Improving Performance with Scenery.cfg

[LazarusLong 0]

Hi, All.

 

Over the years, I've added quite a bit of scenery--my scenery.cfg currently has 386 layers--and am trying to figure out the best approach to maximize performance by limiting the scenery FSX will have to process.

 

Most of my scenery is installed as per the normal install procedures though, when the scenery package allows, I will install the scenery to an alternate drive.  As to photoreal scenery, it is installed one of two ways;

1) MegaScenery Earth sceneries are installed under a single folder for each state (I install the individual files separately, rather than using the autoinstall, so I can exclude tiles in certain airport/city areas where I want autogen)

2) BlueSkyScenery was installed earlier and each of their packages have their own separate folders (contributing to about 60 separate scenery layers--hey, they got installed early in the process--LOL!)

 

So, here are my questions:

 

1. As to the BlueSkyScenery, is there any benefit to these ALL being in one folder, so fsx reads on scenery layer with a large number of elements)?  Or is it actually better for them to be broken up into their own folders so, when FSX reads it, it is reading a larger number of layers with fewer elements each)?

 

2. My thought is that FSX is happier seeing fewer layers, but assuming I limited the active scenery to the given geographic area being used for that day's flights, which would be better performance-wise?  Either:

 

     a. Leaving the scenery.cfg intact and just switching all "out of area" scenery layers to Active=FALSE

 

     b. Editing the base scenery.cfg for various regions:

          i.  Taking the base scenery.cfg and then deleting the "out of area" scenery layers and saving it to a temporary file name, like scenery.cfg_USA-SE.txt or scenery.cfg_USA-NE_to_Europe.txt

          ii.  When a given region is being flown, the existing scenery.cfg would be renamed and then the regional scenery.cfg would be put in its place; for example renaming scenery.cfg_USA-NE_to_Europe.txt to scenery.cfg

          iii. Of course, the original base scenery.cfg would be copied/saved to a safe place before any editing was done.

 

My existing scenery.cfg (as a .txt file) is attached, for reference.

 

Thanks for any thoughts/input.

 

LazarusLong

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[LazarusLong 0]

Did anyone have ANY opinions on this topic?

 

Thanks,

 

LazarusLong

[DAL1850 51]

I don't know of any magic bullet to improve load times except to enable/disable scenery areas on a per-flight basis. I've just gotten acclimated to the, "Start FSX and go get a coffee," way of thinking ;-)

[Reader 2,034]

The magic bullet is called the sceneryconfig editor and you can find it here

http://sourceforge.net/projects/fs-sceditor/

 

With it, you can arrange all of your scenery into groups, meaning you can activate or deactivate

any areas you wish with a couple of mouse clicks.

 

The best way to use it is to create multiple scenery.cfg files which can then be saved and loaded as required.

Thus, for example, one can choose to fly in the UK and load only the scenery for the UK.

 

What I have done is to arrange my scenery file folders into area directories.

The editor can generate scenery config groups from a directory.

My UK scenery folder, for example, has 66 areas and they can all be added with 6 mouse clicks.

Once added in a group, they can all be deactivated or reactivated with one mouse click.

 

It is one of the most under rated pieces of software for Fs9 and FSX and used properly is probably the most powerful tool for reducing loading times, increasing performance and even minimising OOMs.

 

Regards,

Nick

[hs118 715]

+1 scenery config editor

[rheitzman 0]

Anybody know of a non-Java version? Can't trust it on my PC.

 

Does the tool basically just manage the text in the file file scenery.cfg? Or is it more complicated than that?

[upquark 6]

The best way to use it and which also speeds up fsx loading time, is to simply simply disable the areas you are not using.If you only fly in Europe for example, then temporarily disable other add-ons I  the US for instance. It works really well.

 

Cheers

[Reader 2,034]

Anybody know of a non-Java version? Can't trust it on my PC.

 

Does the tool basically just manage the text in the file file scenery.cfg? Or is it more complicated than that?

 

 

You can read all about it here :rolleyes:

http://fs-sceditor.sourceforge.net/

[Capt Speirs 52]

You can read all about it here :rolleyes:

http://fs-sceditor.sourceforge.net/

 

Is anybody else bothered by the fact that FS Scenery Editor requires Java Runtime to be installed?

[Jim Young 2,356]

Not here!  And I don't even have an anti-virus program!  Never have had any problems.  Millions of others have not either.  But a search on the Internet and there are plenty of people scared.  For those afraid of Java they can use the Scenery Library.  It works just as good and sometimes even better.  Once you have disabled all addon scenery, it is just a matter of loading the scenery you want after you start up FSX/P3D.  Even though I have the Scenery Config Editor I use the Scenery Library quite frequently.  The most important thing is not the threat of Java (or even surfing the Internet), it's disabling any addon scenery, especially photoscenery.

[PatrickM 2]

Is anybody else bothered by the fact that FS Scenery Editor requires Java Runtime to be installed?

I also have my problems with Java. I can't trust them.

[aentwis 61]

The scenery config editor is a great tool... only just started using it. It works a real treat, as you can group scenery into logical units.

 

I have no issue with it requiring a JRE to run, just make sure I keep it up-to-date with the latest versions or patches... just like any other software out there...

 

It really speeds up the initial load, as I now only activate the sceneries I want for the FS session. Not that FS was particularly slow anyway on my system, the OrbX regions load faster now for one...

 

A

Edited February 25, 2014 by aentwis

[Ray Proudfoot 9,032]

Does anyone know if it's possible to launch FSX via a shortcut with a switch pointing to a different scenery.cfg file? I'm sure this was possible in older versions.

 

I really don't want to go through all the hassle of editing my scenery.cfg every time I fly in a different continent. So, for example, if my flying was in Europe I could launch FSX pointing to Euroscenery.cfg which would have only Europe scenery enabled.

 

The shortcut target path might look something like this...

 

D:\FSX\FSX.EXE / Euroscenery.cfg

[toprob 105]

I have no problem using Java, I just don't let it near my browser.