The one hope we still can have is that they write 2 rendering engines. One for DX9 and one for DX10. The IL2 series has no problem with supporting 2 different rendering engines (DirectX and OpenGL)so it is possible.

>I can understand if some one has a less than current PC and>have to compromise, but for those with a high end rig, you>SHOULD be able to have all sliders maxed and get GOOD>performance.>I can't even fathom running FS with less than maxed sliders.That way you give away all the possible improvements better hardware (2 years from now) can bring. I would agree that the current engine would have to be optimized for current highend hardware though. The building for the future cristal globe buisiness is a tricky one and many developers took a wrong guess (try running FS2000 on current hardware and it still has below par fps).Maybe the display configuration screen should be locked by default to a simple setting that when maxed out gives good FPS and visuals on current hardware. An expert settings screen could be unlockable for the tweaker crowd so they can experiment. (a bit like coobits or ATI's advanced settings panel)

That's what they are doing....FSX will be released for/with DX9c. When Vista releases, they will be putting out a patch/update to bring it up to DX10 compliance and features. I would wager strongly that adding the DX10 patch will not remove any DX9 features or compatability... In fact, the DX10 official fallback should you not have the certified hardware is DX9. It's possible (if not probable!) that we will find some bugs that were missed in testing, and this DX10 update will also include those fixes. -Greg

I thought DirectX 10 was new and automatically did away with DX9 and prior versions. RH

Vista will either install DX10 if you gave a DX10 compatible card or install DX9L if the card is not DX10 compatible. DX9 can't be eliminated as no existing video card will run DX10. DX9C will still be used for WinXP as there will be no DX10 upgrade available.DougEdited 'cause I can't spel

300+ FPS will be possible in some scenarios using DX10. The naysayers like you are going to have alot of egg on your face next year :-lol

Sure, if you point the aircraft up into blue sky, I am sure it would.RH

No, scenery and cloud scenes too. At that time I will post a screenshot and include quotes from these guys. What a laugh :-lol

I agree with you. When FSX is released the max display quality settings should bring todays high end rig to its knees (say :)

Vista will have both DX9L and DX10 installed. The one it uses depends on the graphics card.

Many of us have already seen 500+ FPS with DX9. No big deal. Just set the scenery and options right and it's a piece of cake.Doug

My bad for the poor wording. - Doug

Yeah, but by that time, FSXI will be released, and the madness will start all over again. I have my fingers crossed with regard to the Intel Conroe chip to be our savior.RH

> Many of us have already seen 500+ FPS with DX9. No big>deal. Just set the scenery and options right and it's a piece>of cake.>>DougShurely you mean set all scenery and options sliders to the left! ;-)

Yes. Everything to the left. All default scenery, everything unchecked in Display Options. Use tower view with the default Cessna 172 at 10000 MSL over Faaa, Tahiti (NTAA). I hadn't tried this in a couple of years but I did it again just now. Maximum FPS was 642, average FPS was 402, and the minimum FPS was 312. Fun stuff. Who need DX10 :-) .Doug