Can anybody tell me about this 'extra' file, is it needed or where it goes? Thanksjerry

[Guest InBetween]

Greetings,The contrail enhancement you mention does look very good...but on my 733mhz machine it eats frame rates for breakfastlunch and dinner( and a midnight snack!).The revised cloud bitmaps by Gerrit are great too, and don'thurt the performance....I don't know what "thumbs" files are, I have always ignored them..Radials fly 'round!JR

[Guest]

Hi JR!I've deleted the first two particle systems and now it runs much smoother on my old machine. The best thing about Gerrit's contrails is, they appear much earlier and stay longer. I hope he will release a frame rate friendly "AI version", too.@ jerry, just delete this thumbs.db, you will find this enclosed in scenery files more and more. It's something XP uses to fill up your harddisk. :-)Regards,Claudius

[Guest JonP01]

Jerry,As explained in the other post, .db files are generated by the Operating System (not just Windows XP by the way) whenever a group of image files are viewed in thumbnail format - thumbnail format being those small, square, preview sized images. What would have happened is that the author was running their "My computer / Explorer" browsing windows in thumbnail mode. This would have immediately caused the OS to generate a thumbs.db file. That file then would have been copied across when the file was packaged for distribution.

[Guest]

jerrycwo4Thanks for the info on this. The new contrails really have a neat effect when you change altitude are make a turn. I'm NOT sure what if anything they are doing to my frame rates. I've been flying the Flight One/Dreamfleet B737-300 which is a VERY complex aircraft and you know the more complex the AC the bigger the FPS hit. I was flying at FL360 with a fair amount of clouds and the FPS were about 14-16 which still seemed to be smooth at that altitude. I think I'll do a test with these installed and then switch back to the default contrails and note the differant in FPS. I really like the new ones so I'll probably keep them.jerry