Horizon VFR Scenery

Hi Mark

Thanks for your advice.

In fact I had a new Graphics Card recently and an upgrade (the new 250GB disc) and extra fan, then re-installed the whole of FSX, SPI and then revised the settings which has resulted in FSX working perfectly so I don’t want to interfere too much with what I have now, especially since I have had to adjust the graphics card slightly to correlate it with my photographic printer settings and screen.

I really don’t like turning off the anti virus knowing that in the background broadband, even though I’m off-line, is still inviting everything in! The amount of stuff I get in the virus vault is quite enough without having it piling in awaiting entry when I eventually go on-line!

So, what I’ve done today is completely uninstalled the Horizon scenery, including the downloaded up-dates and the lists in the FSX scenery program. As far as I can see there’s nothing left of it at all, and the space left on my dedicated disc is the same as it was before I put Horizon on. So now I’m clean.

Unfortunately we have family visitors this week (the pay-back for living in a holiday town) so it’ll be at least next week before I can put it all back on. I’ll let you know how I get on with that. I’m sure now I know what’s involved, especially with the updates, it’ll go on nicely this time providing there’s nothing wrong with the discs

Still no news from Horizon though. I would have thought I would have received something other than an acknowledgement from them by now.

By the way, perhaps I’m wrong, but I feel I detect from your wording you are feeling somewhat guilty after recommending Horizon. If that’s the case. Don’t. I was halfway convinced that ordering the Just Flight product was the wrong thing to do, that’s why I sought advice in the first place. I just wanted occasionally to be able to fly over ground I can recognise. If it wasn’t for that I would be perfectly satisfied with FSX scenery. In fact I think it’s marvelous. Just not real, that’s all.

So it’s no harm done really if the Horizon scenery never works out for me. I’m not sure that the lack of proper airports isn’t going to get on my nerves anyway. I just wish they had made that clear in their pre-purchase sales literature as that would have definitely put me off it.

I’ll be in touch in a week or too to let you know what’s transpired.

Best wishes.

John Y

Horizon

Hi Mark

It took all the afternoon to install the three discs and download the updates.

There were a few problems especially with volume 3. It started well enough but mid way through I got a message that a file was corrupted so I started again. When I got it the second time at the same place I told it to ‘ignore’. On the second disc I had the same problem and on the 3rd there were several files missing or currupted. By this time I was truly getting a bit fed up to say the least but I carried on having instructed the thing to ‘ignore’and finally the discs were loaded.

I had some idea that possibly the updates would correct what was wrong, so I did those….after a fashion. Frankly I found the method of downloading confusing and to a computer illiterate like me.. well it was a wonder I finally got them.

When I looked at the disc for defragmenting I could hardly believe the amount of red. It seemed to fill the whole disc. So I spent the rest of the evening de-fragging. Being wise after the event, perhaps I should have done that after downloading each disc.

I’ve tried to put the settings in the way Horizon have instructed in the booklet but frankly the frame rates were disastrous and all over the place from 3 up! So I’ve turned off the water and reduced some of the other settings but kept the frame rates to 30 and that has helped.

The one problem I have left is the flight is distinctly jerky when taxiing and taking off and when taxiing after landing. It’s a little jerky also when manouvering in the air. I’ve kept a careful look at the frame rates since the alterations I made to the settings and it doesn’t seem to be that as they keep mostly between 20 & 30. I’m wondering if it’s the hard disc. I don’t think it should be as there’s 26GB of space left on it and it’s clean from the de-fragging but I don’t know what else it could be. Have you any ideas?

If it is the hard disc I could, if pressed, put the whole lot on to my 3rd disc which has 250GB. I would then swap the stuff on that (mainly photographs and records) back to the present disc. Would it be possible to cut and paste the flight simulator transfer to the bigger disc or would it have to be a complete re-installation? Frankly, that would be a nightmare.

The scenery is nice I must admit and better than Just Flight. I didn’t realize there were so many bits and pieces of Islands and stuff in the Bristol Channel. The one thing I really don’t like is the truly bare nature of the airports and Bristol with a square plateu perched just in front of the runway looks ridiculous so I have the feeling that I’ll be using this stuff only for sight seeing and be back to the normal FSX or FS9 for flying journeys if you see what I mean.

Well, that’s all in the latest installment.

Best wishes

John Y

Horizon

Hi Mark

Thanks for your reply. I can’t wait. I was hoping it would come today but I suppose I’ll get it on Monday now. It’s really fired my imagination and did my golf yesterday no good at all! My companions made light of it but mainly due to me we managed to come last in a competition where the three of us playing as a team would have thought we would have a strong chance of winning.

Yes, no longer using the glass cockpit (I do like them though I must admit) I suppose I could turn my frame rate limit back up to 25. I’ll check to see if there’s any difference on my set up. As you say, if you get the frame rate acceptable and more or less staying at that rate it’s got to be better.

I can see I’ll have to esperiment with the water. At present I’ve got it turned off even though my flying is very oten over the Bristol Channel.

I suppose I’ll see when I get it but I really hope the Horizon photos allow the moving public road traffic and airport movement of traffic etc which I find is a real feature of FSX over FS9.

Yes I’ll join the Horizon Forum as you suggest as I suspect it’s where a lot of tips are available much the same as this one.

I’m hoping I will be able to put the whole lot of discs on my computer. I know Horizon mention they can be used individually but I can’t see me being satisfied with that performance every time I want to fly especially as most of the time, as I suspect everyone does, I’ll want to fly outside the area one disc covers.

I have a 120 GB hard disc devoted entirely to Flight simulation so it should be alright. It contains the two main programs FSX & FS9 and all the flight records which I cut and paste from My Documents on the C disc. I’ve tried to save those directly but for some reason the save option in the FS program doesn’t want to know where it actually is!!

The advantage though is it means I can delete the logbook and all the pilot records from the Program folder. Since I’ve been doing that, I’ve only had one little screen crash which I was able to recover from without having to re-install the program. It was my fault really. I turned off the simulator, saw my printer was still on, and turned that off too before the simulator had finished closing. I’ve found that it’s fatal trying to do something else while FSX is either closing or opening. It almost always results in a crash. Doesn’t really suit my impatient nature.

Tell me Mark. Do you, and in your experience others, go through the business of calculating fuel requirements, getting it pumped in, boarding passengers and all the pre-flight routines? Or do you, like me, have somewhat limited time, just go through the flight planner and get up there and go somewhere?

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Best wishes

John Y

Hi Red Line

I tried what you advised and am most impressed. You shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble with uploading the video for me. Yes I am on broadband so it was no problem. I saw the Horizon demonstration video through the link you provided and I must say it seems wonderful.

After a long time adjusting settings and getting a new video card I’ve just got my FSX working nice and smoothly using a maximum 20 fps and with scenery complexity and autogen both set to ‘normal’ so I can’t really complain. However good the default scenery looks though, it’s still very graphic if you see what I mean, so I’ve decided to buy the full set of Horizon discs which are on special offer at present.

By the way, congratulations on your photos. They look great don’t they.

Now all I have to do is get Horizon to sell the stuff to me. The first time I’ve tried they messed me about having me repeat my personal details over and over again. I’ve written to them about it and hopefully I’ll get a helpful reply. I’ll let you know how I get on.

By the way, its just occurred to me. I’ve had SP 1 downloaded for some time and it’s showing in my list of programs as a subprogram to FSX but it’s never seemed to have made a lot of difference to the simulation. Certainly nowhere near what PC Pilot would have us believe. I’m just wondering. Do you have to switch it on somewhere to activate it?

Best wishes

John Y

Hi Dean

I’ve got the new graphics card installed but unfortunately it turned out that my basic computer could not take the increased system memory without a great deal of money being spent to update it so I’m left with the existing 2GB. Instead I had an extra 250GB hard disc installed and increased the power supply.

I have now transferred my huge photographic folder from the 120GB ‘D’ disc to the new one so ‘D’ is now dedicated entirely to the Flight Simulators.

The new graphics card has improved the photographic quality and needed only minimal adjustment to calibrate to my printer. Since I’ve been doing a lot of photography lately, mainly at the various activities at the golf club, it’s already proved it’s worth.

However, it’s also dramatically improved FS9 – Not a shimmer anywhere now which has improved my eye strain no end. I’ve also moved the scenery sliders a little further to the right and that’s fine.

The FSX sliders have been moved to very slightly higher settings but, of course, are still more to the left that right but that’s fine too.

So, for the time being everything in my garden is lovely, and my thanks go to you Dean for your helpful advice as always.

Keep in touch.

Best wishes,

John Y

FS9 Shimmer

Hi Dean

I’ve got the details you asked for now.

I have an NVIDIA GeForce 7600 Gt.0 graphics card and am assured by the people who installed it the drivers are up to date. The target frame rate is set at 30.

Screen res on both the computer screen and in the simulator is 1280 x 1024.

Settings are: Scenery density, Complexity very dense, Autogen very dense, add on density very dense, Terrain mesh 75,Terrain texture high,Terrain detail land & water far right,water effects low, Special effects high.

The following are all ticked: reflections,aircraft casts shadows,landing lights, ground scenery casts shadows.

Weather: Clouds are set as follows; Sight distance 90, draw distance 60, Detailed clouds, 3D% 50 and coverage density 50.

The following are ticked: Render to texture,Transform & lighting, Antialiasing.

The filtration is set to ‘trilinear’, MIP quality 7, Hardware lights 7 and Global max texture high.

Now, please Dean, what settings can I adjust to get rid of the shimmer?

Best wishes

John Y