Reload/Refresh Time with Change of Scenery/Time of Day

[EngEd]

Hello, All,
I've installed FS2002 with essentially default setting on a Dell T-600, 600-MHz, 256-SDRAM.
Once fired up, it works acceptably smooth, with frame rates in the vicinity of 20-25. As others have reported, it's silky smooth and very "flyable."
However, in firing up, or in changing a location or even a Time of Day, there's an "i" screen that takes perhaps a minute as it goes through its routine of Loading Scenery, 3D, AI, etc.
This is in marked contrast to my FS98 setup (which is crammed with add-on scenery, all activated). There, such changes of Airport or Time of Day are essentially instantaneous.
I suspect that deactivating the unused scenery would help. And, of course, I sense that a 600-MHz machine is old hat these days. But are there other ways to shorten this loading time?
Thanks in advance. -- Dennis S, FSEngEd@aol.com

[Simon Evans]

Dennis,

This appears to be one of the ways the old `stuttering` problems of FS2000 were overcome. Presumably the scenery buffer is cleaned out and a new one created. It also happens when you go above 4x time compression - use the alt-menu to put it back to 1x or else you'll have to wait every time you alter it down while the textures load again.

Haven't tried disabling the unnneeded textures to see if that shortens the loading time. My guess is that it won't. Much.
It's certain FS is not loading ALL the scenery ALL the time - it's creating a buffer from data taken from the hard drive and storing it somewhere and I would guess (but cannot prove) it's probably restricted to an area or radius. But it's certainly not buffering ALL the scenery files, or else the computer would grind to a halt!

If you want to try that I suggest a disabling of an adjacent scenery area to the one in which you currently fly, and of course one in which you don't WANT to fly in the near future.

Get the stopwatch out and let us know the results!

Simon Evans

[EngEd]

Hello, Simon,
Your intuition was spot-on. Deactivating scenery areas doesn't do a thing. I tried turning everything off but Hong Kong (the particular scenery I'm using for my Default Start Up). Firing up from scratch took about 43 seconds. Changing Time of Day took about 23 seconds.
I turned everything back on again. Firing up from scratch took about 43 seconds... Changing Time of Day took about 23 again...
Funny thing: I fired up my trusty old FS98. From scratch, including the FS98 Logo, it took about 1 minute (I warned, I'm a scenery whacko).
A change of scenery area takes perhaps 20 seconds, though it seems quicker as it's done with a slewing visual, not the snail-paced FS2002 "i" bar.
A change of Time of Day occurs instantly.
Tradeoffs, tradeoffs.
But the scenery in FS2002 is sure nice!
-- Dennis S, FSEngEd@aol.com