Switching DX9/DX10 and Installing new Addons

[ant_1984 20]

Firstly, I've been a DX9 user up until now but with Steve's great work I'm giving DX10 a try. I've just been playing around with the fixer on my clean install of FSX/Acceleration and am loving the bloom effects (albeit toned down a little through the fixer). Not sure about DX10 water yet, still playing around with it and I haven't installed REX yet.

 

Anyway, since I'll be gradually installing addons to FSX I may be wanting to switch back and forth between DX9 and DX10 for testing.

 

Originally I was planning to have two different FSX.cfg's, one for DX9 and one for DX10. I was planning to "switch" back to DX9 and then replace the cfg with my one for DX9. Would this be best practice or is just using the one cfg and simply using the "switch" button in the fixer sufficient? My tweaks across both cfgs will be the same as far as I foresee anyway.

 

As I understand it, as I install new addons to FSX the fixer will detect new fx files and do what it needs to do, but is there anything else I should be doing manually with the fixer?

 

Thanks!

[Paul J 349]

Hi Anthony:-

 

Originally I was planning to have two different FSX.cfg's, one for DX9 and one for DX10. I was planning to "switch" back to DX9 and then replace the cfg with my one for DX9. Would this be best practice or is just using the one cfg and simply using the "switch" button in the fixer sufficient? My tweaks across both cfgs will be the same as far as I foresee anyway.

 

Whereas it's a simple switch in the Fixer to go back, as with the earlier patches and the notes in the "DX10 How-To" - I would strongly advise that before doing anything - you create a "DX9 Configs" folder somewhere in your pc, and then copy and paste your good DX9 fsx.cfg into it, then export your RadeonPro or Inspector.nip profile there as well, and then you are pretty safe to proceed with the installation, and adding any other tweaks that you think you might use once it's up and running.

 

FSX-DX10 is a different sim to FSX-DX9. It performs differently, it looks different, and responds to graphic card and fsx.cfg setting differently. Too, both GPU and CPU memory management is completely different from DX9, and this impacts many of the major settings in the fsx.cfg.

 

This is a major headache, because - with the release of the Fixer - folks are expecting it's just "Fire and Forget" to switch back and forth. Well - it's not quite that simple, and part of this is because of the way FSX controls the AA when using DX10, needing AA entries to be made in the fsx.cfg - MultiSampleQuality and MultiSamplesPerPixer settings, MSPP being the setting which governs your (Inspector/RadeonPro) SGSS setting! This means that DX9 AA settings are not going to be the same as the DX10 settings anywhere - and those GPU settings will impact frame rates, which are going to impact you fsx.cfg settings - and they will be different!

 

as I install new addons to FSX the fixer will detect new fx files and do what it needs to do, but is there anything else I should be doing manually with the fixer?

 

This is the case, Anthony. For e.g - yesterday I installed Orbx's Jackson Hole, and then ran the sim. The next time I ran the sim the Fixer saw the change just as described in page 36 of the manual, and boom! lots of aircraft and additional scenery objects popped in as FSX loaded the flight. Pretty darned good! There is nothing else one needs to do when adding additional scenery or effects.

 

I hope this helps!

 

All the Best,

 

pj

[ant_1984 20]

Well - it's not quite that simple, and part of this is because of the way FSX controls the AA when using DX10, needing AA entries to be made in the fsx.cfg - MultiSampleQuality and MultiSamplesPerPixer settings, MSPP being the setting which governs your (Inspector/RadeonPro) SGSS setting! This means that DX9 AA settings are not going to be the same as the DX10 settings anywhere - and those GPU settings will impact frame rates, which are going to impact you fsx.cfg settings - and they will be different!

 

Thanks for the response Paul, very informative!

 

With respect to switching back and forth between DS9/DX10 and the AA settings. My understanding from a couple of Steve's post was this:

 

1. The entries added to the FSX.cfg for AA in DX10 have no effect in DX9 anyway so they will not impact DX9 operation. (I have been running AA at 8x through the fixer - I would assume these entries would be removed from the cfg when switching back to DX9 anyway)

 

2. The entries in Nvidia Inspector for forcing AA in DX9 don't work on DX10 anyway, so leaving these options for AA set should have no impact on DX10 operation in anyway.

 

3. I've been running SGSS at the same setting for both DX9 and DX10 (either 2x or 4x - can't recall and I'm at work at the moment), so presumably leaving this option set in inspector across both profiles would be fine.

 

4. Assuming settings in the FSX.cfg are identical for both DX9 and DX10 (with the exception of bloom), is there any real reason to swap out the fsx.cfg each time?

 

What is different between your own DX9 and DX10 FSX.cfg's?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong on the above though.

 

From that your saying, you would have an fsx.cfg and .nip inspector file saved for both DX9 & DX10. When you are about to switch to DX10 you would swap in the DX10 fsx.cfg and .nip file and "switch"  through the fixer.

 

Then when switching back to DX9 you would hit "switch" again in the fixer and then swap back in your DX9 fsx.cfg and .nip file.

 

Does that sound about right?

[Paul J 349]

Well something like that, Anthony. In practice I have not used DX9 in over a year, except for a few test verification sessions. My DX10 cfg was nothing like the DX9 cfg - BP for example was the first victim, "0" in DX9, but "1" with a larger buffer size and an RT. DX10 can take a lot more "Heat" than DX9 can, but it takes a lot of study, trial and patience to be sure of the result, and an error arising from a messed-up switch with a presumption that 'all's well' can ruin one's day. Backup, backup again, copy and paste.

 

Hmmmph.. I have about eight configs, complete, and along with their exe.xml's and dll.xmls, etc., and all are swapped in or out by a Visual Basic app which I wrote a few months back. Each cfg is configured for the flight type or aircraft or situation for which I want to fly. VFR, IFR, Twin Piston, Twin Jet, Helicopter. For e.g, why load Couatl and the Addon Manager, when I want to fly the A2A 172 around the PNW, or why would I load all of the ObjectFlow dll's when I'm going to fly the Maddog out for KPHX? So I select the overall flight type, and then then one after another, up pops a msgbox asking whether to load EZCA?, a second one - use FS Global Real Weather?, third one - SweetFX?, fourth - TrackIR?, then with or without Alacrity?. It's very clean (until it goes wrong....) :biggrin: ... just different motives for how we do things...

 

Sorry for being long-winded...

 

I hope this helps, :smile:

 

pj

[ant_1984 20]

Being long winded is not necessarily a bad thing Paul!

 

Out of my own curiosity (apart from loading the different DLL's that you've mentioned), what are you're key differences between your DX9 and DX10 FSX.cfgs so far as tweaks and FSX settings, or is it just the BP=0 in DX9 and BP=1 with a RT in DX10?

 

Sure sounds like you have your FSX all sorted out, I wouldn't even know the first thing about writing a Visual Basic app, sounds impressive what you've done there.

 

I do still have a fair bit of tinkering/installations to do on this fresh FSX install. I have most of the well known fixes/tweaks added to my FSX.cfg. The only things missing at the moment are BP settings and Fiber Frame Time Fraction setting. Vanilla FSX is smooth as glass without them, but I'll be taking a look at adding these settings shortly, particularly as I start installing things.

 

REX was the first thing to be added last night, I think FTXG will be next.

[Paul J 349]

Hi Anthony...

 

The key difference - with the exception of FTFF - was that with DX9 I took everyone else's ideas and opinions - like Bojote and Nick Needham and Word Not Allowed and used them when "playing" with the cfg or Inspector settings.

With DX10 there came a different graphics engine and architecture. The GPU no longer shares system memory, and that makes a huge difference in how FSX performs, and allows heavier settings all round. BP, TBM, FTFF, in fact most of the fsx.cfg settings are all slightly different in greater or lesser degrees, and that needed work to be done, both in understanding what each parameter did, and how it impacted the resultant 'look' and frame rate. Nobody else had this informatiuon, advice or guidance, and so it made for a lot of work.

There was also an awful lot of hostility toward DX10, too, from very many people, some of whom have now reversed or softened their position, however - that derision still comes out when a user doesn't experience the instant gratification expected following a couple of hours spent "trying DX10 out".

The fact remains - DX10 is a different graphics engine and architecture. The GPU no longer shares system memory, and that makes a huge difference in how FSX performs, and allows heavier settings all round, and only graphics settings, fsx.cfg setting and to some extent - the graphics hardware - control the end-user experience. If the user doesn't achieve it - it's not the fault of Microsoft's Direct3D graphics systems, whether DX9, DX10 or DX11 - these all work globally and with every application, not just FSX. It's just configuration, expectations and the resistance to change.

 

(Sorry, Anthony - I'm trying (and not succeeding) in getting over being long-winded.)

[ant_1984 20]

 

 

(Sorry, Anthony - I'm trying (and not succeeding) in getting over being long-winded.)

 

lol, no problems Paul. Thanks for the long-winded reply.

 

That's about the gist of what I thought you were going to say so reassures me I was thinking along the right lines.

 

Well I guess I'm going to keep playing around with this and DX9 until I reach the best settings for me on both. Although I've got to say to say I don't think I'll have too much tinkering to get them right at the moment. Most of my time will probably be spent installing addons and enjoying some flying! Fingers crossed!