Wow! New DF Archer REALLY affects my scenery!

[Guest]

I have an admittedly lower-end system but one that still manages to run the sim with the default planes (and most addons ones) quite well even though I push the graphics settings well beyond what I prolly should with specs like mine. But while it may not be "silky smooth", it is nonetheless still very flyable for the most part and the scenery is sharp and crisp.So I bought the Archer last week and man! do I take a hit!!--not only in framerates but just in the fact that now whenever I fly that plane, the scenery out the window just CANNOT keep up and I get the "blurries" within just a minute or two (something that never happens with default planes). Clearly this plane makes my system labor way too much. So if I fly it, basically I just have to accept low-res, ugly, out-of-focus scenery, which stinks. Until I ever get the chance to upgrade my system then, at the moment, it's pretty much wasted money--cuz while the plane might look good, I also like pretty, CRISP scenery to fly in.At any rate, what I'm wondering is, does anyone know of a way to get this model to be more framerate-friendly? I did turn down the graphics sliders appreciably and that still didn't help--got the blurries just as bad within a minute or so and sim was still quite choppy. Any way to make this run like the defaults? Is it the flight model itself that slows this beast down so much? Could I maybe simplify that a bit just for the time being so I can fly this enjoyably? Any help would be appreciated. :)Btw, I don't like the fact that on their product page for the Archer they make no mention of the possible serious framerate-hit lower-end systems could take with this addon--they just make you want to buy it. Heh. And it isn't until AFTER you buy it and then go download the manuals and stuff for it, that they tell you this model could seriously affect your framerates. I wish they made note of that on the product page itself. Woulda' been nice to know before I bought it (I'd guess most people would be like me and go download the manuals and read them only AFTER they've purchased the product). 'Course, this is actually the first commercial aircraft addon I've ever paid for, maybe this is a well-known fact to most people. Maybe I was just naive about it. I'll be more careful the next time. Still this is a great plane and I look forward to upgrading later this year so I can fly it more enjoyably. Thanks.

[Guest]

KeithJust a thought are you using VC mode as I had frame rate problems in VC mode until I turned the VC quality to low.In low VC quality I was surprised that the quality of the VC was still good although my frame rates went smooth which isnt the case with other VCS in low quality.Peter

[LAdamson 240]

In my case, with the Athlon 1900XP/Geforce3Ti500, the frame rates are always higher in the VC mode (set to high) than in 2D. Usually from 5 to 10 fps. This applies to fps "stealing" aircraft such as the Falcon 50, Cheyenne, PSS Airbus, & the Archer. Same with the defaults too.L.Adamson

[Guest]

Larry Thats odd as I have the same system as you and have trouble in VC but not 2DPeter

[Peter Z KCLE_EDDN 336]

Keith,I just took the plunge and bought the Archer. I knew I was gonna love it but was very concerned about a performance hit. But WOW, what a positive surprise, it runs very smooth on my rather ancient system.What are your system specs and your slider settings? I usually when flying complex aircraft completely turn down/off multitexturing, autogen and AI traffic (those take the biggest hit on my PC). I also have mesh to around 50% and maximum visibility at 40nm (using FSUIPC).I just flew the Archer for about 2 hours and I am extremely impressed and happy that my system can cope with it.Hope this helps,Petehttp://home.neo.rr.com/zaehringer/pipersignature.jpgPIII600,512MB,Win98SE,DirectX8a,Geforce32DDR(Det.22.80),SBlive(4.06.703)

[Geofa 108]

What I find interesting about this thread is the observation that using the aircraft causes the blurries in short time.That is what I experience on my 1.4 athlon-blurries in about 1.5 minutes-but in my case it is using my own aircraft. I never use the default aircraft and rarely use another than my own. Is it possible the blurries are dependent on this, and not in the traditional areas many of us have been looking? Perhaps aircraft with more systems, greater detail on the outside etc. are the root cause-not settings in the video card?http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/geofanim2.gif

[LAdamson 240]

With some third party mountainous scenery in the background,Cheyenne & PSS Airbus....... 14-17 fps (2D) & 22-27 fps (VC)Archer............... 17-21 fps in both modes (nearly neck & neck)Of course these fps will vary with background & other factors.L.Adamson

[Guest PaulL01]

>What I find interesting about this thread is the observation >that using the aircraft causes the blurries in short time. >>That is what I experience on my 1.4 athlon-blurries in about >1.5 minutes-but in my case it is using my own aircraft. I >never use the default aircraft and rarely use another than >my own. Is it possible the blurries are dependent on this, >and not in the traditional areas many of us have been >looking? Perhaps aircraft with more systems, greater detail >on the outside etc. are the root cause-not settings in the >video card? >>http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/geofanim2.gif Hi Geofa,Two things really,The Blurries as you describe "causing blurries in short time" (Dynamic) are directly related to the performance of all your Hardware/ -subtracted by power hungry settings like 100% mesh, turning AA on and then -subtracted even more by power hungry scenery, detailed AC with high polygon count and lots of texturing or even certain panels that have gauges that are very recourse/power hungry.The less power and recourses you have left the faster you will see the

[Geofa 108]

Hi Paul-I agree-there is never a free ride-but at this point-even turning everything down doesn't solve the blurries-on my athlon 1.4, 512k ram, and geforce II.It appears changing to a different aircraft might-although it isn't really an option in my case.My point is that most have been looking for the "blurry" answer in slider settings/video setting-and not in the aircraft used. It would appear that at least on my setup the aircraft may be the more relevant issue-interesting since most of the answers in the past dealing with turning various settings down /off, and tweaking card settings produced absolutely no positive effect on my machine.How's the Rochester scenery coming?http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/geofanim2.gif

[Guest PaulL01]

>Hi Paul- >>I agree-there is never a free ride-but at this point-even >turning everything down doesn't solve the blurries-on my >athlon 1.4, 512k ram, and geforce II. >>It appears changing to a different aircraft might-although >it isn't really an option in my case. >>My point is that most have been looking for the "blurry" >answer in slider settings/video setting-and not in the >aircraft used. >>It would appear that at least on my setup the aircraft may >be the more relevant issue-interesting since most of the >answers in the past dealing with turning various settings >down /off, and tweaking card settings produced absolutely no >positive effect on my machine. What version of GF2? and are you trying to use AA in either FS or at the driver?>How's the Rochester scenery? Great! But slow, :( as I have to re-direct all the AI, re-draw a ton of textures and decide how I am going to put down auto gen and where etc, I will probably be done in another five years! Thanks for asking. :)Paul

[Geofa 108]

Sounds like my plane-I share your pain! :-beerchughttp://members.telocity.com/~geof43/geofanim2.gif

[virtualstuff 758]

I'v got 30 FPS with all sliders to the right except ATC (75%)XP2000+ and 1 gb of DDR A7V333:-)awfEHAM

[Guest Twister]

Dear Sir,You admittedly installed the Archer on an antiquated PC, pushed the sliders to maximum effect and you are surprised by the low frame-rate?You are trying to imply that there is something wrong with Dreamfleet not clearly advertising that the use of an obsolete machine would translate in a less than adequate performance...It's like installing Windows XP on a PC with a 486 CPU (remember that one?) and filing a complaint to Microsoft for not being able to run the software decently.Sincerely, it isn't fair to criticize Dreamfleet for that issue.My PC is also quite outdated - the Archer flies reasonably well - far from optimal, I've checked it on a high-end system (P4 1.7 with GE Force3 DDR, and 512 MB ram DDR)and everything looked quite different: very high frame rate, fluid and smooth flight, beautiful effects.So, I guess we can't blame others for having old and outdated PC's.There's just no way you can design a software that will make everybody happy.All the bestTwister

[Guest]

Hmm, thats an interesting slant to put on it, but ...If a pc fits within the minimum hardware requirements as placed on the packaging by Microsoft, it is the addon creator who must inform the purchaser pre-purchase that these minimum hardware requirements have been increased by the addon.Failing to do so is just going to result in angry customers, especially in the situation above, where the information is only provided after the purchase. Had the statement been made pre-purchase, the above purchaser would have still probably bought the product, yet would be happy with it, and use it as an excuse to justify upgrading his machine.One day, people who sell things will wake up and remember that a happy customer is a *repeat* customer, and one angry customer will cost you at least ten future customers in negative word of mouth advertizing.Ray

[Sonar5 3]

Hi everyone,Here is my Nickel FWIW.I have downloaded the Plane, and all three zip files that are available freely on their website. I unzipped the files, and wala, there are the manuals, no purchase required. In that manual, it talks about give up on FPS and Quality, and you know what.********************MicrosoftIt is Naievity that brings this issue. People are just too lazy to RTFM (Read the manual). In MSFT's own manual, it talks about these issues. They also offered the following.30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.So if someone complains that they are unhappy, they had 30 days to rectify it or return it. Their choice.**************************I have not bought this plane yet, but I am considering it. I downloaded the manuals and I am researching it prior to my purchase. If a person can't figure this out, then I'm sorry, but maybe you shouldn't be buying software, as all of this information is available in FREELY available manuals.And if you come back and say that you didn't know the manuals were free prior to purchase, than take it as a lesson learned. In a lot of cases, if there is a manual separate from the plane, download it and see if you can read it.Folks, you as a consumer are responsible for your own actions, and if you fail to do the proper research prior to purchase, then that is your concern, not the OEM. Caviat Emptor still applies today,And finally, if you honestly think you have been hosed, ask for a refund, or take it to the OEM.Regards,Joe :-)http://home.attbi.com/~jranos/mysig.jpg http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif