I recently re-installed Windows 10, with the new April update and began the arduous task of getting Prepar3D set up again. However, I quickly realized and remembered why I stopped flying at some point; I seem to be getting these long freezes that I can't exactly nail down but they are very consistent, happens in the same area(s) every time. Now, I'm not new to FSX or P3D, so freezes and stuttering isn't exactly new to me. However, this is in a magnitude beyond what I've seen from the sim to date.

I'm talking freezes that sometimes end up being 10 seconds long, even when turning down every single graphical option and making my sim look like a complete blob, once I hit some of these magical areas, I'm just hanging there in the air. I thought it was related to airport loading but I'm not entirely sure, especially not when you turn down every single slider, then airports just becomes empty strips of tarmac with pretty much nothing to load.

And to clarify, I never had this issue in prior versions. I can't pinpoint exactly when this started but it was sometimes post-4.0 and it has persisted between a Windows re-install and an SSD upgrade (well, downgrade technically).

I have two testing scenarios; Taking off from (default) KLAX and having OrbX's SoCal (and every other region close by), plus OrbX's KAVX. Flying from KLAX over to KAVX, I always get the first freeze the second I hit the coast and the next one as I get closer. This is a bad area, even with low settings, as I can fly up north along the west coast and see multiple of these freezes.

The other scenario is taking off from FlyTampa's Copenhagen (IFR version), moving away and then turning back, so all the buildings load again. Second I return, long freezes as it struggles to load a few buildings. And this is an airport I've flown in- and out of hundreds of times without these issues.

Here's two videos of the freezes from approaching KAVX, just hanging there while Core 4 seems to get a huge workload that it tries to chew through. Also, Core 1 is constantly pinned due to running the internal framerate limiter, so it's constantly rendering ahead. Issue also persists with unlimited frames. And notice this is with every single slider set to its lowest. There's barely anything to load! And it's the same places every time, so I can test it fairly consistently.

https://streamable.com/u9uir

https://streamable.com/7j9wa

I suspect there's something hidden out of view, a function, something it's struggling to load that are specific to some of these zones.

Current specs:

8700K @ 5GHz (1:1 Uncore / 50 Ratio)

G.Skill 32GB 3600MHz

MSI 1080 Ti Sea Hawk X

Windows installed on a 512GB Samsung 830 EVO, P3D installed on a 1TB 840 EVO and all my games are on a 1TB 850 EVO.

And I haven't had any issues with the machine related to performance or freezes outside of P3D whatsoever, as I'm pretty fastidious about that.

So I'm just curious, has anyone else seen or experienced anything like this or could offer some insight what it might be? Again, to clarify, this is well beyond what I've ever experienced with the sim in terms of freezes and something that began post 4.0. I've flown around these areas for years without these severe problems.

Do you have FSUIPC installed? If so, ensure you have the latest version and ensure the "Auto Save" function is off. The FSUIPC "Auto Save" causes the very issue you are describing.

26 minutes ago, Peter Webber said:

Do you have FSUIPC installed? If so, ensure you have the latest version and ensure the "Auto Save" function is off. The FSUIPC "Auto Save" causes the very issue you are describing.

Not at the moment, no. I did stumble on those issues through my frantic Google searching but alas, it wasn't the magical fix for me.

I am now trying to nuke my entire installation and start over, then keep testing between addons, see if I can find the exact moment when it all goes south.

So you do not get those stutters on a brand new P3D Installation? Only after adding addons the issue appears? Then yes, the only solution might be a testrun after each and every addon you install. Cumbersome, but at least you will know which addon is causing it...

35 minutes ago, Sethos1988 said:

Not at the moment, no. I did stumble on those issues through my frantic Google searching but alas, it wasn't the magical fix for me.

I am now trying to nuke my entire installation and start over, then keep testing between addons, see if I can find the exact moment when it all goes south.

Hi,

I believe you would be wasting your time. These pauses are familiar to most of us. Like you and others I have tried tracking down the cause but without success. LM don’t acknowledge their existence and neither does ORBX so looks like we are stuck with them for the time being.

When I encounter a pause I know that it will only last 4-5 secs and everything proceeds normally thereafter. They do seem to occur at certain situations and are repeatable. For example, I always experience a pause while flying from KVPS to HURT. This can be eliminated by overflying the area a few times or resetting the scenario, although the latter isn’t invariably successful.

I’ve given up noting where these pauses occur as, while they can happen in a wide variety of situations, they are relatively infrequent, no-one is listening and, most importantly, they do not signal an impending crash of the sim. My guess is that it has something to do with a texture loading issue and/or scenery developer non-compliance with the SDK specifications.

Mike

6 minutes ago, Cruachan said:

Hi,

I believe you would be wasting your time. These pauses are familiar to most of us. Like you and others I have tried tracking down the cause but without success. LM don’t acknowledge their existence and neither does ORBX so looks like we are stuck with them for the time being.

When I encounter a pause I know that it will only last 4-5 secs and everything proceeds normally thereafter. They do seem to occur at certain situations and are repeatable. For example, I always experience a pause while flying from KVPS to HURT. This can be eliminated by overflying the area a few times or resetting the scenario, although the latter isn’t invariably successful.

I’ve given up noting where these pauses occur as, while they can happen in a wide variety of situations, they are relatively infrequent, no-one is listening and, most importantly, they do not signal an impending crash of the sim. My guess is that it has something to do with a texture loading issue and/or scenery developer non-compliance with the SDK specifications.

Mike

While I agree, in terms of finding the solution, the exercise is probably a waste of time as I sort-of know the answer. However, I just want complete peace of mind that it isn't some specific thing, some addon that is causing it. Then I'd at least be somewhat happy. However, as I mentioned, I've also been flying for many years and stuttering / freezes isn't exactly an alien concept. However, the freezing I'm experiencing in 4.2 is beyond anything I've seen. They last longer and are far more frequent, to a point where I can't even VFR up the west coast, without them happening multiple times.

Then it just goes from something I can accept, well into 'very unenjoyable' territory. I do however believe, that your guess as to the nature of the problem is bang-on, that's also what I'm suspecting is happening but given the many addons, thousands of files and the fact that we have little access to what's going on at code level, we can't say anything for certain. And everything will do their utmost to avoid holding the blame ball, just to pass it on to another developer as being the culprit.

But for now I will do my due diligence and test it properly, so I can rule out as much as possible.

So first update. I got rid of everything, cleaned out the various hidden folders and started over. Run the exact same flight after each installation or modification of the simulator;

Base game: Good
OrbX Libraries: Good
Unified lclookup: Good
FTX Global Base: Good
Chaseplane + PrecipitFX: Good
OpenLC North America: Good
OrbX KAVX: First minor stutter, barely a second
OrbX SoCal Region: Same minor stutter
OpenLC EU & SA: Same as above
FS Global Ultimate Next Gen 2018: Same as above

 

So the key thing missing right now is the always-suspected culprit: Vector -- Question is if I should just not install it and use FS Global's mesh flatten feature in case I stumble on an airport out of whack? Still need a lot of graphical mods, texture mods, Terra Florra etc. but the above were my main suspects, SoCal and KAVX at least. But I will keep testing later, maybe there's that one specific addon that brings down the whole thing.

Do note, my previous Vector install was extreme barebone, barely had anything enabled. I even tried uninstalling it on the previous P3D install and it didn't work. So the question is, would it still impact the sim at that point or is it something else causing it. I shall keep testing.

Edited May 3, 20188 yr by Sethos1988

I have them with FTX SoCal around Vegas and again around PIS /KRNO moving up to FTX Lake Tahoe from KRNO.

5-10seconds

Thanks

Michael Moe

Well, after a lot of installing, testing, installing and testing, Vector does seem to be the main suspect. The second I installed Vector, the long pauses reared their ugly head. It doesn't help turning off everything or not using the AEC tool. As long as it's installed, the problem is there, it seems. I can't 100% confirm it yet, as I've still got quite a lot to install. I will get it up and running with everything I had before, minus Vector, then hit all the usual testing areas.

What happens if you disable Vector in the scenery library?  Do the pauses stay.   

23 hours ago, Sethos1988 said:

Well, after a lot of installing, testing, installing and testing, Vector does seem to be the main suspect. The second I installed Vector, the long pauses reared their ugly head. It doesn't help turning off everything or not using the AEC tool. As long as it's installed, the problem is there, it seems. I can't 100% confirm it yet, as I've still got quite a lot to install. I will get it up and running with everything I had before, minus Vector, then hit all the usual testing areas.

This is exactly what happened on my system. A couple 5-10 second pauses every flight. I uninstalled Vector, pauses went way. I reinstalled Vector, pauses came back. I still will get occasional 2-3 second pause (when getting within range of a add-on airport on approach), but nothing like the 5-10 second ones getting with Vector during all phases of flight.

YMMV

11 minutes ago, RedSpinnaker said:

This is exactly what happened on my system. A couple 5-10 second pauses every flight. I uninstalled Vector, pauses went way. I reinstalled Vector, pauses came back. I still will get occasional 2-3 second pause (when getting within range of a add-on airport on approach), but nothing like the 5-10 second ones getting with Vector during all phases of flight.

YMMV

What is the easiest way to get rid of Vector? 

 

Thanks Michael Moe 

21 minutes ago, Michael Moe said:

What is the easiest way to get rid of Vector? 

 

Thanks Michael Moe 

Consequence of doing that would be the loss of all the shorelines. Too big a price? Seems to me that this particular ball should be placed firmly in Orbx’s court.

Regards,

Mike

37 minutes ago, Michael Moe said:

What is the easiest way to get rid of Vector?

Before you go down the uninstall route, I'd recommend disabling all the vector layers in your scenery and fly for a few days to see if that helps with the long pauses. If it does, re-enable the layers and see if the pauses come back.

To completely uninstall, I'd point you to the ORBX forums for support on how to correctly and completely uninstall Vector.

You might also consider UTX - which is my favorite. Not the same performance hit as Vector but comparable or better visuals. IMHO. 

FWIW, I have one system set up with GEX and UTX with certain specific ORBX areas and I have the other set up with FTX Global & Vector and orbx areas. Better performance and better looking are the GEX/UTX IMHO.

 

Vic