MT6 in 2.5 - stutters?

[Alan_A 1,650]

Am wondering if anyone else is having stutters with MyTraffic 6 in Prepar3d 2.5.  I'm running some tests and trying to tease out whether my issues are related to MT6 or to my new UTX USA 2.1 installation, but what I've noticed so far is that I experience sharp stutters with MT6 at 20 percent (airlines + GA); that they're reduced if I 1) limit frames to 33 and 2) reduce MT6 traffic levels (at lower levels the stutters are less severe but still there)... but the only way to eliminate them completely is if I turn MT6 completely off.  

 

As noted, I'm not totally sure MT6 is the issue, because I was also able to reduce stutters by reducing UTX road traffic.  So general traffic levels might be an issue, or there might be something else that I need to fine-tune in UTX.

 

For what it's worth, in earlier P3D installations, I used MT5.4b with no problems.  At that point I was using FTX Vector, which I'd consider reinstalling if UTX is the culprit.

 

My test situation - flying the A2A Spitfire in the Washington DC area, primarily over KADW, using ASN real-world weather for April 17, about 3:30 p.m. local time, cloud density at medium, three cloud layers.

 

Specs are in my profile.

 

Seeing anything similar or is this local to my setup?

 

Thanks in advance!

[carlito777 712]

Definitely no MT6 induced stutters here... I always run specific test scenarios after installing an add-on and I'm confident to say that MT6 does not cause any stutters on my system... (4770K @ 4.6 GHz + GTX780)

[Alan_A 1,650]

 

 

Definitely no MT6 induced stutters here...

 

Thanks, good to know.  We're on identical CPUs with identical clocks, and my GPU is a 980.  So that's almost an apples-to-apples comparison.  I'll look at UTX, either to change settings or to swap back to FTX Vector.

 

I should have left more time between the two installations - I'm usually good about doing that so I can diagnose any issues, but I got too accelerated in this case.  Paying the price for it now.

 

Thanks for your info.

[carlito777 712]

I'll look at UTX, either to change settings or to swap back to FTX Vector.

 

I have the experience that vector add-ons can indeed be the source of stutters. With the wrong options (or too many options) ticked in FTX Vector, I also get stutters. So I would assume the vector add-on is the more likely source of the stutters. On the other hand, every system is different. Who knows. You will have to run some tests to find out for sure what causes the stutters on your system. Good luck!

[Alan_A 1,650]

 

 

I have the experience that vector add-ons can indeed be the source of stutters.

 

Agreed.  I did OK with UTX in FSX, and tried to apply similar settings, but clearly P3D is its own animal.  So, back to the lab...  I'll post back here when I've got some answers.

[vgbaron 3,486]

I have MT6 and UTX2.1 in P3D2.5 and get no stutters. Be aware that road traffic can be a BIG problem. Try turning that off and disabling all but major roads. If that works, start adding them back to get the balance you want.

 

I left mine at the default and have no issues.

 

 

Vic

[Alan_A 1,650]

Be aware that road traffic can be a BIG problem.

 

Confirmed.  Turning off UTX road traffic improved performance tremendously.  It's still not perfect - some changes in road settings are probably called for - but at least I know where the issue is.

 

It's possible I'll have to make a personal choice about tradeoffs - as a low-and-slow (or sometimes low-and-fast, if it's a Spitfire), I like my road traffic.  Helps bring the world to life.  So I might need to swap back to Vector, where road traffic didn't cause me any performance problems, and live with the greater VAS demand.  Am not sure if I'll do that, but it's a solvable problem.

 

The good news is that MT6 is off the hook.  

 

So... today air traffic, tomorrow the roads...  B)

 

Thanks, guys, for your help.

[Mazo 40]

Another thought - http://forum.avsim.net/topic/451048-traffic-optimizer-for-p3d/

 

When I first started MT6 at KMSN, there were over 300 aircraft shown by the Traffic Optimizer. I reduced the max number to 150, which still gives me a great number of AI both at the gate and in the air, and eliminated any stuttering.

 

It's free -- may be worth a try.

 

Lyn

[Alan_A 1,650]

 

 

Another thought - http://forum.avsim.n...imizer-for-p3d/

 

Good thought.  I have the optimizer but haven't loaded it up yet in my new install.  Will try it.  I still think UTX settings are the main issue, given how drastically performance seems to change when I turn some of the UTX settings (like road traffic) on and off.  On my old installation, the optimizer helped with frames when I was running MT5.4b, but stutters were never an issue.  Still, it might be that by tweaking the MT6 traffic levels with the optimizer, I can get the AI aircraft and UTX to play better with each other.  I'll check it out.

[DylanM 1,069]

Can't say enough about that great little free program! Just hope the dev jumps back online so development continues...

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

I'm not too worried about the lack of updates. Air Traffic Manager probably reached a level of refinement such that it didn't require constant updating. The app does what it promises and I've never had the present version cause a CTD, etc..

[DylanM 1,069]

Hi Jay, I do rarely get the "airtrafficmanager has stopped working" message during flight loading, and sometimes it doesn't exit "gracefully" after P3D closes...very small niggles though, and again very rare so I'm still really happy about the amount I paid for it

 

Anyways back on topic - glad you got to the bottom of the stutters Alan...

[Alan_A 1,650]

Well, on my first run with the traffic manager, it didn't seem to be having much effect - none at all, it turns out, because for some reason it wasn't connecting to P3D.  I'll try to look into that tomorrow.  I still suspect I'm going to wind up heading back to Vector but first things first - I'd like to get the traffic manager working in any case.  So I'll what help it needs and try to give it an assist.  More to follow...

[Alan_A 1,650]

Reporting back as promised, to say that the stutters largely disappeared as soon as I replaced UTX with FTX Vector.  They're not 100 percent gone - I was able to induce them in a hard, high-speed turn directly over KADW with MyTraffic 6 at 20 percent, AI manager running and frames locked at 33.  But that was it - frames were steady at all other points.

 

I suspect that with a little more fine-tuning - maybe traffic sliders down to 15 percent, where I used to keep them on previous installations - the stutters will be gone  UTX is clearly the main culprit, at least on my system.  I guess that the tradeoff is between lower VAS impact (in favor of UTX) and smoother performance (in favor of Vector).

 

It helps that I actually like Vector better - a matter of personal taste, but to me it looks more natural - and that I mostly don't fly aircraft that are big VAS consumers, so I have a little overhead to work with.  

 

As in all things P3D or FSX, your mileage may vary.