Better scenery performance in FS9

[Guest GeorgeDorkofikis]

I'm puzzled!A member of our scenery team, our #2 expert at GMax, have produced some buildings for our LGAV scenery project.The scenery would be for FS2004 but I would like to make it for FS2002 too as it's much smoother.Anyway, here the case.He exported all the models from the GMax with the proper FS2004 Gamepack installed. Then via FSRegen he assembled them into a library and I place the objects via AFW via the FSRegen APIs.Later, as I needed the buildings for FS2002, he exported the models again, this time with a pure GMax 1.2 and passed them through FSRegen to produce an FS2002 object library.So far so good.You would expect that the buildings made for FS2004 would have better performance than those made for FS2002.Wrong! I was surpised to see that the FS2002 object library gave me much more smoother scenery (no stutters) for a couple of fps less, than the FS2004 object library!Let me clear it up as it may sound confusing.FS2004 + GMax1.2 + FS2004 GamePack = Library = 25fps, lots of stutters, constant loading of scenery and objects.FS2004 + GMax1.2 = Library = 23-24fps, minimum or no stutters, no constant loading, loads just once and smooth as silk!So, my point is that it seems that FS2004 performs better when using FS2002 objects than with objects exported with the FS2004 gamepack.Sounds logical at all? Not to me! But who am I? Mulder?!Cheers,George DorkofikisAthens, Greece

[arno 1]

Hi George,First you mention that for the Fs2004 format library FsRegen was also used. That is not possible. If you make your library with FsRegen you are using the Fs2002 format all the time.For Fs2004 the library needs to be made with XML code and using the MDL objects made by GMax. My Library Creator XML tool gives you a GUI to do this.Then about the performance. I have already heard reports of recompiling objects with the Fs2004 gamepack given a good increase in fps, a few frames extra. But I think you will only get this optimal performance if you also place your object with the Fs2004 code, so drop the API macros and move to the XML placement code.One "problem" with the new code is that we can no longer specify the v1 and v2 when placing the object. So if you want a limited visibility you need to use LOD models or tweak your MDL to include an additional distance check.

[Guest GeorgeDorkofikis]

I didn't actually made the models so I'm just passing what the 'producer' said he did.The XML placement will be investigated. Now that I have the coordinates from the API placement, it will be easy to move them to the XML.But it really surpised me to see less or no stutters with the FS2002 compiled library than with the FS2004 library (however it was made).If the FS2004 library is indeed compiled the wrong way, then that could very well be the cause of the stutters ?!Thanks for your help.George DorkofikisAthens, Greece

[arno 1]

Could very well be. It could be that you are using Fs2004 ASM files and FsRegen tries to put them in a Fs2002 style library. That would give a very strange mix of new and old code and I don't think the scenery engine will except that :).It would be interesting to repeat it with a proper XML library and see the results of that.