RESOLVED Slow FPS at CBB7

[peter58]

I just downloaded CBB7 (freeware), a strip I have used often. I was disappointed and surprised how it dragged down my FPS (it was 40 FPS before and now it's about 11 -15 FPS). It doesn't seem like it would because there's not that much there. Far more complex airports have no hit on my FPS. Vashon, 2S1 does this as well, although there does seem to be more going on there. Is it to do with the freeware? I have a good system, overclocked and all, I normally get very good FPS everywhere. Thanks

[spirit_66]

Well, maybe you should adjust some FSX settings? I've stable locked 30 FPS.

Spirit

[peter58]

Yes, but with my system I normally only get down to 15 FPS when I am coming in to Vancouver in a thunderstorm. Otherwise, PNW, Northern Rockies and Southern Alaska is always between 30 and 40 FPS (I have it locked at 40 FPS) with the settings I have. I just don't understand why such a simple airstrip would bog down my computer so much. 

[Edward Boyte]

Lower the settings in the CBB7 control panel located in FTX Central.

[FriLa]

I have found out the specific trees like the aspens are the reason for the low framerates. The closest trees vanish if you are near to them and if you remove them in the control panel the scenery runs very smooth as all the others. But then much of the sceney is missing. It is a pity that this beautiful scenery runs so slow ...

Fritz

[spirit_66]

I've everything ticked in the CBB7 control panel and still reach 30 FPS. FSX has to be well customized and carefully adjusted, maybe some sliders not to the right most?

Spirit

[peter58]

Appreciate the tips I will try the control panel settings I did not know about that. Thanks. Can't wait to upgrade my system.

[Phil Manhart]

During CBB7 Beta Testing, I noted what impacted FPS the most for me:

 

1. CBB7 Grass (disabling this altogether in the Control Panel gained me 10+ FPS)

2. FSX Water settings (I was running 2x High, but found that lowering this to 2x Low gained around 5 FPS)

3. FSX Autogen slider

[peter58]

Yes disabling everything brought it back to 30-40. When I tried lite trees it still seemed very dense and did still slow down FPS. I still love the scenery though. Now what about 2S1 the only thing I can change there is the season and the airshow, nothing makes it any faster and it is a very slow airstrip..same stuttering 15 FPS. Any ideas? I must say Bowerman is amazing, lots of things going on, love the ga traffic (and the F18's) and it all runs super smooth with 30-40 FPS...sliders maxed. Thanks.  

[Phil Manhart]

2S1's FPS is hampered by the fact that to the East is Seattle, KSEA, and other busy airports, which is easily within the LOD Radius for scenery rendering.

[Slayer]

I could be wrong here but for me the thing that seems to kill my FPS from 40's to 15 is the heavy trees setting. The second I pan over and look at it FPS drops like a stone. The other items don't seem to impact my FPS at all. I've got a pretty high end system, finely tuned as well.

[Wolter van der Spoel]

must admit that I find it odd with the remarks about the fps drops over Tipella,

 

I've set the following :

in CP of CBB7 all boxes ticked

 

in fsX

all sliders maxed out with following exceptions:

TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096

LOD_RADIUS=6.500000

Mesh res.: 5m

Texture res.: 7cm

Water High 2.x

AI 100%

GA Traffic 100%

Road Vehicles 16%

Ships 30%

Graphics set via nVidia Inspector 1.9.7.1

FPS 30 limited via nVidia Inspector

BP=0

nVidia 320.49 WHQL drivers

REX Essentials+OD

tweaked Shade

tweaked enb

FTX Lights set to Night

Real Weather

 

and I do get a solid 30 fps allover the place

 

see attached screenies

[rockliffe]

Wolter... and in the VC?

 

BTW, I agree with everyone who has shared this issue, I too have the same . However, I have found simply by unticking anything to do with grass has returned the FPS to an acceptable level.

[Wolter van der Spoel]

from the VC

[rockliffe]

Hmmm...

[FriLa]

I cannot reach the fps with wolters settings. The extra trees (aspens) look different from the other trees and only if I remove them the fps are OK.

 

Fritz

[Wolter van der Spoel]

Hi Fritz,

Did you install the latest library files ?

Also sometimes cycling FTX Central to default hit Apply and then back to NA hit Apply again cures some glitches

[Gordon Madison]

Trees & FPS impact.

 

All of the trees I created for CBB7 use the same template. All files are identical with the exception of the actual art applied, but the bitmap files are all exactly the same size. To achieve their realistic appearance my vegetation is constructed in a manner that requires more processing power (33%) than ORBX other tree and brush libraries. The tradeoff for this realism is the FPS impact some people are experiencing. In testing we set the low bar at the mid twenties. I tested CBB7 on my design system (see specs)  which is not a gaming system and achieved many prolonged tests at 25-30 FPS. Flying the pattern out over Port Arthur then north approach into CBB7 I was seeing in the mid high 40 range until reaching final when looking directly towards the airstrip where FPS went back to the twenties.

 

On my system I run in the mid/high twenties in and close around Tipella but I find that raising the pixel filter number (8 pixels) in my tweaks will vastly improve performance when using the high grass and tree settings. The negative from this setting is the dreaded marching textures effect as they are filtered out as distance increases. Normally I run my pixel filter at 2.

 

Ground shadows, light bloom and lens flare are also heavy hitters. I turn them off for most of my flying.

 

Picture Tipella as a shoe box. The highest impact on FPS will be when looking down the length.

When looking towards the airstrip expect to see drops in FPS. When looking away look to see FPS go up. Every system will vary, but overall performance should be acceptable.

 

Fritz...what FPS are you achieving on average at CBB7? I'd like to see you get to acceptable performance so you can enjoy the Tipella experience.

 

 

 

[spirit_66]

Just checked again the results of FPS at CBB7 on my system which specs one can see in my signature.

I've a side-by-side installation FSX/DX10 and P3D. FPS are locked to 30 at both sims.

 

I can confirm that looking straight down the runway has the most impact on my system too.

 

                              FSX/DX10               P3D

Straight down             21-22                  18-19

other views                 29.8                    29.8

 

Nearly all sliders are set to the highest level and the real weather, clouds are from AS2012. CBB7 controls are all ticked.

 

The shot shows the view with the highest impact on FPS.

 

Spirit

 

[FriLa]

Hi Wolter and Gordon,

 

thanks for your suggestions! I have the latest libraries, I switched FTX Central to default and back, but there is no change in performance in CBB7, which is a pity. Much bigger airports run fine with my settings. As soon as there are Gordon's trees activated, fps go down to 15, sometimes even around 10.

This is with the default settings for CBB7 in the control panel. Even if ALL tree and grass popolation are selected fps do not go down much more. I have tested this with all seasons and with different time of the day.

Transparency looks sometimes strange with Gordon's trees when you come close: you can see through the trees and see the other side, also you see trees far more away and smoke of the houses.

Ground shadows, light bloom and lens flare are not activated.

 

Until now I did not change my Nvidia Inspector settings which I found out to work best before installing CBB7. To test this seriously it would take much more time which I do not have at the moment.

 

Cheers,

Fritz

[ak416]

I also seem to be having an issue with the trees. I get a steady 30 fps when the trees are disabled via the control panel, but if they enabled even on the lowest setting, I am down to 10 fps or less. If I just look away from the trees, back up to 30, so I am certain it has something to do with the trees. Its really bizarre, have never had this problem before.

[rockliffe]

I have found success by leaving the trees activated but disabling all the grass. After doing this I have had no problems.

[FriLa]

Hi Howard,

thanks for the tip with disabling all the grass! Loosing all the grass is better than loosing all the trees.

Still I hope that Gordon will find a solution so we can have both, grass and trees, in CBB7.

 

Cheers,

Fritz

[spirit_66]

.....

Still I hope that Gordon will find a solution so we can have both, grass and trees, in CBB7.

.....

 

I guess the only solution will be the next higher level of hardware.

Spirit

[Gordon Madison]

Hi Howard,

thanks for the tip with disabling all the grass! Loosing all the grass is better than loosing all the trees.

Still I hope that Gordon will find a solution so we can have both, grass and trees, in CBB7.

 

Cheers,

Fritz

 

Solution...Open Tipella...then have a pint (or three)...sit, don't  move and enjoy the scenery.

Kidding.

 

Spirit hit it directly on the head...Tipella was designed with future tech in mind, but rigorously tested to work well todays average system. My system is incredibly average and I'm making acceptable FPS.

 

I'm currently working on a patch. I will take some of the load off by using autogen for the pines surrounding the strip rather than hand placed tree sets. This should allow more processing power to handle the grasses etc. This should improve things on the systems that are struggling with FPS. If I can get FPS into the low 30s that should make everyone happy.

 

Just bear in mind that I intentionally pushed the envelope with this little airstrip. The upside is a very lush environment, the drawback is a tradeoff in FPS. I'm tweaking the mixture to find the sweet spot.

 

Cheers

[David TRIGGS]

And all this is freeware ... bravo Gordon!... merci!!

David

[ak416]

Solution...Open Tipella...then have a pint (or three)...sit, don't  move and enjoy the scenery.

Kidding.

 

Spirit hit it directly on the head...Tipella was designed with future tech in mind, but rigorously tested to work well todays average system. My system is incredibly average and I'm making acceptable FPS.

 

I'm currently working on a patch. I will take some of the load off by using autogen for the pines surrounding the strip rather than hand placed tree sets. This should allow more processing power to handle the grasses etc. This should improve things on the systems that are struggling with FPS. If I can get FPS into the low 30s that should make everyone happy.

 

Just bear in mind that I intentionally pushed the envelope with this little airstrip. The upside is a very lush environment, the drawback is a tradeoff in FPS. I'm tweaking the mixture to find the sweet spot.

 

Cheers

Completely understood. However, for whatever reason, the custom foliage that is being used seems to be more intensive than anything I have ever thrown at my rig. Anywhere else, even downtown Anchorage, Alaska (to compare to another Orbx product) or any of the other freeware airports (I have all of the freeware stuff installed) I get acceptable frame rates, except when I look at the trees at Tippella.

 

Please don't misunderstand me as I am not complaining, I am very grateful for the time and effort you put into this airport, just thought it would be worth knowing that it seems to be something with the foliage being used in particular, and not just because of the density. At least, on my end anyway, I can't speak for anyone else.

[Gordon Madison]

Please don't misunderstand me as I am not complaining, I am very grateful for the time and effort you put into this airport, just thought it would be worth knowing that it seems to be something with the foliage being used in particular, and not just because of the density. At least, on my end anyway, I can't speak for anyone else.

 

No worries, I certainly don't take any offense to any comments made regarding my work. Please feel free to express yourself in any way you desire.

 

The explanation to the FPS and system demands is fairly straight forward when you understand my techniques. My trees utilize more resources due to their construction. I also use a large number of them in a small area. Thus any system will be required to work harder to process the individual objects i.e. trees, bushes, grasses etc in the direction you are looking. If that direction is down the length of the airstrip, the demands are highest and FPS will react correspondingly.

 

Every system is different, therefore performance will vary greatly depending on the setup. I built Tipella to work well across the curve, but obviously some systems will suffer...mine included. I don't fly my own airport at high settings because I drop into the high teens at certain views. However, I average mid twenties. A few improvements on my system would remedy that.

 

ORBX developers are working at the cutting edge of an ever changing tech environment. We all try to give you the maximum level of reality and immersion, balanced with good overall performance. We're always tweaking and experimenting with our methods to improve your sim experience.

Tipella was my first experience working with ORBX tech and was certainly a learning curve for me. I'll keep refining my skills and techniques on all of my future projects with everyone's comments being read and implemented into my work.

[ak416]

Sorry that I missed your reply until now.

 

Thank you very much for your very insightful post. I still enjoy flying around Tipella even without all the fancy vegetation, it's a great little spot and I love the layout. I look forward to seeing more offerings from you in the future!

[Howellerman]

Whew - I thought it was just me!

 

I too have flattened frame rates (around 18 at the strip), which continue (using default settings) until I am well clear of the "runway". On my system NONE of the stuff in Gordon's pictures appear - I have an empty grass airfield. When I fly beyond Tipella out over the lake frame rates return to normal - 30. 

 

However, when I make the turn back and the docks and trees are close to coming into view in the cockpit, frame rates plummet again. This is not grass... 

 

Gordon, for whatever it's worth, when I first tried this the lodge and a few trees behind it were very visually squirrely - everything else was okay. Maybe quaking aspens are really killers???  

 

I will see if I can get a screenshot. Last time I tried I saw the docks (which I did not see the first time), so things are in flux...

[Republic3D]

I just installed this scenery too.. and I absolutely love it. It looks fantastic! But unfortunately I'm experiencing FPS loss as well. For me it only happens when I have the camp between the airfield and the fjord in view. It can be a mile away and it still impacts my FPS, and it drops from around 30 to 15-20. Trees and grass and everything don't seem to matter, unless there's some kind of special laggy tree in the camp. 

 

I have a brand new (in all modesty) high end system that I've just set up and tweaked for FSX. I haven't overclocked it yet though.

[David TRIGGS]

I have no problem with my (now) very modest system ... when I say no problem, I accept a FPS drop to around 22fps but still enjoy this superb (free!!) scenery ... !! 

 

Bravo Gordon ... !!!

David