June 26, 201213 yr Hi all, I'm feeling pretty good about my setup right now, having recently ironed out some stuttering issues that were apparently a side-effect of forcing AF in Inspector. However, there's one issue that I've had since I first installed FSX on my rig that doesn't ever seem to go away. It seems to affect objects where one texture is laid on top of another--poster-like decals, like scenery billboards and signs on buildings, seem to be chronically affected--they all seem to exhibit this behavior. I've attached example images from one airfield in the oustanding "Airports of Norway" freeware package, but this affects sceneries ranging from FlyTampa's Kai Tak to Aerosoft's Budapest, as well as a small handful of default autogen objects. Basically, if the aircraft/camera is still (e.g. engines off or paused) the decal is stable, either fully visible, invisible or somewhere in between (as you can see in the pictures below). However, as soon as any movement of camera or airplane is introduced they flicker like crazy between those states. It's annoying and a significant immersion killer. Is this a settings issue? A hardware problem? While I've noticed a similar issue _once_ in a different game, FSX is the only program that seems routinely affected. From my google searching, it seems like this is some kind of a Z-fighting issue, but it sounds like even cards from years ago were supposed to basically have Z-buffer precision issues taken care of, so that may be a red herring. Thanks for any help. I'm not sure if this might better fit in the hardware forum, but since I'm not yet clear what the issue is I'm posting it here. Apologies if that's wrong! Best, James Edit: just noticed that the image preview cuts off a second decal texture example on the right-hand side of the pictures--it's only visible by clicking on them.
June 26, 201213 yr Make sure you have highmemfix=1 in the graphics section of your fsx.cfg. Plus, do you have DX10 preview turned on? Best regards, Jim
June 26, 201213 yr Moderator James, I have seen the same things in some sceneries by Aerosoft (Lisbon comes to mind), ORBX (Cairns) and a few other here and there. I am not so sure any video card setting will fix it and it has to be left to the developer. In the case of ORBX Cairns airport, there was one of the signs displaying the same thing you show and the developer later fixed it in a patch. It could be a transparency issue (alpha layer) with the texture that they used for the sign or logo and was easy to fix. Perhaps the texture has an alpha channel for transparency where it should have on, not sure. In any case, I wouldn't worry about your video card settings as these most likely wont fix the issue if its on a case by case issue with certain sceneries. Worst case, you could always notify the developer of the scenery you put in the screen shot and see if he can fix it for you. Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator
June 27, 201213 yr From my google searching, it seems like this is some kind of a Z-fighting issue Pretty much. Point it out to the dev if you can it should be a simple fix - the sign texture just needs to be placed off the building a few inches. I've seen similar instances in my own sceneries when placing things like letters and markings on the ground. Placed flush they would be fine at ground level but flicker once in the air. Elevating them .1 - .3 feet off the ground produces no visible "float" from the ground and eliminates the flicker from the air. Drew Sikora Staff Blog Founder/Designer, MSE Airports
June 29, 201213 yr Author Thanks for your help, guys. Glad to know it isn't just my card or settings! Best, James
June 29, 201213 yr Pretty much. Point it out to the dev if you can it should be a simple fix - the sign texture just needs to be placed off the building a few inches. I've seen similar instances in my own sceneries when placing things like letters and markings on the ground. Placed flush they would be fine at ground level but flicker once in the air. Elevating them .1 - .3 feet off the ground produces no visible "float" from the ground and eliminates the flicker from the air. A very interesting explanation as to why the ground flickers between grass and runway, in front of me, as a travel down the runway of default Livermore Muni (KLVK) in my FS 2004... The runway is either set too low, or the grass is set to high! I can live with it though!... ...! Paul..FS 2004... :Bug: ...!
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