Any last warrior here? Patrikmore? 

I am loving FU3 more and more, hehe.

Looking Glass gave us 367 flt3.cfg parameters to set up the sim to our heart's content. Especially with the help of ChatGPT. Amazing how much it can explain each parameter and suggest realistic improvements. Not only that, it can tweak the combo of cfg and dgvoodoo and reshade to give the ultimate experience in FU3.

It helped me get FU3 to use Nvidia card on my laptop instead of Intel graphics. I had tried many times to do that to no avail.

I keep dropping in here, read some of the past threads that contain excellent insights.

Don't give up on it.

Edited October 18, 2025Oct 18 by Naji

A bit of a late response, but it is nice to see you check out our old camping ground  My time with Flight Unlimited 3 provided me with some of my best flight simulation memories, and I will never forget it 

Hey, Chris. So nice to see you drop in. I wish there were more here for nostalgia sake.

I am limiting myself now to FU3. Believe it or not, its weather system still feels better than MSFS 2020 (haven't gotten 2024).

I hope you and your family are in good health. 

Take care.
Naji

I have been using MSFS 2020 since November 2023 (it took me that long before I was confident enough to upgrade from P3Dv4), but I am about to make the switch to MSFS 2024. I still have reservations about certain aspects of the new simulator (like the streaming format, and also the LOD system), and I am also not looking forward to setting up the controls with the new XBox style user interface! However, I have just purchased a new PC for the first time in six years, so I think that the time is right.

To be honest, I would have thought that MSFS 2024 would have been a natural upgrade for you, considering that you are a bush flyer. I have seen lots of screenshots of small airfields and dirt strips that really highlight the impressive amount of ground detail on display.

Edited December 14, 2025Dec 14 by Christopher Low

Hi. I just saw this thread. I continue enjoying FU3, Seattle plus San Fran. DgVoodoo2 2.79.3 with VRAM 1024, resolution 2x, anisotropic 16x, antialiasing 4x and "force filter if not point sampled" and "fast video memory" activated. I have inside my executable the post processing patch "ddfix 1.5.13" (by Jermi). I'm also using "reshade 4.7.0" with "unsharp, lumasharpen, prod80 02 bloom, pirate lumasharpen and pirate vibrance". (gamma correction set to 29). I have also heavily tweaked my keyboard and LEXIP joystick to get personal settings inside my joykeys.cfg config file. The overall result is PERFECTION. No crash, visually perfect, weather is outstanding, easy to drive,... Plus all the planes and addons I could find... Actually I not see how I could change to another Sim... 

It warms my heart to see you and Naji continue to carry the Flight Unlimited 3 torch, Patrik  May you enjoy it for years to come.

I finish my appreciations. If you have a laptop with two graphic cards, you have to select the "dedicated" one instead of the "integrated" one, that is to say, the powerful one, and assign it to FU3. To do that in Windows settings go to "graphics" and add FU3 (FLIGHT3.EXE) as "desktop app" and put it as "high performance".

FU3 needs really a very powerful computer. To finish with settings, on graphic card settings activate settings like: Max Frame Rate -> 58FPS, Power Management Mode -> Prefer Maximum Performance, and Texture Filtering Quality -> Performance.

Air Traffic Control in FU3 is ingenious and straightforward. I find it more friendly and easy to use than in recent flight sims. I configured (inside joykeys.cfg file) the keyboard key next to number 1 (to the left), to be the key initiating radio communication, before you press 1 or 2 etc.. to build a radio communication.

I'm aware that I'm perhaps the last fellow in this planet playing the fabulous FU3 game. But if someone ask me I could publish in AVSIM library https://library.avsim.net/index.php/search/basic/lgfu3?sort=author&mode=scan&change=&page=1 what's necessary to reproduce my settings and play FU3 game wonderfully under Windows 11. You have still to download a good release of the game (on some versions radio is bugged), and install something to have "virtual cd" working (at minimum to install the game).

Baron 4 Lima Golf, checking in 🙂

Just one think more.

FU3 under Windows 11 thru dgvoodoo2 utility, if it is not very well configured, it could suddenly stop running after a while, closing itself going to desktop, or even worse, freezing your computer, forcing you to restart. For this reason settings inside dgvoodoo2 are very important. Also settings at graphic card level for performance described in previous post are important. I've just found that dgvoodoo2 setting related with VRAM, there is a better frame rate putting 2048 instead of 1024. (For the same reason putting in graphic card settings Max Frame Rate -> 58FPS brings stability). These settings work well with my AMD I7 processor and my NVIDIA rtx 5050 graphic card inside my laptop recently purchased. My FU3  frame rate goes from 30 to 60 depending on what plane and what airport are selected, and with "Direct3D 11 level 11" selected on dgvoovoo2.

And one last thing: I improved, completed, almost rewritten, the FU3 manual, in case you are interested.

 

I've just found that dgvoodoo2 setting related with VRAM, there is a better frame rate putting 2048 instead of 1024.

Sorry sorry sorry. The setting on dgvoodoo2 VRAM as 1024 MB is the good one. The issue is in my side. I do not know why, my NVIDIA driver has two variants: Game Ready Driver and Studio Driver, and Studio Driver was set. Game Ready Driver is the good one  (for playing).

I seize the occasion to say something I've never said. I play FU3 in landscape mode or stretched ! If you don't go (shift key plus P then F5) to watch other planes flying, you don't see any difference.

 

Fine tuning. Last post I hope.

The settings I propose are good or valid excepted for frame rate. After testing I've found that the setting "Max Frame Rate -> 58FPS" at graphic card level does nothing! So leave it off. instead of that, in dgvoodoo2 settings, in DirectX section, activate Force vSync, and, very important, in GeneralExt section, put FPS limit -> 60. These last settings bring stability, I mean that the game FU3 doesn't "auto-close" going to desktop after minutes of play (with Windows 11 and a powerful computer).

Another thing: in "reshade 4.7.0" settings, instead of "pirate vibrance", activate "Vibrance", to obtain colours a bit less vivid.

If someone is interested I could "encapsulate" and share the whole thing.

Well I am still here and still enjoying FU3. I recently came back to it and have it running on Windows 11 with Nvidia RTX3050, straight out of the box. Frame rate is around 25 - 30 fps using 16 x anisotropic and 8 x antialiasing but its very flyable and still soooo enjoyable.  Don't know if I can get the fps any higher. I haven't played with dgvoodoo2 or DDfix yet, don't know if I need to, I'm only a basic player.

However, still enjoying this fantastic sim.

Might even try and remember how to build some models and use FLED to install them. I think I still have all the stuff somewhere on my PC to do that.

 

Edited April 28Apr 28 by andy9164
Added test

Answering to andy9164, I find it amazing that FU3 works directly under Windows 11. I tried it to see by myself... Anyway, it's blurry and there is a kind of pulsating effect on instruments, in my testing.

I tested all dgvoodoo2 versions and the more stable is to me 2.86.5. with these settings: direct3D 11 level 11, RAM 2048 MB, Resolution 2x, 16 x anisotropic and 8 x antialiasing, force filter if not point sampled, and fast video memory access.

I use ddfix 1.5.13 https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143020 "embedded" in FLIGHT3.EXE that provides some "corrections" like   Clean overlay transparency edges.,  Fixes sun textures with new sun texture,   Fixes lens flare with new lens flare,   Fixed Post processing: reasonable defaults for FU3 post processing.

In my NVIDIA RTX 5050 settings, associated to the FU3 game, these settings: Prefer Maximum Performance, and Texture Filtering Quality -> Performance

And on top of all this: reshade 4,7,0 https://reshade.me/downloads/ReShade_Setup_4.7.0.exe (rename dxgi.dll d3d11.dll or d3d12.dll) with these settings: Techniques=Unsharp,Vibrance,Pirate_Bloom,Pirate_Tonemap,DELC_Sharpen

Keyboard keys remapped at computer level:

"Up Arrow" remapped on keyboard to "NumPad 8" - Look Forward

"Down Arrow" remapped on keyboard to "NumPad 2" - Look Behind

"Left Arrow" remapped on keyboard to "NumPad 4" - Look Left

"Right Arrow" remapped on keyboard to "NumPad 6" - Look Right

Settings inside flt3.cfg file:

opt_gamma_correction 29

;--Gets rid of brakes message

no_brakes_message

;--Gets rid of the "e to start engine" message

no_engine_message

joy_device 1

; 3 Z axis is rudder left and right using Left and Right arrows

rudder_device 1 3

;mixture_device 1 6

; 6 rotation around Z throttle device using Up and Down arrows

;NumPad 8 & 2 are remapped Up and Down arrows using Lexip joystick

throttle_device 1 6

Settings inside joykeys.cfg file (keyboard keys remapped):

; uses joy 1 to assign both brakes to joystick trigger - a la MSFS

joy_1 console func left_brake_on && func right_brake_on

joy_1_up console func left_brake_off && func right_brake_off

; uses joy 2 to toggle landing gear

joy_2 Toggle_Landing_Gear

; uses joy 3 to look left

joy_3 console func Look_Left || func Look_Left_Done && func Look_Ahead

; uses joy 4 to look right

joy_4 console func Look_Right || func Look_Right_Done && func Look_Ahead

; uses ` (key next to number 1) to Communicate

` Communicate

; Uses W to apply jet reverse thrust -- same as kp_*

w Reverse_Thrust

; Uses R for Autopilot ALT – Altitude

r Autopilot_HoldAltitude

; Uses T for Autopilot HDG – Heading

t Autopilot_HoldHeading

; Uses Y for Autopilot APR - Approach on ILS

y Autopilot_ToggleApr

; Uses U for Autopilot NAV - Navigation using VOR

u Autopilot_ToggleNav

; Uses I for Toggle AntiIce

i Toggle_AntiIce

; Uses S for Autopilot Speed - Airspeed

s Autopilot_HoldAirspeed

; Uses D to Deploy Speed Brakes - same as kp_/

d SpeedBrakes

; uses D in capital letter for Increment Time of Day

D Increment_Time_Of_Day

; Uses G to Ground - Shutdown Engine

g Shutdown_Engine

; uses space bar for toggling between IFR cockpit view & VFR cockpit view

space console func Camera_IFR_Cockpit || func Camera_VFR_Cockpit

; uses N to show green lines taxi path at unfamiliar airport -- Alt F12

n Show_Taxi_Path

; tab key to switch radio frequencies -- same as Alt f

tab Auto_Tune_Radio

; Uses NumPad 8 & 2 remapped Up & Down arrows for throttle - same as kp_+ & kp_-

; triggered by Up and Down lever using Lexip joystick

up_rep_5 Throttle_Increase 2

down_rep_5 Throttle_Decrease -2

; uses \ for navigation lights

\ Toggle_Navigation_Lights

; Uses Z to trim up nose

z_rep_10 Elevator_Trim_Up 3

; Uses X to trim down nose

x_rep_10 Elevator_Trim_Down -3

; Uses C to Center trim

c Elevator_Trim_Center

; Uses V for Flaps Up

v Flaps_Up