If you are NOT playing around with DX10 Preview...GET RID OF...

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

SP2Get rid of it. Get rid of it, and get rid of it!It does NOTHING to enhance performance in FSX, and in fact...is more like a graphic millstone around its neck.Last week, having decided that I must..well..**MUST** be missing out by **NOT** having SP2 on my system, I installed it and of course had immediate problems with Victoria Plus custom scenery. OK yeah...it was stated that it was not truly FSX compatible, or whatever, and that SP2 needed totally SP2-compliant addons to make it happy.(so what in the h*ll does SP2 really do beyond that it is just there?!?)I ran the sim with SP2 and as all of you know, with GEXnhanced, and UTX-USA and Canada.(so what in the h*ll does SP2 REALLY do beyond that it is just there?!?)I ran FSX-Plus (as I now call my version of it) and flew around the Carolina's of the U.S. Southeast.(So what in the h*ll does Sp2 Really do beyond that it is just there?!?)I guess that ignorance is bliss, and that you will get used to whatever your sim is now graphically representing the virtual world as...and post SP2, I had an ocean on the east coast of the U.S. that had some very blue, almost tropical colors to it, and that there were sort of stark sections of the sea, blocks, nothing really looking real to the eye.(so what in the h*ll does Sp2 REALLY do beyond that it is just there?!?)Tonight, I installed my FS9 Mooney MJ20 and took a flight over the coast near about KYMR (Myrtle Beach) with Real Weather being updated every 15 minutes.(so what in the h*ll does Sp2 REALLY do beyond that it is just there?!?)It started raining and as soon as that happened, all my glass in the cockpit went opaque. Nothing could be seen through it. I went to spot view, and I could then see into the cockpit through the glass windows and windscreen. Going back into the cockpit, it just flashed a few times and then went grey and opaque.(so what in the h*ll does SP2 REALLY do beyond that it is just there?!?!?)Ah huh! Something amiss! I then tried a couple of other custom sled installs and when raining...the same darn thing!(so what in the h*ll does SP2 REALLY do beyond that it is just there??!)I then decided to get rid of it. I ran the SP2.exe again and used the REMOVE element. I then RAN the SP1.exe again, and rebooted the comp.(so what in the h*ll does SP2 ***REALLY*** do beyond that it is just there?!?)I then reinstalled GEXn, UTX, and ran the Victoria Plus repair exe. for good measure.I then fired up FSX-Plus again and took off from KYMR (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) I first decided to take a look at the ocean as I climbed out, since I know that part of the coast like the back of my own hand. WOW....WOW...WOW....no more blocks of color. The ACTUAL color of the ocean matched PERFECTLY the color at any time of the day at Myrtle. I could even see now, wind calms over the swells. With SP2 up and running, my ocean looked like painted colors, but with SP1 running the show, there was such beautiful blending of the colors and hues..well..the BEST way to describe the difference is: I GOT BACK A REAL-LOOKING OCEAN. (so what in the h*ll does SP2 really do beyond that it is just there?!?)I took the Mooney MJ20 up for a spin and quickly found some Real Weather rain clouds and let 'er rip! JOY! TOTAL JOY! The rain did its thing of getting me wet, and I could see clear as a bell through the glass. No more dead grey (something-is-really-wrong-here) opaque!My frame rates have climbed two FPS in being able to mainstay 20 FPS rather than the 18 that was my SP2 mean average. Oh..did I mention that SP2 SCREWED UP MY GENERAL DISPLAY MASK, that did not allow me to see anything on that menu? (so what in the H*LL DOES SP@ REALLY DO BEYOND THAT IT IS JUST THERE?!?!?)I'll tell you what it does...it in no way adds to the betterment of the sim. It causes graphic anomalies all over the place. It interferes with GEXnhanced's ability to render great scenery and UTX's ability to render great landclass and for one thing, beautiful oceans!I think that any person that 'sees' any benefit of running SP2 on their FSX installation---is merely a real placebo happening there. It is for those that want to try out a crippled representation of what DX10 might add: and only if you HAVE a DX10 card. I hear that it gives some eye candy to the FSX standard water depictions. Big deal. What it costs you in detrimental effects is totally not worth the headache for DX10 and DX9 users. If you are having anomalies, LOUSY blotchy seas with no subtle blending of different colors and hues..and other graphic downers...try this: REMOVE IT. Reload all your custom whatever and then go out for a jaunt over a lake, by the sea, over some great custom terrain...and then you will ask the question in retrospect:...so what in the h*ll does SP2 REALLY do beyond giving a DX10 card user a snippet of a vaporware DX suite in its entirety ?!? I can say what running it did for my system; nothing, but degradation.It is gone...and FSX-Plus NEVER LOOKED BETTER. It is funny what you will get used to, and possibly as a result of that forget what you really had going for you pre-install SP2.SP1 was the KILLER update for FSX. It made FSX usable for probably 95 percent of those installing it. It sure did for my comp.Make sure that you are running that one FOR SURE!Back to flying over to Charleston to grab some great virtual oysters at the old Market near the dock. Oh boy..and I now get to approach over the Charleston Bay with water looking like it actually does in real life...YES! YES! YES! SP1 saved FSX. GENx and UTX made me not able to leave it for long periods. Too much of North America needs to be seen at 3,500 feet! :)Mitch R.

[tf51d 284]

That has been my complaint about SP2 since it came out! What's worse is Aces has said that's it for FSX development! So breaking compatibility at this point makes absolutely no sense, and IMHO unwarranted, but they had to get something in DX10 out there as was originally promised, so we got the "DX10 Preview" which does absolutely nothing to enhance FSX! So I run FSX SP1 for most of my flying in XP, and only use SP2/Acceleration for the Accel missions and features. As for the VC problem in the rain Flight1 has a fix for that, search the forum for "vcrain" and you should find it!

[Guest]

Don't you love the daily troll?

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

>Don't you love the daily troll?-------------------------------------What makes his comment, of a TROLL-ing nature? I don't understand your tag for what this poster commented upon.Please enlighten...Mitch

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Thanks for the tip about the Flight1 VCRAIN patch. I won't be going back to using SP2 anytime soon, and the blank-out does not occur with running SP1.Thanks again!Mitch

[MatthewS 761]

>>Don't you love the daily troll?>------------------------------------->>What makes his comment, of a TROLL-ing nature? I don't>understand your tag for what this poster commented upon.>>Please enlighten...>>Mitch I would imagine he's talking about you! :)Seriously, stay with SP1 if it makes you happy. I have no problems with SP2 and appreciate the effort ACES went to with SP2. I would never go back to SP1! And since addon makers are now targeting SP2 it would seem pointless to stay with SP1 anyway.But to each his own. ;)

[slashed2 53]

There is also an Acceleration update for UTX in the their forums because the terrain cfg is overwritten causing problems with water features among other things.http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=23111I'm not sure if that applies to a straight SP2 install but it could be the cause of the water issues.One thing about the rain is you can use the vcrain.bmp's from fs9 and get rain drops on the vc windshield in FS9 ported aircraft if so desired or use the VC rain patch which I don't believe returns rain drops to the cockpit.

[Guest Nils79]

SP2 adds a lot of fixes, helps against OOM issues and does reduce the blurries.And there are already add-ons, which are needing SP2 and their number will increase in the future.So you didn't solve your problems, you moved them only away until you have to face them again.How to not get into trouble with SP2:-Make a clean installation of FSX and install first the SPs/Acceleration and THEN install your Add-ons.-Or, if you install SP2 over an existing FSX installation, save your Terrain.cfg before you install SP2, but be aware that a service pack will alter FSX files and if you are using add-ons, which are also altering FSX files, you could have problems, if you installed them prior to SP2.-Copy the FS9 VC rain textures in your FSX texture folder-Use mainly genuine FSX content. -Read the blog of Phil Taylor and you will learn how to fix prop and glass textures for FS8/FS9 planes and how to deal with other issues.I'm using XPack since the day it was available and i don't have problems with it and i'm using a lot of freeware and payware add-ons.

[Guest firehawk44]

SP2, DX10 Preview, Acceleration are all great. I don't agree with Mitch's negative thesis at all. Thanks again to the Aces Team for your great work! Isn't it amazing how it works for some but not for others?Jim Young

[Geofa 108]

Mitch-suggest you nose around Phil Taylor's blog. Yes sp2 breaks a few things-but at least all the stuff I use have already issues patches for it.From Phil's blog this is what it changes/fixes:Here is a list of what is in SP2 from a

[jwenham 1]

Well ... all I have to say is that it looks like someone's behind on their reading. Everything you have complained about has already been addressed or talked about more than even you could imagine. I too was torn when SP2 came out almost 2 1/2 MONTHS ago but eventually decided to stay the course and work things out. For me SP2 makes the sim run much smoother, and for God sakes man STOP LOOKING AT THE @#$ FPS COUNTER. I almost wish they never have put it in the sim. SP2 does not need high FPS for it to be enjoyable. I think you should first do some reading and a little less writing and then go back to SP2. If you dont you will get lost in the clouds. (Maybe not though if your only at 3500 ft):-violin

[Guest Nick_N]

I think you are making a mistake.. except for the older FS9 aircraft issues SP2 is a definite performance gain.Although DX10 is a joke and I would not run FSX in anything but DX9 mode even in VISTA, installation proceedure of FSX and the service packs is just as important and the lists I have provided for Windows tuneup -and- setting up FSX by the sliders/cfgClean Install:http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/Ya...um=1197380641#1and without Accelerationhttp://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/Ya...um=1197380641#6

[Guest]

Yes, #### that FPS counter! If the FPS counter wasn't there, I wouldn't be getting 15 FPS! Get real.

[tanker 15]

I would love to run with SP2 - I've tried it twice now and I just get a CTD every time I change views. We're talking default aircraft and scenery. I deleted the fsx.cfg file and let the sim build a new one - still got CTDs. After a few hours of this, fltsim was no longer enjoyable, so I deleted SP2 and everything works as it should. Over on the CTD forum, some are saying it's a Nvidia driver issue. One thing is for sure, I'm not spending any more money on FSX add-ons until someone figures this out.Dale

[GHarrall 494]

What nvidia driver are you using?No issue here for me with SP2 Acceleration.Using latest nvidia official drivers.SP2 provides many fixes and perf improvments in addition to the DX10 preview (which isn't worth anything IMHO)Addon devs are going to be focusing on SP2 compliance so you may as well get used to it.If you want to use older FS9 models, go use them in FS9.As for the OP, what was that? It was hard work reading it nevermind anything else!