Texture loading in MD11 for FS9

[iainsmith 9]

As we have all said (well the vast majority of us :( ) the MD11 is a fantastic model. I'm even managing to get to grips with the FMS!However, I have two irritations with it, one larger than the other and it's all about texture loading. I use the 2D panel and when switching to a side view, the textures (which are the VC textures) sometimes take an age to load. At other times they are almost instant so it is not consistent. I don't get this problem with the 744. It also seems to affect ground textures. I flew in to FSDT's Zurich (LSZH) airport and had a good landing but in a colourless environment. The buildings and trees remained black blocks and the runway was unpaved until I turned off the runway and turned traffic on and off, which immediately loaded the textures! I have not had that problem at this airport with the PMDG737.The other smaller irritation? As I said I use the 2D panel and switching the view back to the front panel from the side causes a momentary hesitation. Momentary but enough to be noticed. This is probably not to do with textures but may be caused by one of the gauges? I don't know I'm guessing!I just wondered whether anyone else was experiencing anything like this. OK my rig is getting on - Gigabyte K8 Triton with AMD Athlon64 3000+ and 2GB of PC3200 DDR RAM and a Geforce 7900GS AGP card with 256MB.Iain Smith

[iainsmith 9]

So I'm the only one? I flew in tonight to LSZH (the FSDT scenery) in the PMDG737 with no texture loading problem. So all I can say is that on my machine the MD11 seems to create a texture loading problem around itself!Iain Smith

[FLEX1978 373]

yep I agree and I have a very fast system..... Fast for fs9 :( Rob

[out 769]

Yes, I'm also having quite long load times for VC textures while switching views.But we have to live with it. The PMDG team explained they are not going to to make a non-VC option.Best regards,Rafal

[FLEX1978 373]

Not asking for a non VC option but can't understand why there is this issue when the 744 and other aircraft are fine especially when they claim the MD11 is faster then the 744. The only other payware aircraft where I saw this issue on a fast system is the Wilco Buses.The PMDG guy's have out done themselves on the systems but I feel the flightdeck may have been rushed to keep things close to the projected release date or keep things on par with the FSX version.Specs Core 2 8600 wolfdale 4.0ghz ATI 4870 512 GDDR5 XP Pro 32 bit Rob

[downscc 1,327]

I also have the ATI4870 512Mb, but on a Vista64b. The texture loading delays are <1 sec in most cases, and in any case no worse than the 747. I don't understand why there would be a difference.Rushed? Believe me, I don't think that is the correct word. They missed their own forecasts multiple times. On the other hand, the FS9 platform was a major challange for them. There had to be compromises and workarounds to go backwords (the FSX panels are remarkable).Perhaps 256 vs 512 video is a factor, maybe HDD performance or southgate bandwidth? I am sure there is a reason for the texture load performance but I'm pretty sure it is not due to design compromises.

[iainsmith 9]

Perhaps 256 vs 512 video is a factor, maybe HDD performance or southgate bandwidth? I am sure there is a reason for the texture load performance but I'm pretty sure it is not due to design compromises.

Well Dan, I experimented with different settings of Global Texture Size which I think is what controls 512/256 video but that made no difference. This sort of thing can be caused by any number of seemingly small things such as a resource hungry gauge in the panel. Turning traffic off also seems to make a difference. On approach to my more detailed airports I'll have to pause, set Traffic to zero and then continue, turning traffic on after entering the taxiway. Not ideal but it seems the only way. :( Iain Smith

[FLEX1978 373]

Rushed is probably the wrong word as I know they spent a hell of a long time perfecting this aircraft, however I get zero delay on the 744 and have flown the aircraft into the most taxing situations (even with some dodgy badly coded freeware scenery) and my system never breaks a sweat.With the MD11 I did a few Touch and goes around a sparse OBBI and switching from 2D to VC the panel sometimes flashes white the sim is not as smooth and I'm having problems with TrackIR smoothness when using the new style mouse cursors.Anyway I've put it down to a bad install (hopefully) My 42" LCD died on me over the weekend so I'm waiting for a replacement, I've uninstalled and starting fresh with the patched version so will see if that helps when I'm up and running again this weekend.Rob

[Guest keiron]

I get same problem, delayed VC texture loading by 1-2 secs. I guess we gotta live with it :( I never get it with the 747 though, odd.

[benh320 5]

Yes have this problem too, it's really annoying. Any chance for a non VC version to cut down on textures/memory use please?Ben

[FLEX1978 373]

From what I have read a Non VC mode would not help for the 2D only guys due to the VC not consuming resources when not visible.Rob

[benh320 5]

From what I have read a Non VC mode would not help for the 2D only guys due to the VC not consuming resources when not visible.Rob

Yes but you have to cycle through it so it must have some performance impact having to load all the VC textures then drop them and load the outside textures...all I know is when running other aircraft if the VC is removed I get much better performance all around.Ben

[FLEX1978 373]

Remember the ISFD guage on the 744F? It took a while to discover that was causing performance problems so who knows. I normally have a rule to not buy a new aircraft for a least a couple of months but I'm quite happy sitting on the ground learning the systems.Rob