.... that there is no more FPS counter.... :-)Would'nt it be more fun to fly without 'shift z z', and not to worry any more how much FPS we get??? :-)-Michael

Hi Michael,I've a novel idea: don't press 'shift z z' - there, your wish is granted! :-)Ok, that used up my weekly allotment of obvious statements. :-)Take care,ElrondPS: Maybe they can think about implementing a .cfg setting to disable the counter for those who have obsessive compulsive disorder - or possessed fingers, ala Evil Dead II! :-)

Elrond,Great idea!!Without doubt the Shift z key and framerates have probably created more misery in the FS world than anything else. There is an obsession with getting as much FPS as possible and really I don't think anything in excess of 25 - 30 FPS is worth chasing after.KD:-smile12

I couldn't agree more.Would get rid of all the fps junkies in one fell swoop.

>There is an obsession with getting as much FPS as possible >and really I don't think anything in excess of 25 - 30 FPS >is worth chasing after. >>KD:-smile12 Thats so right!I recently bought an ASUS A7N8X board with a XP2600+ and the Radeon 9700pro, and the sim runs smooth like a charm in all situation... and what do i do? I still look at this damn FPS counter... Its sick, it really is!So they better leave this 'feature' out in the next version, it would make the majority of us a lot happier! :-)Cheers from germany,Michael

Hi Mike,Your idea is good BUT I'm certain that if there was no fps counter in the coming FS2004, you would find within the next few days an add-on in the "miscellaneous"(I'm not sure of the spelling) category, which would give that counter and I would be one of the first to download it. Perhaps you would be the second one....No kidding, when you're taking off or landing at an airport from AIRPORT 2002 vol.1 and that the scenery turns into a slide-show you suspect your frame rate to run around 4-5 fps, then you would certainly want to know just how many fps you get and how to improve it. And how coulmd you do that without a counter ?The fps problem is not just psychological (again a difficult word to spell) but a must for confortable flying.Best regards to all.JFC

Hi all,I agree there's definitely an unhealthy obsession with frame rates that prevails in the FS community.I recently upgraded my system - I got a Radeon 9700 Pro (replacing a Radeon 7200) and an Asus A78NX Deluxe motherboard with 512MB PC2700 RAM (upgrading from an Asus A7SLE with 256MB PC133 RAM), but I'm still using my old Athlon 1GHz (maybe next month I'll get the XP3000, when my wife isn't paying attention...:)).When I started up the sim, I was impressed by the increase in display quality and fluidity, but when I turned on the fps counter, I discovered there wasn't that much of an improvement in the numbers, certainly not what I expected from looking at it. So it would appear that with the right graphics card and sufficient RAM, anything above 15-18 will give you a smooth simming experience, so there's no need to hit the Shift+Z, except for troubleshooting, as JFC pointed out (BTW, your spelling is immaculate). Plus, those red letters in the top left corner just spoil the display - I might as well run it in windowed mode, and guess what fps I'll be getting then...:) Cheers,Gosta. http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Actually I got better fps when running in windowed mode :-)Found that out before I stopped looking at that number constantly (which greatly increased my satisfaction, not looking at that number...).What most people don't realise is that upgrading just one part of their system will likely not lead to any increase in performance. In your case, the limiting factor for performance was the CPU and it still is. Putting in a faster graphics card meant your machine can now render a higher MIP level than in the past (and maybe shove off a bit more to the GPU so it can generate more stuff than before), but unless you upgrade the CPU as well the entire CPU related part of the sim (weather, flight dynamics, etc. etc.) won't run any faster.That's the main reason people complain about not getting higher framerates (why the heck do people keep saying "faster framerates"?) when upgrading their GF3s to GF4s (unless their videothroughput was the limiting factor for performance before, but this is rarely the case with modern videocards).

>Actually I got better fps when running in windowed mode :).Cheers,Gosta. http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg