I see all these wonderful screenshots of awesome scenery, complete with high quality buildings, roads, etc.   However, the majority of the time when I'm flying, built-up areas look like a post-apocalyptic hellscapes, with most / all of the building looking "melted".   I've got a strong PC and have most of the settings set for the highest graphics possible.   Also have a high end internet service.    

What am I doing wrong here?    I was told turning off photogrammetry helps but doesn't that also defeat the purpose of having accurate ground structures?   I'm thoroughly confused here.  

There is chatter about photogrammetry being fixed in SU3 - we shall see.  Until then - its off on my system. 

10 minutes ago, 11bee said:

I see all these wonderful screenshots of awesome scenery, complete with high quality buildings, roads, etc.   However, the majority of the time when I'm flying, built-up areas look like a post-apocalyptic hellscapes, with most / all of the building looking "melted".   I've got a strong PC and have most of the settings set for the highest graphics possible.   Also have a high end internet service.    

What am I doing wrong here?    I was told turning off photogrammetry helps but doesn't that also defeat the purpose of having accurate ground structures?   I'm thoroughly confused here.  

The world of MSFS looks surprisingly good with PG disabled. Whilst that does not directly address the source of your problem, it is worth checking out. I have never used PG in MSFS 2020 (partly for the reason that you have described), but the honest truth here is that I do not need it.

PG is as good as your connection speed to the MS servers. Unfortunately a broadband connection is not a guarantee that the download speed from a specific server will be adequate. 

Photogrammetry does seem better in SU3 .24. 

I flew past downtown Chicago last night as I circled to land at Meigs, and it was good - no melted buildings anywhere, and I could recognise the more famous buildings easily - all sharp edged.

Manhattan was also good at close range a few nights ago also.  Every building was sharp and detailed.

I dare say there might be some other places that might be a bit mixed, but I have found it might be due to internet / server speed inconsistency, as places that have been sharp for me in 2020 have been melted a few weeks later, and I can't see why the quality of the raw data / PG would suddenly go backwards.

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by bobcat999

Edit.

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by JBDB-MD80

Lots of times for me, it depends on my settings, primarily the various quality and LOD settings.

I turn PG off in 2020 because of Melted Building Syndrome.  I leave PG on in 2024 because there does not seem to be an issue with buildings melting.  All crisp and clear as much as imaginary objects can be, streamed no less!

YMMV. TANSTAAFL -B

3 hours ago, 11bee said:

I see all these wonderful screenshots of awesome scenery, complete with high quality buildings, roads, etc.   However, the majority of the time when I'm flying, built-up areas look like a post-apocalyptic hellscapes, with most / all of the building looking "melted".   I've got a strong PC and have most of the settings set for the highest graphics possible.   Also have a high end internet service.    

What am I doing wrong here?    I was told turning off photogrammetry helps but doesn't that also defeat the purpose of having accurate ground structures?   I'm thoroughly confused here.  

Aside from having a strong PC and good internet (which you say you have), setting high TLOD/OLOD helps sharpen the buildings too... like 400.  If you use AutoFPS it can go even higher like 600 or 800 and that helps too, but is demanding.  Also a wide angle screenshot will seem to show amazing photogrammetry.  But if you zoom in closer (or when you're flying over it) it may not appear as sharp.

I totally dropped PG.

Default AUTOGEN is good enough for me 😁

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by jcomm

KPDX has the same melted buildings at the end of runway 10L since 2020 and it carried over to 2024.

Doubt it will ever get fixed by asobo directly.

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by sultanofswing

It is spotty... many places are amazing, others annoyingly ugly.

Edited August 13, 2025Aug 13 by Bert Pieke

8 hours ago, Tony P said:

There is chatter about photogrammetry being fixed in SU3 - we shall see.  Until then - its off on my system. 

I'm running SU3 and as far as my experience I'm no longer seeing this issue.

I do agree it probably has nothing to do with hardware but more to do with how the scenery is being rendered.

Apparently some are still having issues.

1 hour ago, Bert Pieke said:

It is spotty... many places are amazing, others annoyingly ugly.

I'd agree with that, and add that it also seems to depend on server loads. I often find it looks worse in familiar places over the weekend here in the UK

10 hours ago, MrFuzzy said:

PG is as good as your connection speed to the MS servers. Unfortunately a broadband connection is not a guarantee that the download speed from a specific server will be adequate. 

In my case, I upgraded from 1 Gig to 2 Gig, switching connections to different servers and locations, only to discover that melted buildings, popups, and morphing textures are still problems, along with some intermittent stuttering. As soon as PG is turned off, all those issues are no longer a factor. We tried on two different PCs at different locations, probably at least 50 miles apart. So, according to what people say, the new update fixes those problems. I was always skeptical when people said there were issues with your computer, settings, or the internet provider. I still suspect MICROSOFT/ASOBO/MSFS2020/2024 to be the main problem. We'll see.