From 9 to 33 FPS with FSX!

by mark.avey on March 23, 2008

This interesting looking video demonstrates the effect of converting the Flight Simulator X ground textures from the default DXT5 to DXT1A formats.

The associated YouTube page provides more information about how to convert the textures. This is one I think I’ll be giving a try!

Has anyone else had a go at this? Did it make a difference?

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Ed 03.24.08 at 5:09 pm: Just a quick heads-up about this:

Vista users

You may find the recommended tool, DDS Converter 2 doesn’t work under Vista and will often crash when you do manage to get it to work.

Vista/XP users

If you manage to get it working, particularly under XP you’ll notice DDS Converter 2 will only process a few files at a time making the conversion particularly difficult and with the numbers of files involved in FSX, slow too.

Solution

I know it’s a huge download, some 400Mb but download Microsoft’s DirectX SDK. It contains a context menu DDS converter than has better error management, can convert thousands of files at once and does it all from the right-click menu which means you’ll convert your FSX files in around 5 minutes.

Oh, for the record, it does give FSX a boost, enough to even push scenery complexity and/or autogen up a notch.
2 mark.avey 03.24.08 at 5:53 pm: Many thanks for the extra tips, Ed.
3 PieEater 03.26.08 at 11:19 am: Just to add that you need the November 2007 DX SDK not the latest March 2008 one which doesn’t have the context menu converter.

Pie.
4 PieEater 03.26.08 at 12:20 pm: Actually I could use some help;

http://www.flightsimx.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=71
5 pigfoot 04.29.08 at 3:54 am: Here is a direct link to the November 2007 SDK:

http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4B78A58A-E672-4B83-A28E-72B5E93BD60A&displaylang=en

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