FS2004: Slow frame rates on ground. OK in air?

[Paul Howland]

Hi,

I'm running FS2004 under WinXP with an AMD 2600+, 512MB memory and Radeon
9700Pro. I've got most graphics settings maxed out, and when in the air I
get a respectable 20-30 fps.

However, I've noticed that when taxiing on the ground and until airborne,
the frame rate can be as low as 2 fps. Very irritating! However, when I
say airborne, I literally mean 100ft off the runway. Thus the problem
cannot be related to the graphical detail on the ground, as soon as I'm in
the air the frame rate shoots up to 15-20 fps and I can still see all the
same objects. The same happens on landing - good framerates until the
wheels hit the tarmac.

I had this problem briefly with the previous Catalyst 3.7 drivers, but then
it went away (not sure why - I must have tweaked something by mistake). The
problem resurfaced after installing the Catalyst 3.8 drivers.

Anyone else experience this? Any ideas? My Catalyst Direct3D settings are
on the defaults at present.

Thanks,

Paul

[Danger Mouse]

Are you using a Force Feedback joystick by any chance?
If so,disable the forces and see how it performs then.
If not,forget the above.
:)

Post by Paul Howland
Hi,
I'm running FS2004 under WinXP with an AMD 2600+, 512MB memory and Radeon
9700Pro. I've got most graphics settings maxed out, and when in the air I
get a respectable 20-30 fps.
However, I've noticed that when taxiing on the ground and until airborne,
the frame rate can be as low as 2 fps. Very irritating! However, when I
say airborne, I literally mean 100ft off the runway. Thus the problem
cannot be related to the graphical detail on the ground, as soon as I'm in
the air the frame rate shoots up to 15-20 fps and I can still see all the
same objects. The same happens on landing - good framerates until the
wheels hit the tarmac.
I had this problem briefly with the previous Catalyst 3.7 drivers, but then
it went away (not sure why - I must have tweaked something by mistake).

The

Post by Paul Howland
problem resurfaced after installing the Catalyst 3.8 drivers.
Anyone else experience this? Any ideas? My Catalyst Direct3D settings are
on the defaults at present.
Thanks,
Paul

[Paul Howland]

Brilliant! I disabled ground bumps and that solved the problem (other FFB
effects are OK). For reference, I'm using an original MS Forcefeedback
joystick.

Thanks again,

Paul

Post by Danger Mouse
Are you using a Force Feedback joystick by any chance?
If so,disable the forces and see how it performs then.
If not,forget the above.
:)

Post by Paul Howland
Hi,
I'm running FS2004 under WinXP with an AMD 2600+, 512MB memory and Radeon
9700Pro. I've got most graphics settings maxed out, and when in the air I
get a respectable 20-30 fps.
However, I've noticed that when taxiing on the ground and until airborne,
the frame rate can be as low as 2 fps. Very irritating! However, when I
say airborne, I literally mean 100ft off the runway. Thus the problem
cannot be related to the graphical detail on the ground, as soon as I'm in
the air the frame rate shoots up to 15-20 fps and I can still see all the
same objects. The same happens on landing - good framerates until the
wheels hit the tarmac.

[Joe L]

I have an AMD 2100, 9500 Pro 512 MB, XP Pro

Is your rotten frame rates just after starting the game, only a few seconds
or so into the game when you look in a particular direction or at a
particular object for the first time in that particular flight?

If so that appears to be normal behavior for the game regardless of what
kind of machine it is running on. I am no programmer but my guess is that
the game does not load any new objects or scenery from the hard drive until
the player is actually looking at it for the first time but after that first
peek the game keeps those particular objects in memory until they are out of
visual range.

This is a bit of a pain in a freshly started game because then EVERYTHING is
new so everything needs loading but, after you are flying around new objects
come only a couple at a time, are loaded very quickly and the slowdowns
hardly noticeable.

When you first start the game, try cycling through the various views both in
and out of the cockpit so that you look at everything around you on all
sides. Only after doing this can you really consider the game "started".

Post by Paul Howland
Hi,
I'm running FS2004 under WinXP with an AMD 2600+, 512MB memory and Radeon
9700Pro. I've got most graphics settings maxed out, and when in the air I
get a respectable 20-30 fps.
However, I've noticed that when taxiing on the ground and until airborne,
the frame rate can be as low as 2 fps. Very irritating! However, when I
say airborne, I literally mean 100ft off the runway. Thus the problem
cannot be related to the graphical detail on the ground, as soon as I'm in
the air the frame rate shoots up to 15-20 fps and I can still see all the
same objects. The same happens on landing - good framerates until the
wheels hit the tarmac.
I had this problem briefly with the previous Catalyst 3.7 drivers, but then
it went away (not sure why - I must have tweaked something by mistake).

The

Post by Paul Howland
problem resurfaced after installing the Catalyst 3.8 drivers.
Anyone else experience this? Any ideas? My Catalyst Direct3D settings are
on the defaults at present.
Thanks,
Paul