ACTIVE Orbx FTX England not working with PDGM 737

[navtec]

Hi

This is my first posting.  I hope I have addressed this query correctly.  I'm trying to get to FTX support.

 

I purchased (and downloaded) FTX England in April 2015.

It seems to work correctly - except when I fly a PDGM aircraft.

With the PDGM 737 after 2-3 min flight, light blue squares (or straight sided shapes) appear over the terrain.

Repeating the flight - the blue squares are always generated each time in the same place (i.e. it is repeatable)..

I've tried different PDGM a/c at different airports but it happens every time.

When flying non-PDGM a/c it does not happen.

I have tried everything I can think of, including setting all the display settings to minimums and playing around with the frame rate.

Turning FTX off (i.e. reverting to default scenery), the blue squares are not generated.

Flying with FTX England on (i.e. blue squares generated), and flying out of FTX coverage into FSX default scenery, the blue square continue to be generated.

I use PDGM 737 all the time so I really would like to get this working.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Unable to paste or upload screenshots?

 

[Nick Cooper]

Welcome.

 

It is a condition on these forums that to receive support for payware

products, you add at least one order number to your signature.

You can find out how to and why by reading this topic.

 

To help you with your screenshots, please read here

 

I do wonder if you might not be better asking at the PMDG forum?

[navtec]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your reply.

 

I have now modified my signature to include my order number.

I have uploaded 2 screen shots (via the http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/website) these are:

 

I have been using the PDMG 737 now for over 5 years without any problem.  It still works fine with the default FSX and VFR terrains. 

It just wont work correctly with FTX England.  However, I will do as you suggest, and check out the PDGM forums. 

Any help or suggestions that you can provide - would also be very welcome.

Thank you

JB

[Nick Cooper]

Thank you.

 

It does certainly look as if the textures are not loading fast enough

and they look a little blurred also, which are two signs that the PC cannot

manage the workload.

 

You might try turning down the autogen a little more.

 

I notice that you seem not to have anti-aliasing ticked?

 

What are your PC specifications?

[navtec]

Hi Nick

Thanks for your help.

 

I have tried running the FTX/PDGM 737 combination, with all the scenery sliders set to minimum, and the autogen set to off.

I have tried it with anti-aliasing set to off and to on.  In fact, I have tried all configurations I can think of, to see if the effect changes at all - it does not.

 

Using a stored flight from LGW to LHR (i.e 08R take off, flying the same FMC route at 5000ft) the blue squares appear in exactly the same place on the ground each time regardless of the FSX performance/scenery settings which make me wonder if it really is a computer performance/timing problem.  Also tried other saved PDGM 737/FMC flights with similar results.

I'd have thought, if it was a PC struggling to cope problem, the blue squares would appear at random, and when I hit pause the blue squares would eventually get removed - but they do not - they appear fixed.

 

My PC spec is as follows (I can expand any of the summarised items if you require):

Summary:
        Operating System
            MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
        CPU
            Intel Core i5 2500K  @ 3.30GHz    43 °C
            Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
        RAM
            8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 686MHz (9-9-9-24)
        Motherboard
            ASUSTeK Computer INC. P8H67-M PRO (LGA1155)    86 °C
        Graphics
            SA300/350/360 (1920x1080@60Hz)
            Intel® HD Graphics 3000
        Hard Drives
            977GB Hitachi Hitachi HDS721010DLE630 (SATA)    32 °C
            488GB Seagate ST3500413AS (SATA)    31 °C
        Optical Drives
            Optiarc DVD RW AD-7280S
        Audio
            Realtek High Definition Audio

 

I have checked the PDGM forums and cannot find any similar problems annotated. 

There are some comments regarding FTX black squares and dx10 incompatibilities.

Thanks again

[Guest]

Hi,

Just read your specs. I guess blue squares display is due to a hardware weakness as you are using Intel Graphics which is not dedicated to game. FTX England is much more accurate than the default environment so needs more graphic ressources

[navtec]

Hi Richard

Thanks for your observation. 

When flying with non PDGM aircraft - I do not get the blue squares.

 

Would not what you say, also apply when flying with non PDGM aircraft as well?

 

Many thanks

[Guest]

Hi Richard

Thanks for your observation. 

When flying with non PDGM aircraft - I do not get the blue squares.

 

Would not what you say, also apply when flying with non PDGM aircraft as well?

 

Many thanks

The reason is simple: a PMDG aircraft needs much more ressources than a stock one. So if you get addition with a complex addon such as a FTX region, your Intel Graphic is out. That is why much simmers invest into a graphic card instead of using the embbeded graphic chipset (in case there is one)

[jmorvay1971]

To add to what Richard stated, you definitely need a good strong cpu (which yours appears to fit the bill), but also a good graphics card.  Your cpu graphics just won't cut it when using ORBX scenery and PMDG aircraft.  You're straining the system way too much right now, hence the scenery errors you are seeing.  Also, if and when you do acquire a separate graphics card, make sure that your simulator recognizes it when you start up the sim.  I had that issue a lot in the past where the sim will want to load up the integrated graphics over the graphics card.  You would need to utilize the control panel software the accompanies the card to set your computer to run the new card for your sim.  Nvidia's control panel makes it very easy to switch and in my own case, I let the graphics card run globally to avoid any initialization errors in the sim.

 

You will also want to make sure that before you get back into a flight, to slide your settings sliders down to a modest level at first, to make sure your sim is running stable and your graphics are working properly, then try moving the sliders up a little at a time, re-running the sim to ensure stability until you get everything the way you want it.

 

When it comes to cards, all of your recent nVidia cards will run what you want in your sim pretty easily.  ATI cards though, I am not too shure of, but I suspect their recent models will work just as well too.  An advantage with nvidia cards is that you can also run nvidia inspector, which allows you to "tweak" a host of settings for the graphics chip to enhance your experience a little more.

 

Hope all that we have suggested helps you out.

 

-Jim

[navtec]

Thanks Jim

I guess I need a new graphics card then. 

Any recommendadtions that wont break the bank?

Meanwhile I'll search the forum.

Thanks again

[Guest]

Thanks Jim

I guess I need a new graphics card then. 

Any recommendadtions that wont break the bank?

Meanwhile I'll search the forum.

Thanks again

To have good experience, invest into a high end model: AMD Fury X or GTX 980/970 . I have got both and they are smashing