Hi,Well, finally, I have installed FSX and all I can say is WOW!!Like everyone else, I had problems at first wrt frame rates, but after applying the various currently known tweaks and resized the autogen ground, trees, water and cloud textures to 50% things are much better (bar some stuttering during turns) and I can maintain around 20fps at Friday 'Harbor' (American Spelling ;) ) while flying the Trike. Honestly, there is little, if any, difference when comparing with the original textures in terms of visual quality bar one exception: Cirrus Clouds. These look very unconvincing when resized, so I have restored the originals. The rest of the clouds have a softer fluffier quality which I quite like. They will do nicely until I see what Chris Willis and Peter Wilding come up with.I've just come across and installed the VFR-Generation X Demo of Snowdonia National Park and North West Wales (UK) by Horizon Simulations. This photoscenery has to be seen to be believed - the detail is incredible! Also, what I found surprising, was I was able to turn up many sliders and could still hold a steady 25fps. I have turned Autogen off for this Demo.This brings me to my question (I hope tdragger can comment on this one before I consider sending my suggestion to the ACES Team).Having adjusted my configuration settings in the sim for the above demo I saved them so they could be recalled easily later. I note that the file is saved in a condensed form and only a few specific parameters are included:(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=0DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=2(DISPLAY)BLOOM_EFFECTS=0SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=120UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=25(PANELS)QUICKTIPS=1PANEL_OPACITY=100(TERRAIN)LOD_RADIUS=4.500000MESH_COMPLEXITY=100MESH_RESOLUTION=22TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=25AUTOGEN_DENSITY=0DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=5(WEATHER)CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=3DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=6THERMAL_VISUALS=0DownloadWindsAloft=0DisableTurbulence=0(TrafficManager)AirlineDensity=10GADensity=10FreewayDensity=15ShipsAndFerriesDensity=30LeisureBoatsDensity=30IFROnly=0AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=2It has been recommended that the inclusion of the FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION parameter with a setting of 0.5 would improve texture loading, so I added it under (DISPLAY):[Main]FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.50So, the question is by doing this and loading my configuration settings for the demo area (which include the manual addition of FFTF) from within the running sim, will this new value be recognized by the sim? When I save on top of the original modified file it does not delete this additional entry but, of course, it is omitted if I save under a different name.This could be a nuisance because if this manual entry does not change the value loaded initially by FSX.cfg then it will have to be added each and every time. This rather defeats the purpose of having this new and convenient way to load different configuration files to suit our flying requirements.When FSX loads initially it loads all the variable values from FSX.cfg including FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION and PoolSize, both having been added by me. My setting at Friday Harbor for FFTF is 0.20 and I would like this value to change to 0.50 for the VFR-Generation X Demo.In a way I think it is a pity that we are unable to load a different configuration file until the sim is fully loaded. It would have been better if we could choose the appropriate configuration file before selecting or setting up a flight situation. No doubt there was a good reason for arranging it thus.Sorry if this all seems a bit long-winded, but I hope you get my drift.Mike

I see your drift. Essentially you are asking for more variables in the Settings menus of FSX. Such as PoolSize and so forth. That way we could all have it in the saved profiles......Rather than having to restart the whole sim because of items presently only configurable in the FSX.CFGLaudable goal. The thing working against it, is the fact that 90% of FS users don't know about PoolSize and FIBER_FRAME and AUTOGEN_ and thus putting them in the Settings... menus would only serve us 10% of users. :) But maybe we'll see it anyway.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2.5 ghz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (94.47), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Hi Rhett,Yes, it would seem sensible to have these additional parameters included by default in the in-game saved configuration file. That way we could be sure they too were being read on loading and influencing the performance of the sim. Once this file was saved, all the enthusiastic simmer would need to do is open the file and alter those specific variable values just as we have been doing for the past 3 years in FS9.cfg. I'm not entirely certain that the subsequent manual change of the value of the variable attributed to FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION, for example, and which one would wish to be loaded by the sim's engine in-game is currently having any effect on changing the value read from FSX.cfg Of course there might be a workaround already available to us in the form of Ken Salter's FSAutoStart. A profile could be created and the Command Line under 'Application to Launch' Options could point to the modified configuration file. This would not be an elegant solution, however, for the following reasons:1. The in-sim saved situation-specific configuration file would have to be amalgamated with the existing settings in FSX.cfg and the complete modified and appropriately renamed file moved into FSX root where FSAutoStart currently looks for such files. This necessarily becomes a static rather than a dynamic file as any subsequent changes would have to be done manually rather than have the sim do it for you. This would be tedious, to say the least, and is probably a non-starter.2. The original and very laudable intention behind having the in-game save/load option for different configurations would be seriously compromised.Perhaps I am making too much of all this. I just feel that now we have been made aware of these tweaks we should be integrating them into the sim with as much flexibility of purpose as possible.MikeBTW, I mentioned that while fixing and maintaining 20fps at Friday Harbor I was experiencing some disappointing stuttering during turns. This is pretty much eliminated if I switch off the autogen. I note some folk are already choosing to fly without autogen. It's quite likely I may be joining them when flying in certain tricky areas where stuttering is a problem.It's all about flexibility of choice and ACES have certainly given us that in spades and I, for one, am feeling very grateful :)ASRock 939Dual-SATA2, AMD Athlon 64X2 3800+ (2000MHz)(K8 Manchester/Toledo), 2GB Crucial PC3200 DDR400 Ram 1CMD (Dual Channel), (AGP 8X) Saphire ATI Radeon X800 XL (R430) 256MB (Omega 3.8.273 (Catalyst 6.7), Hyundai ImageQuest Q17 17" TFT LCD 20ms Monitor (1280x1024x32), SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum (Drivers version 5.12.0001.1196 WHQL), WD Caviar SE16 250GB (WD2500KS) SATA2 + Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 UDMA133 (80 GB), ASUS DRW-1608P2S Optical Drive, Antec P150 case with NeoHE 430W PSU, CH Products USB Yoke, Pedals and Fighterstick, Plantronics Headset and Mike combo, TrackIR Pro ver. 4.1 (build 28), Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse, Windows XP Home Edition (SP2), DirectX 9.0c, AGP Aperture = 128MB

Gentle nudge to the top of the queue ;)Does anyone else have a view on this?Mike

I want things like "Bloom off/on" assigned to a key.Maybe even...4 levels of autogens... and 4 levels of traffic assigned to a key.:)Manny

Well, one other thing I said was that, it might be useful to have an "Autogen" tab in the Display settngs.And let's not forget the default.xml file. Surely there is some UI-oriented config thing that can be done for the default.xml file.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2.5 ghz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (94.47), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Where did you read that an update will materialise then?

Where did you read that an update will materialise then?...oh, just a gut feeling based on the fact that I believe this sim, above all others before it, will receive a level of ongoing support hitherto unheard of. I believe the ACES Team are showing great pride in their product and there recent refreshing willingness to join in with the community suggests to me that they are very keen we should all feel the same. Mike

There is a lot to be fixed .... don't expect a patch for a while ...----------------------------------------I'm not a beta tester, and I certainly don't wish to pay for the 'privilege'. Software should run smoothly on release ;)

Software should run smoothly on releaseIt does.....in part ;)People seem to have such short memories. Think back to FS2004. It is stll installed on my system and will remain so for the forseeable future. Why? Quite simply because I have invested a great deal of time, money and effort over the past 3 years of its existence to elevate its performance to a level whereby I can go almost anywhere on the globe and fly fluidly with great visuals. Why in god's name would I wish to turn my back on it at this stage? It would be a huge loss as I can continue to do so much with it that currently is not yet possible in FSX. That will change.Don't misunderstand me for I do love FSX and the huge potential it represents for great simming. It will undoubtedly fulfill all our expectations in the not so very distant future. Yes, I agree, FSX appears significantly more taxing on a wider range of current hardware than its predecessor was 3 years ago. However, the fact remains that FS9, out-of-the-box, ran very well so long as we could be persuaded to use those sliders intelligently. The problem is we were given a sim which offered far more and, in the beginning, many of us were frustrated because we were reluctant to compromise. In the end our appetites were gradually satiated when tweaks started to appear, with the release of numerous sets of beautiful replacement textures for ground, sea and sky, landclass files which transformed our global environment...the list goes on and on. Also, while all this was happening, hardware was catching up.I'm sure those of us, like me, who don't have the skills feel very proud and endlessly grateful to be part of a community that includes so much talent and selfless devotion. We are very lucky to be involved and excited by a hobby that offers us so much pleasure and virtually limitless satisfaction; all because those dedicated individuals continue to show a willingness to share their creative efforts with the rest of us. Let's not forget that it's our enthusiam that helps to drive this process.My guess is that those same brilliant developers and fellow enthusiasts who were instrumental in resolving all those issues facing us at the birth of FS9 will be offering us similar solutions before long for FSX.Let's all celebrate our new sim. Make no mistake, ACES have done a wonderful job packing it with many new features. However, this all comes at a price and the negative forum activity sadly bears testament to this uncomfortable fact. The problem for the ACES Team is that in one respect this appears to be a case of being damned if they do and damned if they don't. I, for one, am very glad they chose the 'do' route for, in doing so, they have produced a spectacular simulator with unprecedented potential.FSX can be made to run smooth and still retain much of the visual splendour of which it is capable. We just have to keep reminding ourselves of the FS9 experience, those trials and tribulations which, given time, were mostly resolved. I could not bring myself to remove this great sim from my HD, all 45GBs of it, and it will certainly continue to complement its successor until such time as FSX comes of age.MikeASRock 939Dual-SATA2, AMD Athlon 64X2 3800+ (2000MHz)(K8 Manchester/Toledo), 2GB Crucial PC3200 DDR400 Ram 1CMD (Dual Channel), (AGP 8X) Saphire ATI Radeon X800 XL (R430) 256MB (Omega 3.8.273 (Catalyst 6.7