FS2004 Clouds Tips - Low end systems....

[John_Cillis 2,406]

First, you can have 100 pct. 3-d clouds without seeing your fps fall into the single digits.... Here's some tips:-Do not use Real Weather or "dynamic" weather. IOTW--control your cloud settings manually.Real weather and dynamic weather can start "stressing" systems pretty fast when multiple layers, and/or thick cloud layers, are thrown at the system. I try to limit my cloud settings to two layers, and I try to keep coverage at 3/8ths or less (cirrus excluded, as it doesn't hit fps all that much).-If you fly in the Flight Levels, turn off Autogen or at least limit the slider. More cpu HP can go into rendering clouds.-Avoid setting the base of the lowest layer below mountain ridges.I was getting a consistent fps "jitter" the past several weeks--my fps would fall by up to a third for a few seconds, usually in 60-120 second intervals. This seems to have something to do with the complexity of drawing the 3-d clouds in, over and between mountain ridges. I found by raising the deck, the problem went away.-Different cloud types have different impact on fps. From highest to lowest: T-Storm, Cumulus, Stratus, CirrusI can still load up a good swath of T-storm cells and keep my fps around the high teens...-Limit your cloud draw distance. Even at 30 miles, it looks more realistic than an unlimited deck of FS2002's "2-d" cloudsThere's been some talk about FS2004 being no good for high altitude cruising. This shot is of the Ariane 733 at FL350, with the settings I describe. Given my system specs, You be the judge...http://forums.avsim.com/user_files/26450.jpg

[Guest cwright]

John, your various tips and observations have been extremely useful for me, as I also run a P3/800 Win 98SE - though with just 256 Mb RAM and an ancient GeForce 1. I hope to get FS2004 on Friday. It sounds like it should run reasonably on my modest system, as long as I don't get too ambitious! I was particularly encouraged by your observation that dynamic blurred textures seem to be a lot better. Hopefully I'll be able to post some comments on FS2004 this weekend. Overall it sounds like it's a great simulator. Many thanks.Best regards, Chris