Well, I've just had the best 2 hours of offline flight simming I can remember...

[Blackdog_kt]

The config files were changed two patches ago, removing a lot of redundant settings that had been left there during the development process.

People that first installed the sim recently (that is, after the previous patch near the end of May) already have the config files that have the new structure. Those that installed before that probably have the old config files.

If you want to get the new config files you can try this:
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=23971

[ATAG_Doc]

Originally Posted by naz

Done

Very nice system naz

[naz]

Originally Posted by Thee_oddball

could you share that with us please?

S!

Hi mate

I haven't done anything that hasn't been discussed across the various threads here really. Things I have been trying include, ingame settings (obviously ), Pseudo full screen v true full screen (which pretty much also includes single GPU v Dual GPU), disabling/enabling Catalyst AI, various RadeonPro xfire profiles, using msi afterburner or ati tray tools etc to change settings and monitor the system (temps, gpu clocks, gpu temps etc etc). It all takes a lot of time, and often it seems like you are banging your head against a wall.

I was getting pretty decent performance early on in Pseudo full screen, but when xfire was supposed to have been implemented, my rig's performance seemed to drop off instead of improving. The most frustrating thing was the inconsistency...one game session would be relatively smooth, the next worse than ever. Often I would also start a mission with high v-sync capped 60 fps over manston only for it to suddenly halve and remained halved for the remainder of the game session (others have been reporting that too). I eventually stuck with Pseudo mode again as that gave me the best overall experience.

I then had a bit of a hiccup when for some reason the latest 11.6 drivers seemed to cut my FPS by well over a half in pseudo mode as well (which is part of the reason for me continuing to do so much testing in true full screen mode), but that seems to have cleared up with the latest official patch. I have no idea why as there seems to have been no work done in that regards as listed in the patch notes, but there you have it.

I just think (and I don't pretend for a minute that I actually know what I am talking about) that the xfire support simply does not work too well in this game, at least for my system anyway. I have spent a lot of time, and I mean a LOT (lol) of time testing things out. My final conclusion (correct or not) is that whilst xfire is now active in true full screen, it is by no means used well by the game at all. I am getting very good, stable and consistent FPS again now by going back to Pseudo full screen mode (and thereby only using one of the GPUs on my card).

The game in pseudo mode absolutely screams along and I am finally just enjoying flying again now. The only drawback, of course, is the screen tearing with Track IR (due to no v-sync), but it is not so bad as to ruin the experience. To be fair, the tearing is much less noticeable on my system than it was in IL2-1946 without v-sync...and I simply don't notice it anymore... especially once I get into a furball anyway.

The only advice I can give to anyone reading this with ATI cards (especially a dual GPU card) is to compare true full screen with Pseudo mode, disable aero, do the delete shaders thing and most importantly, get rid of that damn ubi logo which does most of the harm in true full screen. Nothing more that has not already been posted many times all over this forum. Then play around with the ingame settings and find a balance between eye candy and smooth playability. I am running things with original textures and a mixture of high/medium settings elsewhere...FPS of 40+ over land (still 30+ over small cities) and around 70-80 over water for the most part...so i am happy.

London is still a worry however....FPS low 30s at altitude and in the teens at low level in a scenic flight..will be unplayable in a proper combat mission still. Hence the rider in my OP about "when it works..."

To be fair to Luthier, he did advise that people with ATI cards should stick with Peudo mode if having FPS problems. I think I just stuck with trying to get the true screen/xfire working for far too long when I could have been playing

Anyway, I am seriously considering buying one of those 3gig Nvidia 580 cards... xfire/sli always seem to give more headaches than they are worth across many games from what I read (Clod is not alone in that regard). Might think a bit more on that

The funny thing is of course, different systems give different results....I just read a recent post in another thread here where someone said that he was getting better ATI performance in true full screen rather than pseudo, and others for whom the Ubi logo does not seem to cap their GPU clock speed. I have been PC Gaming for over 20 years and so I have no doubt they are accurately reporting what they see....computers are just plain weird.

Anyway, despite all the hassle, I am enjoying what the game gets right, and look forward what isn't right being sorted.

Cheers

[naz]

Originally Posted by buddye

As an off-line player, the AI performance IMHO is just not very good and I fear the AI may be a long term problem. The AI performance is my biggest disappointment but I may be in the minority. I hope that developer priority will be applied to improve the AI performance in the coming update patches.

I agree with you on the AI mate. I am pretty sure Luthier mentioned AI was one of the things they were going to be working on in one of the roadmaps.

Cheers

[slm]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

The config files were changed two patches ago, removing a lot of redundant settings that had been left there during the development process.

People that first installed the sim recently (that is, after the previous patch near the end of May) already have the config files that have the new structure. Those that installed before that probably have the old config files.

Thank you VERY much! I bought the game when it was released so I guess I had the old config files somehow interfering how the game works. After reading your linked instructions, I disabled Steam cloud and cleared the cache. I then had to reselect some settings (for example, all my game controller ids had changed: joystick1 was now joystick and so on), restarted the game and the low level gfx bug had disappeared. It seems I got better FPS also. I hope the game stays this way

[CherokeeFreedom]

I have great hope for this sim. For me, to date, it is the most immersive sim flying I have ever enjoyed. Flying in-cockpit alone would sell me on CloD. That is where my sim work is done and I am mostly concentrating on the enemy in my sights. Any negative points I might notice are minor and much like those that have long been associated with other sims. I came to realize long ago in IL2 46 that these points no longer took my focus away from the joy of flying with others. That is my starting point in Clod. It saddens me that the great group of fellows I fly online with are put off by all the negative comments that have been made public and won't buy it. I do hope that this will change in the next few months as the bugs are sorted out and then all of us can join online again while flying Clod.

There is no doubt in my mind that some of the bugs mentioned to date might be distracting when they seize focus from gameplay. But, I do wish everything could be kept in perspective, good and bad. It seems that so far it is primarily the bad news that is made public, almost as if there are some of us who wish for this spectacular sim to fail. At my age, 70, this might be the last great sim I ever have a chance to fly. I want it to succeed.

[ATAG_Bliss]

I get 40-60 FPS on medium settings with a quad core laptop with a 5870 card. Still looks fantastic. The potential is huge and some of those videos showing 1000+ planes in the sky at the same time has already shown that.

But even with my medium laptop, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I'd say the majority of the problems are people having too much eye candy turned on (not saying optimization is needed as well) But every patch is making it better and better. It will get there.

[Strike]

Hi! I just wanted to stop a moment and praise the damage model:

I got my a$$ shot up by a 109 a few days ago and looked behind my seat-armor only to find the damage 100% correct according to the external view! It was really sweet to see "internal" aircraft damage represent the external aircraft damage :p I could peer through the holes in the fuselage at the same spots they were depicted on the outside.

This game has an INSANE damage model! I just wished more about the calculations being made! A developers commentary on what happens from trigger-press to bullet hit and damage delivery would be awesome! Just to see what the game actually takes into account! I've already seen bullets that puncture thin skin can enter the plane on one side and exit the other side, and 20mm cannon AP shells pretty much slice through the entire plane

pic:

[White Owl]

Originally Posted by Strike

Hi! I just wanted to stop a moment and praise the damage model...

Every time I start a mission, I record a track because I'll go back later and take a closer look at all the damage. It's crazy impressive.

I'd like to see an option for an extremely detailed damage log, so we can see things like exactly which engine cylinder is out, or what hydraulic line is cut. I know the game is tracking all that detail.