Do you think I can improve my quality through level mapping? - thanks! - Darrin

Are you using any mapping currently? The first thing I would do is optimize the outer rings. If the area that TP is handling goes out farther than what is visible from those altitudes, you are wasting resources. Try changing the outer ring to 8, if you can't see the difference, change the next ring to 8. If you are curious what is being affected, go to top view (F12) and zoom out (-) until you see the circle around your location. After you know how many LOD rings are visible during your normal flight, you can start to turn them up. From what I understand, you can turn any ring up one from default for every ring you turn down one and keep the same processing performance. I would count how many "points" you saved in the outer rings and turn up the inner rings that much.I hope this is vaguely correct.

doh - forgot to put that in![i don't know if I even have these right:]max_lod=18preload_min_lod=8preload_max_lod=16max_contexts=512 (could I bump this up to tell TP to process faster? 1024?)cache_bytes_limit=200000000cache_tiles_limit=500000[service Example 1]cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service1network_module=libnettilemodule_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://a*.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net|path=/tiles/a%s.jpeg?g=%v|quad=0123|balance=0123|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"min_level=9max_level=20map_version=243level_mapping=9,10,11,14,14,14,15,16,17,18,19,20color_hack=Nocolor_level=0bulk_extend=50FSX has all sliders, for graphics cranked right except for 'desired Frame rate' which is set to 32So If I'm only flying low and slow, then it's LOD 8 that I can use over and over, until I 'see' that edge in the distance as it gets closer to the plane the more I use LOD 8and for every substitution I use LOD 8 for, I can get a higher number on the end at no additional cost? sounds like just the set up I need for low and slow ... Like this?max_lod=18preload_min_lod=10preload_max_lod=16max_contexts=512 (could I bump this up to tell TP to process faster? 1024?)cache_bytes_limit=200000000cache_tiles_limit=500000[service Example 1]cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service1network_module=libnettilemodule_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://yada.yada.com|path=/tiles/a%s.jpeg?g=%v|quad=0123|balance=0123|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"min_level=10max_level=20map_version=243level_mapping=10,10,10,10,14,14,15,16,17,18,19,20color_hack=Nocolor_level=0bulk_extend=50 Your explanation really helps me understand, but I'm still a little fuzz with the values .. trial and error! I really should read the manual!, that's what I'm doing next ...Thanks ddrueding!doh - forgot to put that in![i don't know if I even have these right:]max_lod=18preload_min_lod=8preload_max_lod=16max_contexts=512 (could I bump this up to tell TP to process faster? 1024?)cache_bytes_limit=200000000cache_tiles_limit=500000[service Example 1]cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service1network_module=libnettilemodule_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://yada.yada.com|path=/tiles/a%s.jpeg?g=%v|quad=0123|balance=0123|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"min_level=9max_level=20map_version=243level_mapping=9,10,11,14,14,14,15,16,17,18,19,20color_hack=Nocolor_level=0bulk_extend=50FSX has all sliders, for graphics cranked right except for 'desired Frame rate' which is set to 32So If I'm only flying low and slow, then it's LOD 8 that I can use over and over, until I 'see' that edge in the distance as it gets closer to the plane the more I use LOD 8and for every substitution I use LOD 8 for, I can get a higher number on the end at no additional cost? sounds like just the set up I need for low and slow ... Like this?max_lod=18preload_min_lod=10preload_max_lod=16max_contexts=512 (could I bump this up to tell TP to process faster? 1024?)cache_bytes_limit=200000000cache_tiles_limit=500000[service Example 1]cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service1network_module=libnettilemodule_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://yada.yada.com|path=/tiles/a%s.jpeg?g=%v|quad=0123|balance=0123|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"min_level=10max_level=20map_version=243level_mapping=10,10,10,10,14,14,15,16,17,18,19,20color_hack=Nocolor_level=0bulk_extend=50 Your explanation really helps me understand, but I'm still a little fuzz with the values .. trial and error! I really should read the manual!, that's what I'm doing next ...Thanks ddrueding!

After playing around with level mapping, I found that when I double up on the first two sets of rings through level mapping, it really makes a great visual enhancement for what's around the plane! Thanks again ddrueding!

Glad to hear it. Thank Christian, he was the one smart enough to have the level mapping in the first place!My problem is that I always want more. With the level mapping that I like to fly with, it doesn't work unless everything is cached already. So I spend time flying around caching stuff at funky level mappings to make sure I have it all before I use it. How can I stand to look at such weird mappings while flying? I don't, I just practice my IFR ;)

After playing around with level mapping, I found that when I double up on the first two sets of rings through level mapping, it really makes a great visual enhancement for what's around the plane! ..pic snipped...Thanks again ddrueding!

What are your new settings? I think my i7 could handle this nicely once I get some stuff cached.Thanks

What are your new settings? I think my i7 could handle this nicely once I get some stuff cached.Thanks

I have an i7 (@4Ghz), and these are my "low and slow" settings:level_mapping=8,8,8,8,8,17,17,17,18,18 /Under 125kts & 3,000 AGLMostly used for soaring, though the Cessna, Piper, and Trike would likely be fine as well.For faster stuff (Baron, Leer, etc) and faster loading, I use these:level_mapping=8,8,13,13,13,14,14,14,15,15 /Under 350kts & 7,000AGLAnd for the really high altitude runs I use this:level_mapping=13,13,13,13,13,14,14,14,14,14 /Max Performance