FS2004 autogen/framerate problem WORKAROUND!!!!

[JimmiG 244]

That's right. Thanks to some very knowledgeable forum members (especially Kurt, and Dick aka rhumbaflappy) there

[Guest kilo_sierra17]

Where is this .xml file I rename??

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Hi JimmiG,Thanks to you, Kurt, and Dick, for investigating this problem and coming up with a fix for what looks like an Autogen bug. I will renmae my file to 'default.xml.bad' :-lol turn my Autogen slider up all the way, and see if the problem I have observed with making a pass over a city and then turning back around and passing over it again therefor causing the framerate to take a plunge(something that never happend in FS2002) is cured by this. If it does and this is due to a bug in the Autogen, it may perhaps take a lot of requests sent to tell_fs@microsoft.com in order for them to be motivated to fix it. I would have to say that this bug(I for one agree it sure appears as if it's a bug) and the missing bridges(also part of Autogen) has been the most glaring issue since the release of FS2004 and is the only thing that has kept me from enjoying to sim to the fullest. I'm thinking that this will cure the problem that folks have reported about their FPS going into the tank when on approach and final at airports. Of course it will take a number of people trying this out and reporting their results to find out though.Thank You Guys,Jim

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Hi Kurt,Its in this directory...C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator 9AutogenA search of your hard drive for this file name should also locate the file.Cheers,Jim

[Guest Bigshot]

Hey; seems to work. I renamed the default to default.bak and maxed out autogen (scenery complexity is maxed too) and made half dozen low level passes over Vegas and never dropped below twenty. Landed over 20. This is with fair skies with clouds maxed. Nice find. Now to go play some more.

[Guest 747drvr]

I only have one or two questions then. So, how come none of the Beta testers noticed this? And if they did, then why did Microsoft ignore them? You wonder if they really truly don't care about anything but cash anymore. I guess they don't remember cfs3, how most people took it back or shelved it. I gave mine away, the person I gave mine too just threw it away.Now when MS makes a new version people will be all over it looking for flaws etc. I personaly won't buy it.Hey, im not bashing MS, without them I don't think pc's would have become so widespread as they are now.However, when companies start making a product with obvious flaws in it they start to feel it. Look at Firestone. They made a possible defective product and paid the ultimate price, lawsuits etc. Until now they are just a shadow of their former self barely hanging on.I just don't think anyone trully tested this program at microsoft before releasing it, they gave it to the beta testers and then may have ignored the bugs in it.If the flight sim community was strong(I actually dont like this idea) then we all can get together hire a big shot attorney and go after them to release the beta testers notes etc.I bet everyone will be stunned at the outcome.MS like most mega corporations these days only responds to lawsuits. I for one am tired of tweaking then tweaking again and again for a sim that stutters like cfs3 and is pretty much unflyable at any setting etc. that I try. Im done its back to fs2002. Just think I could have saved 50 bucks and bought some add-on payware for a sim that works.Instead of wasting it on something that doesnt. Oh well, you learn bad purchase wont do that again.

[W2DR 1,859]

Simply amazing. What a great find. The "slowdown" framerate in the situation I've been using to test this over the weeks has gone from an average of 12 FPS to an average of 42 FPS (where it should have been all along). Absolutely super. Who needs the chicken and fish restaurants anyway?Doug

[Jimmy Angel 19]

I have tested this suggestion using my default FS2004 benchmark, which is an approach and landing on autopilot at KSEA from the south.Using fraps to measure the benchmark, here's my results before the tweak (1400x1050, 4xAA, 4xAF).Augogen - Normal: 28fpsAutogen - Dense: 26fpsHere's the results after renaming the xml file:Augogen - Normal: 29fpsAugogen - Dense: 29fpsI ran both sets of benchmarks twice, with identical results.These results are pretty encouraging. I have been running Autogen at normal because of the fps hit, but I haven't really been happy with that setting. Now, I can run at dense and even get a minor fps improvement over normal, without the restaurants and strip malls and what-not. I haven't really had an issue with the performance degredation others have discussed, but the fps gain is enough for me. I would say that this and Chris Willis' cloud fix have proven to be the most substanstive tweaks I've seen so far.I wonder if the variety of autogen models is the source of the problem? There sure is a lot of stuff in that xml file that will appear in an urban setting (schools, fire stations, gas stations, strip malls, a variety of resteraunts, hotels, billboards, etc.).I'm assuming it's possible to edit the default.xml file and omit most of the autogen "fluff", while keeping a few things (such as the rural autogen enhancements). I will probably play with this a bit today.

[Guest 747drvr]

didn't work for me at all my fps actually got worse

[Guest Wizard]

Er! High Jim..Saw your reply on the the post. I am checking out your advice :) I have the file but I am not sure exactly what to do here. Where do I make the change ..at the top where it says .xml? Thanks!Mb

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Hi All,I'm not really too sure this helped my system the way bigshot says it helped him. Seems like I'm still getting a performance degredation upon turning aroud to pass over a city again. But I would say I obeserved the same things Jimmy Angel observed. Which is that overall it does help. It would be interesting to see what some others here have to say after trying this out should they decide to try it.Jim

[Emile 28]

Hello,It works !"I recommend you to set TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS to 1, but rename the default.xml file to something else. The bridges, high-tension towers and highway signs add a lot more to the scenery, visually, than the fast food buildings do. This setting allows me to play the sim with Autogen at Extremely Dense with very playable framerates and NO SLOWDOWNS or STUTTERS even on long flights or when slewing."I have + 5-7 FPS , now I run at 30-35 FPS on my P4 2.4, GF4 TI4600 ....but still some stutters .....nobody is perfect ...

[SteveLewis 0]

Didn't work for me. I did both of the suggested changes and moved my autogen slider back to normal. Flew my return flight into cloudy Cleveland. As I was at 15 miles out from r/w 6R my PC froze -- for 2-3 minutes -- just like it did before I turned autogen completely off. This is with 3D clouds set to 50%.

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Hello Wizard(WZA),Have you figured it out yet? You just rename that file from default.xml to something else.. such as default.xml.bad, default.bad, or maybe default.xml.bakPeople usually rename a file to something ending in .bak to signify a 'backup' file. Say I wanted to edit an aircraft.cfg file but wanted to keep the original around. What I would do is fist 'Copy' the file to a Temp folder, then rename it to aircraft.cfg.bak. Then I would move it back to the Aircraft's folder that I originally copied it from. So in that Aircraft's folder I would have...aircraft.cfgaircraft.cfg.bakThen I would edit the aircraft.cfg fileto my satisfaction. Then if I ever wanted the original aircraft.cfg file restored I would just delete the aircraft.cfg file(the edited one) and rename aircraft.cfg.bak to aircraft.cfgProbably more than you wanted to know.. butHope that helps,Jim

[Chris Willis 8]

Hi Steve, "As I was at 15 miles out from r/w 6R my PC froze -- for 2-3 minutes ""You have serious problems here, these things you reports about froze are simply not normal, I have similar system to you EXCEPT the motherboard asus p4p800, 2,53 ghz at 533 and I have windows xp pro. I run fs2004 to full slider to right , 1024x768; 2x AA; clouds mil 40; clouds % to 100%. No problems about pause at all anywhere. There is something degrade your performance and crap this software completly.ThanksChris Willis[link:fsw.simflight.com/FSWMenuFsSim.html]Clouds And Addons For MsFs