I'm running fs9 with a radeon 9800pro. No matter what my settings are (mip-mapping, rendering to texture, etc...), I get HORRIBLE flickering of the distant horizon, which gets really disturbing when there are mountains far in the distance; it looks like a massive erthquake. Especially when panning in VC mode, trembling is so evident that my attention is totally distracted from flying. Not to mention that the whole thing is very far from being "as real as it gets". I've tried every combination of visibility settings, but I'm beginning to think it's a card or driver related problem.(happens both with CAT 3.7 and 3.8)Is anyone experiencing something similar? Could there be a cure, other than ditching the sim and waiting another two years? Or do I have to buy another card? I'm kind of sick of buying hardware for my software; damn, it should be exactly the other way around!luca

Luca,I have a constant stream of randomly appearing untextured bars in the sky. Sometimes one every few seconds, sometimes several bars a second. It makes FS9 completely unusable for me. I have tried every single driver out there, including the latest Omega 3.8beta, which solved most other people's problem. The only solution I have left is go back to the shop and ask for a different card. Perhaps something is wrong with mine, even though it runs all other software (including FS2002 and Fly!2) just perfectly.Pentium 4, 2.8 GHZ, HT, FSB 800 MHzAsus P4P 800 Deluxe MBSapphire Radeon 9800 Pro, 128 Mb1024 Mb DDR SDRAM2 x 120 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9, 7200 rpm, SATA 150 ...Regarding my system specs it is completely ridiculous that FS9 is still not performing well. Best regards,Henrihttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/44197.jpg

Hi Luca,I think everyone noted what you are seeing at some point while in the early stages of using the sim.I appear to have got rid of it but, for the life of me, I can't recall which tweak was responsible.I suggest you compare the following entries in your FS9.cfg file with those currently in place in mine and try adjusting values and testing as you go along:Under (Weather):MAX_UNLIMITED_VIS=128747CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=43D_CLOUD_PERCENT=100DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=8CloudsImpostorRingRadius=64000.000000(DISPLAY) :)My System Spec:Gigabyte GA-8IRXP MoBo (FSB 400Mhz)Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz1GB Crucial PC2100 DDR RamSaphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (Catalyst 3.7 drivers)Hyundai ImageQuest Q17 17" Monitor (1280x1024x32)SB Audigy Player (Drivers version 5.12.01.0253 Signed)Deskstar 120GXP UDMA100 HDs x 2 (60 and 40 Gig)CH Products USB Yoke, Pedals and FighterstickPlantronics Headset and Mike comboPlexWriter 40/12/40APioneer DVD-106SWindows XP Home Edition (SP1)DirectX 9.0bAGP Aperture = 128MBNo overclocking of CPU or GPU

It's great to have you guys reply so quick.Answering to Henri, let me say that I'm really puzzled; I don't understand why all of these problems didn't come out in beta testing. I can't believe that high-end systems such as yours are not capable of running the sim the way it should. As for your problem, I had graphical glitches in fs2002 ONLY when using add-on scenery and planes; judging from the pic you posted, that seems to be your case. Try running fs9 at its default software configuration, if you haven't done it already. Still, I'm afraid those radeons are not getting along to well with the sim. Just to mention, everytime my a/c flies through the thin cloud layer used for visibility, if I'm in VC mode the layer cuts right through the cockpit as if my plane was a flying ghost! Also, I recall having graphical problems in the sim, and only in the sim, when my AGP aperture settings in the system BIOS were below 64Mb. Are you overclocking?Answering to Mike, all settings in my fs9.cfg are similar, if not identical to yours, although I have to check at home this evening. What I actually never considered changing is the TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA value, which does indeed seem interesting for my case. I'll give it a try and let you know. Thanks to all for your help! Without this and other forums, we would be left alone with Microsoft! (and such thought sends a chill down my spine!)lucaP.S. What's the voting thing all about?

Luca,Thanks also for your reply. My problem also existed with a freshly installed FS9, i.e., without addons like the PMDG 737NG. And no, I am definitely not overclocking (I even tried underclocking!) I have tried about everything I could imagine and I am getting quite sad about the current state of things. Atmospheric effects in FS9 look so beautiful, but this constant flicker of vertical beams makes me use FS2002 instead. Lets hope a card swap will solve the problem. Of course, I also hope your problems will be solved soon. Incredible that even high-end systems like ours cannot run FS9 well.Cheers,Henri

The voting issue is a way (hopefully) to get Microsoft's attention concerning the very issues you mentioned. Problems like the dancing mountains in FS2k4 could be patched but Microsoft has basically dropped the ball concerning standing behind this sim. We haven't heard any word on a much needed patch or SDK releases which could at least give developers the tools to fix some of the problems Microsoft won't address. So casting your vote would help improve this deteriorating relationship we currently have with Microsoft...

Henri, one last thing you could try to fool around with is your AGP aperture setting in system BIOS. Another thing I would consider befor swapping your card is a fresh Windows install following a healthy format of your hard drive. But then again, since I never had problems severe as yours, it might as well be faulty RAM on your video card. Hope you get it solved. It's all getting pretty frustrating, though. Sometimes I feel I've been wasting too many years with this super-imposed damn computer business.As for the voting, please let me know how to do it, and I'll give my contribution. If things don't get better, I'll seriously consider legal intervention; I mean, these guys own the whole damn business, and they're selling us a product full of flaws! What if fs9 was a car? How long do you think it would last on the market? Do you suppose the company that built it would behave the same as MS is behaving with their sim, without having to disappear from the market in a matter of days? This thing is just NOT RIGHT! Being Microsoft the only mass-producing software company, doesn't do any good to the quality of software itself.luca

I've said it before. That's bad ram on that particular video card. Every once in a while somebody will get a new card with that problem. I've seen the screens and read the reports over at rage3d. It's always been cured by rma'ing the card and getting a new one. There is no fix for bad ram.

Bigshot,I guess I should have listened to you before. I just requested a new card from my PC vendor. They do not have the Radeon 9800Pro on stock at the moment. Lets hope the exchange works. I will post here when the problem is gone. Thanks again.Henri

Luca,I tried the AGP aperture size setting already. Did not make any difference. Since I had a brandnew system to start with and have everything working flawlessly apart from FS9, I really do not want to re-install Windows. I just wrote my PC-vendor that I would like to try a new card. I will let you know what happens after exchanging the card. Thanks again for your help.Best regards,Henrihttp://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Hi,I promised to return with un update on the results of my video card exchange. Today I exchanged the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800Pro 128 for a Hercules ATI Radeon 9800Pro 128. Guess what ....My problems with flickering black stripes in FS9 stayed the same. It wasn't bad video ram after all. Fairly desperately I started changing settings again and I finally found the solution. Under advanced display properties Troubleshoot section I disabled write combining. And after months of tweaking my system this terrible video problem in FS9 is finally gone. I am pretty sure I also tried this with the previous 9800Pro 128, where it did not work. Well, no need to go back now. How wonderful I can finally enjoy FS9 as well.Cheers,Henrihttp://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Henri,This site helped me a lot.http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/howto/ati2004.htmTry it.Roger

Thanks for the reference, Roger.Best regards,Henri