Borrowing from Rob Ainscough's web page banner, I installed my Christmas gift to myself and went head first down the P3D V2 rabbit hole. Also did a complete face plant when I hit bottom, since the installation was corrupted (still not sure why) and it destroyed my scenery libraries in P3D V1.4!!! 

 

So, I am fully committed to moving forward and have spent the last two days working on perfecting the box-stock simulation using the Mooney Acclaim (I fly pretty much all GA). Using Rob's suggestions (I have an almost high-end system, 4770K @ 4.2 GHz, 8GB Corsair Vengeance, EVGA GTX 780 AC, ASUS 2560x1440 HDMI display, Samsung Extreme Pro 480 SSD) , and the recent FIBER and TEXTURE mods, I have everything working pretty well. Smooth, locked at 30 fps, no jaggies, and no shimmering. I find the "windowed" mode to be a real benefit, as I can seamlessly switch back and forth between P3D and Chrome to compare settings, and I am impressed with the light CPU loads (so far!).

 

The single exception are shadows - they are horrible, and look like 8-bit renderings. Cockpit shadows have constant shimmering even when sitting on the tarmac, and terrain shadows twitch and quiver as well. Seeing the crisp lines in Rob's screenshots it is clear that something is amiss, but since I matched the P3D (dialing some back just a notch in some cases) and Inspector settings, I don't see where I went wrong!

 

If I can get this shadow problem figured out, and can incrementally start building my world. Until then, though, I will be just chasing my tail. Any suggestions for fixing shadows?

If I can get this shadow problem figured out, and can incrementally start building my world. Until then, though, I will be just chasing my tail. Any suggestions for fixing shadows?

 

John find this line in p3d.cfg and set to 2048 or 4096.

 

GROUND_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=

 

This should sharpen them up, especially in the VC but might not stop them quivering externally.

 

gb.

Im also coming back from a break in flightsimming after seeing the flat out gorgeous videos of P3D on youtube. That got me interested. I made P3D my Christmas gift to myself. And Orbx Global. And Orbx Vector. And Orbx PNW. And cant forget Active Sky Next. Now im about to get REX Soft Clouds and thats it! (for this paycheck at least!)

 

After some MILD tinkering (a shadow of what i used to put myself through with FSX) i am getting a solid 33 fps. Thats good enough for me.

 

I honestly cannot believe how smooth this sim runs. It does have its quirks that take some getting used to, but it is truly leaps and bounds above FSX.

 

 

John find this line in p3d.cfg and set to 2048 or 4096.
 
GROUND_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=

 

Heya GB. I have to admit when I saw your recommendation I kind of flinched: I have never seen a requirement for higher than 2048 for any texture in FSX/P3D V1.4, let alone a "shadow". Turns out it did not help: I still have 8-bit shadows.

 

I did generate a new *.cfg file, and am in the process or comparing line for line. However, when I substituted the Mooney for the Raptor, same thing: 8-bit shadows. 

 

Thanks for the assist, but I think there is something else, potentially fundamentally wrong, lurking in the configuration somewhere...   :(

Im also coming back from a break in flightsimming after seeing the flat out gorgeous videos of P3D on youtube. That got me interested. I made P3D my Christmas gift to myself. And Orbx Global. And Orbx Vector. And Orbx PNW. And cant forget Active Sky Next. Now im about to get REX Soft Clouds and thats it! (for this paycheck at least!)

 

After some MILD tinkering (a shadow of what i used to put myself through with FSX) i am getting a solid 33 fps. Thats good enough for me.

 

I honestly cannot believe how smooth this sim runs. It does have its quirks that take some getting used to, but it is truly leaps and bounds above FSX.

Heya Ken-Michael-Ken,    

 

Yes, I agree: P3D V2 is the "future". I had V1.4 singing along quite well, but even then I realized it was a "done" technology, comparable to FSX with regards to potential future development.

 

Make sure you make (and test) incremental changes. That is why I haven't done a single addon until I get this pesky shadow problem solved. Then I will add Global, Vector, and all the regions that I have (PNW is a favorite).

one thing that is bugging me is how P3d reindexes the scenery everytime i start the sim. Is there a fix for this? Do others experience this?

Heya GB. I have to admit when I saw your recommendation I kind of flinched: I have never seen a requirement for higher than 2048 for any texture in FSX/P3D V1.4, let alone a "shadow". Turns out it did not help: I still have 8-bit shadows.

 

Just guessing here...

 

Try

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096

GROUND_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=4096

 

There might be something else going on but the value of GROUND_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE= definitely makes an obvious difference on my system.

 

gb.

How about the shadow quality settings? Did you make sure those matched as well?

I had similar experience as you trying to upgrade. I gave up, uninstalled everything and did a complete new download of the complete version 2.4 and installed it. VIOLA! Problem solved. For you, as you have not installed any addons yet, it should not take very long and could save you lots of time in the end. Other people have had the same experience and did what I did with complete satisfaction. I don't know why, but there may be something strange going on when trying to upgrade with some computers.

Just guessing here...

 

Try

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096

GROUND_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=4096

 

There might be something else going on but the value of GROUND_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE= definitely makes an obvious difference on my system.

 

gb.

 

 

 

You might want to consider this post when changing the config file ...    http://forum.avsim.net/topic/451959-do-not-use-ground-shadow-texture-size4096/

I use ORBX and increasing the TML to 4096 I don't believe does anything if the Textures are 1024 and that would be the same with Global as well as the default I believe.

Please let me know if this is incorrect.

 

Bob

+100 for Stratocruiser1, I have had the same experience here. Originally, I had tried the upgrade from 2.3 to 2.4, and wound up with a jagged, shimmering mess. The clean install worked beautifully, and I will do a clean install again for v2.5.

    As for using 2048 textures for ground shadows, that will just cause you more grief in the form of OOM-city.

 

Happy New Year,

Craig

one thing that is bugging me is how P3d reindexes the scenery everytime i start the sim. Is there a fix for this? Do others experience this?

 

Are you using SimLauncher? They way it inserts the flight model into the simulator causes a re-index. Oh, wait - I just tried it, and I too get the re-index message. Being on a brand new SSD, though, it is just a flash! Love the new SSD!!!

I had similar experience as you trying to upgrade. I gave up, uninstalled everything and did a complete new download of the complete version 2.4 and installed it. VIOLA! Problem solved. For you, as you have not installed any addons yet, it should not take very long and could save you lots of time in the end. Other people have had the same experience and did what I did with complete satisfaction. I don't know why, but there may be something strange going on when trying to upgrade with some computers.

 

I think I am going to try this, Stratocruiser. Maybe start with the "Repair" option first, and if that does not work, do a complete mind-wipe. I already erased V1.4, so maybe things will be cleaner. Thanks!

Are you using SimLauncher? They way it inserts the flight model into the simulator causes a re-index. Oh, wait - I just tried it, and I too get the re-index message. Being on a brand new SSD, though, it is just a flash! Love the new SSD!!!

Nope, not using SimLauncher. I too am on a SSD, so the reindex thing is not a huge deal, just a P3d quirk i guess. 

 

Now i need to find a list of the best freeware planes...lol

The reindexing is a known issue with P3D. No answers for it as yet. I would guess it's not high on the priority list.

 

Vic

Don't waste your time on the Repair thing. I tried that too. Just bite the bullet and do a complete uninstall and put in the new version. Make sure you use a good search and remove tool to get rid of all the associated files that you don't normally see or use with the product.