Disappearing / Reappearing Buildings at Airports ?

[jackcnd 0]

Anyone have any thoughts on an issue where buildings at an airport disappear and reappear depending on the planes position.I run into this at an airport in a city that I use homemade photo real scenery with?

[PilotPete99 915]

I am having the same problem. I have the MegaSecneryX for Chicago and at KMDW the terminal buildings were appearing and disappearing somethimes just based on the position I was using the spot plane view from. Also, when I was on the runway there appeared no buildings, but then as I taxied to the gates they would flicker and appear and disappear the whole trip to the gate. The first time I noticed this was just a couple of days ago but I have no idea why it happens. Any help would be appreciated.

[jackcnd 0]

I am having the same problem. I have the MegaSecneryX for Chicago and at KMDW the terminal buildings were appearing and disappearing somethimes just based on the position I was using the spot plane view from. Also, when I was on the runway there appeared no buildings, but then as I taxied to the gates they would flicker and appear and disappear the whole trip to the gate. The first time I noticed this was just a couple of days ago but I have no idea why it happens. Any help would be appreciated.

You explained it much better than I did, tha'ts my issue too, exactly.

[Mace 1,952]

You explained it much better than I did, tha'ts my issue too, exactly.

DX9 mode, with my 8800GTX card and 175.xx driver (also 182.50, and 169.69), I have seen this happen, but only in slew mode...never in regular flight. Also, when I did see it, it was always with a very large custom object. It did not happen with smaller gmax structures I made, and it did not happen in normal flight mode.I have no explanation for it. Maybe it has to do with LOD's and it is probably a slight bug in the way the sim handles larger objects with respect to viewing angles...I am just really not sure.It may also have something to do with one's vid hardware and driver version. I'd appreciate any insight anyone else has.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

DX9 mode, with my 8800GTX card and 175.xx driver (also 182.50, and 169.69), I have seen this happen, but only in slew mode...never in regular flight. Also, when I did see it, it was always with a very large custom object. It did not happen with smaller gmax structures I made, and it did not happen in normal flight mode.I have no explanation for it. Maybe it has to do with LOD's and it is probably a slight bug in the way the sim handles larger objects with respect to viewing angles...I am just really not sure.It may also have something to do with one's vid hardware and driver version. I'd appreciate any insight anyone else has.

This is a service pack 2 issue, and only if autogen is disabled either thru display options or when photoscenery is loaded (such as that generated by Tileproxy). Sometimes a building can be made to vanish just by changing its angle in relation to the aircraft--i.e. it may be visible straight ahead and vanish off the starboard wing.It's the main reason why I uninstalled service pack 2 and returned to service pack 1--nothing is more annoying than having airport buildings vanish on final. I've been able to duplicate this on a couple different systems. Sorry to say more and more payware vendors are releasing SP 2 only products, so I've been left out on payware I might have otherwise purchased. Given the end of ACES, at least in the form it was in when FS-X was still being worked on, I am afraid this issue is here to stay. I am unsure why only some buildings have the issue, but I belive it's related to changes made to accomodate everyone's wishes for better autogen performance. However I get good autogen performance when I am running SP 1 when I am not running Tileproxy, so maybe another change caused the issue.Regards,John

[jackcnd 0]

Thanks for the explanation.Sorry to hear its a known issue, never seen it until I installed the photo real tiles over the city.

[Mace 1,952]

This is a service pack 2 issue, and only if autogen is disabled either thru display options or when photoscenery is loaded (such as that generated by Tileproxy). Sometimes a building can be made to vanish just by changing its angle in relation to the aircraft--i.e. it may be visible straight ahead and vanish off the starboard wing.

But John I have had it happen with autogen on, and I never run photoscenery. Of course, only in slew mode so it's never an issue for me when actually flying.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

But John I have had it happen with autogen on, and I never run photoscenery. Of course, only in slew mode so it's never an issue for me when actually flying.

Hmmmm, makes me wonder if a specific type of autogen needs to be loaded for it to not happen. I never observed the issue with autogen on in sp-2, only with it off. However, when I did use autogen I would have it maxed since I saw little impact on my performance. Don't know if yours is when you still see the issue.Regardless, if photoscenery is loaded it almost always happened to me, but at random locations within the scenery. My "nirvana" has been SP1, the add-ons it still supports (such as the great visual treats from Carenado, some of Flight1's work, JustFlight's Duchess, and more), and Tileproxy which has lent a realism to my VFR flight I never dreamed I would see, at least not in this decade. With SP1 my buildings stay put, when I look for them most--on arrival at my destination airport.Regards,John

[PilotPete99 915]

Come to think of it, I typically turn the autogen off also, so I am not sure if I have seen this issue yet with autogen on yet. I guess I will try a few tests and see how it goes.

[basys 4]

Hi FolksIt's a known bug,introduced with SP2/Acc new rendering engine.It's not an autogen, photoscenery, or LOD, issue.It's down to how some model content was authored,(ISTR interacting with shaders).There wasn't time/resources to rectify.It only occurs on certain specific models,and is solely related to your viewpoint's pitch angle.i.e. If your a/c is perfectly level, or pitched up, they'll display ok.If pitched down they'll disappear.It's not view-window related,as it occurs in VC and external views.It occurs in both DX versions, and is not card related.ExampleVery noticeable at Kandahar, Afghanistan (OAKN).Start at default location.Click Y for slew.Raise a/c up.Adjust pitch as above, (0 & 9 keys).they'll pop in/out of view.HTHATBPaul

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Hi FolksIt's a known bug,introduced with SP2/Acc new rendering engine.It's not an autogen, photoscenery, or LOD, issue.

However, when autogen is enabled, I am much less likely to run into the issue in the places where it commonly happens. Since most photoscenery has no autogen coverage, the issue happens consistently. However to observe the autogen connection, take off out of South Lake Tahoe and head towards the stateline casinos. With autogen off or photoreal scenery loaded, the casinos will start to vanish about a mile out. With autogen on, the casinos don't. This behavior is repeatable for me. I am not saying it is an autogen issue, but I do observe when autogen is enabled, the problem seems to go away. -John

[basys 4]

Hi FolksJohn -We're talking about two different issues here. :( You're discussing autogen batching.I think the O/P might be refering to another issue.Try the Kandahar OAKN example, or have a slew around KMSO,and you'll see what I mean.HTHATBPaul

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Hi FolksJohn -We're talking about two different issues here. :( You're discussing autogen batching.I think the O/P might be refering to another issue.Try the Kandahar OAKN example, or have a slew around KMSO,and you'll see what I mean.HTHATBPaul

We are not talking about two different issues, and I am not talking about autogen batching The Kandahar and the O/P's issue is what I am talking about . When I turn on autogen and max it out, I do not see the issue either at OAKN or KMSO. When I turn it off, I see the vanishing buildings--same issue I see around South Lake Tahoe. The buildings disappear/reappear depending on my view angle and also distance when autogen is disabled, as is observed in South Lake Tahoe. With SP 1 installed I don't have the issue. I've posted about this in a few threads, and I believe the autogen setting (based on my experience) does influence whether the issue occurs or not. The reason why the issue consistently happens when photoreal scenery is loaded is most photoreal scenery does not have autogen.-John

[basys 4]

Hi FolksJohn -IIRC the info I've posted is direct from ACEsin response to bugs identified during Acceleration/SP2 Beta.Will go back and check.Might it be that when you max your autogen, FSX is rendering a lower FPSthus not redrawing the buildings as often ?i.e.Autogen is causing modified symptoms,but it is not the underlying cause,as that's down to content authoring.SP1 won't have the issues,as it's a different rendering engine.HTHATBPaul

[Mace 1,952]

as that's down to content authoring.

Paul: Do you happen to know what specific item (i.e. too many Materials used, large object with only one material, DDS textures, etc.) it is about the object that would cause this?I ask because I have only seen this bug with one object I made (KDFW Terminal D). All of the other buildings I have designed, do not do this...so if you have any info about what in my mdl is causing this, I'd be appreciative.