Long Pauses... Possible causes?

[BimmerCop 332]

Folks, I'm really digging this TileProxy now that I have a very capable system. With my current settings, I have very nice and crisp textures which are just a pleasure to look at while fying around. The only issue I am having right now is that even though it's pretty smooth and stutter free as I begin flying, I would say about 2-3 minutes into the flight, it will begin stuttering and even pausing for about 1-3 seconds at time and then continue smoothly. The pauses are about 3-5 seconds apart and sometimes more frequent.

 

And when I say pauses, I really mean pauses. Not microstutters. The sim actually freezes for seconds at a time.

 

My system specs are in my profile and my Internet is Verizon Fios 35/35. Also, my TP CACHE and Photoreal World Sceneries folders are on a separate WD 10K Raptor HDD while FSX/TP is installed on a separate 256GB SSD drive. My Windows 7 page file is set to 8GB.

 

Here are my proxyUser.ini settings (I have streamlined them for easier viewing):

 

[TileProxy]
master_enable=On
#logfile="C:\logfile.txt"
diskless_mode=Off
offline_mode=No
max_lod=17
preload_min_lod=9
preload_max_lod=17
max_contexts=512
water_mask=On
water_blending=On
blend_distance=500.0
blend_exponent=1.0
alpha_min=0.2678
alpha_max=0.7
water_rgb=#000D1A
water_smoothing=Off
water_threshold=0.33
cache_bytes_limit=100000000
cache_tiles_limit=100000
source=Microsoft Bing
menu_sources="Microsoft Bing"
enable_hooking=No
enable_dx9hook=No
enable_movingmap=No
movingmap_alpha=255
movingmap_color=#ff000000
movingmap_xpos=88
movingmap_ypos=15
movingmap_width=60
movingmap_height=80
movingmap_radius=60
[Microsoft Bing]
cache_folder=D:\Tileproxy Caches\cache.service1
network_module=libnettile
module_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://a*.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net|path=/tiles/a%s.jpeg?g=%v|quad=0123|balance=0123|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"
min_level=9
max_level=19
map_version=330
level_mapping=9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19
color_hack=Yes
color_level=13
bulk_extend=50

 

And here are my FSX.cfg settings (pertinent entries):

 

[Display]
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=170
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=30
[Main]
FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33
DisablePreload=1
[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680.0]
Mode=1920x1080x32
Anisotropic=1
[GRAPHICS]
TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024
HIGHMEMFIX=1
[TERRAIN]
LOD_RADIUS=6.500000
MESH_COMPLEXITY=100
MESH_RESOLUTION=25
TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=27
AUTOGEN_DENSITY=0
DETAIL_TEXTURE=1
WATER_EFFECTS=6
[bUFFERPOOLS]
Poolsize=0
[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=14

 

All you TP gurus out there, what you think is causing my stutters? BTW, I have nVidia Inspector setup as per Word Not Allowed's tweak, including the 1/2 vsync approach.

 

Thanks in advance, guys and gals!

[LHookins 3,102]

Are you using Active Sky?

 

Hook

[BimmerCop 332]

Are you using Active Sky?

 

Hook

 

No, but I am using the built-in FSX real-time weather which I think is supposed to refresh every 15 minutes?

[LHookins 3,102]

I am using the built-in FSX real-time weather

 

That's interesting. I didn't think anyone still used that.

 

There's a problem with Active Sky and thermal generation that will cause the problem you described, but since you aren't using it, it doesn't matter. For those who ARE using Active Sky and experiencing the pauses, especially without TileProxy, set thermal generation and terrain updraft/downdraft to zero.

 

Sorry I can't help more.

 

Hook

[BimmerCop 332]

That's interesting. I didn't think anyone still used that.

 

There's a problem with Active Sky and thermal generation that will cause the problem you described, but since you aren't using it, it doesn't matter. For those who ARE using Active Sky and experiencing the pauses, especially without TileProxy, set thermal generation and terrain updraft/downdraft to zero.

 

Sorry I can't help more.

 

Hook

 

Only reason why I am using the built-in weather is because I don't want to start adding stuff until I know FSX with TP is running properly. Once I do that, then I'll start adding stuff and it's easier to troubleshoot if problems arise.

 

I think my problem has got to be some setting with the card or something. Even with my settings, my GPU usage doesn't pass 10% and the VRAM usage doesn't go above 400MB...

[TurboTomato 90]

Really not sure what is causing that efrain however I do get pauses. Couple of things re the proxyuser.ini file: firstly change the map_version to 1135 (latest real time version is from here: http://aviation.allanville.com/tileproxy/) as I'm using Bing maps as well. Secondly I'd change the min_level to something like 5 (you'll then need 15 comma separated values in the level_mapping line) and change the level_mapping line to start with mainly 5s and 6s for the first 6 or 7 values. Maybe even lower some of the others and then experiment with raising them as you want more detail.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I've been using Tileproxy for about three years now and almost always fly with it running. I do get pauses whenever I am flying into an area I haven't flown in before. Tileproxy has to go out there and fetch those textures and it's hard work. I've reduced the issue somewhat, by limiting my visibility to 30 miles in weather settings, and I set the height of that vis. layer at 99,999 feet. I've also tweaked my proxyuser.ini settings to balance the resolution of the textures loaded. The result is a photoreal world I can fly over in real time, and I barely notice the pauses. I've pasted my proxyuser.ini here in case you wish to try. I find the service I selected the fastest, however it takes several moments for the initial load of FSX.

 

John

 

____________

 

#

# Start a line with # to comment it out.

# Turn your text editor's Word Wrapping OFF for editing this document.

#

# Read the manual for help with configuration. Do not contact the

# author about the configuration for particular services. Thank you.

#

 

[TileProxy]

 

# Enable or disable worldwide photographic scenery coverage (Yes/True/On to enable)

master_enable=On

 

# Write a logfile to disk. In recommend to only turn this on for debugging purposes.

# When using FSX RTM or FS 2004, the logfile will grow VERY fast and affect performance.

#logfile="C:\logfile.txt"

 

# If you have concerns about possible copyright violations by caching JPEG and BMP tiles

# on your hard drive, this switch is the solution. By enabling diskless mode, Tileproxy

# will not store a single tile on your hard drive. Expect higher network usage though.

# Note that offline mode will depend on tiles being available in the cache.

diskless_mode=Off

 

# Offline Mode - No network access will occur (Yes/True/On to enable)

offline_mode=No

 

# Resolution limiter: 17 = 30cm/pixel, 16 = 60cm/pixel, 15 = 1.1m/pixel, 14 = 2.3m/pixel, 13 = 4.75m/pixel

# Lower resolutions load faster, but are visually less appealing. The 30cm resolution may only be feasible

# if you have at least 2GB of system memory.

max_lod=15

 

# The following two settings allow you to tune Tileproxy to not preload specific LOD levels. This can

# be used in conjunction with third party scenery products like "FS Altitude" that provides data only

# up to a specific resolution. If you place this scenery higher than Tileproxy's world folders in the

# scenery library then it will have precedence over Tileproxy for the specific LOD levels that it

# contains. You can then instruct Tileproxy to not preload these low resolution LOD circles because

# they are not needed anyway.

 

# Lowest LOD ring to automatically preload tiles for. Must not be lower than 8.

preload_min_lod=9

 

# Lowest LOD ring to automatically preload tiles for. Must not be higher than 17.

preload_max_lod=15

 

# The maximum number of tile contexts that Tileproxy will send to the filter driver. A context

# is essentially a very fast buffer for graphics data sitting in kernel memory that delivers

# data right into FSX. Each tile context can hold an entire LOD 8...15 tile. Higher values

# mean more use of your precious kernel memory though. The maximum number is 512. Lower if

# you run out of RAM during flight and the PC starts to use the paging file a lot.

max_contexts=512

 

# Generate Water Mask. This brings back shader-rendered water and allows

# for the use of planes with floats (Goose, Beaver, etc...). If you turn this

# option off, you get the Tileproxy behavior of Beta 5 and earlier versions.

water_mask=On

 

# Recommendation: FSX users: Use water_blending=on, water_smoothing=off

# to get soft land/water transitions

#

# FS9 users: Use water_blending=off, water_smoothing=on

# to get hard land/water transitions which

# Tileproxy tries to match pixel-exact against coast-lines

#

# Combining water_smoothing and water_blending is discouraged.

# It's slow and gives weird results.

 

# Use blending techniques to create a soft land/water transition with some

# transparency effect near the shoreline. Compatible with FSX only.

water_blending=On

 

# The distance in meters that you want land/water blending to extend from the

# shore line. Larger values require more processing. Large values are now possible,

# useful values are up to 2000 meters. Very high values may be detrimental to water

# mask resolution. Loading speed however remains mostly unaffected by this setting.

blend_distance=100.0

 

# The rate at which terrain is blended into the water color. 1.0 means a linear

# blending, values > 1.0 blend faster. Values < 1.0 blend slower. This works

# similarly to a Gamma Curve. An exponent of 2 gives a quadratic blend function,

# an exponent of 0.5 results in a square root behavior.

blend_exponent=1.0

 

# The minimal and maximal transparency of the water. The lower you choose the min value,

# the more reflective the deep water will be. The higher the max value is chosen, the less

# reflective the water will be directly at the shore line. The reflectiveness transitions

# linearly from max to min throughout the distance given by blend_distance from the shore.

# Allowed values are between 0 and 1, and alpha_min should be smaller than alpha_max or

# things may look weird.

# The following alpha_min values will not give you any dithering artifacts on all-water tiles,

# so the use of these is recommended. It is multiples of 16/239 (rounded up slighty)

# 0.0700, 0.1339, 0.2009, 0.2678, 0.3348, 0.4017, 0.4687

# 0.5356, 0.6026, 0.6695, 0.7365, 0.8034, 0.8703, 0.9373

alpha_min=0.2678

alpha_max=0.7

 

# The water color in hexadecimal RGB notation. Prefix with #. This should be blue

# or greenish blue or some shades of brown, depending on your preference.

# Values of #000000 are discouraged when using water blending - it will result

# in weird behavior at the shorelines.

water_rgb=#000D1A

 

# Try to smooth land/water boundaries by trying to match the water mask to the image content.

# This is a a somewhat experimental algorithm.

water_smoothing=Off

 

# The decision threshold for water/land when water_smoothing is enabled. 0 means everything

# will be turned to land, 1 means everything turns to water. Chose some value inbetween.

water_threshold=0.33

 

# Maximum number of bytes allocated to BMP graphics tiles in RAM at any time (0 for unlimited)

# The value below states 100 MB.

#cache_bytes_limit=100000000

cache_bytes_limit=1073741824

 

# Maximum number of BMP tiles to cache in RAM at any time (0 for no limit).

cache_tiles_limit=100000

 

# The currently active service is configured here. Only ONE active source please.

# The other source statements should be commented out.

#source=Acme Globe Service

#source=Service Example 1

source=Service Example 3

#source=Service Example 4

 

# The sources you want to be able to switch from the GUI menu.

# Separate the list entries with | and enclose in quotes. Make sure the

# names specified here are valid services which are defined below.

# You may want to rename the services according to your preference,

# but make sure you replace all occurences of the strings.

menu_sources="Service Example 1|Service Example 2|Service Example 3|Service Example 4"

 

# Experimental API Hooking section. Disable if you see strange crashes and effects.

# Currently we only have the DirectX 9 hook. More hooks are planned.

enable_hooking=No

 

# The DirectX 9 hook enables the moving map overlay. More features are planned.

enable_dx9hook=No

 

# A flag whether to show the moving map overlay initially or not.

enable_movingmap=No

 

# Dimensions and overlay colors of the moving map. Positions are percentages of the screen.

# Width and Height refer to the full 512x512 pixel texture used for the map. To get a round

# map circle, the ratio of width and height should match your screen's aspect ratio (e.g. 4:3)

# Radius is given in the map texture's pixels where one pixel represents a LOD 15 tile. A

# radius of 0 disables the round stencil and shows the entire 512x512 texture. Color is given

# in a hexadecimal ARGB notation.

movingmap_alpha=255

movingmap_color=#ff000000

movingmap_xpos=88

movingmap_ypos=15

movingmap_width=60

movingmap_height=80

movingmap_radius=60

 

#

# Here begin the service specific configurations

#

 

# This is new when you specify captcha_module

#

# On encountering HTTP 302 redirects the captcha module will send Internet Explorer's cookies

# stored for the specified service domain to the web server. It will also display whatever web

# page the service redirects you to. This could be a page requiring you to enter a so-called

# captcha. After entering the captcha correctly, the resulting session cookie will be stored as

# a permanent cookie (expiration 1 day) in your IE Cookies folder and sent to the service on

# subsequent requests. You will then be able to use the service as long as you wish, given that

# you correctly enter the captcha dialog which may nag you once every 20 minutes or so.

#

# Explaining the captcha_config arguments:

#

# cookiedomain from captcha_config specifies the domain name for which cookies are stored.

# This might be the service name plus a top level domain like ".com"

#

# cookieurl specifies a HTTP url from which an identifying cookie will be retrieved first, if

# no existing identifying cookie is found. This may be required sometimes to make the captcha

# dialog appear in the first place. This could be the service's front page URL (e.g. a search

# engine)

 

[Acme Globe Service]

cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.acme

network_module=libnettile

module_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://server*.acmeglobe.com|path=/terraintile?pos=%s&v=%v|quad=ABCD|balance=0123|agent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; The TileProxy Project)"

captcha_module=captchaform

captcha_config="cookiedomain=acmeglobe.com|cookieurl=http://www.acmeglobe.com"

min_level=9

max_level=17

map_version=1

color_hack=No

color_level=0

bulk_extend=25

 

[service Example 1]

cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service1

network_module=libnettile

module_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://a*.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net|path=/tiles/a%s.jpeg?g=%v|quad=0123|balance=0123|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"

min_level=5

max_level=17

map_version=213

level_mapping=5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,15,15,15,16,17

#level_mapping=9,10,11,12,14,14,15,16,17,18,19 more radius HQ (13->14)

#level_mapping=9,10,11,14,14,14,15,16,17,18,19 even more radius in HQ (12,13->14)

color_hack=Yes

color_level=13

bulk_extend=50

 

[service Example 3]

cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service3

network_module=libnettile

module_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://us.maps3.yimg.com|path=/aerial.maps.yimg.com/img?x=%x&y=%y&z=%z&v=%v&t=a|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"

min_level=5

max_level=17

level_mapping=5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,15,15,15,16,17

#level_mapping=5,5,5,5,5,5,13,15,15,15,15,16,17

#level_mapping=5,6,7,8,9,10,12,15,15,15,15,16,17

map_version=1.8

color_hack=No

color_level=0

bulk_extend=50

 

[service Example 4]

cache_folder=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\cache.service4

network_module=libnettile

module_config="conn=20|rate=2.0|verbose=0|server=http://mapcache*.ask.com|path=/sat/%Z/%X/%Y?partner=|balance=1234|useragent=Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)"

min_level=5

max_level=17

map_version=1

color_hack=Yes

color_level=12

bulk_extend=50

[BimmerCop 332]

Thanks John, will give your settings a try. Quick question though. When you start FSX and while you are still at the create a flight screen, you know how the TP console will become active and start fetching maps. Should I wait till that completes before starting the flight or should I wait for that finish? Or does it really matter at all?

 

Also, I see you are using Yahoo Maps. Can I switch it instead to use Bing Maps? I get better coverage with Bing and more updated images.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Thanks John, will give your settings a try. Quick question though. When you start FSX and while you are still at the create a flight screen, you know how the TP console will become active and start fetching maps. Should I wait till that completes before starting the flight or should I wait for that finish? Or does it really matter at all?

 

Also, I see you are using Yahoo Maps. Can I switch it instead to use Bing Maps? I get better coverage with Bing and more updated images.

 

Yahoo maps may have less coverage, but they load faster in my experience. They are a little outdated, but I can't complain. I load my flights from FSSAVE files, so I simply start Tileproxy, double-click on my flight, and wait for things to load.

 

John

[TurboTomato 90]

I think it takes the last position of the aircraft when you last exited FS and starts to pre-load tiles for that area. So no you don't need to wait.

 

Unfortunately Yahoo maps has poor coverage of Europe and the Middle East so I'm sticking with Bing for now. Real shame that the Google map service doesn't work anymore as their coverage is excellent.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I think it takes the last position of the aircraft when you last exited FS and starts to pre-load tiles for that area. So no you don't need to wait.

 

Unfortunately Yahoo maps has poor coverage of Europe and the Middle East so I'm sticking with Bing for now. Real shame that the Google map service doesn't work anymore as their coverage is excellent.

I think it takes the last position of the aircraft when you last exited FS and starts to pre-load tiles for that area. So no you don't need to wait.

 

Unfortunately Yahoo maps has poor coverage of Europe and the Middle East so I'm sticking with Bing for now. Real shame that the Google map service doesn't work anymore as their coverage is excellent.

 

Tileproxy doesn't look at when you last exited FSX--it loads tiles based on where your flight in the new session is starting from, either from your on disk cache if enabled, or it fetches them from the map service if it's a first time Tileproxy visit to the area. There is a wait when that happens, in some areas the wait is less and in others the wait is more. My wait is a bit longer because I load fairly hi res textures all the way out to the horizon, approx 30 miles distant since I limit my vis. to 30 miles. Because I have Tileproxy set up in this manner, I don't see a "break" where hi res tiles give way to lower res ones. I like it that way, it adds to the realism.

 

I hear ya regarding the map coverage in the Middle East and Europe, but I've had trouble finding, even with Bing, a continuous stretch of European scenery. I like flying especially around the Swiss Alps, but don't find Bing's coverage that good. My Tileproxy flights tend to be at least 250-400 miles in length, so I am looking for continuous, Hi Def coverage for that length of a flight. That's pretty much limited me to flying over the U.S.

 

All in all, I've had great results with Tileproxy. Here's some links to my screenshots:

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/392127-over-new-york-countryside-in-carenados-337/

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/391513-carenado-337-over-connecticut-countryside/

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/391210-some-carenado-c210-screenshots/

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/391102-king-air-flying-from-clear-lake-ca-to-reno/

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/390684-some-turbine-duke-shots-jackson-hole-wyoming/

 

John

[BimmerCop 332]

Tileproxy doesn't look at when you last exited FSX--it loads tiles based on where your flight in the new session is starting from, either from your on disk cache if enabled, or it fetches them from the map service if it's a first time Tileproxy visit to the area. There is a wait when that happens, in some areas the wait is less and in others the wait is more. My wait is a bit longer because I load fairly hi res textures all the way out to the horizon, approx 30 miles distant since I limit my vis. to 30 miles. Because I have Tileproxy set up in this manner, I don't see a "break" where hi res tiles give way to lower res ones. I like it that way, it adds to the realism.

 

I hear ya regarding the map coverage in the Middle East and Europe, but I've had trouble finding, even with Bing, a continuous stretch of European scenery. I like flying especially around the Swiss Alps, but don't find Bing's coverage that good. My Tileproxy flights tend to be at least 250-400 miles in length, so I am looking for continuous, Hi Def coverage for that length of a flight. That's pretty much limited me to flying over the U.S.

 

All in all, I've had great results with Tileproxy. Here's some links to my screenshots:

 

http://forum.avsim.n...-carenados-337/

 

http://forum.avsim.n...ut-countryside/

 

http://forum.avsim.n...10-screenshots/

 

http://forum.avsim.n...ake-ca-to-reno/

 

http://forum.avsim.n...n-hole-wyoming/

 

John

 

John, you don't mind posting your tileproxy.ini settings? I think it's a nice idea reference setting visibility to 30. So in other words, if you have ActiveSky, REX or OpusFSX, you set max visibility to 30nm?

 

EDIT: LOL I just remembered you posted your ini file a few posts above. Is that ini setup for the 30nm visibility range?

[John_Cillis 2,406]

John, you don't mind posting your tileproxy.ini settings? I think it's a nice idea reference setting visibility to 30. So in other words, if you have ActiveSky, REX or OpusFSX, you set max visibility to 30nm?

 

EDIT: LOL I just remembered you posted your ini file a few posts above. Is that ini setup for the 30nm visibility range?

 

Yes,

 

That's the .ini I use. Even in the flight levels, the tileproxy scenery just fades into the distance. From time to time I might see a break in the textures, but it's usually a map service issue. I also can fly pretty fast through my Tileproxy world. I regularly fly the Turbine Duke which cruises close to 300 KTAS. Tileproxy keeps up fairly well, although with some aircraft I lower my fps lock, which helps Tileproxy keep up. I'm happy I've been able to enjoy Tileproxy as long as I have. It's worked well for me since the day I installed FSX and it took me about a month to arrive at the .ini settings I use today. It's a blessing to be able to fly in a Tileproxy world.

 

John

[BimmerCop 332]

Yes,

 

That's the .ini I use. Even in the flight levels, the tileproxy scenery just fades into the distance. From time to time I might see a break in the textures, but it's usually a map service issue. I also can fly pretty fast through my Tileproxy world. I regularly fly the Turbine Duke which cruises close to 300 KTAS. Tileproxy keeps up fairly well, although with some aircraft I lower my fps lock, which helps Tileproxy keep up. I'm happy I've been able to enjoy Tileproxy as long as I have. It's worked well for me since the day I installed FSX and it took me about a month to arrive at the .ini settings I use today. It's a blessing to be able to fly in a Tileproxy world.

 

John

 

I see you use Yahoo Maps. I guess they indeed provide faster loads over Bing, even though their quality isn't the best? I really want to make TP work for me. Imagine being able to run TP on the 225 degree visual system I am building. It would be breathtaking to say the least!

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I see you use Yahoo Maps. I guess they indeed provide faster loads over Bing, even though their quality isn't the best? I really want to make TP work for me. Imagine being able to run TP on the 225 degree visual system I am building. It would be breathtaking to say the least!

 

Here's another Tileproxy screenshot post, most of the pics were from FL220

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/393183-soaring-over-the-high-desert/

 

John