Favourite REX Settings

[VirginAus737 0]

Hello, Well it is probably one of the best addons for FSX and I think a very large amount of us would have this one. This thread is intended to be something like the "BIOS Settings" thread just with REX to see what people are using and what works best for them. I am currently on the laptop so I can't post them in but for all of you just get a screenshot of the settings you think are important and send them in, I think this could be interesting!

[MarkW 879]

I set it up a long time ago and have never changed it. My thinking is that I don't want to have to run another long Name/defrag the hard drive by having new texture writes on every flight (when weather related). If anyone can clarify if this is actually an issue then I would like to know about it. Mark.

[Tabs 2,790]

Mark,That's pretty over the top running a Complete/NAME every time any little change is made to the sim - that's not needed in my experience at all. Within the next couple years I think everyone's gonna be getting SSDs and it'll all be moot then anyway.

[pcubine 143]

I set it up a long time ago and have never changed it. My thinking is that I don't want to have to run another long Name/defrag the hard drive by having new texture writes on every flight (when weather related). If anyone can clarify if this is actually an issue then I would like to know about it. Mark.

Mark I got Rex2 probably one and half years ago and then added the Overdrive package whenever it was released. For about the first month I tried various combinations of sky, clouds, water, rivers, etc. Then I settled on a combination that I liked. I have not changed the theme since then. 14 months with the same theme. I would write what the various options are that I use but I don't even want to touch the options screens for fear of what might happen. In 14 months I don't believe I have had one problem with REX2. You can't say that about many other addons. Michael Cubine

[cmpbellsjc 1,640]

Hello, Well it is probably one of the best addons for FSX and I think a very large amount of us would have this one. This thread is intended to be something like the "BIOS Settings" thread just with REX to see what people are using and what works best for them. I am currently on the laptop so I can't post them in but for all of you just get a screenshot of the settings you think are important and send them in, I think this could be interesting!

For me personally the only textures in REX that I ever change ocassionally are the Daytime Sky sets, everything else I set once and leave it alone.I have always wanted to use sky sets that represent what I see 90% of the time where I live and have never gone for those extreme colored sky sets that look like something from a nuclear bomb having gone off or any of the other color sky sets that you see posted in screen shots from time to time.Basically what i've done is taken a lot of daytime photos of the sunrises, typical daytime, and sunsets where I live, then using those photos matched them up to the appropriate REX sky sets. Although the problem is that if your using the ENB mod then it can alter the brightness or colors of the sky sets you've installed.In the end, though days of testing, I ended up using two different daytime sky sets from REX, one for typical spring/summer and another for typical winter/fall. As for sunrise and sunsets, I could never find one in REX that I really liked, so I ended up using the sunrise/sunset sky sets from Pablo Diaz that someone re-did for FSX.Clouds have been another one that took me forever to find a set that I liked for normal use. I ended up using a cirrus set from REX that I dont even know the number of since it was erased when I updated to the OD expansion, and I am using a cumulous set from FEX called chew test. For clouds I always use DXT 1024's since I need to save a little overhead and also for the fact that the super HD versions seems a little too sharp for my taste. For the water I use REX's sparkling set, but I have converted the Sparkling water textures from 32bit which is what they install as, to DXT5. The reason for that was the 32bit versions were causing me some stuttering problems when flying over water.In the end it really up to you and what you like. I prefer to go for as realistic looking as possible, which often times would be considered boring to look at, while others like to go for the nuclear sunsets and overly dark daytime skies.Sean Campbell

[VirginAus737 0]

Yes, most realistic it is for me. This isn't so much a help me with my choice its just share what you have, thanks Sean.

[Timmer 2]

For the water I use REX's sparkling set, but I have converted the Sparkling water textures from 32bit which is what they install as, to DXT5. The reason for that was the 32bit versions were causing me some stuttering problems when flying over water.

For the longest time my machine was running well and then would turn into a slide show once in the air or if I looked out at certain angles. It was bizarre. I eventually traced this to having any water in view or near view or being in the clouds. I have found that if I add any REX water this is what causes it despite having a new machine and I made sure to not use 32-bit clouds. I'd go from a steady 35fps to going between 15-4fps instantly otherwise. I think it was due to the 32-bit textures mixed with one of the fancy nvidiaInspector settings. Either way, I've kept from using any non-standard water -- your statement above explains why I could use REX's clouds and not the water. Can you point me to a way to convert the water to DXT5 textures from 32-bit? Thank you!

[MarkW 879]

Mark, That's pretty over the top running a Complete/NAME every time any little change is made to the sim - that's not needed in my experience at all. Within the next couple years I think everyone's gonna be getting SSDs and it'll all be moot then anyway.

Ryan, I actually only due the full Name defrag after a major change (like installing the NGX), sounds like minor changes of REX scheme will not affect my FSX performance. Mark.

[cmpbellsjc 1,640]

For the longest time my machine was running well and then would turn into a slide show once in the air or if I looked out at certain angles. It was bizarre. I eventually traced this to having any water in view or near view or being in the clouds. I have found that if I add any REX water this is what causes it despite having a new machine and I made sure to not use 32-bit clouds. I'd go from a steady 35fps to going between 15-4fps instantly otherwise. I think it was due to the 32-bit textures mixed with one of the fancy nvidiaInspector settings. Either way, I've kept from using any non-standard water -- your statement above explains why I could use REX's clouds and not the water. Can you point me to a way to convert the water to DXT5 textures from 32-bit? Thank you!

Hi Timmer,If your running the Sparkling set in REX find the following four textures in your FSX/texture folder, they should be pretty big file sizes:OceanHeight20FieldLayer.ddsOceanHeight20FieldLayer1.ddsOceanHeight20FieldLayer2.ddsOceanHeight20FieldLayer5.ddsOnce you locate them back them up of course in case you mess up. Then simply open each one in DXTBmp and resave it as a DXT5 texture and your done, repeat for each one and them replace the recompressed texture back to the FSX/texture folder.The reason I mentioned these files for the Sparkling set is because after I installed that set and them sorted the FSX/texture folder by last accessed, these were the four that were done. If you install a different water set then it could be either the same file names or maybe different ones. The easiest way to check is to sort the texture folder by last acessed after you install REX textures and you will be able to see what REX had just installed, then you can modify them accordingly.Hope this helps.Sean Campbell

[Richard Sennett 1,970]

Any reason you did not add layer 3 & 4 to your list ?

[cmpbellsjc 1,640]

Any reason you did not add layer 3 & 4 to your list ?

Yes of course It's because layer 3 and 4 aren't overwritten or modified by REX and the fact that they are already extremely small DXT1 textures which require no extra leg work, which is contrary to the the files I listed. Of course that stands for the Sparkling set, which is why I recommened he check that folder and sort it by last accessed after he installs a water set just to be sure no other oceanhightlayer textures have been modified, which could be the case if another set other than Sparkling is used.Sean Campbell

[Richard Sennett 1,970]

Thanks for explanation

[cmpbellsjc 1,640]

Thanks for explanation

LOL, well you asked. Why the "talk to the hand"? Sean Campbell

[Richard Sennett 1,970]

Talk to hte hand, whats that thought it was waving hi, anyway takecare.

[derianc 0]

^ LOL Oh and, doesn't just going into REX and selecting DXT5 optimized clouds or what ever work?