Getting Blurry Textures lately

[Bill A 68]

Hi, Im getting blurry textures lately on my sim...I haven't changed any settings on my sim...I guess my computer could use some dusting inside...anyhow here are my inportant settings in my config:[DISPLAY.Device.Radeon X1950 Pro (Omega 3.8.421).0]Mode=1400x1050x32TriLinear=1[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=30TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=300RUNWAY_LIGHTS_SURFACE_SCALAR=0.9RUNWAY_LIGHTS_VASI_SCALAR=1.1RUNWAY_LIGHTS_APPROACH_SCALAR=1.2RUNWAY_LIGHTS_STROBE_SCALAR=1.3DisableSoftwareWarning=1[TERRAIN]TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.5TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=4.5TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4Any advise?ThanksBill

[Mudhendriver 3]

I'm assuming FS9? There are so many variables--video card/video drivers/AA/AS settings...CPU/GPU processing power...you just have to continue to tweak then just find a "happy place" wherein you balance performance with video quality. Take a gander at the pics below--I get pretty good quality but it's not perfect (picture 2 has some blurring). BTW despite conventional wisdom, I run with a video driver (for Nvidia 7950 GX2) that is 18 months old--I've loaded newer ones only to go back because I could not improve or even duplicate the quality with the current driver.Try modifying your FS9.cfg with the following:[DISPLAY]UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=26TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40TextureMaxLoad=10[TERRAIN]TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=94.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.500000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=3.500000TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=232Combine the Upper Framerate Limit of 26 with TextureMaxLoad=10 (I picked that tip up from Simouthouse I believe a year or so ago--don't recall the original poster). I've got a very fast alienware rig and can run 40-50FPS with sliders maxed, but dialed back to 26FPS with the TextureMaxLoad at 10 and am very pleased. Good luck!Col (ret) Rich Perry, USAF

[Kosta 122]

Let me add one thing:According to one german document, which has about 500 pages on scenery, landclass, mesh and blurries.The most important things are (and I did lots of tests to check them too):TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=300 <- no effect here higher than default setting 40TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20 <- can be set to 21TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.5 <- no point setting this higher than 4, I did all compares with screenshots, there is really no differenceTERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=4.5 <- also no changes above 4TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4 <- 0-40= Function off,1=MIP Level0,2=MIP Level0 und MIP Level13=MIP Level0, MIP Level1 und MIP Level24=MIP Level0, MIP Level1, MIP Level2 und MIP Level3Important thing is, you either use TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS OR TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS+TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS. Using both together yields no change, and FS will primarily use TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS and omit any change in TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS or TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS.Since I started using these settings I had absolutely no blurries, and everything is working just great. Before with those 9,5 and 4,5 and blah blah settings, I occasionally had problems with photoscenery... and my FS has become smoother.

[onurksn 1]

Bill, thanks for bringing up the subject. I had the same problem for some time, I didn't like what I saw down there. :( Both replies have been very useful, I just did a test and there is a remarquable improvement.Thanks guys and happy landings!

[out 769]

Captains,Thanks for sharing your tweaking experience.Working on my FS9.cfg to get rid of the blurries has been a loooong story for me.It's always nice to analyse new entries.However, trying to test your suggestions I found some details I find hard to take for granted:

TextureMaxLoad=10

Rich, are you sure about that? Don't know why but I had... 1024 here in my cfg (must have followed someone else's suggestions)!And now the difference:

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=232

vs

TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4 <- 0-4

I don't know which way to go. I had 5. And now: 4 or... 232?Plus I have my FPS locked at 30. I wonder if it makes any difference in the long term to reduce it to exactly mentioned 26.I'm not a software/hardware guru, so I would appreciate some professional assisatance to make the essence out of it.Best regards,RafalFS9.1Windows XP Home 32Intel Core2 Duo E8400 3GHz2GB RAMNvidia GeForce 8800GT (6.14.11.8122 drivers + nHancer 2.4.5)ASUS P5KC

[htfc 0]

I agree with mudhendriver's comments re drivers. I too run an 18mth old driver with my Nvidia 7600 GS card. I have tried newer drivers, but can't get anywhere near the same graphics quality. My rule is ' if it ain't bust don't fix it'.Regards.......Stuart :(

[Kosta 122]

Captains,Thanks for sharing your tweaking experience.Working on my FS9.cfg to get rid of the blurries has been a loooong story for me.It's always nice to analyse new entries.However, trying to test your suggestions I found some details I find hard to take for granted:Rich, are you sure about that? Don't know why but I had... 1024 here in my cfg (must have followed someone else's suggestions)!And now the difference:vsI don't know which way to go. I had 5. And now: 4 or... 232?Plus I have my FPS locked at 30. I wonder if it makes any difference in the long term to reduce it to exactly mentioned 26.I'm not a software/hardware guru, so I would appreciate some professional assisatance to make the essence out of it.Best regards,RafalFS9.1Windows XP Home 32Intel Core2 Duo E8400 3GHz2GB RAMNvidia GeForce 8800GT (6.14.11.8122 drivers + nHancer 2.4.5)ASUS P5KC

Why don't you simply try it out for yourself??? I did it like this:I saved the view in outside view, zoomed it onto the line where it is visible that lower mips are loaded, and then I went on with changing fs9.cfg settings and always loading the same flight, making the same screenshot. That way it was easy to see that anything up to 4 changed the quality, anything above didn't. And as I read the fact that EXTENDED is only another "option" how FS9 can display the scenery, it was all clear. To translate the whole document would be a bit too much... I don't know why it wasn't written in English, but that would surely be useful...

[out 769]

Why don't you simply try it out for yourself???

No reason to be angry. I guess I was kind when asking. If not, take my apology for whatever I wrote.And the answer is: it is not a simple thing (at least to me) to tweak a lot and be a good judge at first sight.Sometimes it is nice to listen to people who are more experienced.And yes, I tried a lot of tweaks (sometimes contradictory) and, frankly, never got to any conclusion on what was best.Although Rich's value of 10 for Texture Max Load doesn't work for me - textures on planes and buildings are lost.I had to come back to my 1024.Best regards,Rafal

[BillW 210]

I tried Word Not Allowed's settings and agree with him. Things are very smooth. I have an Nvidia 8600 GT. I do keep current on the new drivers. I can't say that any new driver has been worse than the previous, but its a good idea to stick with something that works. You can roll a driver back, but you spend more time fretting over the machine than the simulator. When I had an ATI card, I did have new drivers that would degrade the quality. For my money, I'm sticking with Nvidia.

[Cheeso 0]

No reason to be angry. I guess I was kind when asking. If not, take my apology for whatever I wrote.And the answer is: it is not a simple thing (at least to me) to tweak a lot and be a good judge at first sight.Sometimes it is nice to listen to people who are more experienced.And yes, I tried a lot of tweaks (sometimes contradictory) and, frankly, never got to any conclusion on what was best.Although Rich's value of 10 for Texture Max Load doesn't work for me - textures on planes and buildings are lost.I had to come back to my 1024.Best regards,Rafal

Rafal,My guess is you changed this: TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024 to TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=10 and that is not the one you need to change. You need to add TextureMaxLoad=10 to your config.-------Word Not Allowed,Am I interpreting it correctly that you are using either TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS or TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS+TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS? So which choice gave you best results:1. TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS, or2. TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS+TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS?Also are you using the TextureMaxLoad=10 or not?Regards,Gerhard

[out 769]

My guess is you changed this: TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024 to TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=10 and that is not the one you need to change. You need to add TextureMaxLoad=10 to your config.

OK, I also noticed that is in another part of the config but I though it was just a typo.So that's why my textures disappeared. I'll try adding that value.You learn something new every simming day...Best regards,Rafal

[Kosta 122]

No reason to be angry. I guess I was kind when asking. If not, take my apology for whatever I wrote.And the answer is: it is not a simple thing (at least to me) to tweak a lot and be a good judge at first sight.Sometimes it is nice to listen to people who are more experienced.And yes, I tried a lot of tweaks (sometimes contradictory) and, frankly, never got to any conclusion on what was best.Although Rich's value of 10 for Texture Max Load doesn't work for me - textures on planes and buildings are lost.I had to come back to my 1024.Best regards,Rafal

Nono, you completely misunderstood. That wasn't nearly ment as angry, sorry if it went over that way.I only ment the best way to see if it works with you is to test. And my example is one that will surely show you which settings yield better quality - I guess you can see the difference if you open different shots one after another.

[Kosta 122]

Rafal,My guess is you changed this: TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024 to TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=10 and that is not the one you need to change. You need to add TextureMaxLoad=10 to your config.-------Word Not Allowed,Am I interpreting it correctly that you are using either TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS or TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS+TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS? So which choice gave you best results:1. TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS, or2. TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS+TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS?Also are you using the TextureMaxLoad=10 or not?Regards,Gerhard

I ment that using either or will give you the same result!My settings now are:TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=4TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=3TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=1According to the document, that will yield maximum radius, and won't give mesh errors (scenery tearing) where mips change to low quality scenery far away. I tried all 3 at setting 4, that gives no more quality, but adds lots of scenery tearing.No, not using TextureMaxLoad. Though still reading the document on that... will keep you posted!

[Cheeso 0]

Thank you Word Not Allowed!FS gives me joy in many different ways, one of them is tweaking and seeing if we can better things. I'll try those settings as well.Regards,Gerhard

[Kosta 122]

Thank you Word Not Allowed!FS gives me joy in many different ways, one of them is tweaking and seeing if we can better things. I'll try those settings as well.Regards,Gerhard

Just to answer your question more to TextureMaxLoad - I tested it, and also have seen no proof that textures load ANY faster. Neither this, nor the TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT.Test was a simple one:I loaded my flight at one airport, with the view somewhat high. Then I moved my aircraft to some place I have photo textures. Then I measured in seconds how much time FS9 needs to load all detailed textures (all mips). The time was constant, with smallest differences of 1-2 seconds on the time around 1 minute.I also viewed what the FS9 was doing, and with the Process Monitor, I saw that it is constantly loading textures in that time.So, my conclusion: we cannot change it. Any user in my opinion reporting better loading, is seeing a placebo effect. As the document reports also, tests have been made on 3 different computers, with same results.