Less Is More - Once Again! Stutters Be GONE.

There has been an increasing anger towards Microsoft lately for the poor performance we get out of FS2000, especially as we tinker with add-ons, throw more airplanes and scenery into the mix, and even upgrade our machines to hopefully handle this simulation, once and for all. Well, it's not working. I have recently upgraded my PIII500 to an 850. After a week or so of initial excitement, it seems that I have been getting more and more irritated at FS2000. The pauses are more noticeable and those "stutters" that come all the time, never want to go away. They are there in turns, changes in pitch and just about every phase of flight where smoothness is wanted. Especially, landings. Sutter, stutter, stop, stutter etc. etc. Aaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh.

NO MORE. I have solved the mystery. It lies not entirely with Microsoft's sloppy programming. It lies in the very root of the great many add-ons we love and cherish, and open up our wallets to. I have done it. I still will. You will too. However, in my opinion, you're really decreasing the performance of your machine and increasing those stutters when you install some of the new fangled "21st Century" panels we've been hoarding the last few months. One example comes to mind. The coveted Phoenix Simulations' panel product line. I am not picking on them. I am mentioning them because they have made the most gorgeous panel to date, one that I love dearly, but can not use anymore. Why?!? Because running some simple tests have proven that once again, if you want to fly and not stutter, make graceful landings in fluid motion, or even perform a turbulent weather approach to minimums the way REAL PILOTS see the world, you will have to do only one thing.

Replace the forward panel, with a default instrument panel, right from FS2000

Use a panel that does not use "vectoral gauge" technology - such as Phoenix's or many others about to be released.

This is what I have discovered. Using Phoenix's great (and it is great, if you are more into panel realism, functionality etc. etc. than I am, don't do this, okay...) 747-400 panel yielded on average at any one particular airport runway, around 15 to 17 fps out the forward view. Once in motion, the stutters caused by the vectoral gauges are very noticeable, always interrupting my takeoffs, landings and turns especially. This makes everything bad, from autopilot smoothness to hand flying and everything in between. Now, replacing that forward panel only in my panel.cfg, with a forward panel that does not use vectoral technology (look for panels with default gauges as their main design), I am nearly doubling my frame rates! On top of that, the stutters are virtually gone! Frame rates now using any other default gauged panel, averages in the same place I had 15 to 17, is now 28 to 37. Just about as good as you'd get with a full view [w] or looking at any other of the window views without a panel running!

IMPORTANT:

I am not saying to not purchase panels with vectoral gauges. Everyone that doesn't have Phoenix's AWESOME 747-400 should purchase it now. And do get the panel and sound set to go with it. However, if you're like me and suffering lately from more and more stutters, no matter how fast a computer you're flying from, it might be time to personally make the decision to use default panels, or default gauge-based forward panels. Then, keep all the rest of the panel intact, in your panel.cfg. I will soon make a HOW-TO?? just for this purpose.

THE BARE FACTS:

• A full panel using vectoral gauge technology may cripple your frame rates by about 30 to 50% and add in tons of stutters you never had using default gauge-based panels.
• A full panel using default gauges brought my frame rates up at least 50% and reduced stutters to nearly nothing. I am now flying with frame rates well over 30, in most areas. The frame rates are the same as if you'd been in full [w] window mode! Try it, you'll see. Okay designers out there, it is up to you guys to implement a switch to allows default-style gauges to replace your vectoral gauges when we need to, like on a landing. Then, we can go back to your more realistic display during the rest of the flight when it's not that important for total smoothness.

The stutters are gone! For me, this was a tough decision to not use my favorite new panels anymore. But, once again, I am flying and not running a panel simulator here. At least, that's the way I want to use it. As a pilot, there is no compromising smoothness, fluidity, and the pure physical feel of flight. I don't care how great the panels, the scenery or the level of 3D detail that surrounds you at the airport. If you've ever flown a big jet full motion simulator, you'll know what I'm talking about. You don't come out of an experience like that saying "woah, the gauges were great", or what "awesome FMS icons". You can only think of one thing. And, that my friends, is the feeling of flight you had. That "seat of your pants" feeling, and the smoothness of the world moving outside you, that you bring home. And now, at least for me, FS2000 delivers once again. Finally. Less is More.

Note on my test system: Computer is a Dell PIII 850 with 384 megs of ram, Voodoo 5500 AGP card. I am using RealScene FS mesh scenery. Some sutters can be attributed to any mesh scenery, but with the settings for mesh complexity on 0, very little additional suttering has been proven.