X-Plane 10.25, SimHeaven ZL17 and SkyMAXX Pro Loading Issue

[pebull2009]

 Hi guys,

 

Pete from the UK here. 

 

I'm just having a small issue with long loading and stuttering issues within X-Plane 10.25. As I take off into the air, I find that the simulator pauses in places (for a few seconds) and can shudder with a massive dip in frame rate (again, a few seconds). I have all of SimHeaven's Photo Scenery at ZL17 (donation coming within the next week or so!) and SkyMaxx Pro (all updated to the latest version).

 

I have most settings turned to medium or high (many trees, but a lot of buildings). My FPS is usually in the region of 22FPS (min.) and 35/40FPS (max.). SkyMAXX Pro is turned right down, but with a greater draw distance to decrease loading intervals (from when it pauses and doesn't).

 

I have been looking into it and have concluded that:

 

1. When the next scenery tiles loads, there is a long delay as the computer struggles to process the information and feed it into the simulator (they are hefty files so it is to be expected!)

2. When SkyMAXX is turned on, I get a pause every few minutes. I have looked at other posts and have found that it may be a loading issue and not SkyMAXX itself. I have also used the advice given here: http://forums.x-pilo...nusable-for-me/ in which the solution works and has noticeably improved delays.

 

I'm aware that my usage of X-Plane is quite excessive, but have to state that it's an overwhelming and greatly satisfying experience. SimHeaven and SkyMAXX have done some amazing work!

 

My question is: Has anyone overcome these limitations to prevent pauses and have an overly smooth experience? I have had advice of using an SSD to speed up loading times, but I'm not sure whether it's related to a hard disk or CPU/GPU?

 

I have 6 hard disks:

 

1. Local Disk (C:) for Windows 8.1

2. X-PLANE MAIN HDD A (D:) for X-PLANE 10.25 (64-bit), World2XPlane OSM from SimHeaven and a range of other plugins

3. X-PLANE MAIN HDD B (E:) for SimHeaven Sceneries ZL17

4. X-PLANE MAIN HDD C (F:) for SimHeaven Sceneries ZL17

5. X-PLANE STORAGE HDD A (G:) for backup .zip files for SimHeaven Sceneries

6. X-PLANE STORAGE HDD B (H:) for backup .zip files for SimHeaven Sceneries

 

My hard disks are not indexed and have write caching enabled and Windows write-cache buffer flushing turned off (increase response and performance).

 

My system specification is:

 

Intel Core i7 4770K Processor (8M Cache, OC @ 4.5GHz)

Asus Z87-A LGA 1150 Mainboard  (Z87-A)

EVGA GTX770 GDDR5 4GB VRAM Graphics Card (04G-P4-3774-KR)

Corsair Pro Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 DRAM (CMY32GX3M4A2133C11)

Be Quiet! Power Zone 1000W Modular PSU (BN213)

Samsung HDTV T28C570 28" Monitor (1080p, 1920x1080) (LT28C570EW/EN)

Samsung SyncMaster SA300 24" Monitor (1080p, 1920x1080) (LS24A300BZ/EN)

Samsung SyncMaster 225BW 22" Monitor (1680x1050) (225BW)

(1x) Hitachi HDT721032SLA360 HDD (320GB)

(1x) Samsung HD501LJ HDD (500GB)

(2x) ST3000DM001-1CH166 HDD (3TB)

(2x) ST3750640AS HDD (750GB)

Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-bit)

 

Any ideas?

 

Many thanks as I know it's a greatly long post! Hopefully I haven't confused you hehe!

 

Pete

Edited May 15, 2014 by pebull2009

[crisk73]

With your specs you shouldn't have problems at all at running xp at high settings with all that stuff enabled. I would consider a xp reinstall first than something else can be investigated

[Cameron]

The most likely explanation here is the photoscenery loading across several DSF files. The pause is known when the hard drive is loading other areas and can't keep up with the speed of your flight.

 

Not sure what kind of advice can really be offered on this one.

 

EDIT: Does the same thing happen if you fly in this area with ONLY SkyMaxx Pro and not the photoscenery installed?

[pebull2009]

Hi guys!

 

Many thanks for replying and many apologies for the delay.

 

I think several solutions are:

 

- Continually update SimHeaven files with newly revised DSF data (I think some of my GER files are out of date).

- Ensure that all X-Plane third party/additional libraries are installed and updated for W2XP SimHeaven OSM Beta data

- Turn visibility settings down (excellent plugin from Nico87 with their Visibility Limit Plugin 1.0 and Sandy Barbour's Python plugin - thanks guys!!)

 

@Cameron: I've found that switching SkyMAXX Pro off does help the situation as there are two sets of pauses. One when running SkyMAXX Pro and new clouds being formed, and the other from SimHeaven's sceneries being loaded in the distance. When the two are together, issues can happen as there's lots happening at once. Both put together create an incredible experience that keeps me immersed in the simulation for hours.

 

Any ideas?

 

Many thanks! 

 

 

 

[cabnz1]

How do you turn SkyMAXX Pro off? Do you mean turn everything down?

Cheers,

Craig

[mmerelles]

i do have the same issue. The sim pauses time to time for a second and emites a sound. It seems to be related while loading next titles in flight. Issues are very common while climbing and high altitudes.

 

i do have a latest 2013 imac 27", 3.5 to 3.9hgz, 32g ram, gtx780 4g ddr5, SSD 1TB disk

 

Problem does not occur while flying slow planes, i do have the problem while flying 777 worldliner. FPS are 45 to 49 when the problem occurs. There is a huge dip in fps, pauses for a second and then normalizes.

 

 

regards

[pebull2009]

Hi guys,

 

Many thanks for replying to my post.

 

@cabnz1 (Craig): I mean turn the plugin off and also uninstall it. 

 

@mmerelles: Ah interesting! Do you have SimHeaven World2XPlane OSM Autogen loaded as well?

 

I've just taken the World2XPlane OSM Autogen off and everything is running very smoothly.I can see the tiles loading in the distance, but there is only a very mild drop in frame rate. Has anyone fully solved the issue?

 

Many thanks!

 

Pete