graphics question...

[spoonerrw]

hello all,
just bought an Esky heli that came with this software. the software installs, and seems to work, but the graphics render streaks and is blocky. i changed the resolution which helps a little but not enough. compatibility mode didnt work at all, which i expected, but tried it anyway. i downloaded the 8.5 alpha version and tried it after uninstalling the box version and it is the same deal. when i look in the file tab under graphics, it only recognizes "primary display driver" but not my invidia gforce 9400 GT card? not sure why, unless the sim simply is not compatible with with modern graphics cards?
i am pretty sure the controller is working from what little i have been able to see so far, as it offers calibration and setup options for my transmitter with the softdog attached to USB, so i am not concerned there.
if i can get the graphics resolved that would be great. if not, it was worth trying before having to spend big bucks out on commercial flightsim software.
my pc specs are as follows...
PC Specifications
-Dell XPS400 w/Windows XP Professional
-Pentium D 2.99Ghz
-2GB RAM Dual channel DDR2 SDRAM
at 533Mhz / 4 DIMMS
-Dual RAID 1 / with Intel RAID controller
-SP3
-Direct X 9.0C
-XP Professional / Media Edition
- 13 in 1 multi card reader/ 3.5 floppy combo
- CD-R/RW
- DVD lightscribe multi disk R/RW
- Two x 256GB SATA HDDS (data security RAID 1)
- 5 x 2.0 USB ports
- com port for game controller

Monitor
-Ultrasharp 17” 1704FPT digital flat screen

Sound Card
-SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
- Dolby 5.1 and IEEE 1394

Video Card
-Nvidia GForce 9400 GT 1GB memory
-Driver Version: 285.58 (6.14.12.8558)
-PCI express
-DV/VGA/TV out

[spoonerrw]

correction on typo... service pack is actually SP3.
one other thing i remember, is when i tried compatibility for older windows o/s formats, it told me i needed direct x 7 or higher? since i have 9.0c, not sure why that would come up?

[ggunners]

Everything you say about your computers sounds OK to me.

If you are running FMS 2 alpha 8.5 and the controller is working, you should be fine.

I run mine as a Window in the Resolution tab and under the Graphics tab I use smooth graphics.

I also turn off Autozoom and use a fixed camera.

Happy Flying! -- ggunners

[spoonerrw]

hi there ggunner,
yeah, that was my take on it too and it is actually set up as you describe which turns it in to a series of gold connected and flexing cones. if it is on and the texturing is on too, it is not as bad, except the cones are colored. the problem seems to be in the rendering but not sure as to why? there is transparency in the model. when it turns sometimes straight lines shoot out then disappear from one direction or another. the rotor blades are almost a transparrent circle at all times. i have seen this before with software which is supported in 8 bit only graphics when trying to run them in higher graphics modes, but this software offers the option for 16 or 32 bit. for what ever reason, it doesnt look good in any resolution on my pc. the farther you zoom out manually, the graphics get worse and worse with more cones and lines in the buildings and landscape, almost as if there was no modeling for medium and far distance, which there must be or others who have it working would have these issues as well? i have tried every option on and off and in every resolution. i think part of the problem may also be that it is trying to use resident memory rather then seeing that a video card is present? i probably wont reinstall the radio until i get the graphics straightened out. on running it as window, it does not allow for me to check that option so i am guseeing that if a resolution is not checked, it is automatically in window mode? when it loads it is just a medium window in the middle of my monitor. is that correct?
thanks for replying to this... it is appreciated.

[ggunners]

Yes, you might try running it in full-screen at a dedicated resolution. There are known Nvidia issues. It appears to be something with backward compatibility of a specific video mode or option. Some of the fixes call for using the photolistic scenery files and then changing the bottom image to be a 1x1 pixel so it is not rendered. Someone figured out that the bottom image was rendered upside down with the newer graphics drivers, i.e. the normal was pointing the wrong way. -- ggunners

[spoonerrw]

thanks ggunner... tried it in all modes in both resolution options. it was the same in each mode in each resolution. nvidia cards are great, and i love my newest one, but support for software of this nature is very limited. its the reason i got out of modding planes for a ww2 flight sim. just not enough backwards support for older games between graphics cards and windows after XP. was a shame really... put a lot of time in it and enjoyed doing it.
on the photolistic scenery files, which folder are they in? i am assuming the landscape folder? not sure which files would need to be re-sized but see that there are scn files that i cannot open. the author did include a .par editer but this looks to be for editing the different flight models. i will try doing the re-size if i can figure out how.
thanks for all your assistance. it is greatly appreciated!

[ggunners]

The photolistic scenery files use a skybox format of 6 .bmp files. They only work with FMS 2 alpha 8. There are links to them on this forum in the Landscapes section.

In addition, someone found some settings in WIndows 7 that allow a compatibility mode with WinXP for running old applications. I do not have any direct knowledge on making that work.

-- ggunners

[spoonerrw]

thank you... ill check out the landscape forum section

[spoonerrw]

i have been through the landscape section, as well as the models and cant find anything that relates to my issues within the last year. i did resize the "world" image and tried resizing a few others as well, trying the 1x1 and a couple different sizes, then loading them but the issue remains unchanged. i didnt see anything in the .scn file for them that would require a change for its image file so i did not alter those. i am not getting any error messages and am fairly certain now that this is a rendering issue. i am not sure why the software wont recognize my graphics card rather than "primary display" either and that is probably where the problem lies? it may be with the software being 256 color, but since the software offers 16 and 32 bit... i doubt this is the case? i may pick it up again after the holiday and do some deeper searching in the forum but i think this will not be resolved easily if at all. maybe the author will release a newer version at some point but i also recognize that he cant make it work for everyone which is simply the nature of the business.
thanks for you help

[ggunners]

Primary Display is what FMS says for everyone. It says it for me on WinXP. When I RUN dxdiag, it says I have an NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS card with 256MB of memory running 1680x1050 32bit 60Hz. My driver is nv4_disp.dll 6.14.0011.8618 dated 6/10/2009 and is WHQL logo compliant.

The FMS developers will not update the code, it is the same as it was in 2004.

So, we need to figure out a fix for Win7 that works for you. Others are running FMS in Win7. It sounds like you are too but that you have some bad graphics artifacts. Others have reported bad artifacts too.

I fear you are right and there is not a quick fix for this on your computer.

-- ggunners

[spoonerrw]

it usually never is an easy fix, which i painfully learned when modding planes for european airwar, but that is the price for progress i suppose . i am running XP as well, and as you are too and can run the software... that narrows it down to my graphics card. my drivers are from october of this year... 6.14.12.8558 dated 10/7/2011. there were changes that involved the addition of something called "PhysX" dealing with using GPU acceleration which provide real time physics effects but this is not something that cannot be turned off. you can run it as "auto", "video card", or "cpu" and i have tried all. it didnt help fix the issue. your driver pre-dates this so it is a possibility?
thanks

[spoonerrw]

this will give you an idea of what the issues are. as you can see... every part of it is affected. model, objects, and landscapes share the same deformation and distortion. i had considered that my directx 9.0c might be the cause, however, others seem to be running with it so i ruled that out. the only thing i have not tried is to boot up my pc in safe mode, which will bypass the graphics card, and launch the game. i will give that a try later today.

[spoonerrw]

starting it in safe mode didnt work. forgot that i read somewhere in this forum that a dedicated com port had to be present, and since the pc was in safe mode, the com ports were disabled as well. got the com port error when i launched the software.

[ggunners]

Is your driver Windows WHQL compliant? If not, try the latest WHQL driver for your card. I remember trying an unsigned, i.e. not Microsoft approved driver that had issues. But mine is probably older because I have not added any new programs, games or graphics card for a couple of years now.

In my Nvidia control panel, I am using the let the 3D application decid for 3D settings.
GPU settings are to use the factory 400Mhz clocks for both core and memory.
Using DirectX 9.0c (5.3.2600.5512)

Does any of this info help?

[spoonerrw]

in dxdiag the driver has "n/a" where whql is... but in the device manager, the driver states it is digitally signed by microsoft. on the nvidia control panel, which is quite complex now, everything is set to either global or application controlled. not sure about the clock speed? but i am running 1024x768 (32 bit) (60hz). does that sound right? maximum pre-rendered frames is set to 3 in the nvidia control panel. i changed nvidia to be application controlled across the board, which did not help.
the nvidia control panel allows you to add specific programs. fms was not among the ones there so i added it. i can now change how nvidia reacts to it without affecting other programs, i think that is their intention anyway, for having this feature. so far no luck but this is good to have for specifc apps anyway.
that is where i am for now anyway... learning new things about my card though