Interesting!

 

Can we say that Skymaxx improves the FPS then?

 

Would this be the first case of a graphic enhancement add-on that ALSO improves performance?

 

I will be getting this addon then!

 

The devs have said that they are an improvement over default clouds etc, you also get things like landing lights shining in the clouds

 

Are you on a laptop by  any chance? Do you mind sharing you hardware specs.

 

Call me a pretender, cause I do have XP10 smooth a a baby's butt ALL the time locked at 30 and with pretty high settings and HDR at 2x SSAA+FXAA.  

 

Of course not. I'm not a glutton for punishment.

2600k @ 4.6Ghz + 970 4GB.

 

My slowdowns in XP come from clouds and probably W2XP OSM buildings (having no HDR of course improves things as well). The clouds issue may be remedied by Skymaxx Pro, but I just can't fly XP without W2XP's OSM buildings (I don't use orthos). The normal "plausible world" just looks awful to me. Keep in mind though, I only fly in the US. So there's not a ton of OSM data. Usually just enough to fill out downtown areas unless it's a major city, but it's enough to give me a good suspension of disbelief

 

I could probably improve matters by using 2xSSAA + FXAA but it's a shimmery mess with that setting. I have to use 4xSSAA to have it playable.

 

I'll try your suggestion of using 2xSSAA + setting 2XSGSS in NI and see if it's a better combo.

 

I think I need to just bite the bullet and get Skymaxx Pro. $40 for what is basically just cloud textures and some related features is steep but I think X-Aviation knows they've got people over a barrel in this case, which is why you never see it on sale.

Of course not. I'm not a glutton for punishment.

2600k @ 4.6Ghz + 970 4GB.

 

My slowdowns in XP come from clouds and probably W2XP OSM buildings (having no HDR of course improves things as well). The clouds issue may be remedied by Skymaxx Pro, but I just can't fly XP without W2XP's OSM buildings (I don't use orthos). The normal "plausible world" just looks awful to me. Keep in mind though, I only fly in the US. So there's not a ton of OSM data. Usually just enough to fill out downtown areas unless it's a major city, but it's enough to give me a good suspension of disbelief

 

I could probably improve matters by using 2xSSAA + FXAA but it's a shimmery mess with that setting. I have to use 4xSSAA to have it playable.

 

I'll try your suggestion of using 2xSSAA + setting 2XSGSS in NI and see if it's a better combo.

 

I think I need to just bite the bullet and get Skymaxx Pro. $40 for what is basically just cloud textures and some related features is steep but I think X-Aviation knows they've got people over a barrel in this case, which is why you never see it on sale.

 

Apparently NI does not work at all with X-Plane.

probably W2XP OSM buildings (having no HDR fixes both those).

 

W2XP is a resource hog and lots of micro stutters, unfortunately. I got rid of it and was able to set roads and objects to Extreme (cars to Siberia) with great results, very smooth and fluid experience. With your 970 there will be no problem handling overcast conditions with SMP 3

Apparently NI does not work at all with X-Plane.

 

My guess is that it's like P3D, in that most NI features don't work, but you can force SGSS on. That's a driver side feature and doesn't require program integration like normal AA settings.

 

I know for a fact that it works to force V-Sync as I had awful tearing until I did so.

It does work, but with HDR turned on in X-Plane, it's use of controlling AA is pretty limited (see above). With HDR off, you have much more control over AA through NI/NCP - similar to FSX - but of course you are sacrificing all the HDR-exclusive features.

 

For those who only fly during the daytime, HDR is not mandatory in my opinion. But as soon as lights come into play, HDR is a must for me.

It does work, but with HDR turned on in X-Plane, it's use of controlling AA is pretty limited (see above). With HDR off, you have much more control over AA through NI/NCP - similar to FSX - but of course you are sacrificing all the HDR-exclusive features.

 

For those who only fly during the daytime, HDR is not mandatory in my opinion. But as soon as lights come into play, HDR is a must for me.

 

I agree that HDR lighting is where X-plane shines visually so its most definitely needed to be on.

Don't laugh, but I have a GTX560Ti.

 

Surprisingly X-Plane 10 on medium(ish) settings, with anti aliasing at FXAA is absolutely fine. Until I hit cloud, then the fps nosedive.

 

Would I see an improvement with SkyMaxx, or is it time to just bite the bullet and upgrade?

I just tried 2xSSAA + 2xSGSS in NI and it's a big performance boost over 4xSSAA.

Shimmering is probably a little worse, but I'll give it a shot and see if I can deal.

 

 

is it time to just bite the bullet and upgrade

 

Tom, If you have the budget, then wait for the new nVidia's reference card 1070/1080  that are coming out on May 27 (or wait until June for the other manufactures) and upgrade, I will guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Tom, If you have the budget, then wait for the new nVidia's reference card 1070/1080  that are coming out on May 27 (or wait until June for the other manufactures) and upgrade, I will guarantee you will not be disappointed.

 

Whilst it sounds wonderful, any idea on how much it's likely to cost?

 

I've been eyeing up the 970 to replace my current card, which at the moment is on Amazon for around £270. I don't really want to go much higher than that!

 

 

at the moment is on Amazon for around £270

 

It seems that nVidia's reference 1070 model will be at about $399 US. I would suggest you wait and see what the final prices will be with other manufactures.

 

 

I've been eyeing up the 970 to replace my current card

 

Check this out Tom:

 

http://www.game-debate.com/news/20223/geforce-gtx-1070-full-specs-leak-estimated-performance-equals-gtx-titan-x

It seems that nVidia's reference 1070 model will be at about $399 US. I would suggest you wait and see what the final prices will be with other manufactures.

 

 

 

Check this out Tom:

 

http://www.game-debate.com/news/20223/geforce-gtx-1070-full-specs-leak-estimated-performance-equals-gtx-titan-x

 

Wow, looks like I'd be mad to get a 970 now then! Looks like I'll seriously consider getting a 1070 when it's released.

 

 

Wow, looks like I'd be mad to get a 970 now then! Looks like I'll seriously consider getting a 1070 when it's released.

 

Totally agree, would be a smart upgrade.

 

 

To go slightly off on a tangent, I am really looking forward to the Nvidia 1080. I think the new single-pass perspective correction for multi-screen games is huge, especially for flight-sim fans on tighter budgets -- and you don't have to deal with a lot of the complexities of having to sync data across multiple computers.

 

Not trying to play gotcha, but would this even be available for use in X-Plane? I'm wondering if this feature can support a single window spanning multiple monitors (which it looks like it probably does), or if it requires multiple windows with one on each monitor.

 

More importantly though, it appears that developers will need to write in support for this simultaneous multi-projection feature of the Pascal (link, link, link), so I am curious if this is something that will be limited to DirectX based titles or if it is engine agnostic allowing OpenGL to join the fun.... never mind the question of if or when Laminar Research would get around to writing against the VRWorks API (link) needed for its use.

 

I'm very interested to see how that feature will play out - X-Plane or otherwise! Could have a profound effect on the use of projectors as well.