Clouds kill FPS in 2.3

[SteveW 1,792]

I set the max frame rate to 17 and hey presto a wondeful smooth flight - no stuttering at all and the A2A Cherokee still felt alive.

 

This is why fixing around the mean available frame rate is good:

 

[CaptCWGAllen 49]

 

 

This is why fixing around the mean available frame rate is good:

 

Brilliant!

[TrafficPilot 121]

 

 

The LM developer wasn't sure why this worked but it was a phenomenon he had stumbled across. I do still experiment and always I go back to the 33 locked FPS with V Sync and 3x buffering as it just smooths things out even further (for me at least).

 

This is very interesting. Shall give it a try tonight. Anyone else tried and got similar results to Peter?

[MarioB 4]

 

 

Hi Mario, just the P3D settings - cleared Inspector back to default

 

Thanks for this insight! I am unsure about where I stand with Nvidia Inspector: Learned that it was not necessary with 2.3 or that others (e.g. Robains) uses it with success. Is there a benefit using NI and setting it to default?

 

Besides your suggestions, so far what I gather from these posts are:

1. Use medium cloud cover (or lower if overcast)
2. Disable cloud shadows
3. Use NI with the default profile (no SGSSAA)
4. No affinity mask in the cfg file. The original cfg file being the same as the tweaks form the LM learning center document

I don't use volumetric fog. Not sure where I stand with HDR. The most important thing to me is a smooth sim. Fancy effects are OK, but not a priority.

 

Please someone confirm that I am getting this right!

 

PS Thanks Steve for your graphics.

[MarioB 4]

Hi Mario, just the P3D settings - cleared Inspector back to default. I do though get a big FPS hit when cloud cover is heavy - but I tend to fly in low to medium cloud cover as I like the effect of the sun and the clouds and shadows. I also tend to fly in non densely populated areas and only GA.

 

I did find a post recently on the LM which was aimed at v2.2 where an LM developer suggested that locking the frame rate to 10% upbove the average that can be achieved in any given scenario or 33 tops (so 30 +10%) with V Sync and 3x buffering on gives a really smooth flight. So I have tried this and when the FPS is low it still gives an amazingly fluid flight model. For example, I was over London the other day in quite heavy cloud cover and high scenry settings and only getting around 15 FPS on unlimited with stutters . I set the max frame rate to 17 and hey presto a wondeful smooth flight - no stuttering at all and the A2A Cherokee still felt alive. 

 

I now use this setting all the time but normally at 33 FPS (even if I can average 50 - 80 FPS with unlimited frame rates) and it actually makes the flight smoother still.

 

The LM developer wasn't sure why this worked but it was a phenomenon he had stumbled across. I do still experiment and always I go back to the 33 locked FPS with V Sync and 3x buffering as it just smooths things out even further (for me at least).

 

cheers

Peter

 

 

This made the trick. Took you advice on FSN settings, added the NI default and kept the cloud coverage as medium.

 

Did a 3 hour flight at 9500' from CYAM, the Sault-Ste-Marie to CYQG Windsor. Even in broken clouds I achieved an average of 32.5 (FPS setting at 30 + 10% = 33).

 

Very smooth indeed. Thanks Peter.

[Richard99_Photography 2]

Just bought yesterday P3D v2.3, next days I'm gonna request a refund, nothing was spent worse than these 40 Euros in last decade for me!

It's shameful, worse than FSX some years ago... Unflyable, except with standard default aircraft and only with clear sky, huge amount of stutters. What's the meaning to add features like shadows (with dozens of options), HDR, volumetric fog whether to get a modest fps (no more 30) you should disable them?

Don't worry about my pc, it is not a s**t... 4,7Ghz and GTX680, it is not the problem, the problem is the simulator!!!

:angry2:

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

Your setup is capable of running P3d on mid to high settings. If you want help here then you should ask specific questions. Else you should be happy that LM offers a "no questions asked" full refund.

[RoboRay 126]

Just bought yesterday P3D v2.3, next days I'm gonna request a refund

 

P3D ran smoothly before and it will run smoothly again.  Something just got broken in an update.

 

You've got 60 days to collect your refund before permanently going back to the stagnant, never-improving state of FSX, which itself is forever broken in several ways that are already fixed in P3D.  You may as well wait to see to see if LM fixes the new cloud issue before that time runs out.

[sgreen91 182]

Try turning off volumetric fog. I had the same issues all of you had and this resolved it for me.

I think the fog is bugged anyway.

[MarioB 4]

Riccardo, give it some time, do a few tweaks and you will be ready to go. I had low FPS due to clouds/rain at the beginning and was very desperate. I have modified some settings (see earlier in this topic). My computer specs are not even as good as yours. Compared to the tweaks I had to do in FSX, the few setting you have to change in P3D 2.3 are nothing...

 

Yes, it would be great to have a perfectly functional sim without any tweaks. Serious testers have already posted the FPS/cloud problems on the P3D forums; I am sure they are aware of the issues. Unlike FSX, P3D is an evolving sim ...

[Nytro 29]

Same problem here. The clouds give me a major FPS impact. It has nothing to do with REX, since I don't have it installed. Even on medium clouds it gives me a huge impact. Never had those problems in 2.2

 

BTW, in general I can't see any improvements in 2.3 besides the new water, but with REX it looks like that in 2.2 as well... The Antialiasing is still the same as well like in 2.2.

 

The 2D Panel bug is still there... 2D Panel scaled to screen size = 18 fps or less... 2D Panel reduced a brick under the red info line in the left corner = 30 fps locked. This is ###### and makes no sense. I don't get it why they don't fix this stupid bug...

[Richard99_Photography 2]

On my side, it is not only a problem of which shadow options, which amount of clouds (Low to Maximum) and/or which water effects, combined all together or taken as stand alone, it is in general a problem of smoothness. Even disabling all fps-high demand features (e.g. running with clear skies), I get good fps, but stutters, not occasionally.

Just tried my P3D v1.4 and, wow! Smooth as never seen on P3D V2 with any kind of setting, also the lowest!

 

So, my question is: is it only because of the nVidia driver problems? I cannot comment about previous versions (2.1 or 2.2) because I did not own them. 

 

Finally, alongside that, many of my payware addon aircrafts are essentially unflyable, so let's ask what is the meaning to use (now) P3D V2 in these conditions (very poor fps, very bad IQ, very bad smothness, no major payware addon aircrafts like PMDG, available on that sim).

 

Let's ask to you: some of you have the same smothness as in P3D v1.4? I strongly doubt it!

Bye.

[Nytro 29]

You should try 2.2 The performance there was much better I think...

[Richard99_Photography 2]

Thanks for your suggestion. Two questions rising up:

1. I cannot understand why such downgrade in terms of performance: we are asking for performance improvements, while we get worse.

2. v2.2 no more available for download (I guess)?

[nathanpinard 0]

Er, I have a 2600k and a GTX680 and it seems to run fine for me. That is being upgraded to a Titan when I get home today.

 

Why are we talking about this now? How some this cloud thing hasn't been an issue since the update come out on this forum.

 

I'll see what my results are after the Titan is in.