community news Help with CTD...

[Jeff H 63]

Hello,

No, the CTD I'm talking about is not the dreaded Crash to Desktop, so familiar to us all.  The CTD that I am referring to is a serious affliction that affects hundreds, nay thousands of Fight Sim enthusiasts all over the globe.  To the uninitiated, they appear as normal people, but to those among us, the signs are as clear as the bright sun on a cloudless day.  I've no doubt that while you may not be able to tell for sure, everyone knows someone afflicted with this horribly devastating disease. It is a malady that knows no boundaries, no social classes. It crosses international borders without conscience or impediment.  It has ruined relationships, destroyed careers and emptied more bank accounts than a cheap hooker with a bad cocaine habit. That's right, this is CTD, otherwise known as Compulsive Tweaking Disorder.  
  Hello, my name is Jeff, and I'm a Compulsive Tweaker.
For many years now, I have been a flight simulator enthusiast. Since my first foray into the world of flight simulators as a young lad back in 1983, I have, like many before me, been in search of that Holy Grail, the creme de la creme, the magic bullet that would give me what I crave; the ultimate PC based flying experience...flight simulation nirvana. Today, I sit here firmly entrenched in a relationship with FS9 that has lasted near a decade. Though I have, on occasion, been known to mingle with other mistresses; FSX, X-plane, and a few others over these many years, I nevertheless find myself drawn back to the safety and comfort of a well known and trusted partner.  I know just where to touch her to make her purr like a kitten.  I know when she's not in the mood, and I know when I can push it, and when to back away.  While to outsiders this may seem to be an insane anthropomorphizing of a few lines of code that make up a computer program, to those suffering with CTD, it makes as much sense as endowing your cat, your dog or your goldfish with human emotion and characteristics. So in spite of any desire to find a cure, and contrary to all rational thought and nearly every logical fiber of my being, I continue to tweak.  Mostly in secret now, when no one is watching and after the wife has retired for the evening, I sit in my dungeon. Downloading, altering, testing, rebooting, reinstalling this add-on or that.  For every little improvement in frame rate and every minuscule reduction in stutters and stammers of my simulator over the years, perfection remains an ever elusive adversary.  The closer I get, the more it mocks me.  Even now, I hear its' laughter in the depths of my mind, wheedling and cajoling me to push the limits even further.  "Come on," it says to me, "You know you want it.  You're not going to give up now, are you?"  Ever aware of the hold it has on me, I find myself as Captain Ahab in pursuit of his nemesis, Flight Simulator being my Moby Dick.  "These are the times of dreamy quietude, when beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang."  And then in that final moment of heated confrontation, "From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee."
My name is Jeff, and I'm a compulsive tweaker.  I am in the process of establishing a support group to help others with this sad but all too common ailment.  But we need your help.  Please contact me through private message to arrange for your donation to this honorable and worthy cause.  Every contribution you make goes directly toward the research, treatment and prevention of this tragic and malicious disease.  We happily accept credit card and PayPal only.  Please do not send cash as we have found that we just end up buying more add-ons with it.
In the meantime, please stand up and share your story with us.  There's no need to hide in dark corners and hallways any longer. You are not alone. We are here for you.  No, we don't yet have a Twelve Step program, but we're working on it.  

Thank You,
Jeff

Disclaimer:
This has been a public service announcement.  The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily (and probably don't) reflect the views and opinions of AVSIM, its' agents or its' members.

[mganz121 159]

Hello, my name is Dave and I am a "Frame Rate Chaser".

 

I do know deep down inside, that rather than having to try and keep up with my obsession to chase the number of times I want it to happen per second, my loved one is looking for fluidity and motion. But like you, I just cannot help myself. I am trying to find that magical and elusive "button".

 

I feel so selfish asking, no ............ lets be honest here, I feel selfish, for demanding and cajoling more............ oh so much more than the abilities of one who has reached an age that should be expected to retire gracefully. And, (importantly), with dignity.

 

I buy expensive toys (starting with P for pre - what ever) with which we both feel that we can amuse ourselves, and hopefully, extending our relationship further. But we both know that after so much fun together, although I'm still ok, time is indeed, finite. Why? Because my loved one complains of memory loss! 

 

What am I to do? Where do I go to next?

 

I love my old one dearly, but ................ my old one ain't taking me down alongside her! Do I need your help?

[Jeff H 63]

Hello, my name is Dave and I am a "Frame Rate Chaser".

 

I do know deep down inside, that rather than having to try and keep up with my obsession to chase the number of times I want it to happen per second, my loved one is looking for fluidity and motion. But like you, I just cannot help myself. I am trying to find that magical and elusive "button".

 

I feel so selfish asking, no ............ lets be honest here, I feel selfish, for demanding and cajoling more............ oh so much more than the abilities of one who has reached an age that should be expected to retire gracefully. And, (importantly), with dignity.

 

I buy expensive toys (starting with P for pre - what ever) with which we both feel that we can amuse ourselves, and hopefully, extending our relationship further. But we both know that after so much fun together, although I'm still ok, time is indeed, finite. Why? Because my loved one complains of memory loss! 

 

What am I to do? Where do I go to next?

 

I love my old one dearly, but ................ my old one ain't taking me down alongside her! Do I need your help?

Thank you, Dave...That was very touching.  No worries my friend.  Frame rate chasing is a form of CTD, but you caught it early, so there is hope for you.  We're here to help.  The important thing to remember is that you are not alone.  So many people continue to suffer from this dreaded illness in silence.  We all know that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  Rest easy now, the hardest part is behind you.  As the flood of donations continue to roll into our coffers, we will be establishing The CTD Hot-line where folks like you and me can call, 24/7, to speak with a mentor in those times that we find ourselves unable to cope with the challenges involved in finding the strength not to tweak.  The hardest issue, as I'm sure you've already come to realize, is to stop ourselves from binge tweaking.  Weekends and gifting holidays are the toughest times of the year in this regard.  While we all know that there is no known cure for CTD, our programs will help you learn to manage your disease and give you new hope for a better life.  Keep an eye out for more information in the near future.  In the meantime, go sit down, have a drink or two and relax.  You're among friends!!

 

Cheers,

Jeff

[Mickel 42]

I fear I am becoming affected. It started out with highmemfix. That's ok. Everyone does it, so there can be no harm, surely. I've never really tried to drive my sim to the bleeding edge. I was content. I would skim threads of those seeking 2 extra frames with bemusement, wondering what the fuss was about. Sometimes things would go wrong. NGX into Orbxed land KSFO in soup from FBs KPHX would stop. Well, I would say to myself, that was silly. Asking a bit much, wasn't I. But nay. That no longer cuts it. Then I wanted to find out what this AA thing through Inspector did, and was it going to mess with my state of content. My screenshots look better. Score! What's next? I ask. Been having crashing issues recently which have had me googling at 1am. This is not what I signed up for!

 

I'm certain that I have not gone over the edge and into the mire. But would I even see the edge? As the two blokes locked in the Speights brewery cried: 'help....'

 

Mike

[Jeff H 63]

I'm certain that I have not gone over the edge and into the mire. But would I even see the edge? As the two blokes locked in the Speights brewery cried: 'help....'

 

Well Mike, be careful where you step from here because you are on the precipice.  Of all the issues surrounding those afflicted with CTD, the most heartbreaking is that we often don't realize that we've crossed the line until it is too late.  It starts innocently enough.  Sure, from the outside looking in, it's just a simple AA tweak.  We rationalize it by telling ourselves it's ok because everyone does it.  You've seen that already.  Trouble is, it doesn't end there.  You need more so you move onto a TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT tweak, then maybe a FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION tweak.  But soon, even that's not enough.  Next thing you know, you're strung out on Bufferpools and looking for your next HighMemFix.  It's going to be ok though.  You've found us in the Nick N of time!! Sit tight.  One of my associates will get back to you just as soon as he finds a way to anti-alias his tree shadows.

Cheers!!

Jeff

[Jim Robinson 122]

I just happen to have a little Monk3Y on my back at the moment, no big deal. I can handle it, I don't need any help, I can get it together... :smile:

[Jeff H 63]

I have faith in you, Jim.  My instinct leads me to believe that you are a man possessed of great willpower and tremendous strength of character.  Either that or you are just possessed, and in a serous state of denial, lol.  In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I'll lean towards the former, for the time being.  Perhaps you'd like to join us in one of our counselor positions?  :wink:

[simmerhead 885]

Sometimes it's good to be lazy...

[peyote 25]

Well, I tried my best ...
After a 2 year break, yesterday I got back into flight simming.
Do you know what I started with? Well, you guessed! Some tweaking, of course.

Though am proud to say that I celebrated the tweaking success with some actual flying (CYVR to CYXT in my beloved freeware Antonov AN-24 by Samdim Design), the flight nearly ended in disaster for my virtual passengers. Who would have thought that those landing skills were almost completely gone after 2 years away from the yoke! Back to my virtual PPL certification ...

Anyway I've got a good dose of endorphins taking care of those missing alpha channels (by the way, a big thank you to all the contributors in this post: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/382519-a-huge-fps-increase/).

So, my name is Chip and I am a Compulsive Tweaker...