Mid East Plus frame rates

[lateagain]

Hi enterprise 1 ...got a first name? friendlier than forum names?

I'm a huge fan of US and Canadian Routes (see the North American section of the forum http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewforum.php?f=250 ) and I have a few MLT routes. In their day the MLT routes were pretty much state of the art and their stock some of the best. However Cascades Crossing (which I have ...but not installed) was released before MEP was started.

You only have to look at the depth and detail of the scenery in Cascades Crossing to see that it's very simplistic even compared to the best North American routes available nowadays (freeware or payware) and even then our North American friends have fought very shy of any really densely sceneried urban areas. A huge frustration for me is that most North American Routes start "In the middle of nowhere" ...and end "In the middle of nowhere"

In MEP you can run passenger trains from London through detailed countryside and towns and end at another major city. The nearest US equivalents have no where near as great a depth of scenery.

Obviously this takes a toll on performance. Bottom line is that MSTS like FSX are both VERY old software now. Just as folk complain about poor performance of newer MSTS add-ons so in the Flight Sim community folk complain about having to switch off detail to get smooth running in FSX.

Newer more powerful computers help some ...but even that can't overcome some of the limitations of the original programme. BIN of course has been a huge boost to MSTS and Open Rails is really getting there now but you have to realise that the newer the Sim the greater the demand on resources because software developers write software for tomorrows machines ...not 486's?

FPS is useless as a measure anyway IMO. The same area viewed on different "cams" gives different frame rates and when folk quote them on ANY simulator forum the amount of possible variables in what they are reporting could fill an entire forum page?! Time, weather, sliders for all variables, and that's before you look at their hardware spec, what else their PC is running in the background etc.etc.

Usually hitting the 1 key and returning to cab view helps in areas where things get "sticky".

Geoff

[coolhand101]

Just to make sure your PC is running MEP+ correctly.

1. Load the activity "Summer saturday - Hunstanton Branch"
2. Press Shift + Z for frame rates
3. Press view 2 and pan around your Class 46 engine.

My frames are between 45 and 50 fps, with Max MSTS settings on my winXP computer.
Specs are:
AMD 64x2 dual 6000+(3.01ghz), 2gb SD ram, nvidia geforce9800 GTX+.

If your PC spec is higher than mine, and you have much lower frames, then there is a problem.

Thanks

[ferdy]

My specs:- Pentium Dual-Core CPU E5300@2.60 GHz 2.59 GHz
Nvidia GeForce 9400 GT
4GB RAM (3.19 GB usable).

[slipperman12]

Hi enterprise1,
I think your main bottleneck is the graphics card. Neither you nor coolhand101 have specified the memory your respective graphics cards have, but comparing a 256MB 9400 GT with the (presumably 512MB) 9800 GTX indicates that the latter has a pixel rate almost 4 times faster and a memory bandwidth 4.5 times larger. This all means that the 9800 will be a lot faster, even when running MSTS, than the 9400. Also, your processor is about 20% slower than coolhand101's. Although the MSTS recommendations specify a much slower processor, faster is always better as the CPU does all the processing. Although the graphics card does little, or no, processing, a faster one is better because it can then keep up with the data thrown at it by the CPU.

My specifications are as shown in the signature panel, and using coolhand101's suggestion, my frame rates are between 47 and 60. It depends on how near the loco the camera is whilst panning around - I found that my lower rates occurred when it was about 15feet from the ground.

Have you tried the "Hunstanton" test? Please tell us what your frame rates are

Cheers,
Ged

[paulus777]

A great route ruined by not using curved track. looks awfull

[ferdy]

The Nvidia card is 1Gb, and as I see it, the only way in which I can improve the performance is to spend a fair amount of money on a new processor and graphics card.

For a £5 program; I do not think so.

Peter Peddlesden, please close this thread.

[coolhand101]

The Nvidia card is 1Gb, and as I see it, the only way in which I can improve the performance is to spend a fair amount of money on a new processor and graphics card.

For a £5 program; I do not think so.

Peter Peddlesden, please close this thread.

My Graphic card is also a 1Gb.
As I said, run the above activity, just to make sure it's not a hardware problem?
We are only trying to help you!

[rogersmith]

Enterprise1,the money you could save by only buying UKTS Cd's would soon buy you a better card - Have you got Thames/Mersey or Bala Hub,I used to play them on a low spec machine and they are both Great !

[PeterPeddlesden]

It is very difficult to provide help and assistance in the resolution of problems if the OP does not follow the advice or requests to perform certain tests.
In this instance it may well be that there is an issue with the graphics card.

However, the OP has requested thread closure, so be it.