TSX or Legacy Which do you prefer?

[theokus]

Not trying to knock your system Geoff, it is indeed a very good spec but not amazing

How much do you have to spend then to get a super computer

I have just spent three hours trying different combinations of settings ranging from headache inducing distortion in TSX to very much smoother but cruder displays in legacy mode.

Limiter settings at 25 produce a jerky performance in TSX but a limit of 30 produces a much smoother flow.

Overall, Legacy mode still produces a better perfomance for me but I am not happy

I understand.
The heart of a computer is the cpu.
At present Geoff, RW3 is not reliable to make an efficient choice for a computer's hardware.
Everyone plays the game with a compromise, even the few here with a monster machine.
And that does not interest me, so I wait and see. My PC is powerful enough for any game currently available.
But I do suspect that we think alike: we want to fully enjoy the game.

[ihavenonamenoreallyidont]

I use Legacy mode all the time now,frame rate is up in the 70's coupled with ultra sharp assets rendering at 32xAA/8x supersampling (forced)IMO it looks better than TSX mode.

Daz

That makes 2 of us,I like TSX but its display of rails,points,ect leave a lot to be desired.

Agree with both of you. And that's on a CPU at 4.4GHz, with a GTX580. For me, and I sound like a stuck record, the problem is the horrible aliasing, and the lack of an effective solution, as Acorncomputer and others are finding out.

[pmyers]

Must say it has to be TSX for me. Personally it's about creating an overall atmosphere in the game which draws you in. I've never been overly obsessed with high frame rates and am happy to set the limiter (using the command line) to 25 fps. This has provided smooth operation and allowed me to move most sliders up to high settings.
A couple of scenarios I've played recently ( a heavy freight over the mendips at dusk and a night time mail scenario from Newcastle in driving snow) have stunned even this veteran railsim user.
I'm hoping that the promised core updates will start to provide tweaks to the TSX engine that allow even more people to enjoy it.

Paul

[kevmt]

I have just set up my new desktop computer that has amazing specs

i7 CPU 930@2.8GHz, 2794 Mhz, 4 Core, 8 Logical Processors
Physical Memory 6.00 GB
Virtual Memory 9.00 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Graphics Card
1536.00 MB Video Memory
120 GB SSD Corsair Drive
2 x 1TB in mirrored RAID format
64-Bit

Not trying to knock your system Geoff, it is indeed a very good spec but not amazing. My worry is that others will read and take 'amazing' to mean 'absolutely the best that money can buy' and lose heart thinking they will have to find/beg/borrow/purloin a huge sum of money to get this game running as they want, particularly as you've stated that you still see distortions etc.

Trust me, compared to the one I'm using that is an amazing computer!!!!!!!!

Kevin

[mearle73]

Must say it has to be TSX for me. Personally it's about creating an overall atmosphere in the game which draws you in. I've never been overly obsessed with high frame rates and am happy to set the limiter (using the command line) to 25 fps. This has provided smooth operation and allowed me to move most sliders up to high settings.
A couple of scenarios I've played recently ( a heavy freight over the mendips at dusk and a night time mail scenario from Newcastle in driving snow) have stunned even this veteran railsim user.
I'm hoping that the promised core updates will start to provide tweaks to the TSX engine that allow even more people to enjoy it.

Paul

Each to his own,but In a way you have hit it on the head,the atmosphere,RSC and others have spent a long time creating models which are works of art,in tsx mode if you go past a rail yard it looks like the rails are serrated blades,the point work flashes all over the place due to the lods or mips,it just doesn`t float my boat,but with legacy everything is razor sharp,if RSC fix the aa in tsx mode then yes I would prefer tsx

[Retro]

I must say that at the moment I am still confused. If the Orange Tint. Washed out colours can be improved and RSC seem confident about that I would be quite happy with Legacy Mode. However the new Lighting effects in TSX Mode are quite beautiful and offer great scope for Route builders in particular to produce something quite special as we have seen in the Screenshot section.
Kevin whatever computer you are using you are producing some fantastic work for us all to enjoy.
With Core updates coming up maybe some of the problems we are encountering will vanish and in a few months time we will all be laughing about this and become happy Bunnies. We are seeing pioneering technology for Rail Simulation going on here and I suppose must not forget that.

I think I might be being a little positive in this post
I don't need to put myself in the naughty corner just yet
Kind regards James.

[Acorncomputer]

I think I might be being a little positive in this post

I think we have to put our trust in RS.com and I am sure that at this very moment they are working on improving the program.

In a year or so we will all be laughing about this whilst we immerse ourselves in the TS2012 TSX experience.

[RSderek]

This time next year? TS2013...

d

[Acorncomputer]

This time next year? TS2013...

d

NOOOOOOOO

[theokus]

This time next year? TS2013...

d

Sure and with new problems, hahaha

Retro is talking about Bunnies so I suspect it would be Easter

[Retro]

This time next year? TS2013...

d

I can visualise it now.
Sitting in front of our computers with a UK Trainsim mug strapped to our heads. Computer connected to the National Grid and cooled by Alcor. Shouts of "It's alive" as a Deltic comes thundering out of our Screens and deposits itself on our computer room floor.
Weird Science indeed.
Kind regards James.

[theokus]

This time next year? TS2013...

d

I can visualise it now.
Sitting in front of our computers with a UK Trainsim mug strapped to our heads. Computer connected to the National Grid and cooled by Alcor. Shouts of "It's alive" as a Deltic comes thundering out of our Screens and deposits itself on our computer room floor.
Weird Science indeed.
Kind regards James.

You did forget "4D" display

I could suggest they start to learn walking instead of running now

[johnrossetti]

Hi everyone. I posted pt1 of my RW2/3 Comparison. Ii is only a WMV for me to upload the AVI (better quality) would take 288 mins ! pt2 under way.
Why YouTube has squeezed the shape I dont know, it was recorded and edited in 1280x720 and looks ok in windows media player, hohum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPpeaiy4vlA

[VernonDozier]

This time next year? TS2013...

d

I hope this is a joke.

[SquidvT]

Intresting video. Shows nicely the differences, especially with the static scene.

Before I saw this thread I hadnt even tried legacy mode. But intrigued I gave it a whirl. I was surprised by the increase in FPS at the same settings. I usually run TXS mode max setting except bloom , and FOD turned off (I dont like the effect they give) but AA at just x4. Obviously with such low AA it could look better, with distant objects shimmering terribly. Anistropic Filtering helps a little but not much.

The upside of Legacy is I can run higer AA and the simmering and jaggies go away but at the cost of that sublime lighting. I really cant decide which i like best. I probably need to experiment with the settings more and reach a better comprimise.

One thing I have noticed in TSX mode is that the HUD comes at quite a hefty FPS cost. I can gain 10-15 FPS just by using the F5 display and F3 display. Actually Im not worried that I cant run RW3 maxed out on all settings. Its a new game, and as it matures I will probably upgrade anyway. Having this room for growth in the graphics engine is nothing new for new games and helps their longevity. When FSX was released their wasnt a PC around that could run it maxed out and get good FPS. Only recently has hardware caught up with it, but now it looks incredible.

Hopefully further optimisation of the RW3 engine is possible, Im intrested to see what the forthcoming updates bring. Until then ill keep tweaking.