Thank you, Ryan, much appreciated! :-)Care for a banner? ;-)Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

>I'd highly recomend converting all those big 32 bit exterior>textures to DXT3 without mips. It will greatly reduce the>texture load times. I'd also recomend using the dxt3 VC>textures (which can be selected in the ATR config app. They>still look fine and performance is hugely improved. Also, the>VC gauge update speeds can be set at medium and still are as>smooth as most other VC guages I've seen...>>On my P4 1.8 with 768 megs of ram (pc2100 btw) and 128 meg>Geforce4Ti4200 I get low teens in the VC even at fairly busy>airports (although I keep the AI down pretty low - 25%>usually). But flying around Manitoba (my area) I commonly see>upper teens to low 20s in the VC and its extremely smooth. How does one go about converting the textures to dxt3?

I use a program called "dxtbmp" (can't remember where I got it though). You just open up each of the 32 bit textures ("load extended texture"), choose the "no mips" option from the pull down menu, and then save them as DXT3 w/alpha textures. Every 5.33 meg texture becomes 1 meg and so instead of having to load 25 megs when you switch to the exterior view, the sim is only loading about 6.5 megs. The VC textures can be converted by simply selecting the low detail VC in the ATR config program that comes with the plane...

I agree but most of the time I don't have that much time to fly, and an hour flight in a prop gets me only so far. Thats why I enjoy jets, I can fly any jet for an hour or so after work and get from a big city to another big city in the US.

>I agree but most of the time I don't have that much time to>fly, and an hour flight in a prop gets me only so far. Thats>why I enjoy jets, I can fly any jet for an hour or so after>work and get from a big city to another big city in the US.You can't in real life. ;)

Which is why I'm not a real pilot! (that and the expensive to start part)

>I use a program called "dxtbmp" (can't remember where I got>it though). You just open up each of the 32 bit textures>("load extended texture"), choose the "no mips" option from>the pull down menu, and then save them as DXT3 w/alpha>textures. Every 5.33 meg texture becomes 1 meg and so instead>of having to load 25 megs when you switch to the exterior>view, the sim is only loading about 6.5 megs. >>The VC textures can be converted by simply selecting the low>detail VC in the ATR config program that comes with the>plane...>>Don't think you need dxtbmp for this aircraft. The text-o-matic provides the option to convert the 32-bit textures automatically. Just select one of the default aircraft and DXT3 in the Wizard and create a 2nd plane with a different variation name (I add`dxt3`) and you can then do a before/after comparison. You can even select with or without bitmaps!Allcott

Yep, true enough. You need to download the original texture sheets from the ATR site first though and I don't think they were available yet when I did the converting.

>My second wish would be for a working copilot who could put a>direct to in the FMC or change routings, frequencies etc.>It happens real world so why not in our sims.>>Best >>Peter You can have what you want, by using FSNav, V3.0 is free, the latest is payware, but has more features. After using it a few years, I'd give up FS before FSNav. :-) When ATC tells you to change Freq's etc, FSNav changes them. It also does lots of other things, like controlling Headings, Altitudes, etc.. BUT, in the Options you can set it any way you wish, and as I prefer to make my own Heading and Altitude changes, have them set to Manual. That way when it tells me to switch to the next Center, I dont... Fly at any altitude I choose, and enjoy the scenery. When getting close to destination, tune in and then follow ATC instructions for STAR headings etc..

>I use a program called "dxtbmp" (can't remember where I got>it though). You just open up each of the 32 bit textures>("load extended texture"), choose the "no mips" option from>the pull down menu, and then save them as DXT3 w/alpha>textures. Every 5.33 meg texture becomes 1 meg and so instead>of having to load 25 megs when you switch to the exterior>view, the sim is only loading about 6.5 megs. >>The VC textures can be converted by simply selecting the low>detail VC in the ATR config program that comes with the>plane...>>Thanks for the tip. I downloaded DXTBMP and convereted the 5 files this morning and now the loading of textures happens in the blink of an eye. slight loss in quality, but it is worth it to avoid the 3-4 second loading time I had before.