Transparent taxi signs

Hi.

This inability to render taxi signs correctly is something I don't recall seeing before. It doesn't happen to all taxi signs but content, stock/addon, orientation et c. don't matter. Also, it only happens in daylight so presumably only when the signs are not illuminated and I've only seen it on the yellow taxiway signs.

I found (while rebuilding fs9.cfg, scenery layers & nvidia profiles) that I can turn the bug on and off by selecting or deselecting Ground Scenery Casts Shadows in the display settings.

An online search returned only one relevant result: an inconclusive thread in fsdeveloper from 2012 that suggested it was a driver issue.

Has anyone else ever noticed it and found a solution? Sunny airports look strange with no shadows.

First, with shadows turned off:

And with shadows enabled:

I'd like to verify if the taxi sign texture file isn't corrupt. Follow these steps exactly.

1) Download and install a free program called HashTools here. Optionally, scan the download at VirusTotal. (Owned by Google, and they get malware samples from the U.S. Cyber Command). The general consensus is four hits and it's bogus. Though, for other stuff it depends on what it is, community score, and the file's execution chain and what not. Nerdy crap, man.

2) Go to your FS2004 install directory and find the folder named Texture. Inside the Texture folder look for a file named aptsign.bmp.

Right click the aptsign.bmp file and in the right click context menu chose, 'Hash with HashTools'. In HashTools select the SHA256 option.

Does the first four and last four characters of the hash match my hash here?

6222406F6FC77755D3408F408D7760BE26E110A3834AE562DDBF1CAD4259B3E5

If it does then the text file is fine.

Moving on from here I'd investigate the GPU driver and/or its settings in the Windows Control panel. I'd also go to the Windows search box, enter dxdiag and check for errors in the 32 bit version and 64 bit version. You click each tab.

The other thing I would do is start turning down the graphics complexity sliders in FS2004 and see if anything changes.

Going back to when this issue reared its ugly head that resembles the flipping Predator, did you make any changes to the Sim, install any add-ons, modules, etc?

Perhaps an FS9.cfg rebuild is in order. Do you know how to do that? Backup the original first if you do.

Side note: You can also take the SHA256 hash of a file, paste into the search of VirusTotal and if that file has been uploaded before you'll get a report. SHA (pronounced 'shaw' like Shaw communications) is an acronym for Secure Hash Algorithm. It's what drives Bitcoin because that number there is unique to data and ONLY that particular data. Change one smidgen part of the data and the whole number changes.

Check out the hash I gave you. https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/6222406f6fc77755d3408f408d7760be26e110a3834ae562ddbf1cad4259b3e5

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/6222406f6fc77755d3408f408d7760be26e110a3834ae562ddbf1cad4259b3e5/details

Edit-

Now here's something interesting. The U.S. Cyber Command website is using a cheap, free, Lets Encrypt TLS certificate. LOL! What? No Sectigo, DigiCert, Cloudflare, Comodo, etc? WTH?! :D I guess they don't need insurance... That padlock you see in the address bar? That certificate. They are using the CDN Akamai so maybe that has something to do with it. I know in Cloudflare a custom certificate upload is costly.

Hi. Thanks for replying.

The hashes are an exact match:

6222406F6FC77755D3408F408D7760BE26E110A3834AE562DDBF1CAD4259B3E5

6222406F6FC77755D3408F408D7760BE26E110A3834AE562DDBF1CAD4259B3E5

That's a long checksum, especially in hex...

I don't believe it's a driver issue: the problem was identified in 2012. I suppose though that it may be a broad-based Nvidia problem but I don't know what make of card the other chap was using.

The thread is here at FSDeveloper.

I rebuilt FS9.cfg with no effect. I worked twice through each custom setting, starting from a clean config file: once in FS9's panel and a second time directly in notepad. A mind-numbing series of reloads.

Nvidia's control panel 3d settings has no effect. Neither does my Nvidia Inspector profile. The only thing that affects the taxi signs is FS9's ground objects' shadows setting and it only shows up at certain distances and angles. I even thought it might be related to looking through the windscreen but with the appropriate view-angle it happens in every view.

I've installed nothing more than some AI textures for some months, and since storage hasn't been a constraint for about a decade, I invariably convert them from DXT3 to 888-8 before I use them. Recently I've been modding some stock airfields, but disabling all of that lot makes no difference. I try to avoid using installers and much prefer manual installation from zips. That way uninstalling is simple and I can be pretty sure that addons haven't changed stuff in the background.

Stranger still, it doesn't seem to affect every taxi sign so there's some other parameter that I've missed. Orientation of the sign perhaps, either by the compass or relative to the sun.

Just a dark closing thought... I suppose it could be an indication that my graphics card is dying.

D

Just a thought, now I know the filename in question, how about de-compressing it from DXT1 to "ordinary" BMP and check if the symptoms still occur?

If not it might just be a weird driver issue, which may be circumvented by re-compressing the file to a different format (retaining the same filename, obviously).

Just in case … keep a copy of the original in a "safe place" ;)

Just a thought, now I know the filename in question, how about de-compressing it from DXT1 to "ordinary" BMP and check if the symptoms still occur?

If not it might just be a weird driver issue, which may be circumvented by re-compressing the file to a different format (retaining the same filename, obviously).

Just in case … keep a copy of the original in a "safe place" ;)

If the taxi sign image file was converted, the hash wouldn't math - match. :D

Nvidia's control panel 3d settings has no effect. Neither does my Nvidia Inspector profile.

You went in a messed with different settings in the NVIDIA control panel? Try these exact settings. Make sure any application settings for FS are off for testing.

(Click images)

As a test, uninstall Inspector. I never use it and figured it may be too much code creep with the GPU to be worthwhile. I know many here use it though.

Yeah, I manually install everything as well. I'm looking at you World of AI. LOL I just extract to a folder and manually add the stuff.

 

That's a long checksum, especially in hex...

 

Check out SHA512.

606A37ABB1117503A7EDEA9FB270DF41F3EA533394E9A4C260DB15AD38A420FCAC03A64890EE00923215DAEE87CBAE5D437190AB98CB6207B461327154216E79

If the taxi sign image file was converted, the hash wouldn't math - match. :D

But the hash does match, and it causes problems … so we might benefit by changing the format of the file to possibly eliminate a driver issue ;)

It's not something that's frustrating me so much as constantly scratching at my curiosity nerve: I don't like having no explanation for such things.

chris_eve, I felt a little excitement yesterday on reading your change of format suggestion. I hadn't considered it at all.

Ahh... 24-bit bmp, DXT1, DXT3, 888-8, mips, no mips, fresh alpha, no alpha...

Stranger still, more letters, fewer letters red sign, yellow sign:

And it's still only a few of them, seemingly random, with that dodgy transparency usually only seen on badly rendered chickenwire fences.

CRJ_simpilot, the Nvidia settings in your screenies are the global defaults that I used when I deleted the Nvidia and the NI profiles -- I hadn't changed my global profile. I'd reinstated Nvidia control panel settings one by one, and made a fresh NI profile, also from scratch.

I've just tried uninstalling NI as you suggested and that makes no difference either.

It's a strange effect, quite infrequent and very definitely only affected by the Ground Scenery Casts Shadows option. It looks as though the entire sign is rendered as a shadow, transparent for the ground but still opaque to some objects, like the stock C172.

D

It's not something that's frustrating me so much as constantly scratching at my curiosity nerve: I don't like having no explanation for such things.

 

chris_eve, I felt a little excitement yesterday on reading your change of format suggestion. I hadn't considered it at all.

Ahh... 24-bit bmp, DXT1, DXT3, 888-8, mips, no mips, fresh alpha, no alpha...

D

OK … another thought … there's not a second instance of the file lurking somewhere, possibly in a different format, that gets loaded sometimes but not others, or even a different file with the same name in a scenery directory somewhere?

To check enter aptsign.bmp in Everything.exe and it'll list all areas where it exists.

https://www.voidtools.com/downloads/

The other thing I would do is start turning down the graphics complexity sliders in FS2004 and see if anything changes.

Try this too?

You said, "I've installed nothing more than some AI textures for some months."

For planes?

I was going to mention this early on and forgot. I use something called TaxiSigns HD for my Sim. It's compatible for both FSX and FS2004. This might work in your favor in lieu of the default taxi signs and at the same time will make your signs much better to see. I bought this product because for years and years I found it hard to read the default signs. Especially when I try to taxi without the magenta arrow most of the time when I'm given taxi instructions. I think it's called the follow me arrow something or other? The better looking taxi signs help when I like to speed down very long taxiways so I know when to expect A3 when I'm expecting A5 for example. That way I can gauge my slow down and braking. Since there are no tire blowouts, or as far as I know, brake issues simulated in the core code of the Sim, it's nice to do about ~50 knots taxing. DIA (KDEN - Denver International Airport) has got to have some of the longest taxiways I've used. Even in the real world, I've been aboard aircraft at KDEN that step up the thrust taxing. There are many other airports I've been to all around the world in the Sim that have long taxiways, but not near as bad as KDEN. The land KDEN sits on is pretty damn big as well. And, well, the runways have to be around 15,000' long (about as high as the Rocky Mountains are tall) to accommodate elevated density altitude during the summer. According to Little Navmap, the MSL altitude at KDEN is a bit over a mile. So combine that with the heat of the Summer and even in the Spring sometimes, and it'll make for some thin air for lift and slow down. In fact, at Coors stadium there are blue or purple seats that denote that area in the stadium is exactly a mile high.

You can try the TaxiSigns HD demo and see if the new taxi signs show up at all. I know this doesn't fix the issue, but maybe the add-on would be better anyway, and maybe, just maybe after running the demo and if you decide to uninstall it the default taxi signs will miraculously render as they should.

http://flightsimtools.com/taxisigns/

Addendum-

When I update airports using Airport Design Editor, and if I remember, I make all the taxi signs a max size of 5. The other sizes are just too small and hard to read. Yes, I wear glasses for astigmatism, but still... LOL

Try this too?

 

You said, "I've installed nothing more than some AI textures for some months."

 

For planes?

Yes, just for AI. They're all installed manually in manually created folders with manually edited aircraft.cfg and are all converted to 888-8 before use.

I did find one other instance of aptsign.bmp but that's not in a scenery layer. It's in ADE's root folder and is required -- ADE doesn't start without it. Disabling it for the duration of a quick test flight made no difference to the taxi sign's appearance.

I also tried changing the size of the sign in ADE, also with no effect on the transparency. On the other hand bigger signs are much better when taxiing -- I can read them now before I've passed them. I did baulk at the thought of editing so many airports but then thought I'd limit it to dealing with signs at my destination while planning a flight.

D

Does your CPU have onboard graphics by chance?

Coupe things I would try.

1) Make sure that if the BIOS/UEFI doesn't already disable onboard CPU graphics, turn it off and anything related to it in BIOS/UEFI. The same applies to sound if you use a dedicated sound card. Though, this isn't your issue. Just mentioning it.

2) If your CPU has onboard graphics, then I'd run Revo Uninstaller portable to uninstall the dedicated GPU driver (once more, I know) and just run straight from the CPU onboard GPU. You can also customize your driver install with NVCleanstall. https://www.techpowerup.com/nvcleanstall/ I'm here to tell you a lot of what's in the Nvidea driver is crap - monumental crap. And they send telemetry from the driver to their servers. Read my post here. Careful on what you don't include in the driver install though. Because some components are needed. What, I don't know. LOL I have yet to run this software but many swear by it. For those computer savvy it shouldn't be all that difficult. Addendum - There's actually a lot of crap in Windows and other software its self, but that's another story.

Test again with shadows using the onboard non discrete GPU.

You've cranked all the settings down in the Sim? Is it just some airports or all airports? I imagine it's universal since on its face this does sound GPU driver related. Especially after reading that ADE forum thread again. That thread is interesting and I'm always saying to myself, "self, what are the odds?" Because Longmont is just south of me. The thread creator there was reworking the airport in Longmont... The airport near me, KFNL is the first with a "virtual control tower" I believe. Not sure how it's working out since I don't fly for real, but I did see a job opening there on Indeed for a controller. LOL Many moons ago I almost got a job at KFNL but I couldn't take it due to the odd hours. Anyway...

Something else. Deactivate all flight plans and just fly the default Cessna or something else default. So long as its texture weren't touched.

The idea here is to not render ANY AI and just have your default aircraft on the tarmac.

My theory here is that maybe something hiccups when loading your AI texture files and the taxi signs with shadows turned on.