Yesterday I was helping a local simmer set up a new FSX machine that I helped him put together. While tuning FSX I remembered a procedure that will dial down vehicle traffic speeds to realistic speeds. Many have been set to 115 mph or thereabouts by MS.

 

Years ago, after experimentation and testing I had decided that the default speed should be 30 mph (50 Km) as it best reflects urban street conditions. To see cars and trucks whip around 90 degree corners faster than that ruins the immersion effect for me. In fact 30mph looks great everywhere. Airport vehicles should be 15-20 mph, not 85mph like I saw a forklift race by at.

 

It will take a wee bit of time to change them all since each vehicle will have to be done one at a time.

 

Go to FSX\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\GroundVehicles

 

Open up each folder, look for and open the sim cfg file with notebook, look for the set speed and change it, and save the changes accordingly.

 

Here is what one of the cfg files look like, with the portion to be altered in red:

 

[fltsim.0]

title=Veh_Air_NASA_Pickup_Sm

model=

texture=

[General]

category=GroundVehicle

[contact_points]

wheel_radius=1.15

static_pitch=0.0 //degrees, pitch when at rest on the ground (+=Up, -=Dn)

static_cg_height=2.46 //feet, altitude of CG when at rest on the ground

[DesignSpecs]

max_speed_mph = 30

acceleration_constants = 0.3, 0.4 //Time constant (effects responsiveness), and max G acceleration

deceleration_constants = 0.2, 0.4 //Time constant (effects responsiveness), and max G acceleration

[Lights]

light.0 = 1

light.1 = 1

light.2 = 2

light.3 = 2

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Edit: Please read the rest of this thread to find out additional information to slow down traffic speed in FSX. The process outlined above does not work outside of missions and airports.

I remember seeing a program that will do this(and alot more) automatically for you. I have it at home but can't think of the name at the moment. It is freeware btw.

Nice one Stephen, thanks. I know Orbx released a little app some time ago...

I remember seeing a program that will do this(and alot more) automatically for you. I have it at home but can't think of the name at the moment. It is freeware btw.

 

It was from ORBX.

 

A number of people had some difficulty at one time with that program when it was first released, so that is why I learned to do it manually. Besides, doing it manually allows for various speeds being attached to different types, for instances police cars, firetrucks, cars etc. I am not a fan of making changes in my FSX programming without knowing and understanding what is happening and why. Learnt (and re-learnt) that the hard way, time and again.

 

Kind regards,

Thanks for the post.

 

Combined with David "Opa" Marshall's hiway traffic document "Reducing Vehicle Traffic Speed in FSX", it really does enhance the immersion effect. (just search for "slowtraffic.zip" in the AVSIM Library).

Just this minute finished changing ALL the vehicles. I now need to get some Ipubrofen for my RSI!!

Time ago I had some trouble with the suggested files, so I did it by edditing each file. (Airport vehicles I set to 20 MPH)

Traffic is much more real now.

 

There is other file to edit: See Holger's post below

Hi guys,

 

actually, those changes in the .cfg files do nothing for the speed of the moving road traffic outside of airports and missions because that's regulated in a different file; see this thread from 2007(!) http://forum.avsim.net/topic/64263-is-there-anyway-to-slow-down-road-traffic/ and the more recent discussion here: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/383963-fsx-highway-traffic-speed/

 

Cheers, Holger

Program I was thinking of is FlusiFix.

www.flusifix.de

Hi guys,

 

actually, those changes in the .cfg files do nothing for the speed of the moving road traffic outside of airports and missions because that's regulated in a different file; see this thread from 2007(!) http://forum.avsim.n...n-road-traffic/ and the more recent discussion here: http://forum.avsim.n...-traffic-speed/

 

Cheers, Holger

 

Thanks for the reminder.

 

Now that you mention it, First time I did it was long ago and yes I did some changes to LWcfg.sbp after getting it to XML format.

Hi guys,

 

actually, those changes in the .cfg files do nothing for the speed of the moving road traffic outside of airports and missions because that's regulated in a different file; see this thread from 2007(!) http://forum.avsim.n...n-road-traffic/ and the more recent discussion here: http://forum.avsim.n...-traffic-speed/

 

Cheers, Holger

 

Thanks Holger,

 

That is why you received the Albert Einstein award! You are our resident genius. :smile2: I had forgotten about that and must have used the ORBX utility way back whenever, so that may be the reason mine still works so well.

 

Of course, not everyone can access ORBX software applications, so we have to make do in other ways. Any suggestions?

 

Kind regards,

Now if we just had a utility like we had for FS9 that we could use to speed up AI to taxi a little faster off the runway. If I recall that utility wont work in FSX.

Now if we just had a utility like we had for FS9 that we could use to speed up AI to taxi a little faster off the runway. If I recall that utility wont work in FSX.

If I remember correctly, FLusiFix does that, too. You can get it here: http://www.wolfgang-picheta.de/

Regards,

Flo