DOCUMENT:Q273620 06-AUG-2002 [homegame] TITLE :How to Optimize Performance in Flight Simulator 98/2000 Games PRODUCT :Microsoft Home Games PROD/VER:: OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:fsim kbimu msgame ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= This article discusses how to optimize game performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000. MORE INFORMATION ================ To optimize performance in Flight Simulator 98 and Flight Simulator 2000, find a balance between the number of sound and display features you enable and the frame rate you can maintain. The frame rate is the speed at which images or frames are drawn on the screen, and is often measured in frames per second (fps). The appearance of realistic motion improves as the frame rate increases. Performance in Flight Simulator 98 and Flight Simulator 2000 depends on both the features that you select and the configuration of your computer. A set of features that you select on one computer may not result in the same level of performance as an identical set of features on a different computer. A computer that has a fast Pentium processor, sufficient memory, a 3D video accelerator card, and more recent device drivers can maintain a higher level of performance than a computer that barely meets the minimum system requirements. To optimize performance in Flight Simulator 98 and Flight Simulator 2000, you must optimize your hardware configuration, configure Flight Simulator for the best performance, and then monitor the frame rate when you select your preferred features and settings. To do this, use the following methods. Quit Unnecessary Programs ------------------------- To increase the amount of available system resources, quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer before you start Flight Simulator 98 or Flight Simulator 2000. To quit all unnecessary programs, use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98: 1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. 2. In the Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or Systray (which are components of Microsoft Windows), and then click End Task. If you receive a message stating that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer. Microsoft Windows 2000: 1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC. 2. On the Applications tab, click any program, and then click End Task. Repeat this step to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer. 3. Quit Windows Task Manager. NOTE: Some programs start automatically every time you restart your computer. For information about how to disable these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program. Optimize Your Hardware Configuration ------------------------------------ To optimize your hardware configuration: 1. Contact your video hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter. 2. Contact your audio hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the sound driver for your sound card. Set the display color palette to the lowest setting that is supported by the game: 1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2. Double-click Display. 3. Click the Settings tab. 4. In the Colors or Color Palette box, click 256 Colors for Flight Simulator 98 or High Color (16-bit) for Flight Simulator 2000. 5. Click OK. 6. If you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes. Configure the Program for the Best Performance ---------------------------------------------- To configure Flight Simulator 98 or Flight Simulator 2000 for the best performance: 1. Disable stereo sound and reduce the audio sample rate in the program. To do this: a. Quit Flight Simulator. b. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories,and then click Notepad. c. On the File menu, click Open. d. Type the appropriate line (including the quotation marks) for the version of Flight Simulator that you want to optimize, and then click OK Flight Simulator 98: ":\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator\Fltsim98.cfg" where is the letter of the hard disk on which Flight Simulator is installed. e. Type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line, and then press ENTER again after you type the last line: [SOUND] Channels=1 SamplesPerSec=11025 f. On the File menu, click Save. g. On the File menu, click Exit. NOTE: To restore stereo sound, type a SEMICOLON (;) at the beginning of the Channels=1 line. To restore the default audio sample rate, type a SEMICOLON (;) at the beginning of the SamplesPerSec=11025 line. 2. Disable weather options in Flight Simulator 98 or Flight Simulator 2000. To do this: a. Start Flight Simulator, and then click Fly Now. b. On the World menu, click Weather. c. To optimize Flight Simulator 2000, click Clear All Weather. To optimize Flight Simulator 98, click Clear in the Clouds box, and then click None in the Wind box. d. Click OK. 3. Reduce scenery complexity and display preferences in Flight Simulator 98 or Flight Simulator 2000 to their minimum settings. To do this, use the appropriate method for your version of Flight Simulator. Flight Simulator 2000: a. On the Options menu, point to Settings, and then click Display. b. On the Hardware tab, click to clear the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box. NOTE: Hardware acceleration may affect performance in different ways, depending on the video adapter that is installed in the computer. If you disable hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator 2000, performance may improve with some video adapters, and it may decline with other video adapters. If the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box is unavailable, your video adapter may not support 3D hardware acceleration. Contact your hardware manufacturer for more information. c. Click the Low Resolution Mode check box. d. In the Resolution box, click 640x480x16. e. Click the Image Quality tab. f. Move the Overall Image Quality slider all the way to the left (the 1 position). g. Click the CHECK MARK button to return to the cockpit. h. On the Options menu, point to Settings, and then click Instrument. i. Click to clear the Allow For Non-Rectangular Panel Windows check box. j. Click the CHECK MARK button to return to the cockpit. k. Press ALT+ENTER to switch Flight Simulator 2000 from Window mode to Full Screen mode. Flight Simulator 98: a. On the World menu, click Scenery Complexity. b. In the Image Complexity box, click Very Sparse. c. In the Scenery Frequency box, click Very Sparse. d. Click to clear all selected check boxes. e. Click OK. f. On the Options menu, click Preferences. g. On the Instrument tab, click to clear the Allow For Non-Rectangular Panel Windows check box. h. In the Performance Mode box on the Display tab, click 486 Maximum Performance Low Res. i. Click Display Options. j. Click to clear all selected check boxes on the Aircraft, Map, and Scenery tabs. k. On the Hardware Acceleration tab, click to clear the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box. NOTE: Hardware acceleration may affect performance in different ways, depending on the video adapter that is installed in the computer. If you disable hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator 2000, performance may improve with some video adapters, and it may decline with other video adapters. If the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box is unavailable, your video adapter may not support 3D hardware acceleration. Contact your hardware manufacturer for more information. l. In the Fullscreen Mode box, click 320x200x8. m. Click OK until you return to the cockpit. n. Press ALT+ENTER to switch Flight Simulator from Window mode to Full Screen mode. Download the Update 2.0b Patch (Flight Simulator 2000 Only) ----------------------------------------------------------- Download and install the Flight Simulator 2000 Update 2.0b patch for your version of Flight Simulator 2000. This patch can improve game performance. The Flight Simulator 2000 Update 2.0b patch is available as a free download from the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/games/fs2000/downloads_fs2000update.asp NOTE: There are two patches available for download. One version is for Flight Simulator 2000 Basic and the other is for Flight Simulator 2000 Professional. If the wrong version of the patch is installed then the game may no longer run and it may necessary to uninstall and reinstall the game to resolve the issue. Enable Features or Increase Settings in the Program --------------------------------------------------- To finish optimizing performance in Flight Simulator 98 or Flight Simulator 2000, use the previous methods to enable features or increase settings one at a time. Start with your favorite features, and stop before the minimum frame rate decreases to a level that you consider unacceptable. To display the frame rate, press and hold down SHIFT as you press Z twice. NOTE: The frame rate in Full Screen mode is faster than the frame rate in Window mode. If you want to enable more features in Flight Simulator, switch to Full Screen mode. To switch between Full Screen mode and Window mode, press ALT+ENTER. Additional query words: msgame flightsim fltsim fs98 fs2000 fs2k ====================================================================== Keywords : fsim kbimu msgame Technology : kbGamesSearch kbFlightSimSearch kbFlightSim2000 kbFlightSim98 kbSimSearch Version : : Issue type : kbhowto ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 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