I fly from within the VC in two payware planes I have both are highly detailed. I have noticed that I always have a certain amount of stutters, well it's not so much as a stutter more like a "jerking". It looks to me like it's updating textures or something, but I can't be sure. It only happens if I'm in a turn and it's not because of lack of FPS, I have high FPS in the range of 30-50 and it always happens in the VC. Is it because of the rendering engine built into fs9 and that it can't cope with large shifts in textures from within the VC because I don't have this in the 2D panel? Or is it simply a matter of lack of raw power? I have tried all tweaks and I have gotten it down to a minimum but there is still that tiny "jerk" when in a turn. One thing that alleviated this a lot was uninstalling the Airport Enviroment Upgrade...I noticed that whenever I turned towards an airport right before I got it into view from the VC it work make a sudden big jump like it was refreshing the textures, and after uninstalling this I lost it. This got me thinking, are we at a point where flying from the VC is a viable alternative to the 2D panel, I mean is the allusion or flying being kept even though I have a small jerk plus the lack of smooth gauges? Certainly not if I want to practice my patterns or any other flying where precision is necessary. The VC does offer a better illusion of flying than the 2D panel does though when it comes to "being there".What is your opinion on this?Regards-Mikkel

I have found that I get micro-stutters in turns whenever I have my resolution set pretty high (i.e. 1600x1200). The frame rate is generally fine at all resolutions, but if I try to push things up too high I get the stutters.I will also get the same stutters if I don't lock the frame rate to a reasonable number.The stutters are not disk access issues, but little tiny pauses in the animation of the turn. Is this what you are encountering? If so, you might try a lower resolution and a lower locked frame rate.On the other hand, I don't know why, but I am simply unable to get a decent fps in 2d cockpits ... from 30 in VC down to 10 in the 2d panel , which is okay, because -- to answer your original question -- I much prefer the immersiveness gained from the virtual cockpit. I fly GA and spend my time looking out the window ... for heavy iron fliers and IRF'ers the 2d cockpit is probably more practical.

This sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing. Smaller pauses in the ground textures whenever I'm in a turn and like you I can see that it's not a disk access problem either. I also fly GA so naturally this is a big deal to me as it really kills a part of the illusion.As for your low FPS in 2D you might want to try and add PanelasTexture=0 in your fs9.cfg file under the display section.Regards-Mikkel

>This sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing. Smaller>pauses in the ground textures whenever I'm in a turn and like>you I can see that it's not a disk access problem either. I>also fly GA so naturally this is a big deal to me as it really>kills a part of the illusion.I noticed in your post that you have fps of 30-50. I would try locking to 25 (to start). I bet that will make a big difference for you. In my experience, unlocked frame rate means better scenery texture loads, but it also means stutters.>>As for your low FPS in 2D you might want to try and add>PanelasTexture=0 in your fs9.cfg file under the display>section.Yeah. I actually tried that. Like I said, not a big problem for me, but irksome.

JimmyHave you tried setting Virtual Cockpit Gauge Quality to Low? (in settingsdisplay) For some reason this will often improve framerates and reduce stuttering in the 2D panel.David

I actually tried to lock my frames, but to 30 rather than 25. I have now tried 25 and I don't know why but it actually is an improvement.:-hmmm Alot less microstutters...go figure. :D-Mikkel

I love the VC but find it unpractical to use when the work load is heavy in the cockpit. It's just so much quicker to have your over head panel just a click away from you FMC, throttle and main panel.They are great for taxiing and situational awareness (immediately after take off, cruise and just prior to final) and especially for 'looking out the window'!I think MSFS has a long way to go before we finaly have a VC that will replace the 2D panel. You just don't have the same control in a VC.Not to mention the FPS taking a huge hit.Best RegardsBoone,[email protected]"Flying a plane is no different from riding a bicycle. It's just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes."

The soulution for me is dual monitors. That way I can fly from the VC, but keep my radio stack, throttle quadrant, etc, in a 2d window on the second monitor.Dan

I know a lot of people fly from the VC and claim that they would never use a product that doesn't have a VC. I don't use VCs, preferring not to load them at all if I can help it. The reason is simply because the guage refresh rate is not as good as that in the 2D panel. Is it just me getting poor guage refresh rates in VC or is this a universal thing and VC Lovers have just accepted it?

Mikkel,This video can help answer your question.Lock-On, IL-2 and FS2004 are featured here. Lock-On and IL-2 both feature 3D Only cockpits or VC's. FS2004 features both, the VC and a 2D. Which one would you prefer? I think is a matter of taste, however when coupled with TrackIR 3D Cockpits gives you the sense of being there. It took me a while to get used to the TrackIR, but once you master it, boy you'll NOT want to fly without it.As for performance, take a close look at the video...Lock-On and IL-2 demand MORE power than FS2004 (check the suggested HW), however in virtual cockpit mode FS2004 sttuters so much is almost unplayable. I think it's the fact that the VC's are NOT yet optimized for performance in FS2004, maybe FS2006? who knows.The future is clear. VC's are the way to go. It's like the DOOM revolution of '95 we live in a 3D world and today technology is ready to offer extremely realistic VC's, check the video!I don't have the link to the video. You'll have to go to simradar and check the the video gallery.

>Is it just me getting poor guage refresh rates in VC or is>this a universal thing and VC Lovers have just accepted it?When I'm using the VC for a specific reason such as landing.......... in crosswinds, or just slipping it in, then my focus is NOT on the instrument panel. I also usually have the "shift Z" digital readouts on the left hand top of screen for airspeed.IMO------- if you've never used a VC along with rudder pedals, then you'll never experience the senses of cross-control that this simulator is capable of. It's amazing sometimes!And BTW ----- I still use both 2D & VC, depending on what works best for the situation. I wouldn't want VC or 2D only.L.Adamson

>I know a lot of people fly from the VC and claim that they>would never use a product that doesn't have a VC. I don't use>VCs, preferring not to load them at all if I can help it. The>reason is simply because the guage refresh rate is not as good>as that in the 2D panel. >>Is it just me getting poor guage refresh rates in VC or is>this a universal thing and VC Lovers have just accepted it?Hi Anthony,I will fly whatever. It doesn't have to have a VC for me to fly it. But I do love VC's and I think they are the wave of the future. LOMAC has the 3D Cockpit(VC) only, yes. But nothing in it is clickable! In FS2004, I have to agree, something must be done about the gauge refresh rate! :-boomCheers,Jim

I've tried LOMAC and was very impressed with what they had to offer. I also tried X-Plane which is my opinion is way ahead of fs9 with respect to how smooth gauges are. I think it's a matter of the rendering engine in fs9 being too weak...xml gauges just isn't good enough. Now I think that fs9 will at some point see better gauges in the VC but so far no one has made a workable VC when it comes to precision flying.-Mikkel

There's on basic conflict that you're always going to have between 2D and VC and that is perspective. In 2D you can use a zoom setting of 1.0 which for most setups is close to correct in terms of perspective when looking outside. Do that with the VC and you won't see much of the panel at all. VC's always force you into using wide-angle zoom settings and that throws natural perspective totally out of whack. For more on this see my article: http://www.digital-flight.com/FOV/FOV_forgotten_factor.htmTonyDigital-Flight

The gauges in X Plane are so smooth because the gauge update rate is the same as the simulation frame rate. That's because the gauge code is hard-wired into the sim and the whole thing runs as a loop. This gives you high gauge update rates but makes the creation of a totally custom gauge more difficult. Also, frame rates in X Plane tend to be high as there's not much scenery rendering going on. For me, X Plane runs at about 100 fps on the same hardware that runs FS9 at about 30. As far as I know, gauges in FS9 are still locked to a maximum update rate of 18 times a second and that rate is independent of the frame rate. 18 fps is enough to be functional but not enough to really look smooth.TonyDigital-Flight