Hi all

 

I got a new PC especially for simming about 18 months ago and from day one have been very disappointed with the overall look of FS9.

 

The main culprit is blurry/soft and blocky ground/water textures.

 

I've tried every tweak I've come across and read every thread I can find about this frustrating problem and seem no closer to a solution.

 

Therefore - seeing as I exclusively use this PC for FS - I'm thinking of reformatting my PC and going for a totally clean windows as FS9 installation.

 

My question is - which OS?

 

The PC came with Windows 7 (which I suspect may be the culprit or at least a factor as several people with this problem seem to be running Win 7 also) but I do also have a copy of XP.

 

As I said I don't use the PC for anything else so I'm thinking maybe I'm better off going for XP as I imagine its less resource hungry than 7?

 

I'm basically at my wits end - I've spent so much on add ons to improve the experience and am plagued by this issue. I love to look at the world in spot view and seeing screenshots from other people with crisp sharp textures (running lower spec machines!) is enough to drive me insane!

 

Any tips, suggestions, $0.02 very welcome.

 

 

Your OS is not the problem, Win7 will run FS9 just as well as WinXP.

 

What are the specs of your PC? Is it capable of running FSX?

 

FSX scenery is much more detailed than FS9, and will look a lot prettier,

if your PC can handle it.

I have the same trouble in FS9, and have just learned to live with it!

Though there are tweaks that can be done to minimize blurry textures, Its kinda the inherent nature of the beast. Mipmaping I reckon.

Ah ok, just seemed a bit coincidental that loads of people with this problem seem to be running Win7 - though I'm guessing this is just because new PCs come with it these days.

 

My PC spec is as follows:

 

Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.8GHz (4 CPUs)

4096MB RAM

NVidia GeForce GTX 460 - 2528MB

Running through my Panasonic TV via HDMI.

 

Don't know whether this would run FSX or not.

 

It just seems that with what I've spent on add ons - FS Global Mesh, UT Europe, GE Pro, Active Sky, REX, etc etc, all in pursuit of enhanced visuals - I still feel like it's not what it should be given the spec of the machine.

 

I see screenshots from others which make me think "wow" and I'm sure a lot of them are made on machines which are less capable than mine. I know mine isnt top end but it surely should be running FS9 at pretty much close to its "best".

 

I will do some screenshots now which show what I'm talking about...

If you are running with nVidia cards, have you got nVidia Inspector installed and set up? There is a balance between your PC hardware and how you run FS9. I will try to see if I have any of my documentation from my FS9 install and see if I can find anything that helps.

 

Ryan (aka TABS) from PMDG posted a little tidbit at their forums, settings for FS9 and FSX are identical.

 

http://forum.avsim.n...a/#entry1803598

 

If you are using iNspector or are planning on using it your FS9 settings should be:

 

Graphics

 

Filtering=Trilinear

Antialiasing = unchecked

 

The rest of the settings are going to have to be balanced, again I will see if I can find anything.

Hi Robert

 

Yes, i've read a lot of threads about this and have nVidia inspector installed, and have followed various different setting configurations all not making any discernable difference...

Sounds like a hardware issue then if you've run various settings in Nvidia Inspector with no noticeable difference.. It should be night and day when properly setup.

Best of luck in this pursuit.

If you can post a screenshot, it may show us what you are dissatisfied with.. but FS9 is limited in what it can do, scenery texture wise.

 

Make sure you have Texture flitering set to 16X, anisotropic, quality, in nvidia inspector..

 

Also, on a TV as monitor, every imperfection will stare you in the face.. how big is the TV and how far away is it from you when you are flying?

OK, let me start with a baseline... below are screenshots of FS9 and FSX, roughly the same location, east of KORD, flying north.

Default scenery.

If you look at the ground below the aircraft, you can see the difference in FS9 texture resolution and FSX texture resolution. FS9 is 256x256 and FSX 1024x1024 as best I recall.

Nothing you do to FS9 changes that.

BTW, the system you've got should fly FSX just fine.

If you can post a screenshot, it may show us what you are dissatisfied with.. but FS9 is limited in what it can do, scenery texture wise.

 

Make sure you have Texture flitering set to 16X, anisotropic, quality, in nvidia inspector..

 

Also, on a TV as monitor, every imperfection will stare you in the face.. how big is the TV and how far away is it from you when you are flying?

 

Thanks Bert, I actually did some more tweaking last night and - I don't know if I've just had too many beers! - it actually seems better than before.

 

I never really considered the TV as a factor, but I have an old 15" TFT in the loft, I may try hooking up to that and seeing how it looks in comparison!

 

OK, let me start with a baseline... below are screenshots of FS9 and FSX, roughly the same location, east of KORD, flying north.

Default scenery.

If you look at the ground below the aircraft, you can see the difference in FS9 texture resolution and FSX texture resolution. FS9 is 256x256 and FSX 1024x1024 as best I recall.

Nothing you do to FS9 changes that.

BTW, the system you've got should fly FSX just fine.

 

Thanks for that, I've never really looked at FSX as I've built my FS2004 collection up over the years since I was about 18 (now 26!)

 

I may pick up a copy and try running it and see how it works. I guess most of my addons will work with FSX as well as FS2004. Nothing to lose by trying!

If you do, either get the Gold version (recommended) - or download SP1 and SP2 if you get the Deluxe version.

 

Also, on Win7, do not install it in the default (Program Files) location, but instead do a custom install and install it into a C:\FSX folder, or on another drive.

I guess most of my addons will work with FSX

Please don't hold your expectations too high. Its about a 50/50 at best.

on Win7, do not install it in the default (Program Files) location, but instead do a custom install and install it into a C:\FSX folder, or on another drive.

Ohhh, why's that?

Sorry if this is detailed elsewhere, but I'm about to re-install all my system after endless problems with drivers and an entire new water-cooling system arriving today to chill my PC..

 

I'm using 2 x 480GB SSD's in RAID0, so would it be just as good/quick to use them as 2 seperate drives, 1 for system stuff, and 1 drive for FSX?