Automated Tweaking and Tuning tool for FSX

[Squishy 0]

I use bojote cfg but don't use his GFX options (as in scenery density etc.). I just pick my own settings and use bufferpool, affinitymask, rejectthreshold, etc etc from bojote

[bojote 20]

It's ok I found the Shader 3 Mod in the library files, I just need to find the Water Constants now.Thanks again.Mart.

I suggest you download the latest version with included installer from: http://www.venetubo.com/sha3mod.zip

I use bojote cfg but don't use his GFX options (as in scenery density etc.). I just pick my own settings and use bufferpool, affinitymask, rejectthreshold, etc etc from bojote

Thats what basically the tweak tool does.I would say that the only thing that could 'mess' your peformance is choosing a wrong 'CPU/threads' HyperThreading combo, so if YOU DON'T KNOW select the I don't know option, thats the reason why it is there.The tool is as good as the info you provide... remember, trash in, trash out, if you provide incorrect info, don't expect any better performance than what you already have! in fact, if you provide incorrect info you'll definitely mess your performance!

[bojote 20]

4 graphs, so 4 cores. thanks!So, I guess I do get better performance, but now FSX doesn't really look any better than FS9. Plus, I get enormous FPS oscillations, with FPS jumping up and down between 20 and 100 FPS... Around TNCM in the CS727 I get around 30FPS, but well, that's mostly sea anyway... I'll do some more testing, but I can't say I'm very enthused with how it all looks.

If you wish, have the tweak tool optimize your fsx.cfg again, this time simply answer I don't know in the how many CPU's threads question. If you see a diference a no more oscilations, then the reason was an incorrect AffinityMask calculation.On another note, I would like to recommend those who had problems, to follow this advice:Do NOT select how many CPU's you have. leave it blank/I don't know. Only choose speed.And, for those who don't like the tool moving some sliders to the left, I have two suggestions:1) You don't need the tool! if don't like the performance you currently have? get new hardware! don't blame the tool for trying to be realistic!2) Lie to the tweak tool! tell it you have the latest and greatest hardware!... but, see option #1 above.

[bojote 20]

I'm wondering why your .cfg layout is so different from mine, I have noticed others who have posted theirs that each is a little different from the other, is it based on your hardware settings?

My fsx.cfg is an 'experimental' fsx.cfg. I change it 'daily' for testing, benhmarking etc. So, one day you'll something, another day it will be back again. Take this for example:I do NOT use UsePools=0 anymore. Why? well.. I explained this in a post a while ago, UsePools=0 Effectively removes the dynamic vertex buffer, making FSX send requests directly to the GPU, however *IF* your GPU is very very fast (GTX 470 / GTX 480) then using the 'hybrid' approach will 'balance' things, reduce CPU load even further AND increase GPU load dramatically... in this case RejectThreshold is what you want.The tweak tool was released just yesterday, I need feedback from the users to see who is having success and who is not so I can tweak settings. the tool is (at least according to me) 100% dummy proof! there is no way you can mess up things! I even create a backup of your fsx.cfg and store in the server if you need to recover it. What I need is a feedback system to see who had success and who didn't.

So, is there no answer -- more stutters, less shimmering, or vice versa? No best setting for both?Best RegardsPete

Hi Pete,the information you have is 100% correct. Transparency Anti Alias DOES remove shimmering almost completely. (I use Eire Sim's Dublin for testing) the fences on that airport look as if they were electrified... and yes, you can inmediatly tell the difference.UNFORTUNATELY, in my experience, this setting also induces stutter when panning around. Short pauses, that are removed COMPLETELY when you disable this option. My PC is very sensitive, meaning, I don't have a 'single' stutter.. I have rock solid, smooth performance at 30FPS, so, I can spot strange behavior right away, and THIS setting does hurt smoothness. I invite anyone reading this to try and see for themselves if this is the case on their setups as well.

[spilok 1,136]

I tried this and it worked surprisingly well. Even though I asked for an "aggressive" tuning, it was rather conservative with my Autogen settings, and traffic. I really like having the eyecandy, and I eventually tweaked some of the settings back to the right. However, I'm really impressed with some of the settings it found could be improved and I like the fact that it backs up your original FSX config.Question: Is NVidia Inspector or other such graphic tweakers necessary if one uses this tuning tool?Stan

[bojote 20]

Question: Is NVidia Inspector or other such graphic tweakers necessary if one uses this tuning tool?

You can use nVidia inspector, no conflicts or problems of any kind 'except' for the 'transparency' anti-alias setting I mention. but, this is purely optional.Guys, can I please ask all of you leaving feedback (positive / negative) to include the following info:1) You CPU type/speed 2) Check the 'tweaked' fsx.cfg file. Notice the 'comments' section at the beginning. See the line that says this file tweaked using the followingsettings and it gives some numbers for CPU, GPU etc.. I need that! I need to check what you have, and what the tool detected. MAKE SURE YOU DO -NOT- INCLUDE the line with your original fsx.cfg download URL. This is a PRIVATE URL, yours only.. no need to share it only to recover your own fsx.cfg in case of problems.Thanks!

[David Roch 1,982]

This guy is crazy.... :--))Thanks a lot for this tool *******!Worked perfectly well for me.My virtual flying experience has never been so smooth.

[ryanbatc 12,857]

If selecting Normal, what exactly is the goal of your application? Is it aiming for maximum FPS? Or smoothness?I ran the thing on Normal and FSX looks like absolute SHITE now lol. Sure it's smooth 60 fps but it's just nasty. FS9 would look better hahah!Here's a before and after. I'm actually having issues with mega stutters with these settings in Win7. I just came from Vista where it was very smooth when using the external limiter. I haven't tried it yet in Win7 I've heard people are having issues with it. Another thing I'm very wary of is nvidia inspector and the 2xx series drivers. I think I should be on an older driver for my really old 8800GT. But I'm going to manually try that vsync fix for windowed mode, because that's what I run.edit: line in your tweaked CFG...This file is optimized as follows: 2 core(s), CPU speed 2, HT 0, GPU 2, PREF xAnd this is what it did (turned my LOD radius down to 2.5 sick lol)Congratulations! you already have HIGHMEMFIX set!You are running with frame rates set to unlimited, great! but MAKE SURE you use the 'external' frame rate limiter set to 'exactly' 20 FPS for optimal results.You don't have a BufferPools section!, adding optimized settings.You don't have the vSync Fix applied to your configuration!You don't have the vSync Fix (Windowed mode) applied to your configuration!ALLOW_SHADER_30=1 has been added to make FSX Shader 3 compatibleOptimal A/C shadow settings have been appliedSetting TextureMaxLoad for faster texture loading.SWAP_WAIT_TIMEOUT has been added to your configuration.Your scenery radius has been adjusted according to your hardware.Autogen has been adjusted according to your hardware.Your Mesh resolution have been adjusted.Your texture resolution have been adjusted.Your Water resolution have been adjusted.Your scenery complexity is too high for your hardware! adjusting.Adjusting SOUND_LOD for improved performance when using AI sounds.If using nVidia Hardware MAKE SURE you disable Transparency Anti-aliasing for improved smoothness.BEFOREAFTER

[Pete Dowson 558]

the information you have is 100% correct. Transparency Anti Alias DOES remove shimmering almost completely. (I use Eire Sim's Dublin for testing) the fences on that airport look as if they were electrified... and yes, you can inmediatly tell the difference.UNFORTUNATELY, in my experience, this setting also induces stutter when panning around. Short pauses, that are removed COMPLETELY when you disable this option.

Right. So it's a choice I have to make.Well, I don't 'pan around' a lot (makes little sense in a projector system where I'm viewing the world through the front window), so I'll maybe keep the transparency. I'll sdee how it goes.Thanks!Pete

[Benjamin J 751]

If you wish, have the tweak tool optimize your fsx.cfg again, this time simply answer I don't know in the how many CPU's threads question. If you see a diference a no more oscilations, then the reason was an incorrect AffinityMask calculation.On another note, I would like to recommend those who had problems, to follow this advice:Do NOT select how many CPU's you have. leave it blank/I don't know. Only choose speed.And, for those who don't like the tool moving some sliders to the left, I have two suggestions:1) You don't need the tool! if don't like the performance you currently have? get new hardware! don't blame the tool for trying to be realistic!2) Lie to the tweak tool! tell it you have the latest and greatest hardware!... but, see option #1 above.

The oscillations have gone, thanks to that external FPS Limiter. I set it to 30FPS, and it stays around that value most of the time. Sometimes it goes to 40 for some reaosn, but it's way better than it was. And yes, I am realistic, which is why I still tend to use FS9 so much. To eb honest though, at low altitudes FSX does like pretty nice, with those sharp ground textures. I think I'll use it more often now that it seems to be set up better, but I'll make sure to fly around the less inhabited places of our earth. For the heavies and long haul flying, however, I might just as well use FS9.

[PIC007 82]

I used a copy of my cfg to see what this thing would do and I have to say that I will stick to my original cfg. I run most sliders maxxed with 4096 textures and the sim is always smooth and sharp. The 'tweaks' recommended I lower most settings and other adjustments to get better performance, IMHO lowering sliders to get better performance is not a 'tweak', it's dumbing down FSX to improve FPS. Thanks for the effort though, I am sure some will find it beneficial.

[ryanbatc 12,857]

IMHO lowering sliders to get better performance is not a 'tweak', it's dumbing down FSX to improve FPS. Thanks for the effort though, I am sure some will find it beneficial.

+1 for effortFor instance, I never knew of the windowed mode vsync fix... I did leave that option in my cfg. It helps the reduce the frame rate variance (a cause of stutters). Without this tweak I was getting %50+ variance... now I usually start out with 20-30, but then it reduces to <%10.... this is a major help to my stutter issue. I also left the bufferpools and highmemfix in.I'm not dissing your tool, I'm honestly wondering what the goal of it is? As explained it added some useful tools to my cfg but it also subtracted a lot of settings and while it did yield greater fps and smoothness, it decreased image quality, texture loading, and overall FSX simming experience. I realize not a lot of users would be happy with 20 fps in rural areas but I am - and I'll sacrifice the frame rate and some smoothness to enjoy higher sliders anyday.I think if there was some sort of target for your application it could be better IE - "30 fps, max possible smoothness." At the moment it seems to be just going for max fps... disregarding IQ and sliders.

[mmann 72]

Unless someone flies in the same FSX location's you do, while using the same aircraft and scenery addons as you have, any tweaks recommended are probably not going to be 100% appropriate.The best setup I found was what Orbx recommended in their PNW manual when flying with their scenery installed. I have been 100% satisfied with my setup since then and haven't tried any additional tweaks in the fear of sending FSX in a downward spiral.Of coarse for those who enjoy tweaking more than flying, go for it.Regards, Mike Mann

[bojote 20]

I think if there was some sort of target for your application it could be better IE - "30 fps, max possible smoothness." At the moment it seems to be just going for max fps... disregarding IQ and sliders.

The 'target' is to provide a 'smooth' consistent experience in all situations (depending on the hardware you have) now, if you are not happy with the tool suggesting 'lower' slider settings (which I agree is NOT a tweak), then simply ignore the advice! the tool is to be used as reference, specially *IF* your are having performance problems, if you sim is already smooth, why would anyone use this tool?So, what is the tool objective? to analyze 'every single value you have' checking your type of hardware AND determining 'optimal' settings based on that hardware. Why I did develop this tool? because I know every single fsx.cfg config option by memory, it's impact on performance and how it affects smoothness.Based on user comments I'll 'change' the tool behavior. Now, with the AGGRESIVE setting, I'll now LOWER the sliders, but in the normal settings I'll simply 'warn you' about them been too high (if hardware is a limitation). I'll be doing the changes shorty.

[bojote 20]

At the moment it seems to be just going for max fps... disregarding IQ and sliders.

Fixed. Thanks for the feedback! Aggresive setting will 'change' sliders. Normal setting will only 'recommend' but all the other tweaks will be applied. Also, the 'recommended' values (based on hardware) have been raised. No more 2.5 radius, Low water or Sparse autogen. I appreciate the feedback, and trust me, I'm not expecting it to be all positive! constructive critisim will help make the tool useful for others.