But I already asked you somewhere else...are you saying every landclass file will have a memory leak?

 

Yes, if it is in a scenery folder with an associated texture folder (this is why you need to create a new scenery area for the landclass - so you can remove the texture folder completely).

 

The problem is the fact the texture folder exists. Nothing more. FSX looks in the texture folder for textures that don't exist (landclass can't have textures!) and so it doesn't free the resources it allocated to access the texture folder. It does this some 100 times per second! The memory leak is small, but as it accesses it hundreds of times per second, for hours, it leaks memory like crazy, leading to OOME/CTD.

 

 

 

Many people use ORBX which also has landclass.....are you saying anybody with a product like that will end up with a memory leak and will end up OOMing?

 

Yes, if the above condition is met.

 

 

 

A memory leak is a phenomenon where VAS just keeps rising and rising untill you OOM as far as I know.

 

More technically, it is where memory is allocated but not freed again. It can either be deliberate (there is a conscious decision to leave the memory intact, but a bug in program logic mewans it keeps getting allocated) or it can be accidental (bug in program logic means it does not get freed, or the pointer to the memory gets re-used, or it gets lost or even deleted, making it impossible to free the memory even if you knew you lost the pointer).

 

 

 

A memory leak is not the same as just having a steady high VAS due to flying with the PMDG777 over Manhattan X.

 

Correct. High memory usage itself is not the problem. Memory is actually quite a complex topic - it's not as simple as saying "I want 500 Mb".

 

 

 

Products dont have memory leaks unless they are buggy.

 

Bug: unwanted or undesired program behavior.

 

 

 

Which is why I always investigate addons I intend to buy. I read forums to see if others are having problems with the product so I can make an educated decision on whether or not to purchase the product.

 

Right! Always ask if the program really needs to interact with the sim in a particular way, and then look at how it is accessing the sim. If it is in-process, then a bug in that software could take out the whole simulator.

 

 

 

Others want to fly VFR with their A2A Piper Cup over ORBX scenery.
And suggesting them to turn off Autogen and not use ORBX or any other landclass because that will cause CTD and OOM, is not getting them any closer to their goal.

 

Agreed, but the 777 forum is not that place. Even I crank up the detail for a 30 minute flight VFR (e.g. MegaScenery HawaiiX). I even run CumulusX/WinchX at that time so I can do thermalling/ridge soaring in the Discus. Still no AutoGen though.

 

Best regards,

Robin.

That is very interesting stuff and I must say I have never heard of that "texture file" problem.

 

Would love to have it confirmed by some people!

Where did you get that info anyway?

 

I am not completely sure though, but I think I only have textures folders for the addon airports I bought.

 

Wait I will check....

 

Ok UTX has a "texture" folder filled with all kinds of things (not empty)

So since it is not empty it is ok. Is that what you are saying?

What about ORBX do they make an empty "texture" folder?

Why would anybody create a texture folder with nothing in it anyway?

 

GEX replaces scenery tiles directly so that is something different.

 

FSGenesis mesh: I created a folder for it outside of FSX and inside is a "Scenery" folder with all the mesh. No "texture" folder present

So since it is not empty it is ok. Is that what you are saying?

 

No. The landclass files specifically are the problem. They define coastlines, waterbodies, etc... If they are in a scenery folder that has a corresponding texture folder, then they will cause FS to leak memory.

 

e.g.

 

FSX\AddOn Scenery\MyScenery\scenery

FSX\AddOn Scenery\MyScenery\texture

 

If landclass is in the scenery folder, then it will leak memory.

 

You must move it thus:

 

FSX\AddOn Scenery\MySceneryLC\scenery

 

As long as you do not *CREATE* a texture folder here, it will be fine. The fact the texture folder exists, is the problem. Do you see? The real bug is that it is attempting to access the texture folder at all.

 

Check your PM.

 

Best regards,

Robin.

You keep going on about lots of CTD's and moving LC files, what a huge job that would be. And locating them would not be easy, unless they have LC in their file name.

I don't get CTD's with addon scenery, and pre Fsuipc.dll G3DLL fix it was quite common to get a CTD, with missing lib objects. Orbx was a main offender.

Unless you can locate every LC file,  it would be a pointless exercise.

Not that I can contribute much to the discussion on the 777, but it's BS that ALL landclass files must not be associated with a texture folder. What is important is that all textures called by the landclass file be in the same folder. When no texture folder is found for a given landclass, FSX looks in the scenery/world/texture folder for its textures. If you provide an alternate texture folder with all the files needed, as UTX and ORBX do, then you will have no memory leaks and custom LC textures.

Not that I can contribute much to the discussion on the 777, but it's BS that ALL landclass files must not be associated with a texture folder. What is important is that all textures called by the landclass file be in the same folder. When no texture folder is found for a given landclass, FSX looks in the scenery/world/texture folder for its textures. If you provide an alternate texture folder with all the files needed, as UTX and ORBX do, then you will have no memory leaks and custom LC textures.

Spot on. And what happens when a particular addon calls for the LC file and it is not there ? As it has been moved elsewhere. The moving of LC files to another folder makes no sense at all.

Landclass can't have textures. They are two seperate things. The landclass files define where coastlines and water bodies are. The textures you see are defined by area elsewhere within FSX, and are fixed. The landclass can only reference types of texture that should be displayed, not the texture itself (there are only 16 types to chose from, IIRC). This has always been a serious limitation of FS, and why many companies opt to use photoscenery particularly for the areas around airports.

 

If it could be done using landclass files/textures alone you bet scenery developers would do it because it is the only thing that supports seasons - photoscenery does not! It's a major problem for them.

 

Best regards,

Robin.

That still does not answer the question. What happens when the particular scenery calls for the LC file, and is not there ?

And why am I not experiencing memory leaks ? 

Using scenery config editor is the best and safest method for any user, even a novice to use, as you can disable all scenery you will not be departing from and arriving at. Just a few mouse clicks.

 

Once you start playing around with files, moving them from there home folder is asking for trouble, and is not necessary IMHO.

LC files are self-contained. Nothing "calls" them.

 

 

 

And why am I not experiencing memory leaks ?

 

Which scenery do you run?

 

 

 

Using scenery config editor is the best and safest method for any user

 

Seems like you disable scenery you aren't using... why's that?

 

Best regards,

Robin.

Landclass can't have textures. They are two seperate things. The landclass files define where coastlines and water bodies are. 

 

You're confusing vector terrain with landclass - those are separate things.

In regards to your assertion that landclass merely calls texture references from an external library - you are, in general, correct - and that is why a landclass file with a texture folder containing an incomplete texture set has issues. FS attempts to gather the textures referenced in the main LC lookup file from the texture folder in the same scenery layer as the landclass - and when that folder has an incomplete set, FS searches all the default directories until it finds what it needs.

However, being correct in general is not the same thing as being correct absolutely. It is indeed possible to create landclass files that use custom textures with custom naming - and such landclass files are widely used. Again, see UTX and ORBX Regions for examples, which use custom landclass definitions. (ORBX FTXG does NOT use custom landclass definitions in most places, so the replacement textures replace default textures. If it did use custom landclass texture definitions, they would have needed to include custom landclass for the whole world. As it is, the Open_LC product is for separate distribution. Until Open_LC is released, all the noise about their custom LC_lookup.bgl is just that - noise. ORBX Regions do have custom LC textures, though, and those individual scenery areas already include new LC definitions as part of the LC files included therein.)

Ok guys, I've had enough of this one. Take it to the hardware forum if you want to continue.