Cameron

Okay, back with some more. This time I'm going to show results on a 2011 iMac 27-inch. Given these have mobile GPUs they don't perform as well with HDR almost ever, but they are MORE than suitable to run the Saab under 1.1 as is shown below. Alternatively, if you run at a lower monitor resolution than what Apple gives you on this big display, you will also receive gains. That said, I wanted to show you full res results. Yet again, in every aspect there is a FPS increase using 1.1! If you have one of the newer iMac models you can expect even better performance, especially with the latest gen 4GB models. These tests below are just me making quick adjustments. Given you can see the iMac is capable of getting 40fps in my quick test, I'd say there's plenty of room to find your "happy" place here. Keep in mind also that I elected to do the Seattle area in this test, which has some rather heavy hitting objects around it, but still quite good results! Computer Specs - Mid 2011 iMac 27-inch CPU = i7 @ 3.4 GHz RAM = 8GB GPU = AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB X-Plane Settings Screen Resolution = Full-screen @ 2560x1440Texture Resolution = Very HighTrees = PopulatedNumber of objects = DefaultNumber of roads = DefaultNumber of cars = Siberia WinterWorld detail distance = MediumAirport detail = DefaultAnti Aliasing = 8xAnisotropic Filter = 4xPer Pixel Lighting = OnWhen HDR is shown, the following settings are applied Atmospheric Scattering = OnHDR Anti Aliasing = 2x SSAA+FXAAAnisotropic Filter = 4xThe following test was conducted sitting at the default runway location at KBFI. You will see that best case scenario with these settings we have gained 8 fps in the 1.1 update. In the next example rendering settings have been toned down as indicated below: X-Plane Settings Screen Resolution = Full-screen @ 2560x1440Texture Resolution = Very HighTrees = SparseNumber of objects = NoneNumber of roads = NoneNumber of cars = Siberia WinterWorld detail distance = MediumAirport detail = LowAnti Aliasing = 4xAnisotropic Filter = 4xPer Pixel Lighting = OnWhen HDR is shown, the following settings are applied Atmospheric Scattering = OffHDR Anti Aliasing = 2x SSAA+FXAAAnisotropic Filter = 4xThe following test was conducted sitting at the default runway location at KBFI. You will see that best case scenario with these settings we have gained 16 fps in the 1.1 update.

Hi, Andras, I do remember this post, but to confirm, you plan to have all listed coverage complete by the date specified, or is this going to be rolling out in phases? Really looking forward to it!

Hey, Andras, Forgive my ignorance here...but how much coverage will be in this V2 cut in 4-6 weeks?

Sounds like a pretty nice rig for X-Plane!

Just a one time thing. We switched how license files are read in preparation for the Saab so that people didn't have to activate all three variants separately and be annoyed. The code is supposed to just work without issue on the CRJ, but some have reported the same as you and this simply updates the CRJ to the new licensing scheme. One-time deal and you're good.

Hi, Go into the CRJ-200 aircraft folder, delete the xa_license.txt file and simply re-load the aircraft.

Thanks for the information. Is this on a Mac or Windows machine?

Hi, Folks!, Let me just start out by saying the next update will give all of you some considerable FPS improvements. Read on! I wanted to give you an idea of where we're at for the forthcoming update. There's quite a bit going into this, and I'm not sure exactly when we'll get it out, but I would really like it to be within the next few days. Some of you have had concerns with performance, the combination of HDR, and comparing the Saab to other aircraft in these situations. I'm going to touch on that below, but first, here's a quick list of things you can expect to be included in the 1.1 update: • Fixed typo on GUI walkaround checklist • Added GPU sound • Fixed bug in Condition Lever joystick assignment • Desensitized joystick assignment • Changed animation of flap handle for joystick users • Fixed bug causing an error when CTOT was on and engines overheated. • Fixed bug in Anti-Skid system causing no CWP annunciation • Reverted to default sounds on Dot-Dash radio code • Fixed bug in window anti-ice system • Fixed bug in wing anti-ice system• Fixed bug in volume control GUI on "RESET ALL"• Fixed "pop" in prop sound• Adjusted generator cut-out parameter• Fixed avionics blackout when making abrupt moves with the throttle • Memory leak plugged - fixed There's a bit more included as well, but that's the main list of things to expect. We'll be sure to detail every little thing in your update e-mails when they go out and the update is available! Okay, so lets talk about performance. I know this has been a hot subject for some of you, and while majority of our customers are very happy, we really do want to work towards making everyone happy. The Saab 340A was a 3.5 year long endeavour and we set out to accomplish three things in the process: Create the most detailed and accurate 3D model for X-PlaneCreate a true study level simulation that mimics the real aircraft in essentially every aspect (really, the first aircraft to do this for X-Plane)Make the texture detail and sounds as accurate as possibleNow, I believe we successfully checked off all three of these tasks, however, with it came some consequences. The first had to do with HDR. The Saab simulates so many systems and has so much number crunching going on behind the scenes that the CPU is always working for you to run this. Adding in HDR places more burden on the CPU, and not just the GPU. Believe it or not, majority of your FPS hit is coming from the actual system simulation and NOT the geometry or textures in use. In fact, X-Plane can chew through quite a number of 3D geometry without a lot of consequence. Because of these two factors at play, HDR has been taking a pretty tough hit with the Saab. We also look forward to improvements in the future with Laminar working on HDR as the version 10 series continues to develop. There were also reports of a memory leak which we are happy to say we have fixed. This doesn't necessarily improve performance from the start, but it WILL solve the out of memory errors and the sudden slow downs later into a flight, so we're definitely happy to report that! With all the above said, and now that the Saab has been out, we have had a little breather, and gained our lost sleep back, we've been back at working on optimizing the Saab. By this I mean that we are going over every aspect of the Saab 340A code and looking at ways we can improve the time it takes the CPU to munch on our code and spit out results. With programming there can be 10 different ways to get the same result, but one of those ways can be much more efficient. Think of it like a highway vs. city streets. In most cases, the highway is always going to be the most efficient route to your destination, even if there's 10 different ways to get there through city streets! With the help of Ben Russell's new profiler we have been able to analyze every aspect of the code and have begun the work of cutting down heavy hitting code to run more efficiently on everyone's machines. So far the results have turned out to be quite promising. I don't know how far we'll get with this optimization before 1.1 is released, but rest assured 1.1 will contain some pretty nice optimizations none-the-less. You WILL see FPS increases in the forthcoming update, and over time I'm sure we'll continue to refine and optimize till we have squeezed every last ounce of optimizations out. For now, I'd like to show you test results of the current 1.0 build of the Saab that you all have, vs our 1.1 optimized code of the Saab as it stands now. I have ran various tests and setting changes in X-Plane across three different computers to give you an idea of what to expect. At this time I'm just posting one machine but will followup with the next two machines soon after. I will say that in EVERY instance, on EVERY system tested thus far (Mac and Windows) we are seeing considerable FPS increases. Keep in mind that everyone runs different settings. Higher resolutions require more VRAM, etc. I have tried to give you a relatively wide array of examples to get an idea: Computer Specs - Windows Desktop Machine CPU = i5 2500k @ stock speed RAM = 8GB GPU = GTX 680 4GB @ stock speed (2GB version will get similar performance. VRAM only helps on big monitors) X-Plane Settings Screen Resolution = Full-screen @ 2560 x 1440Texture Resolution = ExtremeTrees = PopulatedNumber of objects = TonsNumber of roads = Tons Number of cars = Kansas ResidentialWorld detail distance = MediumAirport detail = DefaultAnti Aliasing = 16xAnisotropic Filter = 8xPer Pixel Lighting = OnWhen HDR is shown, the following settings are applied Atmospheric Scattering = OnHDR Anti Aliasing = 4x SSAA+FXAAAnisotropic Filter = 8xThe following test was conducted sitting at the default runway location at KIAH. You will see that best case scenario with these settings we have gained 11 fps in the 1.1 update. In the next example rendering settings have been toned down as indicated below: X-Plane Settings Screen Resolution = Full-screen @ 2560 x 1440Texture Resolution = ExtremeTrees = SparseNumber of objects = DefaultNumber of roads = Default Number of cars = Siberian WinterWorld detail distance = MediumAirport detail = LowAnti Aliasing = 16xAnisotropic Filter = 8xPer Pixel Lighting = OnWhen HDR is shown, the following settings are applied Atmospheric Scattering = OnHDR Anti Aliasing = 4x SSAA+FXAAAnisotropic Filter = 8xThe following test was conducted sitting at the default runway location at KIAH. You will see that best case scenario with these settings we have gained 16 fps in the 1.1 update. All FPS listed are from f-act (actual FPS), and not the often higher number from f-sim. The other guys on the team are reporting roughly a 14 fps increase with version 1.1. The biggest point being here that there will be quite a bit of room for you guys to work, tweak, adjust and see improvements over 1.0. One other thing to note...these stats are taken at the airport. It is my experience that once off the ground and flying, X-Plane's FPS tend to increase, so these stats would be slightly higher in such scenarios. I'll be back soon with more stats from the Mac side!

Is your operating system set to any specific language or decimal format as well?

This one has been discussed to no end and can't happen. Laminar is going to need to step in there. Got a job? Quit it.

I think you need to have a very good, thorough read through this thread.

Reputation.

Jimbo and Atomic, Both of you are basically reporting the memory leak we are already aware of. Thanks anyway for the info!

Huh?He wants to be able to drag the TQ window yellow bars rather than the 3D model levers, Jim.

At least an honest effort went into it, and that it's appropriately priced for what otherwise would have been a bland airfield. No need to knock it. Thread closed.

Thanks! Was just curious.

Understood. Some of this sounds shader related to me. Tell me, do you find a good balance of this in X-Plane's default clouds?

Can you explain this a bit more?

Man, it would be so much easier to "work" with you if you actually took the time to read a thread. Not the first time you've done that. In this instance, the answer to your own nagging is so close to this post of yours that it's disappointing you even commented.

No worries!

Please see the already existing topic where this is solved and slated for the next update.

Thus far you are the only one to say anything, both here or via support e-mail channels. It doesn't mean you're the only one (or it could), but we just haven't heard from anyone else. MdMax may be onto something, but it would be you who needs to first try. What happens if you change the locale from comma to decimal?

I appreciate you taking the time to share your concern, Dirk. We haven't forgot about you or the update. Cheers!

We've already fixed the gear issue a few days back for the forward coming update!

Dirk, Please utilize the appropriate Saab forum to allow us to help you sort out any issues you have. We do not ever give release dates and will not do so here. We have a very good track record with following through, and rest assured we'll do so here as well.