There are a whole lot of different options that can be changed now. Obviously, one of the problems we are running into is that we don't have a common way to communicate our setups. For instance, there was recently a thread that somebody started where he noted that he saw a hint on another board for increasing performance by turning of thermal visualization. For me, this was one of the first things I turned off. Obviously, this user didn't notice it until he read the hint on the other board.I think it would be useful to come up with a standardized form with all the settings in one place that could be filled out and posted. I'm thinking a text form that could be cut and pasted. Or, better yet, that could be created by a program that goes and reads your settings and automatically spits out something that could be cut and pasted into a message.I know we can save and attach our settings to a message. But this seems to skip some communicability stuff to me. It seems to me an easily readable text output would be easier to read and for people to understand.Whaddya think?Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

Sounds like a decent idea. If the simconnect api allows for reading of the slider values it probably wouldn't be that hard for someone to code. Phil.

I was assuming a simple read and sort of the data from the fsx.cfg file would be all that was needed.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

Why not simply use the saved configuration file? It has ALL the information we need... In fact, you can cut-and-paste someone else's, save it, and then LOAD it in your own sim!How much more "convenient" can it get? ;)Here is my "Current Settings" file:[GRAPHICS]TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=512NUM_LIGHTS=8AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1LANDING_LIGHTS=1AC_SELF_SHADOW=1EFFECTS_QUALITY=2GROUND_SHADOWS=0[sCENERY]LENSFLARE=1DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=3[DISPLAY]BLOOM_EFFECTS=0SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=20[PANELS]QUICKTIPS=1PANEL_OPACITY=100[TERRAIN]LOD_RADIUS=3.500000MESH_COMPLEXITY=70MESH_RESOLUTION=19TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=23AUTOGEN_DENSITY=2DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=3[WEATHER]CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=3DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=6THERMAL_VISUALS=0DownloadWindsAloft=0DisableTurbulence=0[TrafficManager]AirlineDensity=50GADensity=50FreewayDensity=10ShipsAndFerriesDensity=30LeisureBoatsDensity=30IFROnly=0AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=2

They may not be quite as easy to read as you might like, but the config files you can save from FSX are simply text files that could be read in any text editor. Some of the options may not be as easy to match with the sliders, but some of them are pretty self explanatory. Of course, if you want something that's easier then that to read, those config files might be the easiest way to go. Someone could make a program to load a saved config and output a text list of slider settings. (AKA translating it from an ini style file into simple human readable text.)Of course, there's another side to this whole thing. With all the various tweaks that exist (texture_bandwidth_multi, replacement autogen files, and other tweaks) there's more to your settings then just the sliders. Of course, some of this stuff is readable in other config files. (Say checking texture_bandwith_multi or terrain_max_auogen_trees_per_cell from the standard or a user specified FSX.cfg file.) Other stuff isn't so easy to notice. (replacement textures, replacement autogen spb files, etc.)"Let me help you out. You're cleared to taxi any way you can to any runway you see."

Note that for the []'s to show up you have to click the plain text message format button. And you get something like this:[GRAPHICS]TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=512NUM_LIGHTS=8AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1LANDING_LIGHTS=1AC_SELF_SHADOW=0EFFECTS_QUALITY=2GROUND_SHADOWS=0[sCENERY]LENSFLARE=1DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=5[DISPLAY]BLOOM_EFFECTS=0SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=0UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=30[PANELS]QUICKTIPS=1PANEL_OPACITY=100[TERRAIN]LOD_RADIUS=3.500000MESH_COMPLEXITY=100MESH_RESOLUTION=22TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=24AUTOGEN_DENSITY=1DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=3[WEATHER]CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=8DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=7THERMAL_VISUALS=1DownloadWindsAloft=1DisableTurbulence=0[TrafficManager]AirlineDensity=100GADensity=100FreewayDensity=50ShipsAndFerriesDensity=100LeisureBoatsDensity=50IFROnly=0AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=5That's from my "20-30FPS.cfg" file from Demo 1. Used in conjunction with:TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=150 //default = 4500TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=300 //default = 3000I can raise the autogen to normal without getting a slideshow. Of course, this is only Demo 1 and I haven't fiddled with those two FSX.cfg [terrain] settings much. The autogen, of course, looks nowhere near as dense as it did on sparse with the default values though."Let me help you out. You're cleared to taxi any way you can to any runway you see."

As noted below, in my mind, it's a matter of translating the names to make them recognizable and quickly readable so that you can see differences at a glance, and so that the casual user can apply the results in their own system. And hopefully even expert users might see things they missed before.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

>As noted below, in my mind, it's a matter of translating the>names to make them recognizable and quickly readable so that>you can see differences at a glance, and so that the casual>user can apply the results in their own system. And hopefully>even expert users might see things they missed before.Thomas, you missed the point I tried to make. Just cut-n-paste the posted config file and save it to your Flight Simulator X Files folder.Start the sim and LOAD the saved config file... It can't get any easier than that.For example, I just cut-n-pasted Edrik's 20-30FPS.cfg file to notepad, and saved it. I've already loaded up the sim with his exact settings... ;)

>Note that for the []'s to show up you have to click the plain>text message format button. And you get something like this:Yes, I forgot to check the silly box. Other forum software has a nice feature where you simply bracket the area you want to display as "code" with {code}xxxxx{/code} (use square brackets, of course!).

No I didn't. You missed the point I was trying to make.A user posted that he had "discovered" a tweak on another board. He found something that wasn't obvious to him.I posit that reading the listed config file will not make much sense to people looking for those "obscure" settings they might have missed.Posting config files is great for people who know what they are doing. But there are many people out there who barely know how to use Internet Explorer, much less an explorer window.Secondly, what I was talking about was a tool to help us compile configuration settings vs. peformance (I didn't get quite that far in my explanation, but there have been so many posts on this subject I thought it was obvious. Sorry.).Yes, I also understand that there are many shall we say file compression techniques as well, which don't show up in the config files. But I think they are pretty easily explainable (i.e. compressed texture folder, converted dds files to dxt1 ... adding a little more detail).Finally, if I were to just plop your whole config file in my system, I may end up with settings which aren't suitable for my system, so just cutting and pasting a whole config file is NOT acceptable. It is NOT as easy as that. What I suggested is that people may want to have a single view of a config setup from which they can mix and match something that works for them, and from which we can also add performance and machine statistics to get a REAL view of what works, not just anecdotal quotes that really don't mean anything.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

>No I didn't. You missed the point I was trying to make.No, I don't think he did. :D>A user posted that he had "discovered" a tweak on another>board. He found something that wasn't obvious to him.>>I posit that reading the listed config file will not make much>sense to people looking for those "obscure" settings they>might have missed.Which is why you don't look at the config file, you load it into your sim (after saving your current configuration of course). That way you can directly compare slider settings, by switching between the two configs. No need for yet another extra tool.>Posting config files is great for people who know what they>are doing. But there are many people out there who barely>know how to use Internet Explorer, much less an explorer>window.Who arguably shouldn't mess up their sim by tweaking too much anyway... ;)Regards,http://www.bremmekamp.com/img/misc/avsim.jpg