It is well known that the default.xml and vector autogen objects cause a drop of performance during longer flights by remaining stuck

cool.unfortunately, some people may "fly" using real-life sectional/ta charts, like i do, and while red barns and big macs are generally not featured on those, power lines and radio masts are. can't live without them...:(

With power lines, you still get a green "line" of texture to show you where it is. You can also edit the files to still show the objects you absolutely NEED and disable the rest.If any radio masts are placed accurately, they are not placed by the autogen. They would probably be library objects.Autogen places objects randomly, based on landclass data. In fact, I sometimes find autogen objects confusing. You might see something on the chart, such as a high voltage tower, chemtank or power transmission station, then look out and see that very same thing in the FS scenery - only problem is, you're 20 miles off course and the object was just randomly placed there.

you're right about the radio masts. my bad... i disabled the new autogen long ago and i'm very happy without it. but i couldn't live without my telegraph poles. where i usually go, they're the only mark of civilization... so for now let me leave vector objects on. :)cheersvilkps. and yes, i can tell the good masts from the bad ones. :)pps. so what does TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS=0 actually do?

Hi Jimmi.There is another way to get rid of the road autogen, that leaves the bridges and utility towers alone.The terrain.cfg file can be altered to delete all lines that contain "VectorAutogen=" in the "// Roads" section. That kills the vector autogen that makes telephone poles and highway signs, while leaving the rest.Framerates will rise quite a bit, as there are no longer thousands of telephone poles near scenery-dense urban areas.( Rename the original terrain.cfg as terrain.orig before the surgery, so you know where it is if you want to restore it ).Dick

This post was really a HUGE help to me, and I know others who haven't turned off vector objects yet would benefit. I had the basic autogen fix taken care of long ago, but never tried the vector half of the equation.I have a fast system, but always felt there was a slight lack of fluidity and occasional stutter in certain areas, but could never track it down. After turning off the telephone poles I now know where it came from, and the general fluidity (and framerates in certain situations) are markedly improved. Sure I"ll miss the poles, but solid 30FPS and ultimate fluidity on final approach in the Marchetti 260 is about as real as it gets to flying.Thanks and best,Joel

I know what you mean. Average framerate for me around Seattle (KSEA) is more than double after deactivating the vector objects and default.xml.It's a shame we have to sacrifice visual quality because of a bug in FS. Hopefully, these new findings will encourage Microsoft to consider releasing a patch to fix the faulty autogen objects."pps. so what does TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS=0 actually do?"If you can't tell the difference, why worry? :)Actually, it turns off "vector objects", ie. objects that follow vector lines. A good example of these are the high voltage towers that FS places according to high voltage line data. It also places streetlights and telephone poles alongside roads, and places billboards randomly in the scenery. Most of these things are only visible on short final or if you are flying an Ultralight or something.

yeah, i could tell THAT difference alright. i was just afraid that it might do even more damage in my virtual world...:-lolsince one of my biggest chunks of fun comes from landing my taildraggers on country roads, jumping out of the cockpit (activecamera) and going behind that pine to take a leak, i'll stick to my poles... mind you, i'm a pole myself.:-lolhave a good day, all!vilk

I disabled my default.xml file a while ago, and I've found that I can live without the fast food chicken shacks, but I love the roads and and high tension lines and I'm not ready to give them up yet. Like everyone else, I'm wishing Microsoft will issue a patch.-- WaltFlying FS2004 at 1600x1200x32Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHzWindows XP Pro512MB PC800 RDRAM,8100128MB ATI Radeon 9600 ProCATALYST Windows XP 3.10 video driverDirectX 9.0bViewSonic P95f+ 19 inch Ultrabrite CRT MonitorSound Blaster Audigy2 ZSCreative I-Trigue 2.1 3300 SpeakersMS ForceFeedback 2 joystick