How to Optimize Performance in Flight Simulator 98 and 2000 Games (273620)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 98
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition
This article was previously published under Q273620

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 turn on and the frame rate you can maintain. The frame rate is the speed that images or frames are drawn on the screen, and is frequently 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 the same 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.

Method 1: 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.

To download the free Flight Simulator 2000 Update 2.0b patch, visit 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, the game may no longer run and you may have to remove and reinstall the game to resolve the issue.

If the problem continues to occur, go to the next method.

Method 2: 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:
    1. Quit Flight Simulator.
    2. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories,and then click Notepad.
    3. On the File menu, click Open.
    4. 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

      "drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator\Fltsim98.cfg"

      where drive is the letter of the hard disk where Flight Simulator is installed.
    5. 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

    6. On the File menu, click Save.
    7. 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:
    1. Start Flight Simulator, and then click Fly Now.
    2. On the World menu, click Weather.
    3. 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.
    4. 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

    1. On the Options menu, point to Settings, and then click Display.
    2. 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.
    3. Click the Low Resolution Mode check box.
    4. In the Resolution box, click 640x480x16.
    5. Click the Image Quality tab.
    6. Move the Overall Image Quality slider all the way to the left (the 1 position).
    7. Click the CHECK MARK button to return to the cockpit.
    8. On the Options menu, point to Settings, and then click Instrument.
    9. Click to clear the Allow For Non-Rectangular Panel Windows check box.
    10. Click the CHECK MARK button to return to the cockpit.
    11. Press ALT+ENTER to switch Flight Simulator 2000 from Window mode to Full Screen mode.

    Flight Simulator 98

    1. On the World menu, click Scenery Complexity.
    2. In the Image Complexity box, click Very Sparse.
    3. In the Scenery Frequency box, click Very Sparse.
    4. Click to clear all selected check boxes.
    5. Click OK.
    6. On the Options menu, click Preferences.
    7. On the Instrument tab, click to clear the Allow For Non-Rectangular Panel Windows check box.
    8. In the Performance Mode box on the Display tab, click 486 Maximum Performance Low Res.
    9. Click Display Options.
    10. Click to clear all selected check boxes on the Aircraft, Map, and Scenery tabs.
    11. 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.
    12. In the Fullscreen Mode box, click 320x200x8.
    13. Click OK until you return to the cockpit.
    14. Press ALT+ENTER to switch Flight Simulator from Window mode to Full Screen mode.
If the problem continues to occur, go to the next method.

Method 3: 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 two times.

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.

If the problem continues to occur, go to the next method.

Method 4: Continue Troubleshooting

For additional information about troubleshooting performance issues in Microsoft Games, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

815069 GAMES: How to Improve Game Performance

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/24/2005
Keywords:kbhowto KB273620
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.