Permanent Terrain Adjustments - "Terrain Hopping"

[Nemo 1,304]

I'm not sure how to describe ... It looks like the mesh and/or terrain textures are refreshed every few seconds which gives an illusion that the terrain moves a bit up and down ... When it happens, it is an absolute immersion killer. It happens not everywhere but in some areas it is more prominent. And, it seems to be independent from the settings I choose in the P3D graphics interface. Even at low settings this ugly "terrain hopping" occurs.

I am not sure, but ORBX Regions with an additional airport scenery from another developer and hilly ground seem to be most affected. Two examples: ORBX FTX SAK + Anchorage (Aerosoft) and ORBX FTX NZNI + Wellington (Flightbeam).

Any thoughts?

[mpw8679 428]

14 minutes ago, Nemo said:

I'm not sure how to describe ... It looks like the mesh and/or terrain textures are refreshed every few seconds which gives an illusion that the terrain moves a bit up and down ... When it happens, it is an absolute immersion killer. It happens not everywhere but in some areas it is more prominent. And, it seems to be independent from the settings I choose in the P3D graphics interface. Even at low settings this ugly "terrain hopping" occurs.

I am not sure, but ORBX Regions with an additional airport scenery from another developer and hilly ground seem to be most affected. Two examples: ORBX FTX SAK + Anchorage (Aerosoft) and ORBX FTX NZNI + Wellington (Flightbeam).

Any thoughts?

What is your cpu?

[Nemo 1,304]

2 minutes ago, mpw8679 said:

What is your cpu?

see my signature

[Christopher Low 5,331]

I notice this type of thing happening with coastline cliffs in ORBx TrueEarth GB South, and also the Rock in Gibraltar Professional.

[Sethos 4,271]

You're probably seeing the LOD switching on the mesh, as you get closer it'll get more detailed, which can be seen as a shift / jump in the terrain. Doubt you can do much about it.

[pmb 5,137]

This has been an enemy of mine for ages. As Sethos1988 states, it's caused by LOD switching when approaching a certain point. As the OP says, it's not everywhere prominent. Moreover, I have found it's much more noticeable if you use a high resolution mesh (like Pilot's Ultra) and for obvious reasons in mountain terrain.

It's been a "feature" of Prepar3d as long as I can think back. Obviously, no one from LM seems to be disturbed by it. 

I should add that neither X-Plane nor Aerofly shows this issue. However, the short-lived Dovetail sim - for obvious reasons - shared it, and again, even more if you installed the Pilot's mesh. 

Kind regards, Michael 

[Nemo 1,304]

This means the better the mesh the worse the immersion?  So why do developers strive for 2m or even 1m mesh as recently in NZWN (Flightbeam)? This seems counterproductive to me.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Nemo

[pmb 5,137]

In a sense, yes. On the other hand, high-resolution mesh is impressive in that it shows every ribble or needle in hills.

I am not sure if it's the pure resolution alone. It's well possible clever coders can mask the effect better than others.

Kind regards, Michael

[guenseli 1,577]

I have complained about some years ago:

 

 

Unfortunately we haven't found a solution till now.

(And a video I posted in this thread is deleted, sorry)

But yes, I have the similar problem!

[pmb 5,137]

You can, of course, complain on the LM forum. First answer will be the issue doesn't exist. Next they will ask you for a proof. If you are tenacious you can even bring someone from LM to the statement they will look into it. That's it. 

Kind regards, Michael

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by pmb

[mpw8679 428]

2 hours ago, Nemo said:

see my signature

My mobile device does not show it.  Anyways have you tried increasing your scenery draw distance in your config?

[Mace 1,902]

If there is a way to avoid mesh LOD popping -- I would like to know.  LM largely solved autogen popping, so maybe they can do it with mesh as well.

Maybe some code to more gradually shift to a new LOD could be done -- this would of course require more horsepower -- but we have it these days.  Terrain is already a multi threaded process.  Or maybe it could be a function of DX12 / the gpu.  That would be nice.

[pmb 5,137]

This is, of course, an issue mostly for VFR pilots like me. At FL300 you just don't see terrain hopping.

For those who are eager to enjoy that feature, take off from KSFO towards the West, e.g. in a C172, fly low and slow over the hills and decend into Half Moon Bay in ORBX NCA. You may detect some slight morphing in the hills already, but definitely at the cliffs surrounding Half Moon Bay on approach. 

Kind regards, Michael

[Oliver Ooi 85]

Lets hope LM fix this issue in P3Dv5..

[pgde 571]

Nemo -- just a quick OT question -- why are you running at 3440x1440 rather than 3840x2160?