Distant Shimmering

[haztronic 1]

Hi guys, I thought I might as well ask this because it annoys me sometimes. I'm sure its not a big issue and quite a few of us have to deal with it but I get these like shimmering textures in the distance, so for example I'm taxiing to 25R at KLAX, (FSDT Scenery) and you look ahead and the textures are kind of bobbing up and down, but if you zoom in they straighten out again. Its very hard to describe, but another example is the runway, the further you look down it, you can see the textures shimmering and I'm trying to find a solution that keeps everything steady and graphically correct.Hopefully some of you understand my bad explanation :Thinking:Thank you!i7 2600K @ 4.6Ghz, 580GTX

[Boeing or not going 578]

You need to set your anti aliasing to 8xSQ, it gives some performance hits though.

[Ben Cap 89]

Use THIS guide to setup FSX and eliminate shimmers.

[Rocky_53 1,594]

As a pointer, and I now this may be a little contentious, but I have my Texture Filtering set to application controlled ie. FSX. I have discovered that, for me anyway, FSX appears to provide better control of shimmering than Inspector when set at anistropic.

[Boeing or not going 578]

As a pointer, and I now this may be a little contentious, but I have my Texture Filtering set to application controlled ie. FSX. I have discovered that, for me anyway, FSX appears to provide better control of shimmering than Inspector when set at anistropic.

That's because you're not seeing much real detail in the distance. You should read this toohttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/324786-nvidia-configuration-guide-inspector-2xxxx-drivers-version-20-explanations-of-all-settings/

[Stick 0]

I've made it a life's mission to battle the exact distant shimmering you're referring to, for the last 9 years (since FS9 release!).I tried every tweak and so called 'bible guide' under the sun; some helped; some done nothing; none cured it completely. I tried selling my ATI card and moving over to Nvidia, with no improvement, then going back to ATI.....As it stands today, I have completely cured distant shimmering, but there was quite a significant cost (in performance terms);I completely eradicated distant shimmering by going back to an ATI card (I'm using a HD 5770 1GB) and setting "Super Sample AA" mode in the settings. That's it. Forget the more efficient "Multi-sampling AA" mode, or the in-between "Adaptive AA" modes; the single solitary way I cured both distant shimmering and shimmery gauges and screens in my VCs (particularly Carenado's GNS430/530), was to set "Super Sample AA"... the level of AA and AF subsequently set then didn't matter a huge lot; so I use AA and AF both at 4x.The sim now looks BEAUTIFUL with Super Sampling AA, but the performance cost on my i7 2600k, Win 7 64bit, with 16GB DDR3 RAM, is around 10 FPS; quite significant. I absolutely love how this has made my landscapes look in FSX, and particularly my VC gauges, but I have had to make compromises in other areas, such as reducing autogen, shadows, traffic, weather and a few other settings.I am only stating that this is what worked for me, and worked 100%. I would say again that nothing at all (including using all of Ryan (Tabs) and NickN's suggested settings) worked for me with an Nvidia card. I just always had shimmering with an Nvidia card. An ATI card, set to full "super sampling AA" mode, was the only effective cure.Your mileage may vary!Cheers.

[Rocky_53 1,594]

I've made it a life's mission to battle the exact distant shimmering you're referring to, for the last 9 years (since FS9 release!).I tried every tweak and so called 'bible guide' under the sun; some helped; some done nothing; none cured it completely. I tried selling my ATI card and moving over to Nvidia, with no improvement, then going back to ATI.....As it stands today, I have completely cured distant shimmering, but there was quite a significant cost (in performance terms);I completely eradicated distant shimmering by going back to an ATI card (I'm using a HD 5770 1GB) and setting "Super Sample AA" mode in the settings. That's it. Forget the more efficient "Multi-sampling AA" mode, or the in-between "Adaptive AA" modes; the single solitary way I cured both distant shimmering and shimmery gauges and screens in my VCs (particularly Carenado's GNS430/530), was to set "Super Sample AA"... the level of AA and AF subsequently set then didn't matter a huge lot; so I use AA and AF both at 4x.The sim now looks BEAUTIFUL with Super Sampling AA, but the performance cost on my i7 2600k, Win 7 64bit, with 16GB DDR3 RAM, is around 10 FPS; quite significant. I absolutely love how this has made my landscapes look in FSX, and particularly my VC gauges, but I have had to make compromises in other areas, such as reducing autogen, shadows, traffic, weather and a few other settings.I am only stating that this is what worked for me, and worked 100%. I would say again that nothing at all (including using all of Ryan (Tabs) and NickN's suggested settings) worked for me with an Nvidia card. I just always had shimmering with an Nvidia card. An ATI card, set to full "super sampling AA" mode, was the only effective cure.Your mileage may vary!Cheers.

Hi Stick, I agree. I too have tried every single combination, setting, value, everything and still have shimmering. Interesting that you talk about the 5770. I went from that particular card to the Nvida and it was only at that point I actually became aware of any kind of shimmering.

[ctiger 49]

Stick,I use the same ATI card and have been trying to tweak out the shimmering. Thanks for your tip on setting to "super sampling". That indeed cleared up the shimmering. My frames did not see any major impact; however, I have on occasion noticed some delay in texture display. I am using application setting for Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering. Would you kindly provide your other CCC settings?Thanks,Carl

[CFIJose 5,485]

Hi guys, I thought I might as well ask this because it annoys me sometimes. I'm sure its not a big issue and quite a few of us have to deal with it but I get these like shimmering textures in the distance, so for example I'm taxiing to 25R at KLAX, (FSDT Scenery) and you look ahead and the textures are kind of bobbing up and down, but if you zoom in they straighten out again. Its very hard to describe, but another example is the runway, the further you look down it, you can see the textures shimmering and I'm trying to find a solution that keeps everything steady and graphically correct.Hopefully some of you understand my bad explanation :Thinking:Thank you!i7 2600K @ 4.6Ghz, 580GTX

I use Inspector with a setting of 8xs & 2x Sparse Grid Suppersampling to avoid shimmers at a distance.If you want even better, sharper images use 4x Sparse Grid, however in clouds you could experience a major performance hit. I do!Cheers.

[Barnstormer1 0]

16xS and 8x Supersampling. No texture or gauge shimmering and no performance hits. Runs perfect.I7 2600K @ 4.7ghz 580GTX 1.5m.

[Stick 0]

Stick,I use the same ATI card and have been trying to tweak out the shimmering. Thanks for your tip on setting to "super sampling". That indeed cleared up the shimmering. My frames did not see any major impact; however, I have on occasion noticed some delay in texture display. I am using application setting for Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering. Would you kindly provide your other CCC settings?Thanks,Carl

Hi Carl,My other settings in CCC are are:-AAUse application settings: UntickedMorphological Filtering: TickedLevel: 4xFilter Type: BoxAFUse application settings: UntickedPer-pixel samples: 4xTesselation* All settings unticked and level = off *Catalyst AITexture Filtering Quality: QualityEnable Surface Optimization: UntickedMipmap Detail Level: PerformanceWait for Vertical Refresh: On, unless application specifiesAnti-Aliasing Mode: Super Sample AAOpenGL SettingTriple buffering: Unticked (irrelevent for FSX).I don't think there is a lot of importance in the rest of my settings; it is simply that Super Sample AA is a hugely powerful (but resource intensive) form of Anit-Aliasing. For example, having the fairly low MipMap settings that I have above would normally potentially cause shimmering in the distance, but with Super Sample AA in use, MipMaps aren't really going to be adding much; a bit like adding a 5bhp engine modification to a 400bhp sports car. :)Cheers.

[Boeing or not going 578]

16xS and 8x Supersampling. No texture or gauge shimmering and no performance hits. Runs perfect.I7 2600K @ 4.7ghz 580GTX 1.5m.

What is your video resolution set at?

[ctiger 49]

Stick,Thanks for sharing your CCC settings. The only difference I noticed in our settings was allowing application settings for AA and AF. Noticed little or no impact between application set or leave unticked. YourAnti-Aliasing Mode: Super Sample AA was a winner.Carl

[Stick 0]

Stick,Thanks for sharing your CCC settings. The only difference I noticed in our settings was allowing application settings for AA and AF. Noticed little or no impact between application set or leave unticked. YourAnti-Aliasing Mode: Super Sample AA was a winner.Carl

Yes I agree, I see very little ( >< 1 FPS) difference in performance between letting FSX command the AA and AF level, or letting the GPU take care of it. As long as the AA type is set to Super Sample you'll get the visual benefit; the level is then less important. Hence I tried up to 16x AA but the difference was hardly noticeable between 4x and 16x as long as Super Sample was in use.Glad it made a good difference for you!Cheers.